Omicron tally crosses 100 mark, 101 cases reported across 11 states, UTs so far: Centre

The novel Omicron variant is on a steep rise with as many as 101 cases detected across states and Union Territories, informed the government Health Ministry on Friday. The variant has been reported across 11 States and Union Territories.

The Joint Secretary of Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal informed that the highest cases have been reported from Maharashtra with as many as 32 cases. 22 cases have been detected in Delhi, 17 in Rajasthan, 8 in Telangana and Karnataka, 5 in Gujarat and Kerala, and one in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Chandigarh. 

With the third wave of the pandemic currently emerging, the ministry urged people to follow all Covid-appropriate rules like wearing face masks and maintaining physical distancing. The Ministry further urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and gathering at large crowds at the moment. 

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The Health Ministry also warned that based on the rate of progression of this new strain in the UK, which has already crossed the 11,000 mark, India could have as many as 14 lakh cases of Omicron daily. 

Agarwal also said that the Omicron variant has been found in 91 countries so far. He further informed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the Omicron variant is spreading faster than the Delta variant which is found in South Africa and might outpace the Delta variant in places where community transmission takes place. 

The government has urged states to be on alert mode and start sequencing positive samples so that they can identify new cases and potential hotspots. 

Starting December 1st, all foreign arrivals from countries that are seen as possibly ‘at risks’ are required to take RT-PCR tests and in some cases, be at mandatory quarantine.

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