Maharashtra has seen 198 fresh Omicron cases amid fears over a third Covid wave as it logged 5,368 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, 37 per cent higher than the day before. The new variant has been labeled as "highly infectious" by experts.
Mumbai too saw a massive surge yet again with 3,671 infections - 46% higher compared to yesterday. At 190 cases, the city also registered most of the state's fresh Omicron patients.
On Thursday afternoon, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met the state's Covid task force. One of the key discussions at the high-level meeting was on the new variant that is believed to be driving up the infections in the state, which has the highest overall cases in the country (66,65,386).
So far, 450 patients affected by Omicron have been registered by the state. India has logged over 960 cases of the new variant.
India's financial capital has seen a five-fold increase over the last week in the daily surge in Covid cases - the city logged 683 infections last Friday.
Fearing a fresh coronavirus wave, the city's civic body - the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation - has reactivated its ward-level war rooms to tackle the increasing number of cases.
These war rooms are set up in all 24 wards to manage hospital admissions, oxygen and medicine requirements and vaccination as well. The war rooms - that follow the "test, trace and treat" strategy - also keep a track of patients isolated at their homes.
While cases have been rising, the Mumbai civic body has said, more than 90 per cent of the cases are asymptomatic. Despite a ban on large gatherings ahead of the New Year's celebrations, the streets are still witnessing huge crowds.
Meanwhile, the central government has said it is prepared to tackle the spike and there is "no need to panic".
Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, and Bengaluru are among the other big cities that have witnessed an uptick in infections over the last week.
New XEC Covid Variant Spreads To 27 Countries, Here's What We Know So Far Study Shows How Long Covid Is Debilitating Children's Health From FLiRT To FLuQE: What To Know About The Latest Covid Variants Election Results 2024 LIVE Updates: Maharashtra Battle To Decide Real NCP, Sena Election Results: Mahayuti Wins 42 Seats In Maharashtra, INDIA Takes Jharkhand Jharkhand Election Results 2024 LIVE: JMM-Led INDIA Bloc Wins 6 Seats "Jharkhand Election Fair But If We...": D Fadnavis On Opposition's EVM Moans Trudeau Calls Officials "Criminals" Over Fake Report On Indian Leadership "I'm Modern Abhimanyu, Know How To Break Chakravyuh": D Fadnavis On Big Win Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.