The fast-spreading Omicron variant has spread to 23 states in India and now 1,270 people have been infected with the new COVID-19 strain. The new variant has been labeled as "highly transmissible" by experts.
Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus in India:
Maharashtra - which has reported the most number of coronavirus cases - has 450 cases of the new variant. 125 people have recovered in the state so far, according to the Health Ministry.
The western state is followed by Delhi, which has 320 cases (of which 57 have recovered). While Gujarat has 97 cases and 42 people have recovered so far, neighbouring Rajasthan has 69 cases of the new strain and 47 recoveries.
In the south, Kerala has reported 109 cases of Omicron and one patient has recovered so far. Telangana has 62 cases (18 recoveries) and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh 16 cases (and one recovered patient). Tamil Nadu has reported 46 cases (29 recoveries) and Karnataka has 34 cases and 18 recoveries, according to the data.
Altogether, 374 people have recovered in the country from the new strain since it was first reported around late November.
India also reported a 27 per cent jump in fresh COVID-19 cases as it reported 16,764 fresh infections today, taking the overall count to 3,48,38,804 cases. Active cases account for 0.26% of the total cases. About 5,368 new coronavirus infections were reported from Maharashtra, which reported 37 per cent higher cases than the day before.
India's financial capital, Mumbai, also reported a five-fold increase over the last week in the daily surge in Covid cases - the city logged 683 infections last Friday. Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, and Bengaluru are among the other big cities that have witnessed an uptick in infections over the last week.
The number of fresh Covid case in Delhi has crossed the 1000-mark after 7 months, reaching 1,313 -- a 42 per cent rise over the previous day's figures. The positivity rate touched 1.73 per cent, showed data from the health department. No fresh deaths were reported.
The Union health ministry has advised the states concerned to take immediate measures -- ramp up tests, trace contacts, ensure proper isolation or quarantine of people testing positive and speed up vaccination. It has also advised setting up containment zones and buffer zones and keeping hospitals and Covid centres ready for any emergency.
Data has shown that the average daily rise of Covid this time is almost 21 per cent faster than during the second wave in March-April. A seven-day moving average showed that the cases have shot up from 56 to 199. Today's figures are likely to push the rate further north.
Since it was first detected in South Africa last month, the Omicron variant has spread across the globe in lightning speed and is now present in 106 countries. Early data indicates that it could be better at dodging some vaccine protections, spurring the rush to provide boosters.
