Omicron in India: Narendra Modi to hold review meet today as new COVID-19 variant spreads

Amid the emergence and spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting to review the pandemic situation in the country on Thursday, said news agency ANI, citing sources. India has so far reported 213 cases of the new COVID-19 variant, of which 57 have been detected in Delhi so far. Maharashtra follows next with 54 cases and Telangana comes third with 24 cases. Of the 213 cases, 90 have recovered so far. The Union health ministry on Tuesday alerted states and Union territories about the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, and said that based on current scientific evidence, Omicron is at least three times more transmissible than the Delta variant. The Centre has already asked states to impose night curfew and strictly regulate large gatherings amid a surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in different parts of the country. The Centre also told the states to “activate” war rooms and keep analysing trends and surges, directing that specific measures need to be taken in view of “initial signs of a surge in cases of Covid-19 as well as increased detection of the variant of concern (VOC), Omicron, in different parts of the country”. It further added that greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making and strict and prompt containment action is required at the local and district level. The prime minister’s review meet comes after Delhi issued new guidelines regarding gatherings on Christmas and New Year. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has ordered the district magistrates (DMs) to identify potential COVID-19 superspreader areas ahead of Christmas and New Year. India’s vaccination coverage is nearing 140 crores, with the country administering 57,05,039 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, taking the total to over 138.96 crores. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.