With nearly 13,000 new cases of Covid-19 reported on Wednesday, India saw its largest single-day spike in seven weeks as the number of daily infections continued to climb up in several regions.
The surge is likely to be driven by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The number of Omicron cases reached 946 on Wednesday, with 161 of these confirmed in the last 24 hours, according to data shared by states with HT. Of the total, at least 241 infected by the new “variant of concern” have recovered.
Maharashtra was the biggest contributor to the national tally with 3,900 new infections on Wednesday, followed by 2,846 new Covid-19 cases in Kerala, 1,089 in West Bengal, and 923 in Delhi, data shows. In total, 12,987 new cases were detected across India on Wednesday – the most in a day since November 10, when the country saw 13,148 new cases, according to HT’s Covid-19 dashboard.
There were 9,155 new cases in India on Tuesday, while this number was 6,139 on Monday.
Mumbai, meanwhile, logged 2,445 Covid cases on the day as infections surged 83% from 1,333 on Tuesday. The state, meanwhile, reported 85 Omicron cases on Wednesday, taking its tally to 252.
Maharashtra’s positivity rate climbed to 3.16% while Mumbai recorded the positivity rate of 4.71 %. Both these numbers were less than 1% last week.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope expressed concern over the rise in the number of fresh as well as active cases in the state, terming it an “alarming” situation.
“Mumbai has a positivity rate of more than 4% is not a good sign and is a matter of concern. The surge of cases is really alarming and we will shortly meet Chief Minister where we may be forced to tighten curbs,” said Tope. He said he was likely to meet tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray to discuss further restrictions in two days.
Thackeray, meanwhile, urged people not to panic, but exercise extreme caution in the wake sharp rise in coronavirus cases in Mumbai and stressed on vaccination and widespread use of face masks. He said all public places in the city will remain shut on December 31.
Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the Covid-19 task force in Maharashtra said that third wave has already hit the city of Mumbai. “The cases jumped from 600 to 2300 in just five days and the rapid growth rate clearly states that omicron outbreak has happened in the city of Mumbai and that it is here to replace the delta variant. However even if the medical infrastructure is not overwhelmed yet we will have to stay vigilant and alert,” said Joshi.
Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner and in-charge of public health in the BMC, said: “The city is functioning like pre-covid times with local trains operating normally. While there is a surge, there is no heavy demand for hospital admission and oxygen in the city… Besides this the pattern of cases is also inconsistent and it is too early to say now whether the third wave has already started.”
