Bhubaneswar, Dec 8 (PTI) Four people who returned to Odisha from countries, which have reported Omicron variant cases, have tested positive for coronavirus and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, a health official said on Wednesday.

Also Read | IAF Mi-17 V5 Helicopter Carrying CDS General Bipin Rawat Crashes In Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris; Know All About The Russian-Made Chopper.

As many as 982 people have arrived in the state from eight ‘at-risk' countries thus far, Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra said.

Also Read | Mumbai: Teen Falls To Death While Taking Selfie From Second Floor Of Partially Demolished Building.

The new coronavirus strain, first identified in South Africa, contains a large number of spike-protein mutations, affecting areas associated with transmissibility and the ability to evade the immune system.

The four persons who contracted coronavirus have been isolated and their samples were sent for genome sequencing to detect if they are infected with the Omicron variant, the official told journalists.

“All of them are well and in isolation. There is no need to worry,” he added.

On Wednesday, the state registered 255 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 10,50,760, the Health Department said.

The toll rose to 8,426 as one person each from Khurda and Cuttack districts succumbed to the infection.

Fifty-three other COVID-19 patients have died due to comorbidities so far, according to official data.

Fifty-four children were among the new patients and Khurda district reported the highest number of 106 more infections. Twelve districts did not report any new case, the bulletin stated.

There are 2,142 active cases, while 10,40,139 people, including 218 in the past 24 hours, have recuperated from the disease so far, it said.

At least 58,906 samples were tested during the period and the positivity rate was 0.43 per cent, the bulletin said.

On Tuesday, the state had recorded 151 new COVID-19 cases and one fatality.

Nearly 2.82 crore beneficiaries in Odisha have received the first jab of the vaccine, and more than 1.64 crore people have been fully inoculated. PTI HMB

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)