Mumbai, December 14: Sounding alarm for Maharashtra, eight new cases of Covid-19 variant Omicron have been detected in the state, taking the state tally to 28, officials said on Tuesday. The cases include seven in Mumbai and one in Palghar. Of these, three are women and five men, but none of them have a history of international travel though one had gone to New Delhi and another to Bengaluru.

One patient hails from Rajasthan, and seven out of the new infectees have been fully vaccinated. Three of them are asymptomatic and five have mild symptoms. Two have been admitted to hospital for treatment and the rest are in home care under quarantine.

Presently, Maharashtra's Omicron cases are spread in several regions including Mumbai and Pune districts with 12 patients each, and Palghar, Thane, Latur, and Nagpur with one infectee each. Intensive surveillance of passengers arriving at the three international airports - Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur - is currently underway since December 1. Pfizer COVID-19 Antiviral Pill Paxlovid Shows 89% Efficacy, Effective Against Omicron Variant.

A total of 13,615 have reached here from the "high risk" countries of which 30 have tested positive and 8 from other countries, with all their reports sent for genomic sequencing to confirm if they are afflicted by Omicron, said the officials.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 14, 2021 08:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).