In a single day, India records 156 Omicron cases. Delhi has surpassed Maharashtra

Key sentence:

• The number of Omicron cases in India increased by more than 100 in the last 24 hours, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare.
• New Covid-19 cases were reported in several states, with two regions reporting their first cases of the new rapidly-transmissible variant.

The number of Omicron cases in India increased by more than 100 in the last 24 hours, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare’s daily brief released on Monday. 

According to government data, India’s Omicron tally increased from 422 on Sunday to 578 on Monday, implying that the country added 156 cases of the highly infectious variant to its nationwide tally in a single day.

On Sunday, new Covid-19 cases were reported in several states, with two regions reporting their first cases of the new rapidly-transmissible variant. According to the data, Omicron has spread to 19 Indian states and union territories, up from 17 a day ago, and has placed the entire country on high alert.

Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the two states that reported their first Omicron cases on Sunday.

Furthermore, despite Maharashtra contributing the highest number of Omicron cases in the country until a day ago, the count in Delhi was rapidly approaching. 

According to data released on Monday, the national capital has surpassed Maharashtra as the top contributor to the national Omicron tally.

According to the health ministry’s official data, Delhi (142) has the highest number of Omicron infections in the country, followed by Rajasthan (43), Telangana (41), Tamil Nadu (34), Maharashtra (141), Kerala (57), Gujarat (49), and Karnataka (31).

The following states have seen a significant increase in Omicron cases in the last 24 hours:

New Delhi (from 79 to 142 cases)

State of Maharashtra (from 108 to 141 cases)

Kerala (Kerala) (from 38 to 57 cases)

Maharashtra (from zero to nine cases)

However, the health ministry did note that 151 of the 578 total Omicron cases in India have already recovered or been discharged.

Most states are testing all foreign returnees from “at-risk” countries and other countries, and samples from those who test positive for Covid-19 are being sent for genome sequencing.