COVID-19: India reports 9,216 new cases, 391 deaths in 24 hours amid Omicron scare

India has seen 9,216 new cases of the novel Coronavirus and 391 deaths in the last 24 hours. According to data released by the Union Health Ministry on Friday, the country had a total of 8,612 discharges in the last 24 hours, bringing the total recovery rate to roughly 98.35%, the highest since March 2020, and total recoveries to 3,40,45,666.  According to government data released on Friday, the total number of active COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 99,976.

The country's total death toll now stands at 4,70,115. The first death from the COVID pandemic was recorded in India in March 2020. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stated that 64,46,68,082 samples have been tested for COVID-19 as of December 2. On Thursday, 11,57,156 of these samples were examined. So far, the Nationwide Vaccination Drive has administered around 125.75 crore vaccine doses.

COVID-19 situation in Kerala

Meanwhile, Kerala reported 4,700 new COVID-19 cases and 320 deaths on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 51,40,090 and the death toll to 40,855, respectively. According to an official press release, 66 deaths were reported in the last few days, and 254 were categorized as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the Centre's new standards and the Supreme Court's directives.

Since Wednesday, 4,128 more persons have recovered from the virus, bringing the overall number of recoveries to 50,66,034 and the number of active cases to 44,376, according to the announcement. In the last 24 hours, 59,702 samples were evaluated, according to the report. Thiruvananthapuram had the newest cases among the 14 districts, with 850, followed by Ernakulam (794), and Kozhikode (612).

Omicron variant of COVID

The World Health Organization (WHO) has now classified a new SARS-CoV-2 mutation. Omicron is the name given to it. According to WHO, the Technical Advisory Organization on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) is an impartial group of experts that monitors and evaluates the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 on a regular basis and determines if certain mutations and combinations of mutations alter the virus's behaviour. On November 24, 2021, the B.1.1.529 variant was initially reported to WHO by South Africa. In South Africa, the epidemiological situation has been marked by three different peaks in reported cases, the most recent of which was dominated by the Delta strain.

(with inputs from ANI)

Image: PTI