Three out of the 34 Omicron-positive patients admitted at the Lok Nayak Hospital here do not have any travel history, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday.
Jain also reiterated the demand to stop all international flights, saying it is the only way to contain the spread of the new Covid variant in India.
"The LNJP Hospital has reported 34 cases of Omicron so far. Seventeen of them have been discharged. Of the 34 patients, three do not have a travel history. We are trying to ascertain if they came in contact with an Omicron-infected person who returned from a foreign country," he told reporters here.
"We have also come across some international travellers who tested negative for Covid before taking a flight to Delhi but came out positive upon arrival at the airport," he said.
Jain said Omicron originated in a foreign country and stopping all international flights is the only way to contain the spread of the new variant of concern.
Meanwhile, the total number of cases of new Omicron variant of COVID-19 recorded in the national capital has mounted to 54, according to data shared by the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday.
Some details related to 45 of these cases in Delhi have been shared by authorities, but details on the remaining nine cases are awaited.
According to sources, LNJP Hospital has reported 34 cases of the latest variant of the coronavirus, out of whom 17 patients have been discharged.
The tally at the largest Delhi government-run facility, the nerve centre of its fight against the pandemic, on Monday had stood at 24.
Ten cases have been reported at Max Hospital-Saket till date, sources said. One case has been detected at Fortis Hospital here, another source said.
On Monday, 93 fresh coronavirus cases were logged with a positivity rate of 0.20 per cent. Sources on Monday evening had said that the Omicron case tally in the city stood at 28.
The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that 200 cases of Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been detected across 12 states and union territories in India so far, out of whom 77 patients have recovered or migrated.
Maharashtra and Delhi have recorded 54 cases each of the Omicron variant, it said.
Delhi's first case of the Omicron variant -- a 37-year-old man from Ranchi -- was detected on December 5. He has been discharged.
Amid a jump in cases of Omicron variant of the coronavirus reported in Delhi, doctors have warned that people should avoid all kinds of gatherings as this is a highly transmissible variant and follow Covid-appropriate behaviours, else the situation may worsen.
