2021 was turning out to be a good year until South Africa reported a new Covid variant, Omicron, which is reported to have a high transmissibility rate, according to WHO. And since then, the world has witnessed a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in multiple countries. With the Covid tally almost double in India with nearly thousands of fresh coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, the Center has gone on record to confirm India’s first death linked to the Omicron variant.

While WHO has suggested the new variant to be mild as compared to the previous ones, the high transmissibility rate of Omicron has led to a surge in Covid-19 cases across the globe. And with India registering nearly two thousand Omicron variant cases, with Maharashtra reporting the highest 653, followed by Delhi (464), a 74-year-old Rajasthan, who passed away last week, has been reported as India’s first Omicron-related death case.

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“Technically, it is an Omicron-related death. He was an elderly person, who had diabetes and comorbid conditions. And when he was detected as Omicron-positive, his treatment, including those for existing comorbidities, was going on as per protocol,” Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Lav Agarwal said in a recent press conference. Furthermore, he even added that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have reported more than 10,000 active cases and these states are emerging as a cause of concern.

Meanwhile, Dr R L Suman, the superintendent at Maharana Bhupal hospital, where the first case of Omicron death has been reported, stated that the fully vaccinated man had tested positive for Covid-19 on December 15, eventually succumbed on December 31 after testing negative on December 21. While the Chief Medical and Health Officer, Udaipur, Dinesh Kharadi attributed the death to post-Covid complications, Suman added that the hospital has witnessed four more Omicron patients, who are currently in home isolation and doing fine.

While the world is trying to curb the spread of Omicron, France scientists have detected a new variant, IHU, which is believed to contain 46 mutations. As scientists continue to research more on the new variant, a few cases have already been reported in Marseille.

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