Bhopal, Dec 27 (IANS): Indore in Madhya Pradesh has reported as many as eight cases of Omicron infections, the state health said on Monday.

Of the eight cases, three had returned from the United States, two each from the United Kingdom and Tanzania, and one from Ghana.

This is the first time that the Madhya Pradesh government has officially confirmed the presence of Omicron cases in the state. "Eight Omicron cases have been found in Indore. Out of these, six have recovered and have been discharged while two are undergoing treatment, Narottam Mishra, the state government's spokesman said.

He said around 3,000 people recently returned to Indore from abroad and 26 of them were found to be infected with the Coronavirus. "Omicron was confirmed in the genome sequencing of eight of these people," he said.

The samples of these people, who returned to the state's industrial hub Indore from different countries, were taken between December 17 and 21, according to officials.

Those infected includ two men aged 20 and 30 years, who came from New York (US) on December 14 and 19 respectively, a 23-year-old woman who arrived from London (UK) on December 14, two women aged 33 and 26 who returned from Tanzania (east Africa) on December 19, a 33-year-old woman who returned from Ghana (west Africa) on December 17, and two men aged 26 and 31 years, who arrived from Dubai on December 13 and 18 respectively, they said.

Night curfew has been imposed in the state between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. since December 23. Taking into consideration the Covid situation, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has stated that more restrictions are likely in coming days.