Omicron Coronavirus Highlights: Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh report their first Omicron variant case; India tally at 38

Omicron Covid-19 Variant Highlights: Five new cases of Omicron were reported in India on Sunday taking the tally of the new coronavirus variant to 38. While Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh reported their first case of Omicron today, Karnataka and Maharashtra also reported one case each taking the states’ tally of the new variant to three and 18 respectively.

With 7,774 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India’s Covid-19 tally climbed to 3,46,90,510. The number of active cases declined to 92,281, lowest in 560 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll mounted to 4,75,434 with the addition of 306 new fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

Meanwhile in Mumbai, defying Section 144 of CrPC imposed in Mumbai, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, in a show of strength ahead of local polls in parts of Maharashtra, including the BMC elections next year, addressed a large gathering in the city on Saturday.

In other news, there appears to be a significant variance between the country’s large privately-managed international airports and state-run airports in terms of the cost of rapid RT-PCR tests means that bulk of the international arrivals are subjected to expensive Covid-19 tests. For example, the rapid PCR test costs Rs 1,580 at Kozhikode airport, while the rates at Mumbai and Hyderabad airports are 2.5 times at Rs 3,900.