With the latest spike in active Covid cases in Delhi, fears of a fourth wave have spread across India. In the last 24 hours, the country recorded over 2,000 active cases with a jump of 60% in the national capital. It is now believed that the possibilities of new variants are coming to the fore at Omron which caused the third-wave earlier this year.
at Delhi covid The rise in cases, said Dr. SK Sarin, director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, “is likely that new forms of omicrons are emerging.”
Sarin said in a tweet to ANI, “Many samples were sequenced in ILBS. I think there are 8 variants of Omicron, which is a major variant, we will know soon.”
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India reported 2,380 new cases in the last 24 hours, while the recoveries stood at 1,231 cases with 56 deaths.
The country’s daily positivity rate was 0.53%, while the weekly positivity rate was 0.43%. India’s active caseload currently stands at 13,433.
In the last 24 hours, Delhi recorded a 60% increase in daily COVID cases and even crossed the 1,000-mark.
The Omicron variant, which originated in South Africa, hit the world in January this year and overtook Delta to become the third wave.
Due to rise in COVID cases, Delhi has again made masks mandatory and fined 500 rupees are charged from those who do not follow the rule. States like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have also issued guidelines to make masks mandatory for districts after the national capital. However, the capital has allowed schools to continue with their physical classes while following the COVID-appropriate behaviour.
Also, the central government has directed states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana and Mizoram to monitor the spread of COVID cases and take prompt measures to prevent any imminent surge. These states have seen a spike in their active COVID cases.