Omicron grows 70x faster in lungs, less severe:

SNS/IANS, HONGKONG/NEW DELHI /KOLKATA/THIRUVANANTHAPU RAM/ CHENNAI/ HYDERABAD. 16 DECEMBER 2021 : The hyper mutated Omicron infects and multiplies 70 times faster than the Delta variant and the original SARS-CoV2 in human lungs, according to a study.

This may explain why Omicron is transmitting much faster than previous variants, said researchers from the LKS Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed).

After successfully isolating the Omicron variant in the lab, the team used lung tissue removed for treatment of the lung, which is normally discarded for investigating virus diseases of the respiratory tract, to compare infection with the original SARS-CoV-2 from 2020, the Delta variant and the recent Omicron variant.

They found that Omicron replicates faster than the original virus and Delta variant in the human bronchus. At 24-hours after infection, the Omicron variant replicated around 70 times higher.

In contrast, the Omicron variant replicated less efficiently (more than 10 times lower) in the human lung tissue than the original virus, which may suggest lower severity of disease. The research is currently under peer review for publication.

Five more Omicron cases in Kerala: With five Omicron positive cases being detected in Kerala, state health minister Veena George said on Thursday that screening, especially at the airports, seaports will be strengthened.

First Omicron case in TN: Tamil Nadu has reported its first Omicron case with a 47- year-old male passenger, who had arrived from Nigeria via Doha, testing positive for the variant. The results of genome sequencing of samples from his family members and a co-passenger are awaited, state health minister Ma. Subramanian said.

India logs 7,974 new cases:

India registered 7,974 new cases and 343 deaths, the Union health ministry said on Thursday. The cumulative toll now stands at 4,76,478.

The recovery of 7,948 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,41,54,879. Active caseload presently stands at 87,245.

With the administration of 60,12,425 doses in the last 24 hours, inoculation coverage has reached 135.25 crore as of Thursday morning.

2 Omicron cases in Hyderabad's Paramount Colony:

The health authorities on Thursday sounded an alert in a residential area in Hyderabad where two cases of Omicron were detected among foreigners. A 23-year- old female from Kenya and 24-year-old male from Somalia had tested positive on arrival at the Hyderabad International Airport on 12 December.

Bengal: West Bengal today registered 660 fresh Covid cases and 12 deaths.

Kolkata recorded 216 cases and 12 death. North 24 Parganas recorded 124 cases and 3 deaths in the last 24 hours.

FACT FILE  3,47,18,602

ACTIVE CASES  87,245

NEW CASES  7,974

NEW RECOVERIES  7,948

TOTAL DEATHS  4,76,478

UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 AM. THURSDAY 16 DECEMBER 2021