India reported new coronavirus infections at an eight-month high on Wednesday and a government scientist warned it will take weeks before data on hospitalisations and deaths will show how severe the latest wave driven by the Omicron variant will be.
Authorities have said Omicron was causing fewer hospitalisations and deaths than the Delta variant, which killed hundreds of thousands last year.
But Tarun Bhatnagar from the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology in Chennai said the impact of the current run-up in infections will show up with a lag.
"We have to worry about hospitalisation and deaths and that will come later," he told Reuters in a phone interview.
"There will always be a lag of two-three weeks."
India reported 282,970 new infections over the last 24 hours, the highest in eight months, bringing the total to 37.9 million, second-highest globally behind the United States.
While infection rates have recently fallen in big cities, experts say cases nationally could peak by the middle of next month.
About 70% of its 939 million adult population has received two primary vaccine does and a booster campaign for health workers and at-risk population is underway. But millions still await their first shot and Mr Bhatnagar cited reports from some states that those unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated make up more than 90% of intensive care patients.
India also reported on Wednesday the first major rise in COVID-19 testing in a week after the health ministry warned states of the risks of missing the spread of the virus.
States performed about 1.9 million tests on Tuesday, the highest since Jan. 12 and near India's daily testing capacity of more than 2 million.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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 3 Dead, Over 30 Cops Injured: Violence In UP's Sambhal Over Mosque Survey Autopsy Reveals Chilling Details Of Family Kidnapped, Killed In Manipur Car, Misled By GPS, Falls Into River From Under-Construction Bridge, 3 Dead Married Man Kills Live-In Partner, Burns Her Body In Haryana: Cops 15-Year-Old Girl Raped By Truck Driver In Madhya Pradesh Forest: Police Eknath Shinde Elected As Leader Of Shiv Sena Legislature Party Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.