NOIDA: Gautam Buddh Nagar on Wednesday recorded 21 new COVID-19 infections that pushed the number of active cases in the district to 99, the highest in Uttar Pradesh, official data showed.
Ghaziabad, adjoining Gautam Buddh Nagar, also recorded 13 new cases that pushed its tally of active infections to 75, the third highest in the state, the data showed.
Uttar Pradesh currently has 473 active cases of COVID-19, according to the data shared by the state's health department for a 24-hour period.
State capital Lucknow had 90 active cases, the second highest in the state after Gautam Buddh Nagar, the statistics showed.
So far, Gautam Buddh Nagar has recorded 468 deaths due to the pandemic, while Ghaziabad has logged 461 such fatalities, according to the official data.
COVID-19 cases had reduced to single digit figures both in Gautam Buddh Nagar as well as Ghaziabad but surged again this month amid fears of a third wave of the pandemic, as night curfews were also brought back in UP from December 25.
Meanwhile, Omicron infection has been confirmed in a youth who recently returned here from abroad, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old, resident of Uska police station area here, lives in Britain.
When he landed at the Delhi airport on Sunday evening, he had rapid antigen and RT-PCR tests done and was sent home after the antigen test did not confirm the infection but later his RT-PCR report came positive, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr A.K Singh said on Wednesday.
The CMO said that he was informed through an e-mail from the Health Department of Delhi that the youth's report after genome sequencing has confirmed Omicron infection.
The health department team has informed the youth and put him in isolation at his home, the CMO added.