358 Omicron cases in 17 states and UTs across India, 114 recoveries so far, says Health Ministry
The Union Health Ministry, on Friday said that there are 358 Omicron cases in 17 states and UTs across the country. 114 of these Omicron cases in India have recovered, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. The top five states with the highest number of active cases, at the moment, are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka, Bhushan said.
He added that of 183 Omicron cases analysed by the Health Ministry, 39 per cent of the cases were women, while the remaining were men. Addressing a briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, Bhushan said that 89 per cent of the adult population in the country has received the first dose and 61 per cent of the eligible population has received the second dose of COVID19 vaccines.
While stressing the need to adhere to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, Bhushan said that the Prime Minister, as well as the Health Minister, have been monitoring the COVID-19 and Omicron status in the country. According to the data shared by the Health Ministry, the country has 18,10,083 isolation beds, 4,94,314 Oxygen-supported beds, 1,39,300 ICU beds, 24,057 pediatric ICU beds and 64,796 pediatric non-ICU beds.
Commenting on the call for boosters to counter the spread of Omicron, Bhushan said that the Government’s stand is clear that the decision on boosters will be taken on the basis of scientific evidence.
Delta still dominant variant in India: DG-ICMR
Dr Balram Bhargava, DG-ICMR said that the predominant strain in India is Delta including the recently identified clusters. “Therefore, we need to continue with the same strategy of COVID appropriate behaviour and ramping up of vaccination,” he added. Rajesh Bhushan said that the high transmission rates of Delta will lead to high surge cases.
“While Europe, North America & Africa are seeing an increase in COVID19 cases week-on-week, Asia is still witnessing a decline in cases week-on-week,” Bhushan said.
WHO had, on December 7 said that Omicron has a significant growth advantage over Delta which means, it has greater transmissibility. “Omicron cases double within 1.5-3 days, so we have to remain vigilant with covid appropriate behaviour,”
