COVID: Omicron becomes dominant variant in Telangana

Hyderabad: Omicron, which was first detected in Telangana on December 20, has become the dominant variant in the state. It has almost replaced the Delta variant.

As per GISAID (a global science initiative and primary source that provides open-access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the coronavirus) data, out of samples sequenced from January 1 to 5, around 87 percent are found to be of the omicron variant, The New Indian Express reported.

Out of 103 samples sequenced at Gandhi Medical College, 90 are found to be Omicron whereas the rest was delta. Omicron has become the dominant variant in the state within 11 days.

It is also reported that due to the introduction of genome sequencing at Gandhi Medical College, the time taken for the result has been reduced to six days from earlier 14 days.

COVID-19 cases in Telangana

On Tuesday, the active cases in Telangana surged to 16,496 after the state reported 1,920 new COVID-19 cases. The death toll rose to 4,045 with two more fatalities.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of fresh cases with 1,015, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (209) district, the bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM yesterday.

On Tuesday, 417 people recovered from the infection. The cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6,77,234.

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