11 Covid positive samples sent to NIV-Pune, 2 show US variant

MUMBAI: As many as 11 Covid-positive samples, including four from Mumbai, were sent for genome sequencing to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, according to the state government's daily Covid update.
Of these, results of two patients - a 16-year old boy from Goa and a 25-year-old woman from Navi Mumbai - were made available late in the evening, showing presence of Omicron's BQ 1.1 variant that is widely found in the US.
The other patients are from Pune (3), Tamil Nadu (1) and Uttar Pradesh (1).
These fliers are among the 5,071 people who were randomly selected to undergo RT-PCR test at the Mumbai airport since December 24, 2022. Another 62 Covid-positive samples from Mumbai's hospitals and laboratories were sent to NIV last week.
On Friday, Maharashtra registered 32 cases, including nine from Mumbai. A Covid death (in Wardha) was registered after a gap of seven days in the state.