The Centre on Saturday wrote letters to five states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, flagging rise in coronavirus cases in som...
The Centre on Saturday wrote letters to five states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, flagging rise in coronavirus cases in some districts amid concerns about the new Omicron variant, India Today reported.
First detected in southern Africa in November and dubbed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, scientists are concerned that Omicron could replace Delta to become the dominant strain.
India’s Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan asked the states to take necessary steps to control the spread of the virus.
Besides Jammu and Kashmir, Bhushan wrote to Odisha, Mizoram, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district recorded a 727% rise in infections within a week, according to The Print. The number of new cases rose from 49 on November 19 to 405 in November 25.
In Odisha, Dhenkanal, Kandhamal, Kendujhar, Nabarangpur, Balangir and Angul districts recorded a surge in coronavirus cases over the last week, Bhushan highlighted in the letter. In Dhenkanal, coronavirus cases rose from nine to 69 in a week – a 667% rise.
Eight out of 11 districts in Mizoram have been reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 10%, The Print reported.
In Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kottayam and Wayanad have reported over 10% weekly positivity rate, Bhushan said in the letter.
There has also been...
