Coronavirus: India reports 33,750 new cases – 22.51% higher than Sunday’s count
So far, 1,700 persons have been infected with the Omicron variant in the country, the government said.
India on Monday reported 33,750 new cases of Covid-19 – a 22.51% rise from Sunday’s count of 27,553 cases, government data showed. With this, the country has recorded 3,49,22,882 cases since the pandemic began in 2020.
The toll rose to 4,81,893 after 123 deaths were reported over the last 24 hours. India’s active caseload increased to 1,45,582.
As many as 10,846 citizens recovered from the virus over the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 3,42,95,407. The daily positivity rate on Monday stood at 3.84%.
Cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus increased to 1,700 from Sunday’s count of 1,512. Omicron was first reported in the country on December 2 and has now spread to 23 states and Union Territories.
Most Omicron infections have been reported from Maharashtra (510), Delhi (351), Kerala (156), Gujarat (136) and Tamil Nadu (121).
The health ministry said that 639 out of the 1,700 people who tested positive for the new variant have recovered or migrated.
As India deals with the prospect of another wave of coronavirus, several states have imposed restrictions to contain Covid cases.
The Rajasthan government on Sunday capped the number of people at political rallies, protests, fairs and weddings at 100, PTI reported. Schools in Jaipur city for students from Classes 1 to 8 will be shut till January 9.
West Bengal recorded a 33% jump in infections on Sunday. Schools and colleges have been shut in the state till January 15.
The state government also imposed a ban on flights from the United Kingdom. Flights to Mumbai and Delhi will only operate on Monday and Tuesday.
The Kolkata Metro suspended the use of tokens from Monday to curb the spread of the virus, ANI reported. This means only smart card holders will be able to use the city metro. A day before, the government had restricted the seating capacity in public transport to 50%.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramaniam on Sunday said that a third wave of the coronavirus has started in the state, The Hindu reported. He urged the state’s residents to get their vaccines on priority.
The government has set up 100 beds in Chennai’s Injambakkam and Manjambakkam localities to deal with the rising cases.
The higher education department and the director of collegiate education on Monday will hold a meeting to discuss vacating hostels at educational institutions so that more beds can be installed there.