COVID-19: Chhattisgarh reports 1,615 new infections, 1st Omicron case

Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 count jumped to 10,12,128 on Wednesday with an addition of 1,615 fresh infections, while the state reported its first Omicron case, authorities said.

The death toll rose to 13,605 after one more patient succumbed to the infection in the state, an official said.

This was the second consecutive day when the state has witnessed more than 1,000 cases in a span of 24 hours. On Tuesday, the state had reported 1,059 cases and three deaths.

The number of recoveries reached 9,93,961 after 11 people were discharged from hospitals, while 18 others completed their home isolation during the day, the official said.

The number of active cases in the state now stands at 4,562, he said.

Raipur district reported 491 new infections, taking the caseload to 1,59,637, including 3,143 deaths. The district has 1,335 active cases, the official said.

Bilaspur recorded 250 cases followed by Durg 187, Raigarh 157, Korba 99 and Janjgir-Champa 63, among other districts, he said.

Government authorities have imposed a night curfew in state capital Raipur and some other districts to stem the infection spread.

With 37,393 samples examined during the day, the number of COVID-19 tests in the state went up to 1,50,77,039, the official said.

Meanwhile, the first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus was reported in the state on Wednesday.

A 52-year-old man, who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had tested positive for coronavirus following which his swab sample was sent to the Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) for genome sequencing, an official statement said.

The health department on Wednesday received lab report that confirmed the presence of the Omicron variant in the sample, it added.

Chhattisgarh's coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 10,12,128, new cases 1,615, death toll 13,605, recovered 9,93,961, active cases 4,562, total tests 1,50,77,039.