Punjab reports 2nd Omicron case; Patiala's Thapar institute turns Covid hotspot 

Mohali: Punjab has reported its second case of Covid-19 variant Omicron from Fatehgarh Sahib even as Patiala's Thapar institute has turned hotspot. The man who has tested positive for the new variant has travel history to Dubai. He is under observation. Earlier, a Nawanshahr man, who had returned from Spain on December 4, tested positive for new Covid-19 variant Omicron. The 36-year-old man, who is a resident of Chak Ramu village, was placed under institutional quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 on December 12. He, along with two of his contacts who had tested positive, remained asymptomatic and tested negative on December 24. On Saturday, Punjab registered a total of 332 Covid positive cases and the total number of Covid active cases crossed the 1,000 figure on the first day of the New Year. Also read | Gurmat Sangeet legend Prof Kartar Singh dead During the second Covid wave in April and May this year, 3.5 lakh cases were reported in the state about two months. The cases and deaths had started declining July onwards. Patiala's Thapar institute turns hotspot  The Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in Patiala has become a cluster of Covid-19 with 93 cases over the past three-four days. The Patiala Health Department said all cases were reported from one of the hostels on the campus. Hostel ‘J’ has been declared a containment zone. In the second wave in March, the institute had turned into a hotspot with more than 70 cases. Also read | More curbs in Haryana; schools, cinema halls shut amid Covid threat -PTC News