India reports first ‘Omicron’ death in Maharashtra
Maharashtra, which reported 198 fresh Omicron cases on Thursday, has reportedly registered the first death of a patient infected with the new coronavirus variant in Pune district. The victim, a Maharashtian travelled from Nigeria, was tested positive a few days ago and allegedly died on 28th December due to heart attack during Covid-related hospitalisation. The state posted 5,368 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, which was 37 percent higher as compared to the number of cases registered on Wednesday. Mumbai, the capital city too saw a steep rise in cases at 3,671, a 46 percent jump compared to previous day’s data. On Thursday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met the state’s Covid task force and discussed the threat posed by the new variant, which is driving the surge in new cases. The state has imposed new restrictions such as limiting gatherings at parties and wedding functions to a maximum of 50. Maharashtra has so far reported 450 Omicron cases.