India has reported 101 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 infection across 11 states so far, said the health ministry on Friday and advised people to keep new year celebrations at low intensity.
Warning against the more infectious strain, health ministry Joint Secretary said, “WHO has said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa. It’s likely Omicron will outpace Delta variant where community transmission occur.”
Giving details of Omicron cases in India, it said Maharashtra has reported 32 cases of the variant, Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17), Karnataka (8), Telangana (8), Gujarat (5), Kerala (5), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1), the government said.
There are 101 Omicron cases across 11 states in the country: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/2OPjHBQ38b
— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2021
Avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings: Health ministry
ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava said, “This is the time to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings and it is very important to observe low-intensity festivities.”
So far, Omicron cases have been reported in 91 countries, the health ministry said.
Elaborating on the Omicron threat further, Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog also shared that a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic is being experienced in Europe with a steep rise in cases.
“Genome sequencing of every sample is not possible. It is a surveillance and pandemic assessment and tracking tool, not a diagnostic tool as of now. We can assure sufficient systematic sampling is being undertaken,” said Paul.
On the COVID-19 situation in the country, it said 19 districts are reporting weekly positivity between 5 and 10 percent and five districts over 10 percent.
Districts with over 5 percent COVID-19 case positivity rate need to ensure restrictive measures until it is below 5 percent for at least two weeks, the government said.
On COVID-19 vaccination, the government said that India has so far administered 82.8 crore first doses and 53.72 crore second doses.
More than 136 crore doses have been administered in the country which is 2.8 times the total doses administered in the US, it said.
Delhi logs 10 more Omicron cases
Renewed warnings of the dangers posed by Omicron come as 10 new cases were reported from Delhi earlier in the day. The city has now 20 confirmed Omicron cases.
Health Minister Satyendar Jain said of the 20 cases, 10 had already been discharged from hospital.
Delhi’s first case of the Omicron variant — a 37-year-old man from Ranchi — was detected on 5 December. He was discharged on Monday.
He had travelled from Tanzania to Doha and from there, to Delhi on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He stayed in Johannesburg in South Africa for a week and had mild symptoms.
Meanwhile, 40 people are currently admitted to the special facility at the Lok Nayak Hospital meant for isolating and treating suspected Omicron cases, Medical Director Suresh Kumar said.
The minister added that many international travellers are turning out positive upon arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Karnataka
On Thursday, five more COVID-19 patients in Karnataka were found to be infected with the rapidly spreading variant, taking the state’s total to eight.
All the five had taken two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and are not suffering from severe disease, said state medical authorities.
Out of them, three had foreign travel history — UK, Nigeria and South Africa — while two had returned from Delhi recently.
Telangana
Telangana too reported four more cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Thursday. This has taken total cases discovered in the state to seven the so far. Of these seven Omicron cases, one family whose seven-year-old boy was found to be infected by the Omicron variant, had left for Kolkata taking a connecting flight from the airport on the night of 12 December.
Maharashtra
On Wednesday, Maharashtra’s tally rose to 32 after four more cases were detected. The cases include two in Mumbai and one each from Osmanabad and Buldhana districts, of whom one is a minor. Of these new infectees, one is a woman, and three had recently travelled to Sharjah, Dubai, and Ireland.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai police has imposed Section 144 in the city from December 16 to December 31.
The police order said the restrictions were necessary in view of the continued threat posed by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is said to be highly infectious and capable of undergoing frequent mutations.
The notification restricts the access to shops and other establishments in the city and all public transport to only fully vaccinated persons and also restricts attendance for any programme to 50 percent of the capacity of the ground or closed premises concerned. It also provides that any event can be organised and attended by fully vaccinated persons only.
So far, 11 states and union territories have reported Omicron infections — Maharashtra has seen 32 such cases, Rajasthan has reported 17, Delhi now has 20, Karnataka has seen eight infections, Gujarat and Kerala both have reported five, Telangana six, and one case each has been reported in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu.
With inputs from agencies
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