India Omicron cases jump to 111 as authorities warn of 1400k daily infections

Officials warn Omicron might become a dominant variant replacing the Delta

India has vaccinated 38 per cent of its population with two doses of vaccines (REUTERS)

The Omicron infections in India have jumped to 111 after the highest single-day jump of 24 cases on Friday as the government’s Covid task force warned of 1400,000 daily infections in a grim prognosis of the coronavirus pandemic.

Exactly 15 days after India recorded its first Omicron infection, the cases linked to the variant have been detected in 11 states, with Maharashtra – worst-hit state since the beginning of the pandemic – reporting 40 cases, followed by Delhi which has 22.

India’s Covid task force chief VK Paul issued a stark warning on Friday about the country likely witnessing 1400,000 cases every day in case there is a similar outbreak as the UK and US, given the population scale.

"If we look at the scale of spread in the UK and if there is a similar outbreak in India, then given our population, there will be 14 lakh cases every day. France is reporting 65,000 cases. If an outbreak of a similar scale takes place in India, then given our population it will mean 13 lakh cases every day," Mr Paul said as cases surged.

The government also warned that the new Omicron variant is “fast-spreading” and it might become a dominant variant replacing the Delta, which is in community transmission.

It said that there is a need to stay vigilant amid threat from omicron even as daily Covid-19 cases are below 10,000 from the past 20 days.

Director general Balram Bhargava Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), country’s apex body for medical science, warned against non-essential travel and mass-gatherings.

“I would like to further emphasise: time to avoid non-essential travel, time to avoid mass gatherings, and time to observe low-intensity festivities … ushering in the new year is to be very low intensity, that is very important,” he said adding that Omicron is spreading fast in the Europe.

He called for “local restrictive measures” to be implemented in seven states of India which are recording weekly test positivity rates of above five per cent.

The government has identified 24 such districts, including nine in Kerala and eight in Manipur.

However, India continues to report less than 10,000 daily spike. In Saturday’s Covid update, the government identified 7,145 new cases and 289 deaths in the 24 hours ending Friday. India’s active caseload stands at 84,565, which is lowest in over 18 months according to the health ministry.

India’s top virologist, Shahid Jameel, meanwhile, has raised the urgency to “increase the pace of its vaccination” to inoculate people with two shots of vaccine while warning of “rapid expansion of symptomatic infections” in India over the coming weeks. His remarks came in his opinion piece in the Indian Express.

Speaking about boosters, which India has not yet approved, Dr Jameel said: “A policy for boosters, like everything else, should be based on evidence, not emotion. Global data shows two doses are essential for protection from disease and a booster protects further from symptomatic infection. While we await local data, let us not delay preparing for boosters and vaccinating children.”

Dr Jameel predicted that hospitalisations will remain lower than what was seen in earlier waves but said “even a small fraction of a very large number is a large number”.

“It is, therefore, prudent to keep hospital capacity ready and ensure adequate stocks of medicines, oxygen, etc” he added.

India has vaccinated only 38 per cent of its population with two doses of vaccines and 59 per cent have received one dose, despite the country’s feat of achieving 1.3 billion vaccinations.