Ahead of the new year, India is witnessing a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases, apparently driven by the Omicron variant of the virus. On Thursday, India's total tally of Omicron cases crossed 1,000, marking a grim milestone in the county's fight against the pandemic. As per central and state data on Friday night, India's Omicron tally had surged to about 1,200. The Thursday of the year also witnessed the highest single-day spike in Omicron cases with 180 infections being recorded during the day.
According to experts and government health officials, the Omicron variant has already started spreading through community transmission with a large of Covid-19 infections currently being recorded in the country possibly being Omicron.
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Maharashtra sees highest single-day Omicron spike
One of the highest cases of Omicron was seen in Maharashtra, which recorded its highest single-day surge since December 2 when the first two cases of the new variant were reported in India. While the state reported 5,368 new coronavirus infections in a major spike from Wednesday, Mumbai alone recorded 190 Omiron cases on Thursday while eight other cases were recorded through the rest of the state. Maharashtra has reported 450 Omicron infections so far.
However, state and BMC data for Maharashtra reflect different records. While the state records that came in last evening stated the number of Omicron cases reported in Mumbai at 190, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said that 153 Mumbai residents tested positive for Omicron.
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50 per cent Covid-19 cases in Delhi are Omicron
Delhi Thursday recorded 1,313 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day spike since May 26. According to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, about 50 per cent of the new Covid-19 samples are testing positive for Omicron after genome sequencing. Earlier in the week, the Delhi government had started conducting genome sequencing of all Covid-19 cases to track an outbreak of Omicron.
Community spread of Omicron?
With cases of Omicron increasing, experts now fear that the community spread of Omicron has begun. In Delhi, where the positivity rate climbed to 1.73, Health Minister Jain said on Thursday that community spread of the variant had already begun.
According to Jain, the community spread occurred after many international travellers who tested Covid-negative at the airport were found to be positive for the disease after a few days. During this period, they were unwittingly infecting their family members and others around them.
A similar trend may be observed in Maharashtra as well. According to data by the BMC, out of 153 Mumbai residents who tested positive for Omicron in Mumbai, over 140 had no travel history and a majority were fully vaccinated.
New Year Cancelled
In wake of rising fears of third wave of the pandemic, authorities in both Maharashtra and Delhi have as well cancelled New Year festivities.
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A 'yellow alert' was issued in Delhi on Tuesday, mandating the closure of schools, colleges, gyms, movie theatres, restrictions like night curfew, the opening of shops selling non-essential items on an odd-even basis and halved seating capacity in Metro trains and buses, pubs, restaurants among other things.
Earlier, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority had banned all social and festive gatherings for Christmas and New Year and put a cap of 200 people on weddings and funerals. It has also urged people to follow covid-19 protocols while parting in beaches and other public locations. However, unlike Deli, celebrations are not altogether banned. Restaurants, gyms and cinemas are working with 50 percent capacity.
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(With PTI inputs)
