Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on Sunday reported their first cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. With this, the new strain has now been recorded in 19 states and Union Territories of India, according to NDTV.

While Himachal Pradesh health officials confirmed one case of the new variant, Madhya Pradesh registered eight.

In Madhya Pradesh, all patients who have tested positive for the Omicron variant had returned from foreign countries. Three of them had arrived from the United States, two each from the United Kingdom and Tanzania, and one from Ghana.

Their samples were taken between December 17 and 21, reported PTI.

“Eight Omicron cases have been found in Indore,” said Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, according to Hindustan Times. “Out of these patients, six have recovered and have been discharged while two are undergoing treatment.”

In Himachal Pradesh, the Omicron-positive person had travelled to Canada, NDTV reported. The patient’s latest RT-PCR test report is negative, said the state health department.

On Sunday morning, the Centre said there were 422 Omicron cases in India. Maharashtra has the maximum cases followed by Delhi. The Centre has decided to send teams to 10 states with a high Covid caseload and cases of the Omicron variant to monitor the situation.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that India’s vaccination programme will be opened to children over the age of 15 from January 3. He also said that a “precautionary dose” would be administered from January 10 to healthcare workers and those over 60 years with co-morbidities.