Active cases account for for 0.30% of the total caseload.
The number of cases of fast-spreading Omicron variant has risen to 1,431 in India, with Maharashtra reporting the most number of infections. The country also witnessed a 35 per cent jump in new Covid cases as it reported 22,775 infections today.
Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus in India:
The Omicron variant has now spread to 23 states in India. Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with 454 cases, followed by Delhi with 351 infections.
Tamil Nadu is the third worst-affected state with 118 cases. The southern state is followed closely by Gujarat, which has 115 cases. With 109 cases, Kerala is the fifth worst affected state which has reported over 100 infections.
The biggest challenge India will face amid the Omicron crisis will be the sudden need for medical care, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan has said. "The surge is going to be very fast and many people are going to be sick," she warned during an interview to NDTV.
The new variant, which has brought back worldwide curbs, is said to be "highly infectious" - a majority of cases, however, have been reported to be mild.
India's Covid tally shot up to 3,48,61,579 as the country reported 22,775 cases today, a 35 per cent jump from yesterday's 16,764 infections. 406 Covid-related deaths were also reported during the period, the Health Ministry data showed.
Active cases account for 0.30% of the total caseload, as per the Health Ministry. The daily positivity rate is currently at 2.05 per cent.
With a spike in cases, states like Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu imposed curbs at public places. While beaches, open grounds, sea faces, promenades, parks and other public places will be off-limits to people in Mumbai between 5 pm and 5 am till January 15, Tamil Nadu has extended current lockdown restrictions till January 10.
Anyone with fever, headache, sore throat, breathlessness, body ache, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, and diarrhea should be considered as a suspect case of Covid, and must be tested, the centre told states on Friday amid a scare over a third wave and an uptick in cases, believed to be driven by the Omicron variant.
In view of the new Omicron strain, India has announced "precaution doses" for health and frontline workers and those above 60 from January 10. Vaccinations for children between 15 and 18 years will begin from January 3.
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 over 100 countries. Early data indicates that it could be better at dodging some vaccine protections, spurring the rush to provide boosters.
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