As many as nine people were found to be positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, the state health department said.

On Sunday, India reported 17 new cases of Omicron variant - nine in Jaipur, seven in Maharashtra and one in Delhi, taking the country's tally to 21.

The nine Omicron cases detected in Jaipur are from the same family who returned from South Africa recently. A total of 34 samples (of the same family and the people they came in contact with) were sent for genome sequencing, of which nine were found positive for the Omicron variant, as per reports.

Meanwhile, a 48-year-old man who returned to Gujarat from Congo tested positive for COVID-19. Samples of the patient, who has been admitted to the sub-district hospital in Limbdi, have been sent for genome sequencing and the results are awaited, the reports added.

In India, the first two cases of Omicron variant were reported in Karnataka on December 2.  

The Omicron variant, first reported in South Africa, was announced as a 'Variant of Concern" by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on November 26.