Omicron Spread: PM Modi to hold review

New Delhi, Dec. 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting on Thursday to review the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the country as cases of its new variant Omicron are rising.

India has so far reported more than 200 cases of Omicron variant, with the national capital leading the tally. As of Wednesday, the city has reported 57 cases. It is followed by Maharashtra (54), Telangana (24), Karnataka (19), Rajasthan (18), Kerala (15), and Gujarat (14). Jammu and Kashmir has reported three Omicron cases, while Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have two cases each.

Meanwhile, the overall covid-19 tally in the country stands at 34,758,481 including 478,325 deaths. The country’s active caseload currently stands at 78,190, the lowest in 575 days.

While the cases in some states are seeing an upward trend, the nationwide daily tally is hovering below 8,000-mark.

On Tuesday, the Union health ministry alerted states and union territories about the latest mutation of the Covid-19 — Omicron. Described as ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is three times more transmissible than the Delta variant, according to the scientific research done so far.

In the advisory, the Centre also asked states and union territories to step up scrutiny of Covid-19 infection trends and consider steps like night lockdowns. The Centre also suggested bans on large gatherings if more than 10% of all tests in a week turn positive or if the occupancy of hospital beds breaches 40% of capacity.

The ministry further added that greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making and strict and prompt containment action is required at the local and district level.

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