Guwahati, Jan 7 Seven more people, including a foreign returnee, have tested positive for Omicron in Assam, raising the tally of the new variant of Covid-19 to nine, officials said on Friday.
Health officials said that of the nine patients, eight have no travel history. After Manipur (one case) and Meghalaya (five cases), Assam is the third state among the eight northeastern states to report Omicron cases.
Omicron in Assam was first reported on Wednesday after a man, who returned from Saudi Arabia, tested positive for it.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that all new Covid-19 positive cases would be suspected as Omicron or Delta variant of Covid-19 and treatment of the patient would be started accordingly as report of the genome sequencing come after at least five days of the sample collected.
State Information, Public Relations and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now in home isolation.
"Yesterday (Thursday) I tested Covid positive. I have mild symptoms and I am in Home Isolation, following all Covid protocols and guidelines. Those who came in contact with me are requested to take necessary action accordingly," the minister tweeted on Friday.
An analysis by the of the Assam health department's reports said that the daily positivity rate 0.77 of per cent rose to 2.37 per cent in the past one week. According to the reports, 192 new cases were reported on Friday, 475 on Tuesday and 844 on Thursday.
The total Covid-19 active cases were 871 on Friday and on Thursday it climbed to 2,689.
Out of Assam's 34 districts, rise of Covid cases are maximum in four districts with Kamrup (Metro) district (where the main city of Guwahati and capital Dispur falls) reporting 369 active cases on Thursday followed by 57 in Jorhat, 52 in Kamrup (Rural) and 50 in Darrang district.
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