Covid-19: Himachal Pradesh reports 10 more cases of Omicron variant

Ten more cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been reported in Himachal Pradesh, taking the total count to 25, a health official said on Friday.

Initially, Omicron cases were reported only from international arrivals, but now they are being recorded in the community, he said.

The senior official said that 127 whole genome sequencing (WGS) reports were received from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, on Friday.

Of these WGS samples, mutations were found in 10 samples and all these samples have been found positive for Omicron, he added.

Nine Omicron cases are from Kangra district and one from Mandi district, he added.

Of the 10 cases, two are of international passengers -- one Kangra and the other from Mandi, the official said.

The remaining eight cases were local to Kangra district, he said.

These samples were taken from patients found positive between December 15 and December 31, the official said.

Of the 15 cases reported previously, six had international travel history while nine were reported from the local community of various districts.

The official appealed to the public not to panic and follow all Covid protocols of wearing masks, maintaining social distance, frequently washing hands and using sanitisers irrespective of the vaccination status.