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Offering some respite to the country dealing with the spiraling Covid-19 infections, experts have analysed that Delhi and Mumbai may have witnessed Covid peak amid reports of drop in Covid-19 cases. However, this comes in the wake of restrictions being imposed in other parts of the country as Omicron variant spreads across the country.
Just as the national capital began recording a drop in infections, West Bengal has unfortunately emerged as a hotbed of Covid cases. With more than a lakh cases daily over the past week, the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has spread across every corner of the country. As per updated data by the Union health ministry today, India added 2,71,202 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 3,71,22,164, including 7,743 cases of the Omicron variant.
Let us have a look at this week in the pandemic across India:
About Covid-19 symptoms: The majority of the patients dealing with the third wave have complained of flu-like symptoms, experts insist on maintaining caution as the Delta strain is still around.
Has Covid-19 peaked? The two cities reporting the highest instances of Covid cases namely Delhi and Mumbai seemed to have turned their graph as they reported a dip in cases indicating that Covid infections have likely peaked.
This comes on the back of Maharashtra maintaining its position as the top contributor to India's Covid curve with 42,462 new cases and 23 deaths as of Saturday.
Additionally, Karnataka overtook Delhi to hold the second spot with 32,793 new infections and seven deaths in a single day.
Delhi recorded a dip in new Covid-19 cases for the second consecutive day with 20,718 fresh infections cases being reported in the national capital at a positivity rate of 30.64 per cent which is the highest after May 1 last year.
Meanwhile, states continued to impose weekend curfews and restrictions in an attempt to curb the Covid spread. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu extended their existing Covid-19 restrictions till January 31 due to a rise in cases.
In West Bengal, the government extended the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions allowing fairs on open grounds in a very restricted manner with strict adherence to safety norms. All outdoor activities including the movement of people and vehicles shall be strictly prohibited between 10 PM and 5 AM except for health, law and order, transport of essential commodities including agricultural produce, and other emergency services. This comes after the state emerged as the latest Covid hotbed with daily cases rising to over 19,000 on Saturday.
Additionally, ahead of polls, the Election Commission extended the ban on public rallies and roadshows in the five poll-bound states by a week till January 22. The poll body granted relaxation to political parties in the states of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, allowing indoor meetings of maximum of 300 persons or 50 per cent of the capacity of the hall.
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