COVID-19: India reports 6,987 fresh cases, 162 deaths in 24 hrs; Omicron tally reaches 422

With fresh 6,987 cases in the last 24 hours, India COVID-19 tally on Sunday jumped to 3,47,86,802. Apart from that with 7,091 recoveries and 162 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the total recovery and death recovery toll stands at 3,42,30,354 and 4,79,682 respectively. Along with that, a total of 422 cases of Omicron variant has also been reported from across the country with Maharashtra leading the tally.

Meanwhile, with a total of 76,766 active COVID-19 cases across the country, India's total vaccination coverage stands at 141.37 crores with 32,90,766 administered in the last 24 hours. Speaking about the vaccine availability in states and union territories, a total of 148.37 crores (1,48,37,98,635) vaccine doses have been provided to states and union territories as of December 26, 2021, through the Centre's free of cost channel and direct state procurement category. Apart from that, more than 17.90 crores (17,90,54,941) balanced and unutilized COVID vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs and are yet to be administered. 

While India's recovery rate stands at 98.40%, which is the highest since March 2020. the weekly positivity rate is at 0.62%, remaining less than 1% from the last 42 days. 

The central government's nationwide vaccination drive has been intensified amid the growing cases of Omicron variant in the country. Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his sudden address to the nation announced about vaccinating children between the ages of 15 and 18 followed by booster shots for frontline, health care workers and senior citizens. 

Omicron cases in India

With a total of 422 Omicron cases from 17 states and UTs as reported on Sunday, the majority number of infections have been recorded from Maharashtra with 108 cases followed by Delhi with 79 cases, Gujarat with 43, and Telangana with 41.

In view of the rise in coronavirus and Omicron cases, multi-disciplinary central teams have also been deployed in 10 identified states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Mizoram, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Punjab. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to remain cautious and follow preventive measures for avoiding the spread of the infection. He emphasized following appropriate COVID behaviour including masks, washing hands, and maintaining social distancing.

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