Omicron tally in country over 900

New Delhi: India has recorded over 900 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 22 states and UTs so far, while Punjab reported the first case of the Omicron variant, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday clamped fresh restrictions on all New Year celebrations, advising people above 60 and kids below 10 to remain indoors, as Mumbai tally shot above 2,510.

Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 252 cases, followed by Delhi at 238, Gujarat (97), Rajasthan (69), Kerala (65) and Telangana (62).

With 9,195 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,48,08,886, while the active cases increased to 77,002, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The death toll has climbed to 4,80,592 with 302 fresh fatalities,the data stated. The daily rise in new corona infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 62 days now. The active cases comprise 0.22 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.40 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

An increase of 1,546 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.79 per cent. It has been less than two per cent for last 86 days. The weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 0.68 per cent. It has been below one per cent for the last 45 days, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,42,51,292, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.38 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID- 19 vaccination drive has exceeded 143.15 crore. —(PTI)