Omicron found in 95% of Covid-19 patients in Mumbai

As many as 21 patients with Omicron variant succumbed to the disease, with officials citing lack of vaccination

Nearly 95 per cent of swab samples examined in the latest round of genome sequencing in Mumbai were found to be the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the city civic body said.

The Omicron variant had triggered the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in late December 2021 and has currently ebbed in the Maharashtra capital following severe spikes. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in a release issued on Monday appealed to citizens to continue following Covid-19-appropriate behaviour despite a huge drop in daily cases.

Mumbai reported 192 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, the lowest daily count since December 13, 2021, and two fresh fatalities linked to the infection, while 350 more patients were discharged following recovery, the civic body said.

Citing results of the ninth round of genome sequencing in the city, the BMC said that of the total 190 samples tested, 180 (94.74 per cent) were found to be of Omicron. Significantly, of the 190 patients, 23 died with 21 of them being infected with the Omicron variant, the release said.

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In the previous round of genome sequencing in December-end, of the 280 samples collected from BMC's jurisdiction, 248 had tested positive for Omicron, while the remaining had other variants. According to the release, in the latest round of genome sequencing, the civic body had examined 282 samples, in which 190 samples were from Mumbai and the remaining from other parts of Maharashtra.

The BMC said that of the 190 patients, 74 patients (39 per cent) were in the 61 to 80 years age group, followed by 41 patients (22 per cent) in the age bracket of 41 to 60 years, 36 (19 per cent) aged 21 to 40 years, 22 patients (12 per cent) in the 81 to 100 year age group, and 17 patients (9 per cent) in the 0 to 18 age group. Of the 190 infected patients, 13 were younger than 18 years. Of them, 11 were infected with Omicron, as per the release.

The BMC said that 106 of the 190 patients needed hospitalisation. Of these, five had taken only the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 50 had taken both doses, and 51 had not taken even a single dose. Of the 106 patients, only nine required oxygen support, while 11 were admitted to the ICU, the civic body said.

Out of the 23 patients who died, 21 were over 60 years of age and suffering from co-morbidities, the release said, adding that 15 of them had not taken even a single dose of Covid-19 vaccine. Also, 22 patients died within seven days of developing symptoms, the BMC said.

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