Imphal, Dec 27 (IANS): A 48-year-old man from Manipur has tested positive for Omicron, becoming the first case of the new Covid-19 variant in the northeast, a health official said on Monday.

Khoirom Sasbeekumar Mangang, Additional Director of the state's Health and Family Welfare Department, said the man from Imphal West had recently visited Tanzania.

After the man returned to the state, his sample was collected on December 21 which was sent for genome sequencing to the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) at Takyelpat near Imphal.

"According to the report of the IBSD, the sample had tested positive for the Omicron variant on Monday. Three from the man's family have also tested positive for Covid-19. Their samples were not yet confirmed for the Omicron variant," Mangang told IANS.

The patient is currently undergoing treatment in the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences at Porompat in Imphal, Mangang, who is also the spokesperson for the Manipur health department, said, adding that his condition was now stable.

In March 2020, a 23-year-old woman, who had returned to Manipur from the UK, became the first coronavirus case in the entire northeastern region.

She was also the first Covid-19 patient to recover in the northeast.

According to Manipur's health department, the cumulative number of Covid-19 positive cases in the state currently stands at 1,25,723, with a recovery rate of 98.26 per cent.

Of the total number of cases, 4,434 are Central security personnel

According to data from the Union Health Ministry, the Covid death ratio in Manipur is 1.59 per cent against the national average of 1.38 per cent.