The first Omicron patient in Maharashtra, a South Africa returnee, tested negative for Covid-19 in his latest RT-PCR report, following which he was discharged on Wednesday, which coincided with his 34th birthday. After three days of being diagnosed with Omicron, the Dombivli resident—the first confirmed case of Omicron in the state and the fourth in India— tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday, said state surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate.
It is an uphill task to trace “sporadic” close contacts of passengers coming from countries “at risk” for Covid-19 variant Omicron, surveillance officers said. A close contact is defined as a person who has been within 2 m or 6 ft from a person infected with the virus. Even being coughed upon by a person with the infection can qualify one as a close contact.
In other news, lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj, arrested over three years and three months ago in the Elgaar Parishad case, is likely to be released from Byculla women’s jail on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a week after unseasonal rain in the city, an increase in the pollution level was recorded in Mumbai on Wednesday. An Air Quality Index (AQI) of 208 was recorded in the morning, which falls in the “poor” category. However, by evening, the AQI had slightly improved and was less than 200.