Fears of impending third wave as Covid cases surge

Community transmission of Omicron seems to be underway.

Mumbai: In Stating that India reported over 10,000 daily Covid cases after 33 days, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday said there is a need for heightened vigil among the people of the country. Among the metros, Delhi reported 1313 cases, Mumbai reported 3671, Kolkata reported 1090, Bengaluru reported 565 cases and Chennai reported 397 cases.

Briefing the media, Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Luv Aggarwal also said on an average, India reported more than 8,000 cases per day last week. Overall case positivity rate stands at 0.92%, he said, adding that the weekly positivity rate is over 10 per cent in eight districts while it is 5-10% in 14 districts. India’s R naught value, which indicates spread of Covid-19, is 1.22 so cases are increasing, not shrinking, the ministry said.

People with no travel history have been infected by the Omicron Covid variant and this means it is gradually spreading in the community, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said Thursday. Jain also said that 46 of 115 samples sequenced in the national capital so far had tested positive for the new strain.

India reported 13,154 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. The active cases stood at 82,402 cases, while the death toll climbed to 4,80,860. According to a bulletin released on Thursday morning, the Omicron case tally has risen to 961, with 263 cases in Delhi and 252 in Maharashtra. Of the 961 cases, 320 Omicron cases have recovered or been discharged.

Meanwhile, Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia INSACOG said that there is now clear experimental and clinical data supporting very high immune escape potential of Omicron, but initial estimates show the severity of illness being lower than what was seen in previous outbreaks, the said in its latest bulletin citing global data.

The government on Thursday said that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat are emerging as states and UTs of concern on the basis of weekly Covid-19 cases and positivity rate.

It said that eight districts are reporting over 10 per cent weekly positivity, while 14 districts are reporting between 5-10 per cent positivity. India’s R naught value, which indicates spread of Covid- 19, is 1.22 so cases are increasing, not shrinking, the government said.

The country has reported more than 10,000 daily new Covid-19 cases after 33 days, it said, stressing that there is a need for heightened vigil in view of sharp increase in infections. -(Agencies)