Coronavirus India Latest Updates: India’s Active Covid Infections Fall, 3 Omicron Cases Detected In Jammu
Follow the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination numbers in India here.
Three Omicron Cases Detected In Jammu
Three cases of the omicron variant have been confirmed from a locality in Jammu by National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi.
"The samples had been taken on November 30 and now RTPCR testing of the entire locality has been ordered," ANI tweeted citing J&K's Health Department.
Omicron Three Times More Transmissible Than Delta Variant: Health Ministry
The Ministry of Health, in a letter to states, cautioned that omicron variant of the coronavirus is three times more transmissible than delta variant and that authorities must take appropriate containment measures.
"Even before thresholds of 10% or more positivity in one week, or 40% or more occupancy of oxygen supported ICU beds are reached, states should take measures and apply restrictions," the letter read.
Series of containment measures like night curfew, regulation of large gatherings, restrictions in numbers at offices and public transport to be taken up if initial sign of surge in cases is seen, the letter suggested.
India's Omicron Tally Climbs To 200
12 states have reported a total of 200 omicron cases so far, Ministry of Health said.
More Omicron Cases Found In Kerala
Four new Omicron cases were detected in Kerala on Monday, taking the state's tally for the new Covid-19 variant to 15, ANI reported citing Health Minister Veena George's office.
All four cases were detected in the Trivandrum district. Of these, two have returned from the U.K., one is the primary contact of a family who returned from the U.K., and one has returned from Nigeria.
In Uttarakhand, a Covid-positive couple in Dehradun is Omicron suspected, after returning from meeting their Omicron positive relatives in Delhi with a travel history to Qatar, ANI reported citing District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar. The couple's apartment has been declared as a micro-containment zone, genome sequencing report awaited, Kumar said.
India's active Covid-19 cases fell below 80,000 as fresh infections lag daily recoveries at a time the Omicron spreads rapidly in the world's second-most populous nation.
As many as 5,326 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry’s update at 8 a.m. on Dec. 21. That compares with nearly 8,043 recoveries during the period.
Key Figures:
Total confirmed cases: 3,47,52,164
Total number of active cases: 79,097
Total patients cured/discharged/migrated: 3,41,95,060
Total deaths: 4,78,007
Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 5,326
One-day recoveries: 8,043
One-day deaths: 453
Total vaccines administered: 1,38,34,78,181
Vaccines administered in the last 24 hours: 64,56,911