Covid-19 fourth wave scare! 23 Omicron BA.4, BA.5 variant cases found in Maharashtra

Mumbai: Amid the rising threat of the fourth wave of Covid-19, Maharashtra on Saturday reported 23 Covid cases infected with the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. After this the tally of such patients has risen to 49, PTI reported quoting a state health department official said. As per the report of the Mumbai-based Kasturba Hospital Central Laboratory, which has been evaluated by the National Institute of Virology in Pune, the 23 cases comprise 17 infections caused by BA.5 and six by BA.4. Out of all the patients, one is minor, two are in the 18-25 age frame, nine are in between 26 and 50 years and 11 patients are 50-plus.

Of the 23 patients, 12 are women and the rest are men, the report added.

The report informed that of the 49 samples, 28 are in Mumbai, 15 in Pune, four in Nagpur and two in Thane.

The Kasturba laboratory has tested 364 samples, which were collected between June 1 and 18 and barring one, all have been of the Omicron variant, while BA.2 and BA.238 have been found in 325 samples, a state health department bulletin said.

This comes after three patients of BA.4 and one of BA.5 Omicron sub-variants of coronavirus was found in Mumbai earlier this month. BA.4 and BA.5 are sub-variants of the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the coronavirus which was responsible for the third wave of the Covid-19 in India.

The predominant variant in this surge is a sub-lineage of Omicron which is B.A.5 and B.A.4. Although these strains are more transmissible, the majority of the cases are mild and get managed with home isolation.

Mumbai Covid cases today

Mumbai on Saturday reported 840 COVID-19 cases, a fall attributed to the glitches in the ICMR portal, and three fatalities, taking the tally to 11,04,600 and the death toll to 19,594, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.

A day earlier, the metropolis had recorded 1,898 infections and two pandemic-related fatalities.