India’s Omicron tally now stands at 38

New Delhi, Dec 13: The number of Omicron cases in India have risen to 38 after Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Chandigarh reported their first cases. Maharashtra and Karnataka also recorded one case each on Sunday.

All the five Omicron patients arrived from foreign countries. In Maharashtra and Rajasthan there are 18 and 9 cases while in Karnataka and Gujarat there are three each. Andhra Pradesh has one, Delhi 2 and Chandigarh 1.

The World Health Organisation has said that new strain of COVID-19 has been reported in 63 counties and it will surpass the Delta variant in the spreading speed. WHO said it is not clear why the new strain is spreading so far. Moreover the new strain may reduce the effect of the COVID-19 vaccines. However it is less dangerous than the Delta variant, WHO also said.

An ICMR official said that scientific evidence for diagnosis and treatment are being reviewed regularly and the treatment remains unchanged at the moment. According to the government, the WHO has highlighted that compliance to public health and social measures is declining globally with the increase in vaccination rates.