Centre warns people against lowering guard, says world witnessing fourth surge of COVID-19
India has so far reported 358 cases of the Omicron variant, of which 183 were analysed and 121 of them were found to have foreign travel history.
FollowThe Centre on Friday cautioned citizens that the world is witnessing the fourth surge of the Covid-19 pandemic and India has to be on guard and cannot afford to slacken. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan while addressing a weekly press briefing, warned citizens against lowering their guard against the coronavirus.
“The world is witnessing the fourth surge and the overall positivity is 6.1 per cent. Therefore, we have to be on guard and can't afford to slacken.” He said that as compared to Europe, North America and Africa are seeing an increase in Covid19 cases week-on-week. Asia is witnessing a decline in the number of fresh cases, but we have to be on guard.
Bhushan said while the Omicron strain was likely to spread faster than the Delta variant of the disease. However, Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava added that the Delta variant was still the predominant strain of coronavirus countries, including in recently identified clusters.
“The top five states with the highest number of active cases, at the moment, are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka,” said Rajesh Bhushan.
India has so far reported 358 cases of the Omicron variant, of which 183 were analysed and 121 of them were found to have foreign travel history.
Also read: India records 122 new Omicron cases, total tally touches 358; Maharashtra, Delhi most affected
Tamil Nadu topped the national tally for daily Omicron cases. However, Maharashtra is still the worst-affected state. Latest reports say that the Uddhav Thackeray government is set to announce new measures to contain the spread of the virus sometime later in the day.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a key meet on Thursday. The PM has asked the state officials to remain vigilant. The government cautioned people against lowering the guard, particularly during Christmas and New Year festivities.
It said about 61% of India’s adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and 89% have been administered the first dose.
Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to announce night curfew. In South, Karnataka has reported first Omicron cluster due to a flyer who arrived in state capital Bengaluru recently.
