Omicron Coronavirus Live Updates: Mumbai Records Over 8,000 Covid Cases In A Day; Schools Shut Till Jan. 31

West Bengal reported 6,078 new Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths in a day, according to data released by the state government.

Active Covid-19 cases as of today in the state stand at 20,186.

Tamil Nadu reported 1,728 fresh Covid-19 cases and six deaths in a day, according to data released by the state government.

The number of active cases in Tamil Nadu now tally up to 10,364.

Gujarat has reported 1,259 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths in the previous day, ANI said. The active cases in the state now stand at 5,858.

Mumbai recorded 8,082 cases in the last 24 hours and two deaths.

The city recorded more than 8,000 cases in a day for two days in a row, according to data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Out of the 8,082 cases recorded today, 7,273 (90%) cases were found to be asymptomatic, the BMC said.

Kerala reported 2,560 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, ANI reported. The state also reported 30 deaths during the same period.

41 additional deaths were added to the Covid-19 death tally, ANI also said, citing the state government.

Four more Omicron positive cases have been detected in Goa. With this the state's tally rose to five.

"Few samples that were sent to NIV Pune for genome sequencing have confirmed four more cases of Omicron in the state," Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane tweeted.

"One patient is from within the state of Goa, with no travel history, indicating indigenous spread which needs to be further examined," he added.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has announced closure of schools in Mumbai till Jan. 31 amid rising Covid-19 cases.

Schools for classes 1 to 9 and Class 11 to be closed till Jan. 31. The schools will remain open only for students of SSC and HSC, ANI reported citing BMC.

"Schools for classes 10 and 12 will continue with Covid-19 protocols. Students of classes 9 to 12 can come to the school to receive vaccination," said Suresh Kakani, Additional Commissioner, BMC.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said 84% of the coronavirus cases reported in Delhi in the past two days were of the Omicron variant, reported ANI.

Delhi's expected to report around 4,000 cases today with the positivity rate rising to 6.5%. Currently, 202 patients are admitted to Delhi hospitals.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said there is no community spread of the Omicron variant in the state yet, reported ANI. "Out of 152 Omicron cases, 50 are from high-risk countries, 84 are from low-risk countries, and only 18 are their contacts. At present, there is nothing to worry about," she said.

Vaccination for children aged 15-18 has begun across India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Dec. 25, had announced the expansion of the vaccination drive to include youth in that age group.

Currently, only Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is being used for the age group.

India’s Omicron tally rose to 1,700, a month after the nation reported its first cases of the new Covid-19 variant.

Maharashtra has the highest Omicron cases among states, followed by Delhi.

India added the most Covid-19 cases in more than four months as the Omicron variant spreads aggressively across the country.

The nation reported as many as 33,750 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest since Aug. 21, according to the Health Ministry’s update at 8 a.m. That compares with nearly 10,846 recoveries during the period.

Key Figures:

• Total confirmed cases: 3,49,22,882

• Total number of active cases: 1,45,582

• Total patients cured/discharged/migrated: 3,42,95,407

• Total deaths: 4,81,893

• Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 33,750

• One-day recoveries: 10,846

• One-day deaths: 123

• Total vaccines administered: 1,45,68,89,306

• Vaccines administered in the last 24 hours: 23,30,706

Active Covid-19 cases in India reached close to 1.5 lakh—almost double the tally as on Dec. 25.