India reports 6,317 new COVID-19 cases, omicron tally at 213

India reported 6,317 new COVID-19 cases and 318 deaths in last 24 hours, data from the Union Ministry of Health confirmed on Wednesday. India’s total virus caseload now stands at 3,47,58,481, while the death toll has been pushed to 4,78,325. 

The ministry also confirmed that the tally of omicron cases reported across the country has reached 213, with Delhi (57) recording the highest among states.

The new variant has been detected in a total of 15 states – Delhi (57), Maharashtra (54), Telangana (24), Karnataka (19), Rajasthan (18), Kerala (15), Gujarat (14), Jammu and Kashmir (3), Odisha (2), Uttar Pradesh (2), Andhra Pradesh (1), Ladakh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1). 

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Meanwhile, active COVID cases in the country have declined by 907 to 78,190, the lowest tally in 575 days. They comprise 0.22% of the total caseload. 

6,906 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 3,42,01,966. The national recovery rate stands at 98.40%, highest since March 2020. 

Data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) confirmed a total of 66,73,56,171 samples have been tested for COVID-19 across the country. Of those, 12,29,512 samples were tested on Tuesday. 

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The daily positivity rate stands at 0.51% and has remained below 2% for the last 79 days. The weekly positivity rate stands at 0.58% and has stayed below 1% for the last 38 days. 

India cumulative vaccination count has reached 1,38,95,90,670, with 57,05,039 of those doses being administered in the last 24 hours. India’s mass vaccination campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16. 

The Centre has issued a warning over the omicron variant of the coronavirus to states, saying its spread will likely outpace the Delta variant where there is community transmission. People have been adviced to avoid non-essential travel and mass gatherings and keep New Year celebrations at low intensity.