VIJAYAWADA: The total number Omicron cases in the state touched 17 with one more person testing positive for the new variant.
The new patient, a 52-year-old woman, is healthy and in quarantine under the observation of the health department, the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare said in a statement.
The woman tested positive after reaching Prakasam from UAE via Bengaluru on December 21. A genome sequencing done at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad found her to be Omicron positive. Authorities traced 14 of her contacts, and they all tested negative for Covid-19.
Of the total 17 who had contracted the Omicron variant, three have tested negative, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the number of new Covid-19 infections reported in the state continued to be above the 100-mark. The state reported 130 new cases from 33,188 samples, taking the tally to 20,76,979.
According to the media bulletin issued by the State Command Control Room on Thursday, four districts reported new cases in double digits. Visakhapatnam district reported the highest of 30 new cases followed by 18 each in Chittoor and Krishna.
As many as 97 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 20,61,405. The state’s active caseload, which was on the decline for the past few days, witnessed a marginal jump and reached to 1,081. Only one fatality was reported in the state, from Nellore district.