The number of Omicron cases in India has reached 781 on Wednesday with the national capital Delhi topping the chart with 238 cases, including 57 recoveries. Maharashtra is second with 167 Pmicron cases including 72 recoveries. Gujarat, Kerala, Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, West Bengal have two-digit figures of Omicron cases, according to health ministry data. The rapid spread of the latest variant of SARS-CoV-2 also impacted India’s total tally of cases as it recorded around a 44% increase from Tuesday with 9,195 cases. The number of fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours surpassed the number of people discharged/ recovered, which stood at 7,347.
The overall Covid tally of India has been around 7,000 to 8,000 for weeks. Even after the first Omicron cases were reported in India in the first week of December, the overall Covid tally did not show any considerable change. With Delhi and Mumbai clocking in an astronomical rise in daily tally, the situation worsened in the last 24 hours.
Delhi accounts for the highest number of Omicron cases (283), followed by Maharashtra (167), Gujarat (73), Kerala (65), Telangana (62), Rajasthan (46), Karnataka (34), Tamil Nadu (34), Haryana (12), West Bengal (11), Madhya Pradesh (9), Odisha (8), Andhra Pradesh (6), Uttarakhand (4), Chandigarh (3), Jammu and Kashmir (3), Uttar Pradesh (2), Goa (1), Himachal Pradesh (1), Ladakh (1) and Manipur (1)
A yellow alert has been issued in Delhi limiting passengers in public transport. Schools, colleges, gyms, cinema halls have been closed in an emergency measure while restaurants and bars have been allowed to operate only at 50 percent capacity. Delhi on Tuesday recorded a massive spike in the daily Covid-19 tally with 496 fresh cases, the highest since June 4, while the positivity rate also rose to 0.89 percent.
States which have single-digit Omicron cases include Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Manipur.
The Union health ministry has already alerted all states and UTs to be on alert amid the festive season and most of the metro cities have already banned public gatherings and celebratory events on the occasion of New Year.
The World Health Organization in its weekly epidemiological update said the risk from Omicron remains very high as the variant is spreading very fast. In the US and the UK, the variant has already become dominant, while Omicron cases in South Africa have come down, WHO noted. (HindustanTimes)
