New Delhi, Apr 21 (IANS): A new Omicron sub variant may be the reason behind the sudden surge of Covid cases in Delhi, which witnessed over 60 per cent rise in fresh Covid cases on Wednesday at 1,009 cases.

According to a source from Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), Omicron sub-lineage BA.2.12 was detected in several samples sequenced from the national capital. The source said that some other sub-variants have also been found that could be the reason behind the surge in the city. He added further that the new Covid mutant also seems capable of causing respiratory problems and reinfection who have previously been infected by Covid.

India has seen rise in Covid cases over last few weeks with some parts seeing more cases. On Thursday, the country reported 2,380 fresh Covid infections in last 24 hours, against 2,067 cases recorded on Wednesday. In the same period, the nation has also recorded 56 Covid deaths, taking the total number of deaths to 522,062, said the Union Health Ministry on Thursday morning.

The Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 0.43 per cent, while the Daily Positivity rate has reported considerable rise at 0.53 per cent. However, Delhi's positivity rate stands at 5.70 per cent as per the health bulletin issued on Wednesday.