A 37-year-old man from Pune has been diagnosed with the BA.5 sub-variant of Omicron, according to a report on genomic sequencing from B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital. The man, who returned from England on May 21, is fully vaccinated. His sample was processed at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. The patient was diagnosed with Covid-19 on June 2. He had mild symptoms of the disease and recovered in home isolation, said Dr Pradeep Awate, Maharashtra surveillance officer. Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, state coordinator for genome sequencing, said authorities are keeping a watch on ICU and hospital admissions for Covid-19. “We are also tracking the variant and so far, sporadic cases of BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variant of Omicron have been diagnosed,” he said. Maharashtra had reported its first cases of Covid-19 infection with BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants in at least seven patients in Pune. On June 7, a 31-year-old woman from the city had tested positive for BA.5 sub-variant and on Saturday, according to the latest state Health Department report, the 37-year-old man was diagnosed with the same sub-variant. As of Saturday, there are 14,858 active Covid-19 cases in the state. Of the 2,922 new Covid-19 cases reported, a total of 228 are from Pune district.
