India reported a single-day spike of 1,41,986 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in around 222 days. Active COVID-19 cases have increased to 4,72,169, the highest in around 187 days, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday morning.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 9.28%.
The country also saw its Omicron case tally rise to 3,071, as reported from 27 States and Union Territories.
Of the 3,071 cases of the Omicron variant, 1,203 have recovered or migrated, the Ministry said.
Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 876 Omicron variant cases, followed by Delhi at 513, Karnataka at 333, Rajasthan at 291, Kerala at 328 and Gujarat at 204.
The active cases account for 1.34% of the total infections reported. An increase of 1,00,806 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The national COVID-19 recovery rate decreased to 97.30%, the Health Ministry said.
The Centre has urged people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and avoid mass gatherings to keep disease transmission under check.
It has also asked States to review infrastructure preparedness, including re-establishment of field/makeshift hospital facilities to avoid any shortage in the eventuality of a potential surge in hospital admissions due to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for the strict implementation of public health and social measures as COVID-19 cases surged in most countries of the Southeast Asia region.
It also said that though the Omicron variant of coronavirus may appear to be less severe, it should not be dismissed as “mild”, as health systems in many parts of the globe are being overwhelmed by the sheer number of hospitalisations. Also, not every case of COVID-19 is due to Omicron and other variants may cause severe disease.
Odisha registered 3,679 fresh COVID-19 cases, a 36% rise over the previous day and the biggest single day spike in more than six months, the State Health Department said on Saturday, the Press Trust of India reported. The new infections include cases reported in 384 children.
Odisha now has 11,663 active cases, a steep climb from the tally of 8,237 cases a day earlier.
Telangana recorded another 2,606 new COVID-19 cases when 73,516 samples were tested over the past 24 hours. Two deaths were also reported on Saturday.
Andhra Pradesh reported 839 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths as on Saturday morning. The number of active cases jumped to 3,659. It is for the second consecutive day that the State is logging over 800 cases. The State’s cumulative case burden now stands at 20,80,602.
In Assam, 1,254 new cases of COVID-19 were reported when 33,609 samples were tested on Saturday. Two deaths were also recorded. The active case pool of the State has 4,548 patients now.
Kerala’s COVID-19 graph is on the rise once again, with the State reporting 5,944 new cases on Saturday. New cases rose by 61% between January 1-7 when compared with the previous week. The number of active cases increased by 3%, hospitalisations by 8%, ICU requirement increased by 10%, and the number of patients on ventilator support too went up by 2% during this period
The State’s active case pool now has 31,098 patients, of whom 2,473 persons are being treated in hospitals.
Kerala also detected 23 more Omicron cases, taking the total number of Omicron cases in the State to 328.
Karnataka on Saturday reported 8,906 new cases of COVID-19, when 1,64,261 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. Of the new cases, Bengaluru Urban alone reported 7,113 cases. Four new COVID-19-related deaths were also reported in the State on Saturday. The State now has 38,507 active cases.
