According to central and state officials, omicron cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories -- Maharashtra (54), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (20), Gujarat (9), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).
India's tally of total Omicron cases has reached 151 on Sunday after Maharashtra reported six new cases of the new variant. Earlier, a 45-year-old NRI and a teenage boy, who recently arrived in Gujarat from the United Kingdom, tested positive for the variant.
Here are the top 10 points to note on today's developments:
According to central and state officials, omicron cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories -- Maharashtra (54), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (20), Gujarat (9), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).
Maharashtra reported 902 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, 9 deaths and 767 recoveries today. 6 more Omicron cases were reported today, taking the tally to 54 in the State.
Delhi reported107 new COVID-19 cases, its highest daily rise since June 27, and one death. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday assured the people that his government is ready to tackle the Omicron variant of COVID and advised people not to panic.
Kerala, on the other hand, reported 2,995 new infections on Sunday.
On Saturday, Telangana's Omicron tally jumped from eight to 20, while Karnataka and Kerala reported six and four cases respectively.
The Centre has warned it is likely that the spread of the new variant will outpace the Delta variant where there is community transmission. It has advised people to avoid non-essential travel and mass gatherings and keep New Year celebrations at low intensity.
Amid rising cases of Omicron in the national capital, three private hospitals have been directed by the Delhi government to set up isolation units for patients coming from ‘at risk’ countries.
Meanwhile, India reported 7,081 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, along with 264 deaths due to the infection, the Union Health Ministry informed.
The World Health Organization on Saturday stressed on urgent scale-up of public health and social measures to curtail the further spread of the Omicron variant.
The Omicron variant has now been identified in 89 countries and is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant in places where community transmission is high, with a doubling time between 1.5–3 days, the WHO has said.
