Govt advises people to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings as Omicron cases rise to 101 in country
The Government has informed that so far 101 Omicron cases have been detected in 11 States in the country. Briefing media in New Delhi today, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said that Maharashtra has reported the maximum, 32 cases of Omicron.
Mr. Agarwal further informed that Omicron variant has, so far, been reported in 91 countries in the world and World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low.
He said, the number of daily Omicron cases around the world are increasing rapidly particularly in the UK, Denmark, Norway and South Africa. Mr Agarwal added that in India, less than 10 thousand cases of Covid-19 is being reported daily in the country but it is important that people should not let their guard down in the fight against the pandemic.
Mr. Agarwal appealed to the people to must receive the Covid vaccine and strictly follow the Covid appropriate behaviour.
On the status of Covid vaccination in the country, Mr Agarwal informed that India is administering COVID 19 vaccine doses at the highest rate in the world. He said, the average daily doses administered in the country is 74.31 lakh doses which is 4.8 times more than in the USA and 12.5 times more than in the UK.
During the media briefing, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr Balram Bhargava said, Omicron variant is spreading very fast in Europe and most part of the world. In view of it, Dr Bhargava emphasised, this is the time to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings and it is very important to observe low-intensity festivities.
NITI Aayog member, Health Dr V K Paul informed that the Government of India has taken comprehensive and far-reaching measures to prevent the ingress of Omicron into the country through restrictions and monitoring of incoming passengers. He said, the Government has also intensified Genomic surveillance.
