Nearly 95 percent of swab samples in Mumbai’s latest round of genome sequencing were found to be infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the city’s citizens’ group said.

The Omicron variant that sparked a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in late December 2021 is now fading in the Maharashtra capital.

In a press release issued on Monday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) called on citizens to continue to follow Covid-19-compatible behaviour despite a significant drop in daily cases.

Mumbai reported 192 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, the lowest daily number since Dec. 13, 2021, along with two new infections-related deaths and another 350, citizens’ groups said The patient was discharged after recovery. Of the 190 samples tested, 180 (94.74%) were found to be infected with Omicron, with the remainder carrying Delta variants and other strains of the coronavirus, BMC said, citing the city’s ninth round of genome sequencing.

Notably, of the 190 patients in Mumbai whose swab samples were sent for genome sequencing, 23 have died and 21 of them were infected with the Omicron variant, the release said.

In the last round of genome sequencing in late December, of 280 samples collected from BMC jurisdictions, 248 tested positive for Omicron, while the rest had other coronavirus variants.

In the latest ninth round of genome sequencing, citizens physically examined 282 samples, according to the release. Of these, 190 samples were from Mumbai and the rest were from other parts of Maharashtra.

Of the 190 patients, 74 (39%) were in the 61- to 80-year-old age group, followed by 41 patients (22%) in the 41- to 60-year-old age group, and 36 patients (19%) in the 21- to 80-year-old age group, BMC said. 40 years old, 22 patients (12%) in the 81 to 100 year age group, and 17 patients (9%) in the 0 to 18 year age group.

Of the 190 infected patients, 13 were younger than 18. According to the press release, 11 of them were infected with Omicron.

BMC said 106 of the 190 patients required hospitalization. Of these, five received only their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 50 received two doses, and 51 received no doses.

Of the 106 patients, only nine required oxygen support, while 11 were admitted to the ICU, the citizen group said.

Of the 23 patients who died, 21 were over the age of 60 and had comorbidities, the release said, adding that 15 of them had not received any dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, 22 patients died within seven days of developing symptoms, the BMC said.

Genome sequencing is a scientific process that helps understand the differences between two variants of the same virus. It makes it easier to determine the exact treatment regimen for infected patients.

Complete News Source :Hindustan Times