New Delhi, Dec 11: India has geared up yet again this time amidst predictions that a third wave of COVID-19 is likely to hit the country. This is to do with Omicron a variant of COVID-19 which was first reported in South Africa.
The first case of Omicron was reported from Bengaluru. Two persons including a foreign national had tested positive with the new variant. The government was able to ascertain these cases with the help of genome sequencing.
Omicron is highly transmissible, but not as lethal as the delta. On December 10, India had reported 25 cases of Omicron. In the cases reported in India, the symptoms are most mild and has not posed a burden on the health care system.
Mainly mild symptoms have been seen in the cases of Omicron variant detected so far. 2,936 cases of the new variant have been found in 59 countries so far. As many as 78,064 probable cases are presently under testing and genomic sequencing,
An ICMR official said that scientific evidence for diagnosis and treatment are being reviewed regularly and the treatment remains unchanged at the moment. According to the government, the WHO has highlighted that compliance to public health and social measures is declining globally with the increase in vaccination rates.
Another official said the government has not received any recommendation from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) on the pediatric vaccination against COVID-19 yet.
The government said 86.2% of the country's adult population received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 53.5% have been administered both doses. It said the weekly positivity rate in 19 districts was around 5-10%, and it was over 10% in eight districts of three states.
India's coronavirus tally climbed to 3,46,74,744 with the addition of 8,503 infections in a day, while the number of active cases rose to 94,943, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday, December 10. The official death toll mounted to 4,74,735 with the addition of 624 new fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 43 days now.