COVID-19: India’s Omicron case count at 161, says health minister Mansukh Mandaviya

India’s Omicron case count stood at 161 on Monday with Kerala, Delhi and Karnataka reporting fresh cases. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in the Rajya Sabha, “As of now, India has 161 Omicron cases… We are monitoring the situation daily with experts.”

“With our experience during the first and second waves, to ensure that we don’t face problems if variant spreads, we have arranged a buffer stock of important medicines,” he said.

Meanwhile, with the cases steadily rising in the country,  Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal  has said all samples that test positive for the infection will now be sent for genome sequencing. He also urged the Centre to allow the administration of booster shots to the fully vaccinated residents of Delhi. He appealed to people not to panic and wear masks as they are the most effective protection against the virus. On the other hand, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has appealed to citizens to avoid gatherings and parties during the upcoming Christmas festival and New Year, and warned of stringent action against those who flout rules. Here’s a look at the fresh cases: Karnataka According to Karnataka health minister Dr K Sudhakar five cases were detected on Sunday in Dharwad, Bhadravathi in Shivamogga district, Udupi and Mangaluru. He said a 54-year old man from Dharwad, a 20-year old woman from Bhadravathi, a 82-year old man and a 73-year old woman from Udupi, and a 19-year old woman from Mangaluru contracted the Omicron variant. All the infected people have been inoculated with both the doses of Covishield vaccine. Their travel history and contacts with international travellers are being ascertained. None of them has any COVID-19 symptoms and were healthy, the department said. The person isolated in Bhadravathi was in contact with 218 people and all of them underwent tests. Out of them, 26 have tested positive. Their samples have been sent for further probe, the department added. Further, 18 people who were the primary and secondary contacts of the 19-year old student in Mangaluru were found COVID-19 infected. Delhi With two more cases of Omicron variant being detected in Delhi, the total number of people testing positive for the latest variant of the coronavirus in the city stands at 24, sources said on Monday. Out of these 24 patients, 12 have been discharged, they said. “Two more cases of Omicron have been detected in Delhi. Their samples sent for genome sequencing earlier have come out positive. One has come from UK, while the other from Ghana, aged 47 and 22 respectively,” a source said. Most of the patients admitted are asymptomatic, the source said. Kerala Four new cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Kerala on Monday, taking the overall tally to 15, the state health department said. Two cases of the new variant were detected in patients aged 41 and 67. They are mother and grandmother of a 17-year-old patient in Thiruvananthapuram who came from the UK on 9 December along with his father, mother and sister. Two other cases of the Omicron variant were detected from Thiruvananthapuram — a 32-year old man came from Nigeria on 17 December and a 27 year-old woman who was included in the contact list of a flight passenger. She returned from the UK on 12 December. With input from PTI Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.