Here are the top 10 updates on this big story:
Some 4.93 lakh people have died in the country due to the virus so far. The 613 fresh deaths reported today are the highest daily casualties reported during the third wave.
The active now comprises 4.91 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 93.89 per cent. 400 districts have logged over 10 per cent positivity rate in the week ending January 26.
India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 164.04 crore doses. Ninety five per cent of India's eligible adult population has been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine while 74 per cent are fully inoculated.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will virtually review the Covid situation, public health preparedness as well as response measures being taken in the context of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh today at 3 pm. Earlier on Friday, Mr Mandaviya, during a high-level meeting with Southern states and UT's Health Ministers, had stressed upon e-Sanjeevani, teleconsultation, Monitoring home isolation and increasing RTPCR in States which are reporting lower percentage testing.
Maharashtra saw the sharpest surge in daily Covid deaths since October 6 - 103 patients died in the last 24 hours in the state with the highest overall cases in the country (76,55,554). The state recorded a positivity rate of 10.32 per cent. With 24,948 new infections, the state's daily surge was marginally lower than the day before (25,425).
Delhi continues to register a decline in its daily COVID-19 caseload as it reported 4,044 new infections during the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was 8.60 per cent. The city has 29,152 active COVID-19 cases of which 23,153 are currently in home isolation.
In the south, Omicron has become the dominant strain in Karnataka with 67.5 per cent of the samples testing positive for the variant. On the contrary, the Delta variant, which was more dominant during the second wave with a 90.7 per cent positivity rate of the sample, has now become less dominant with a 26 per cent positivity rate. With 31,198 fresh cases, the state's COVID-19 caseload reached 37,23,694, while 50 deaths took the number of deaths to 38,804.
The number of fresh cases in Kerala continues to rise unabated, with the state reporting 54,537 cases on Friday taking the infection count to 58,81,133. According to the health department, 352 deaths were reported, pushing the number of deaths to 52,786.
Covid cases have dipped in rest of Northeast except for Mizoram. The northeastern state has reported 2,143 new infections, recording a positivity rate of nearly 30 per cent. Yesterday the state had reported 2,064 new COVID-19 cases.
The world recorded more than two million daily coronavirus cases on average between January 1 and 7 with figures doubling in 10 days, news agency AFP reported. The virus has killed over 5.4 million people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019.
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 Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris: Who Is Winning The US Election Right Now? Equatorial Guinea Civil Servant's Over 400 Sex Tapes Spark Massive Row LIVE: Nearly 3/4th US Voters Believe Democracy Under Threat, Show Exit Polls Trump Raises Claim Of "Massive Cheating" In US City Of Philadelphia Over 70% Of Voters Not Happy With How Things Are Going In US: Exit Polls Elon Musk Is Sued Over $1 Million Election Giveaway Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.