Fresh Covid-19 cases in India breached the 1-lakh mark on Friday for the first time since June with over 1.17 lakh new infections, in a worrisome surge led by the more transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Union Health Ministry is coordinating with health authorities to control the spike of Omicron cases which crossed 3,000 across India on Friday and pulled up nine states for low testing. As per the health ministry, the Omicron infection has spread to 27 states and UTs.
Maharashtra and Delhi appear to be the worst-impacted states in this new wave as all-too-familiar curbs like weekend lockdowns and night curfews came back into force in states. Here is a look at the numbers from the worst-affected states.
Maharashtra
In a massive spike, Maharashtra logged 36,265 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, 36 per cent more than the previous day with Mumbai alone registering 20,181 infections, a fresh record for the city, while 13 more patients succumbed to the disease. The state has the most number of Omicron infections at 867 on Friday.
To fight off this surge, the state has put restrictions on public gatherings, with Section 144 imposed in Mumbai till January 15.
Delhi
The national capital reported 15,097 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and six deaths, while the positivity rate mounted to 15.34 per cent.
This rise is the highest since May 8, 2021, when 17,364 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 23.34 per cent. As many as 332 deaths were also recorded on that day. On Wednesday and Tuesday, 10,665 and 5,481 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 11.88 per cent and 8.37 per cent, respectively, according to official figures.
The national capital has 465 Omicron cases of which 57 have recovered.
Health Minister Satyendar Jain said Delhi is expected to add 17,000 cases to its coronavirus infection tally with a positivity rate of around 17 per cent on Friday. The minister added that no lockdown is necessary for the capital yet, even as weekend lockdowns and night curfews during weekdays have been imposed.
West Bengal
In West Bengal, 15,421 people tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, taking the state’s tally to 16,93,744. This was a spike of 1,399 over the previous day.
The state's coronavirus death toll rose to 19,846 as 19 more patients succumbed to the infection. The state had recorded 20 Omicron cases on Thursday.
Kolkata registered the highest number of new cases at 6,569, followed by 2,560 in neighbouring North 24 Parganas district and 1,248 in Howrah. Seven fatalities were recorded in North 24 Parganas and three in Kolkata, it said.
The Mamata Banerjee government put in strict curbs for the state earlier this week, with schools and colleges shut and public places like cinemas and hotels operating at 50 per cent capacity.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu saw a new peak in Covid-19 cases on Thursday as 6,983 people tested positive, pushing the total caseload to 27,67,432 with 11 more fatalities taking the toll to 36,825. Eight districts, including the state capital, accounted for the majority of new infections which have been on an upward trend over the last few days.
The sharpest increase in fresh infections was reported in Chennai with 3,759 cases. Chennai had reported 2,481 new cases on Wednesday.
The state has recorded 121 Omicron cases so far.
Chief Minister M K Stalin Thursday imposed a night curfew in the state and announced a complete lockdown on Sunday to stop the surge.
Karnataka
With 5,031 daily cases, Karnataka continued to witness a surge in numbers on Thursday, but it reported only one death, taking the count to 30,22,603 and the fatalities toll to 38,358. The state logged 4,246 on Wednesday. Of the new cases, 4,324 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 172 being discharged. The total number of active cases is now 22,173.
Karnataka on Friday reported 107 new cases of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus taking the total count to 333 in the state, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.
The state had imposed a night curfew on December 28 to control Omicron surge during the New Year celebrations but extended it for two weeks in January in the wake of new rise Covid-19 cases. There is also a weekend lockdown in the state from January 7.
Kerala
Kerala logged 4,649 fresh cases and 221 deaths on Thursday which raised the caseload to 52,58,939 and the fatalities to 49,116. Of the deaths, 17 were recorded over the last few days and 204 were designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.
Kerala recorded 50 new Omicron cases taking the total to 284 on Friday.
Gujarat
Gujarat recorded 4,213 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, taking its tally to 8,44,856, while one patient succumbed to the infection in the state. The Covid toll rose to 10,127 with one more death reported during the day (in Tapi district). As many as 1,835 new infections emerged in Ahmedabad city alone, followed by 1,105 in Surat city, 183 in Rajkot city and 112 in Anand district.
The state, which is also under a night curfew, has 204 Omicron cases so far.
Jharkhand
Jharkhand added 3,704 fresh Covid-19 cases on Thursday, up from 3,553 infections reported the previous day pushing the caseload in the disease to 3,65,222. Five districts of the state accounted for a majority of the new cases.
Ranchi reported 1,309 fresh infections as against 1,316 on Wednesday.
The cumulative toll stood at 5,153 with four deaths reported during the last 24 hours. No deaths were reported on Wednesday.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh recorded 3,121 fresh Covid-19 cases and one death due to the infection on Thursday.
The new fatality, reported from Meerut, raised the death toll from the pandemic to 22,917 in the state. Among new cases, a maximum of 600 were reported from Gautam Buddha Nagar, 408 from Lucknow, 401 from Meerut and 382 from Ghaziabad, a health department release said.
Omicron tally in Uttar Pradesh is 31.
The rising cases prompted the state to shut all schools up to Class 10. The Yogi Adityanath government also extended the night curfew by two hours on Tuesday and is now imposed from 10 pm to 6 am.
(With agency inputs)
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