Chennai: India’s Omicron tally has touched 113, 16 days after the first patient with the highly infectious variant of Covid-19 was detected in Karnataka on 2 December.
With 26 new cases – the highest single-day tally of the variant detected in the country – the Omicron count on Friday was 113. All the cases so far have been either asymptomatic or have displayed mild symptoms.
Underlining that India faces a stage of ‘worry’ with the onset of winters, officials said if daily cases in the United Kingdom and France are extrapolated in the context of India’s population, they would mean 14-15 lakh cases a day.
‘As Omicron is spreading very fast across Europe and most parts of the world, there is a need to avoid non-essential travel and mass gatherings. New Year celebrations have to be low-key,’ ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said.
At a press conference, Bhargava said that districts that are reporting a test positivity rate of over 5 per cent need to ‘ensure restrictive measures’ until the rate goes below 5 per cent for at least two weeks.
Lav Agarwal, the Health Ministry Joint Secretary, reiterated the Centre’s emphasis on Covid-19 vaccines and said they cannot replace masks. He said people should continue wearing masks and take their due vaccine shots in order to fight the virus and its various variants.