Mumbai, Dec 26 (IANS): Maharashtra on Sunday reported 31 new cases of the Covid-19 variant Omicron, taking the state's tally to 141, with Mumbai accounting for the highest number, health officials said.

Of the 31 fresh cases, the maximum, 27 are from Mumbai alone, two are from Thane, and one each from Pune and Akola districts, with 30 having a history of recent international travel and one a close contact.

Among the infectees are 17 males and 14 females, six minors, three senior citizens and 22 of those eligible have taken their full vaccination.

While two patients are showing Omicron symptoms, the rest 29 are asymptomatic, and of the total 141 cases, 61 afflicted have been cured and discharged after they tested negative, said the state Health Department.

Intensive surveillance of passengers arriving at the three international airports - Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur - is currently underway since December 1.

A total of 25,744 travellers have landed here from the "high risk" countries of which 153 have tested positive and 55 from other countries, with all their reports sent for genomic sequencing to confirm if they are afflicted by Omicron.

Besides, 737 samples from field surveys conducted since November 1 have been sent for genomic sequencing with the results of 126 awaited, the officials said.

The current spread of Omicron is extensive in the state, with the maximum 73 cases in Mumbai, followed by 42 in Pune, seven in Thane, five each in Satara and Osmanabad, two each in Nagpur and Aurangabad, and one each in Akola, Palghar, Latur, Ahmednagar, and Buldhana.

On the Covid-19 front, the state has been recording a steady spike in cases and even fatalities in the past few days. The state notched 1,648 new infections on Sunday with 17 deaths and a mortality rate of 2.12 per cent.

Mumbai, Pune and Thane remain at the top with the highest number of active cases of the total 9,813 ill patients currently in the state, with a recovery rate of 97.67 per cent.