India reported 7,495 fresh COVID-19 cases today, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With this, the country's caseload reached 3,47,65,976. India's active caseload currently stands at 78,291, going up by 101 active cases today.
The country also reported 434 new Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total death count to 4,78,759. The number of fatalities today is up from yesterday's spike of 318 deaths.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the active cases in the country account for less than one per cent of total cases, currently at 0.24 per cent which is the lowest since March last year.
The number of cases of Covid's fast-spreading strain Omicron has crossed the 200-mark in India, the Union Health Ministry said, with Omicron cases in India currently standing at 236.
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus cases in India:
Delhi has recorded over 96 per cent increase in COVID-19 cases in the last fortnight ending Wednesday, official data showed.
The number of cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant has risen to 236 in India, with Maharashtra and Delhi reporting the most number of infections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting today evening to review the situation.
As the highly infectious omicron causes Covid infections to surge worldwide, governments around the world are tightening restrictions to try and stop its spread. Earlier this month Britain reintroduced compulsory mask wearing on public transport, shops and in some indoor venues, having previously relaxed the rules in the summer. Throughout the pandemic, authorities in different places have said different things about when and where healthy people should wear face masks and what type of coverings they should choose.
"No country can boost its way out of the pandemic," he told reporters.
The UN health agency has long decried the glaring inequity in access to Covid vaccines. Allowing Covid to spread unabated in some places dramatically increases the chance of new, more dangerous variants emerging, it argues.
Two studies from Britain published Wednesday showed Covid infections with Omicron are less likely to result in hospitalization compared to the Delta variant, the latest research confirming a trend first identified in South Africa.
No new cases of the Omicron variant were reported from the state today. A total of 65 Omicron cases have been detected in the state so far.
As Omicron cases steadily rise in the national capital, the Delhi government today banned all gatherings to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Cultural events were also prohibited on a day Delhi recorded 125 Covid new cases, the highest in six months.