Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the COVID-19 situation in the country as cases continue to explode.

The meeting, held virtually, comes as India reported its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 infections in 224 days with 1,59,632 new cases, while the active cases increased to 5,90,611, the highest in around 197 days.

The country’s total infection tally now stands at 3,55,28,004, with the death toll pushed to 4,83,790.

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India logged 552 new cases of the more transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus, taking the country’s total tally to 3,623. 1,409 patients with the omicron variant have recovered so far.

With 1,009 cases, Maharashtra has recorded the most omicron cases among 27 states and Union Territories (UTs) where the new ‘variant of concern’ has been detected. 

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Active cases have increased by 1,18,442 to 5,90,611. They comprise 1.66% of the total caseload. 

The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 10.21%, with the weekly positivity rate recorded at 6.77%. 

India’s cumulative vaccination count has reached 1,51,57,60,645 after 89,28,316 doses were administered in the last 24 hours. India’s mass vaccination campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16 last year. 

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Saturday announced the polling dates in Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The elections in all five states will be held amid a massive surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.  

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Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra announced that the EC had consulted the Union Health Secretary, Home Secretary, experts, as well as health secretaries of states and Union Territories (UTs) to take stock of the COVID-situation on the ground.

The ECI also declared in its briefing that no roadshows, marches, cycle or bike rallies will be allowed in the poll-bound states till January 15, but the situation will be constantly monitored and fresh instructions may be issued later.