MP reports its first Omicron case as 8 found infected in Indore

Madhya Pradesh reported its first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus with state Home Minister Narottam Mishra saying that eight foreign returnees were found infected with the new strain in Indore of whom six have already been discharged after recoveryOpposition Congress questioned the BJP government in the state over its delay in revealing the information about the Omicron cases while the ruling party hit back saying that the process of genome sequencing of samples takes timeEight Omicron cases have been found in Indore Out of these patients six have recovered and have been discharged while two are undergoing treatment Mishra who is also the state governments spokesman told reportersAround 3000 people returned to Indore from abroad recently and 26 of them were found to be infected with coronavirus Omicron was confirmed in the genome sequencing of eight of these people he said The samples of these people who returned to the states industrial hub Indore from different countries were taken between December 17 and 21 according to officialsThese infected people included two men aged 20 and 30 years who came from New York US on December 14 and 19 respectively a 23yearold woman who arrived from London UK on December 14 two women aged 33 and 26 who returned from Tanzania east Africa on December 19 a 33yearold woman who returned from Ghana west Africa on December 17 and two men aged 26 and 31 years who arrived from Dubai on December 13 and 18 respectively they saidOn Saturday Madhya Pradesh reported 42 new cases of coronavirus raising the states infection tally to 793655 while the death toll remained unchanged at 10532 an official earlier said The state had 232 active COVID19 cases the official added Meanwhile state Congress chief Kamal Nath questioned the governments delay in disclosing the Omicron infection cases in the state Eight persons tested positive for the Omicron variant and six of them recovered while two are undergoing treatment Why did the state government hide this information for so long This is a serious issue Nath saidHe also raised question marks over Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans programmes held in Indore on Saturday While the Omicron variant was found in Indore Chouhan gathered crowds by holding programmes He should have cancelled his programmes and organised them virtually he said Reacting to Naths allegations state BJP spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi told PTI that the state government has made all necessary arrangements to prevent the spread of coronavirus and to tackle the situationAlso Read Himachal Pradesh reports first Omicron caseNath should be aware of the fact that Omicron is detected through genome sequencing of Covid19 patients The samples for this test are sent to Delhi and it takes time This testing is not like clicking pictures with Bollywood actors as Nath was doing when the coronavirus pandemic broke out in the state Chaturvedi saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever