Third wave hits India with 1 lakh daily new cases

India is facing the wrath of the new surge in covid cases owing to the new Omicron variant. States have been urged to set up covid war rooms to counter the health emergency.

New Delhi: India, on Thursday morning, reported 90, 928 fresh Covid cases with 325 new fatalities. This is nearly a 50 percent jump from the tally recorded on Wednesday which stood at 58,097. Cases of the new omicron varaint has now plummeted to 2,630.

The Additional Secretary of the Union Health Ministry, Arti Ahuja, on Thursday, advised states and union territories to set up COVID-19 control rooms at district and sub-district levels which should collate daily status report of all patients under home isolation in their respective jurisdictions and submit it to the district administration.

The WHO stated on Thursday that the number of new COVID-19 cases increased exponentially by 71 per cent globally during the week December 27-January 2 as compared to the previous week, while the number of new deaths decreased by 10 per cent. The new Omicron variant which is the dominant strain in the word now has led to the spike.

Maharahtra, on Thursday recorded 36,265 new coronavirus infections including 79 cases of the Omicron variant. The state also reported 13 new Covid fatalities. The state Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said earlier in the day that the state government has not yet considered shutting down local trains in Mumbai and imposing inter-district travel restrictions as number of hospitalizations was still low.

Mumbai reported 20,181 new cases of COVID19 with four deaths. The active caseload in the city stands at 79,260 and the positivity rate has skyrocketed to 29.90% on Thursday.

Mumbai's Dharavi reported 107 new COVID19 infections on Thursday, the highest ever spike in a day, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

The national capital on Thursday recorded 15,097 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and six deaths. The positivity rate mounted to 15.34 per cent in the city.

A total of 1,142 COVID-19 oxygen beds out of 12,156 beds are occupied in Delhi hospitals, while 71 ICU beds with ventilators have patients, with hospitals saying that a majority of hospitalised patients are those with comorbidities and elderly.Health Minister Satyendar Jain, however said that the situation does not warrant a lockdown yet.

The Delhi High Court, meanwhile, asked the Delhi government to make it aware of the position of COVID-19 new variant Omicron in the national capital, including how many patients are in ICU, on ventilator support and with oxygen beds in hospitals.

Tamil Nadu on Thursday reported 6,983 new cases with 721 recoveries and 11 deaths. The active cases in the state stands at 22,828 cases.

West Bengal logged 15,421 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday with 19 new Covid fatalities. In view of the spike in cases, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people to abide by COVID-19 protocols and restrictions imposed by the state government. She also asked the administration to make RT-PCR tests mandatory at the inter-state borders and directed the police to take stricter measures to handle those who are not following the COVID-19 protocol.

Uttar Pradesh recorded 3,121 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death due to the infection in the last 24 hours.

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 7,96,396 on Thursday with detection of 1,033 new cases, nearly a two-fold rise from a day ago, while the death toll remained static at 10,535.

Odisha, on Thursday, reported for the first time, the death of a patient infected by Omicron. However, authorities are yet to be ascertained whether she died due to the coronavirus variant. The state reported 1,897 fresh cases on Thursday.

As per orders issued by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation all passengers deboarding at Bhubaneswar airport, barring those in transit, will have to undergo an RT-PCR test from Friday. Even fully vaccinated people or those in possession of an RT-PCR negative report will again have to undergo the COVID test.

S.K. Priyadarsi, Police Commissioner of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack said that night curfew will be imposed in the cty from 9pm to 5am, starting Friday. Also, only a total of 100 guests will be allowed in weddings and 50 at funerals.

Karnataka reported 5,031 fresh COVID19 cases and one death in the last 24 hours. The state health Minister tweeted that the positivity rate in Bengaluru has risen to 7.5 percent.

Gujarat, on Thursday, reported 4,213 new cases and 1 death. The active cases in the state has risen to more than 14,000 cases.

Goa reported 971 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, taking the overall tally to 1,84,766, while the case positivity rate rose to more than 20 per cent.

Telangana recorded 1,913 COVID-19 cases, which is 393 more than the previous day's numbers. Cases in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) account for 63 per cent - 1,214 infections.

Himachal Pradesh reported 498 new cases; the active cases in the state has risen to 1655.

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir reported 349 new cases, 202 from Jammu and 147 from Kashmir. The active case tally in the Union Territory stands at 2049.

Chandigarh reported 331 new cases and 17 recoveries on Thursday. The positivity rate in the Union Territory now stands at 7.61% with 979 active cases. The Chandigarh Administration on Thursday decided to impose night curfew in the Union Territory from Friday and also shut all educational institutions including schools, colleges, universities and coaching classes.

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 149.57 crores on Thursday with more than 85 lakh vaccine doses administered till 7 pm.

(With agency inputs)