Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India’s top medical body, has said that “the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain”.
New Delhi: India reported 1,17,100 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, a week after the country crossed the 10,000 mark, as the virus continued to spread at an unprecedented pace, largely driven by the Omicron variant now present in 27 states.
- With a single-day jump of 377 Omicron, India now has 3,007 cases of the new variant of coronavirus. Omicron has been reported in 27 states, with the most cases in Maharashtra with 876 cases, followed by Delhi with 465 infections.
- The Omicron variant is killing people across the globe and should not be dismissed as mild, the World Health Organization has said.
- WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the record numbers of people catching the new variant meant hospitals were being overwhelmed.
- Apart from Delhi and Mumbai, the Union Health Ministry has identified Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru as some of the main regions of concern, although state officials worry the disease will soon spread to the countryside where health facilities are weaker.
- The country’s R naught value that indicates the spread of the infection is 2.69, higher than the 1.69 recorded during the peak of the pandemic’s second wave. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India’s top medical body, has said that “the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain”
- This is the first time in seven months that daily cases crossed the one-lakh mark in the country. On June 6, 2021, India had reported 1,14,460 new cases. The 28 per cent jump in new cases today has pushed the country’s total caseload to 3.52 crore.
- As many as 302 people have died of Covid during the past 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry. This includes 221 deaths in Kerala in the last few months, added based on pending appeals after the last Supreme Court guidelines.
- With several cities imposing coronavirus curfews and health experts warning of exponential infection growth, several parties have brought their public campaigns to a halt.
