Omicron Scare: India records its first death

India recorded its first Omicron death. Maharashtra confirmed the presence of Omicron in a 52-year-old man who recently died of a heart attack in Pimpri Chinchwad, but stopped short of

India recorded its first Omicron death. Maharashtra confirmed the presence of Omicron in a 52-year-old man who recently died of a heart attack in Pimpri Chinchwad, but stopped short of calling him the first casualty of the variant and attributed the death to his underlying health conditions.

The man from Pimpri Chinchwad died on December 28 at the local Yashwantrao Chavan Hospital. The state health authorities refrained from labelling it as the first Omicron death, despite the man’s having a travel history to Nigeria and a COVID positive diagnosis. They said the patient had diabetes for the past 13 years.

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Health experts in Mumbai said that since the man had a COVID positive diagnosis, his death is most likely going to be classified as a COVID fatality.

In a concerning development, the country’s daily COVID count nearly doubled in a day, signifying a sharp rise in cases. Not only this, the Omicron cases in India have crossed the 1000 mark. The country has registered a total of 1,159 infections, with 258 fresh omicron cases.

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After Maharashtra, Delhi reported the second highest number of cases, with 25 fresh cases. Telangana, Odisha, and Bengal reported five cases each, while Bihar and Punjab recorded one infection each. Omicron has now spread to 24 states and UTs.

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