Officials stated on Saturday that the first case of COVID-19 variant Omicron XE was discovered in Mumbai and confirmed by the NCDC in Delhi.

The infected is a 67-year-old man who travelled from Mumbai to Vadodara, Gujarat, on March 12 and developed a minor fever.

His samples were sent to be sequenced, and the results, which were released on Saturday, revealed that it was Omicron XE.

He was fully vaccinated with Covishield, is asymptomatic and stable, and the process of tracking down his contacts is now begun.

The news comes just three days after a blunder in which a South African female film costume designer was pronounced an Omicron XE infected, only to be denied by the Centre afterwards.

According to preliminary findings, the Omicron XE variation is a cross between the BA.1 and BA.2 strains of Omicron and is responsible for increased viral transmission.

The government has stated that there is no need to be concerned because frequent changes in the genomic structure are a natural part of the life cycle of viruses, but has recommended individuals to take all necessary safeguards.