India records first Omicron death in Rajasthan's Udaipur

India on Wednesday recorded the first death linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus after the samples of a man in Rajasthan's Udaipur, who died on December 31, showed the presence of the variant.

Lav Agarwal, the Joint Secretary of Health Ministry confirmed the reports and said that the deceased was an elderly person with co-morbidities.

'Technically it is Omicron related death. He was an elderly person. The person is reported to have comorbidities, like diabetes among others,' Agarwal said.

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Udaipur's Chief Medical Officer Dr Dinesh Kharadi said that the 73-year-old man died due to post-Covid pneumonia coupled with comorbidities -- diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypothyroidism.

The man was found Covid positive on December 15 and had symptoms like fever, cough and rhinitis and therefore, was admitted to the hospital. The man had tested negative for COVID-19 twice on December 21 and 25.