The Union government wrote to eight states and Union territories, asking them to enhance testing, strengthen hospital preparedness, and accelerate vaccinations after cities in their territories recorded a sharp surge in new Covid-19 cases, which officials said is likely to be because of the Omicron variant.
India recorded 16,574 new cases on Thursday, the highest single-day tally in more than 70 days, with Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal and Delhi contributing the highest numbers. On Tuesday, the number of new cases was 12,987 and on Wednesday, it was 9,155, according to HT’s Covid-19 dashboard.
Also Read | Delhi, Mumbai's R-value exceeds 2 amid Omicron spike: What it means
“We believe what we are witnessing is possibly part of the global rise in cases pushed by the Omicron variant,” said Niti Aayog member (Health) VK Paul, while speaking at the Union health ministry’s press briefing on Covid-19.
“We are aware that this variant is highly transmissible. Its severity is uncertain – it is hopefully mild but we cannot take that for granted,” he said, adding that the government urges people not to panic.
“As a nation we are prepared and have experience, and we have a massive shield of good vaccine coverage. I repeat, no need to panic. But there is a need to be responsible, to be prepared, to be disciplined.”
The Omicron variant has triggered unprecedented surges in several countries, starting with South Africa where it was detected last month, followed by the UK and Denmark. In many of these countries, however, research and hospitalisation rates have shown that the variant is significantly less likely to lead to severe infections.
The odds of severe disease fall by 40-70% compared to Delta, these studies said, but the increased transmissibility could quickly infect a lot of people and in a populous country like India, even a very small proportion of a large spread could still be a significant number.
{{/usCountry}}The odds of severe disease fall by 40-70% compared to Delta, these studies said, but the increased transmissibility could quickly infect a lot of people and in a populous country like India, even a very small proportion of a large spread could still be a significant number.
{{/usCountry}}In India, Delhi and Mumbai – two cities that have the most international traveller arrivals – have recorded a sharp increase.
On Thursday, there were 1,313 new infections detected in Delhi -- the highest in a single day in the Capital since May 26, or in 218 days, according to government data. The daily positivity rate in the city on Thursday touched 1.29%, as it breached the 1%-mark after a gap of more than seven months. However, Delhi did not register any Covid-19 fatalities according to the Thursday bulletin, and a vast number of hospital beds in the city continue be vacant. This is in line with global trends, which show that the Omicron variant does not cause hospitalisations the same way the Delta variant did.
Mumbai, meanwhile, recorded 4,556 cases on the day, the highest single-day jump in infections in the city since April 28, according to official data. Mumbai had reported 1,377 new cases on Tuesday and 2,510 cases on Wednesday.
Also Read | Major Omicron spike: 198 cases recorded in Maharashtra, tally reaches 450
During the briefing, Indian Council of Medical Research chief Balram Bhargava cited several scientific studies to back the government’s decision to set a 9-month gap for people to become eligible for third shots of a coronavirus vaccine, which the government refers to as “precaution doses”.
These studies showed that antibodies as well as cellular immunity last upwards of eight months, with some estimating some form of protection lasting well above 10 months. “Majority of Indians have received either of the two vaccines. Some vaccinated individuals have had prior symptomatic and unrecognised, asymptomatic infections,” Bhargava said.
“In essence, many individuals had multiple exposure to the Sars-CoV-2 antigen,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Union health secretary asked Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Jharkhand to be vigilant in view of the increase in domestic travel and various events such as weddings, festive celebrations, and vacations were either recently concluded or were underway.
Bhushan said it has been seen that there has been an increase in cases and shortening of the doubling time in detection of the cases in few states.
“This issue needs to be addressed proactively and immediately to ensure that neither the transmission spreads further nor do we reach a situation of increased mortality due to late detection of the cases,” the letter stated, citing the spike in Delhi.
On Gujarat, the letter highlighted the districts of Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat where a sudden and significant surge in cases in the last two weeks.
Jharkhand’s Ranchi, Karnataka’s Bengaluru Urban, Haryana’s Gurgaon, Tamil Nadu’s Chennai, Maharashtra’s Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Pune, Thane and Nagpur, and West Bengal’s Kolkata also reported a surge in cases in last two weeks, the letter said.
The ministry advised these regions to take immediate measures, such as enhanced testing in a focused manner, ensuring the ratio between RT-PCR and RAT is maintained and proactive contact tracing and isolation or quarantine of contacts of positive cases, their testing and follow up is done, the letter added.
In total, 1.44 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine has been administered across India to more than 843 million people, according to government data. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “More than 90% eligible population has been vaccinated with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine... Over 61% of the nation’s population have received both doses of the vaccine. Every Indian is proud of being part of the world’s largest vaccination programme.”