Mumbai, Jan 3 (IANS): Maharashtra on Monday notched a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases and of its variant Omicron with Mumbai continuing to bear the maximum caseload, health officials said.

For the sixth consecutive day, the state reported a massive spike in Covid-19 infections and suspect cases whose samples have been sent for genome sequencing.

The state Covid-19 count shot up again from 11,877 on Sunday to 12,160 now, and fatalities also increased from nine a day earlier to 11, while the mortality rate remained steady at 2.01 per cent.

After recording 50 Omicron infections on Sunday, the state logged 68 more cases of the variant, taking up the state tally from 510 to 578, with Mumbai again getting the highest fresh cases.

Of the Omicron cases, 40 are from Mumbai, 17 from Pune, four each in Raigad and Nagpur, and one each from Thane, Kolhapur, and Satara.

Intensive surveillance of passengers arriving at the three international airports - Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur - is currently underway since December 1.

A total of 32,705 travellers have landed here from the "high risk" countries of which 302 have tested positive and 188 from other countries, with all their reports sent for genomic sequencing to confirm if they are afflicted by Omicron.

Besides, another 2,375 samples from field surveys conducted since November 1 have been sent for genomic sequencing with the results of 166 awaited, the officials said.

Omicron has spread extensively spanning several districts in the state, with a whopping 578 cases recorded so far.

Mumbai accounts for the maximum 368 cases, followed by 125 in Pune, 33 in Thane, 12 in Raigad, 10 in Nagpur, seven in Satara, five in Osmanabad, four in Palghar, three in Nanded, two each in Buldhana, Aurangabad, Sangli, and Kolhapur, and one each in Akola, Latur, and Ahmednagar.

Of the new 12,160 new Covid-19 cases, Mumbai Metropolitan Region alone accounted for 10,682 infections, (including 7,928 from the country's commercial capital), followed by Pune circle's 815 infectees, Nashik circle's 277, Nagpur circle's 157, Kolhapur circle's 94, Aurangabad circle's 76, Latur circle's 35, and Akola circle's 24.

The number of people sent to home quarantine has catapulted from 243,250 on Sunday to 332,610 and another 1,096 have been shunted to institutional quarantine.

Mumbai, Pune and Thane remain at the top with the highest number of active cases currently in the state, with the afflictions shooting up sharply from 42,024 on Sunday to 52,422, with a recovery rate of 97.05 per cent.

The state's cumulative figures of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic stands at 67,12,028 cases and 1,41,553 deaths, while 65,14,358 patients who have fully recovered.