New Delhi

Indian capital Delhi, on December 5, reported its first-ever case of the new Covid variant Omicron, taking the country's total tally of new strain cases to five.

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A Tanzanian returnee who had been admitted to a local hospital is positive for the new variant.

News agency PTI quoting an unnamed official said, "The patient's travel history is being collated and contacts being traced." 

The official further said that 12 samples had been sent to the National Centre for Disease Control. Out of those, one was found carrying the new Covid strain. 

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The first case was detected from India's western Gujarat state, where a 72-year-old man tested positive. A resident of Zimbabwe, he had returned to Jamnagar city on November 28.

Also read | Omicron: How well-prepared is India to tackle a possible spread of new Covid variant?

The second case was reported from the neighbouring Maharashtra state. The person infected by the strain returned from South Africa to Kalyan Dombivali municipal area near Mumbai, Maharashtra state's health department said. 

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After that two people, including, a 66-year-old South African national and an Indian doctor, tested positive for the new strain in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The foreigner somehow managed to escape from India. However, the doctor is under quarantine at his home.

The WHO has said that Omicron may spread more quickly than any other strain.

India expects the Omicron variant to cause less severe illness, due to rising vaccination rates.

(With inputs from agencies)