On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced vaccination for children in the 15-18 years age group against the SARS-Cov-2, the number of Covid cases in Gujarat has seen a rapid rise with the incidence of the Omicron variant increasing among people with no travel history. On Saturday, the state reported 179 new cases, a 60 per cent rise compared to the 111 cases registered on December 23. Among the new cases, Omicron cases stand at 49, with six more detected Saturday. Meanwhile, the state also recorded two Covid fatalities — both in Rajkot, taking the number of deaths to 18 since December 1. Ahmedabad city recorded 61 new cases, as many cases as reported last more than six months ago in the second week of June. Ahmedabad also detected two Covid patients with the Omicron variant in two women, aged 28 years and 50 years, with no travel history. Similarly, another case of the Omicron variant, detected in a 28-year old man in Kheda district on December 24, did not have any known travel history. Rajkot also detected a patient with the Omicron variant, the first in the district, in a 22-year old UK-returnee woman. Kheda district reported three cases of the Omicron variant of Covid Saturday with three persons of Indian origin from the UK, including a child, testing positive. The family, originally from the Piplag village in Kheda, arrived from the UK on December 21 and tested Covid positive at the Ahmedabad airport on arrival. "The couple, both in their early 30s and the child, aged 10, had tested Covid positive at the airport and were directly shifted to the hospital isolation ward in Nadiad. There are no close contacts, therefore. The sample was sent for genome sequencing on the same day (December 21) and their reports are positive for the Omicron variant," said a district administration official. Kheda has reported a total of six Omicron cases in 24 hours. Meanwhile, two Class 12 students from Riverdale School and a class 2 and class 9 student from Fountain Head School, both in Surat city, tested positive for Covid Saturday. A teacher from Fountain Head School had tested positive Friday. In light of the developments, the health department of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has instructed the school to be shut down for seven days from Saturday. Surat city reported 20 positive cases on Saturday. The city had, on Friday, reported a 25-year-old computer engineer who arrived on December 22 from Ireland and is in home isolation.
