Maha reports 23 new cases of Omicron variant; total count reaches 88

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 23 fresh cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, which took the number of persons found infected with this strain in the state to 88, the health department said.

This is the highest number of such cases reported in a day till now.

"Twenty-three new cases of Omicron were reported in Maharashtra today. Of them, 22 cases reported by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and one case by the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune," the department said in its bulletin.

Of the 23 fresh cases, 13 are from Pune district - three from Pune Municipal Corporation areas, three from rural parts of the district and seven from Pimpri Chinchwad township -, five from Mumbai, two from Osmanabad and one each from Thane, Nagpur and Mira-Bhayander.