 "Maharashtra logs 789 new infections, 7 deaths; no new Omicron case reported")
Maharashtra recorded 789 new COVID-19 cases and seven fatalities, but no new patient of the recently discovered Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was found in the state in the last 24 hours, the health department said on Thursday.
With the fresh COVID-19 cases, the state's overall infection tally reached 66,41,677, while the toll rose to 1,41,211, it said. On Wednesday, Maharashtra had reported 893 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths. A bulletin issued by the health department said 585 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered cases to 64,90,305. There are now 6,482 active COVID-19 cases in the state. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state stands at 97.72 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.12 per cent. The bulletin said 6,65,17,323 tests have been conducted so far in the state - 1,28,421 of them in the last 24 hours. It said 74,353 people are in home quarantine and another 887 in institutional quarantine. On the new strain of the virus, the bulletin said, "There is no new case of Omicron variant in the state today. As of today, there are 10 cases of Omicron variant in the state. The first Omicron patient found in Maharashtra, a 33-year-old marine engineer from Kalyan-Dombivli twin city in Thane district who had arrived from South Africa via Dubai in the last week of November, was discharged from a hospital on Wednesday. Ten districts and five civic bodies across the state did not report any new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours. The Mumbai division, which comprises the city and its satellite townships, reported 291 cases and one death. The Pune division reported 235 new cases, Nashik 95, Kolhapur 18, Akola nine, Nagpur 17, Latur 25 and the Aurangabad division 13. Nagpur, Akola, Latur and Kolhapur did not report any fatality during the day, the bulletin said. Maharashtra's coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 66,41,677, fresh cases 789, death toll 1,41,211, recoveries 64,90,305, active cases 6,482, total tests 6,65,17,323.