For the second consecutive day, the State recorded over 300 new cases of COVID-19 even as 12 more Omicron cases came to light on Saturday, taking the tally of the new variant to 79.
All 12 of them are international passengers. Of the 79 Omicron patients detected so far, 27 had recovered and been discharged by Saturday night.
On Saturday, the first day of the new year, 317 persons tested positive for the infectious disease in the State and two patients died. The previous day, 311 cases of COVID had been recorded in Telangana — the last time more than 300 infections were logged was in September 2021.
However, what is alarming is the number of tests conducted in the past two days. On Friday, a total of 36,759 samples had been examined while on Saturday, the number of tests dipped sharply to 28,886. Despite that, the daily caseload was higher.
Of the new 317 infections, the highest of 217 or 68% were from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation region.
Of the total cases, 3,733 were active as of Saturday evening. The death toll stands at 4,029.
