New Delhi: As many as 101 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in 11 states and union territories so far, in India.The government said on Friday and advised people to avoid non-essential travel and keep New Year celebrations low-key.
Addressing a press conference, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said although daily COVID-19 cases are below 10,000 for the past 20 days, there is a need to stay vigilant because of the new Omicron variant and rising cases in other countries.
Asked if India is carrying out adequate genomic sequencing, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said sufficient systematic strategic sampling is being undertaken for genomic sequencing to detect Omicron cases.
“If we look at the scale of spread in the UK and if there is a similar outbreak in India, then given our population, there will be 14 lakh cases every day. France is reporting 65,000 cases. If an outbreak of a similar scale takes place in India, then given our population it will mean 13 lakh cases every day,” VK Paul said in a grim warning as cases rise.
The government has taken comprehensive and far-reaching measures to prevent the ingress of Omicron through restrictions and monitoring of incoming passengers. The system has been further streamlined and the genomic surveillance has been intensified,Paul said.
India is carrying out the “second-highest” number of genomic sequencing in the world and it is being further intensified, he said and underscored that genomic sequencing of every sample is not possible.
According to the officials, experts have warned that going by the trend, Omicron looks set to outpace Delta.
Maharashtra, the state with the highest overall Covid cases, has so far recorded the most number of Omicron cases at 32. Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh are the other states where the highly contagious new variant has been reported.
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