A first case of more transmissible Omicron's sub-variant 'XE' was detected in Mumbai on Wednesday, said BMC official from the public health department. Mangala Gomare, BMC's executive public health officer, confirmed that a 50-year-old patient who traveled from South Africa was found asymptomatic with the new variant.

According to officials, the reported patient is a costume designer and a member of a shooting crew. She had arrived in Mumbai on February 10, 2022. On her arrival, she tested negative for Covid-19. However, On March 2, during a routine checkup at a suburban diagnosis her test reports were positive. She had been in quarantine at Taj Lands End hotel in the western suburbs.