Pune, Jan 10: The Scientists responsible for Genomic Sequencing of positive samples have said that a sibling of the original Omicron variant, BA.1 is dominantly co-circulating and rapidly replacing the Delta variant in Maharashtra and some other states.

The BA.1 with a few mutations of the original Omicron strain has proven to be highly transmissible and is the main force in the current surge across the country.

However, most patients infected with this strain have shown very mild illness and the rate of hospitalization is also comparatively less.

A senior scientist has said that the presence of the sub-lineage BA.1 has been more prevalent than the original Omicron strains in several clinical samples run for genome sequencing. However, these samples will also be considered Omicron positive, since the sub-lineage belongs to the same family.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday informed that India reported 1,79,723 new Covid cases and 146 deaths in the last 24 hours

The active cases in the country currently stand at 7.23 lakh while a total of 46,569 people have recovered from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, pushing the total recovery to 3.45 crore. India’s recovery rate currently stands at 96.62 percent.