Bhubaneswar, Jan 8 (IANS): A total of 14 persons tested positive for Omicron in Odisha on Saturday, officials said.

Of these, 8 have travel history, while four are local cases. The travel history of 2 other persons is yet to be ascertained, officials said.

With the latest additions, the state's Omicron tally has gone up to 75, of which five have recovered.

The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar, which is conducting genome sequencing to detect Omicron cases, has informed the state Health and Family Welfare department about the new cases.

Odisha had reported the first two Omicron cases on December 21 and both had travel history from Nigeria and Qatar. Within a span of 19 days, the cases have gone up to 75.

Meanwhile, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has declared a hostel of the Xavier Institute of Management (XIMB) as a micro-containment zone following the detection of large number of Covid cases there. According to sources, 30 students of XIMB tested positive for Covid on Saturday.