LIVE: Coronavirus, Omicron, Covid 19 News Today: Delhi witnesses massive surge: 15097 new cases, 15.34% positivity rate; 6 deaths

India on Thursday saw the biggest single-day jump of 495 Omicron cases, taking the total number of infections of the new variant of coronavirus to 2,630, according to Union health ministry data. Here are all the LIVE and LATEST updates on Coronavirus, Omicron, Covid 19 Cases News, lockdown, curfew, schools colleges and more:-

Delhi Coronvirus News: Massive surge - 15097 new cases, 15.34% positivity rate; 6 deaths

(PTI) In a massive surge, Delhi Thursday recorded 15,097 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and six deaths while the positivity rate mounted to 15.34 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

The number of new cases recorded on Thursday is 41 per cent more than the figure the day before.
On Wednesday and Tuesday, 10,665 and 5,481 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 11.88 per cent and 8.37 per cent respectively, according to official figures.

The daily cases count on Thursday was 15,097 at a positivity rate of 15.34 per cent, the latest health bulletin showed.

This rise is the highest since May 8, 2021 when 17,364 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 23.34 per cent. As many as 332 deaths were also recorded on that day.

The huge spike in fresh cases over the past several days here is being recorded amid a significant jump in cases of the new Omicron variant of the virus.

The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi has now risen to 25,127.

The number of cumulative cases on Thursday stood at 14,89,463. Over 14.32 lakh patients have recovered from the infection.

During the height of the second wave of the pandemic, 28,395 cases, the highest-ever single-day tally here, and 277 deaths were recorded in Delhi on April 20 last year, according to official figures.

Nine COVID-19 deaths were reported here in December last year, and seven in November, according to official data. Delhi had recorded four Covid deaths in October and five in September.

A total of 98,434 tests -- 80,051 RT-PCR tests and 18,383 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago, the bulletin said. 

-Omicron surge: Centre asks 9 states, union territories to step up testing

- COVID-19 surge: Vibrant Gujarat Summit postponed, reports PTI

The Gujarat government on Thursday decided to postpone the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, that was to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 10, in the wake of a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to the Chief Minister's Office.

The three-day summit was to be held in a big way to attract investments, and delegations from many partner countries and CEOs of top companies were supposed to participate in the event.

On Wednesday, the daily COVID-19 cases in Gujarat crossed the 3,000-mark for the first time after May 26 last year with the addition of 3,350 infections, raising the state's tally to 8,40,643.

Also, Gujarat reported 50 new cases of the Omicron variant on Wednesday, taking the tally of such cases in the state to 204, as per the state health department.

-Delhi likely to see 14,000 Covid cases on Thursday, says Health Minister Satyendar Jain, reports PTI

Delhi is expected to record 14,000 fresh Covid cases on Thursday with a positivity rate of around 14 per cent, but the situation in the city does not warrant a lockdown yet, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said.
Speaking to reporters, the minister said so far, no death due to the Omicron variant of coronavirus has been confirmed in the national capital.

He asserted Delhi is in a comfortable position in terms of hospital bed occupancy.

Jain said the number of cases in Delhi is high as a large number of people are being tested for COVID-19 in the city.

"We have been conducting a large number of tests. If we don't do that, the new cases can reduce to 500-1,000. A lot of people (states) don't conduct tests and say they don't have cases. We have been transparent," he said.

"We are conducting the maximum number of tests in the country," he claimed.

A few healthcare workers in Delhi have tested positive for COVID-19, but the number is not alarming, the minister said in response to a question.

Asked whether the AAP government was considering a lockdown in the city, Jain said Delhi has already taken stringent actions, including imposing night curfew and weekend curfew, which are sufficient for the time being. There is no need for a lockdown right now.

The minister reiterated that hospital bed occupancy and severity of infections is very less this time.
He said the government has been making preparations keeping the worst-case scenario in mind. The number of beds has been increased from over 9,000 a few days ago to over 12,000.

Jain said the discrepancy in the data on hospital bed occupancy on the Delhi Corona app and the health bulletin is because "most beds in hospitals have been converted into oxygenated beds".

"If there are patients on such beds, it doesn't mean they require oxygen. Similarly, if a patient is on a ventilator bed, it doesn't mean they require ventilator support," he added.

The minister said one should not speculate when the infections will peak or how many cases will be recorded after a week.

"It is better that people follow Covid-appropriate behaviour," he said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said last month that his government has made preparations to handle one lakh Covid patients and conduct three lakh tests daily and ensure availability of enough manpower, medicines and medical oxygen.

Up to 37,000 oxygen beds will be made available in hospitals, he had said. 

- India records biggest single-day rise of 495 Omicron cases, reports PTI

Of the total cases, Maharashtra has the maximum at 797, followed by Delhi at 465, Rajasthan 236, Kerala 234, Karnataka 226, Gujarat 204 and Tamil Nadu 121.

The country reported 90,928 fresh coronavirus infections, the highest in over 200 days, that pushed its caseload to 3,51,09,286, the data stated.

As many as 91,702 new infections were reported on June 10 last year.

The death toll climbed to 4,82,876 with 325 fatalities, the ministry said.

The number of active cases stands at 2,85,401, comprising 0.81 per cent of the total infections, it said.

An increase of 71,397 cases was recorded in the active caseload in a day.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate decreased to 97.81 per cent, it said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 6.43 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate stood at 3.47 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,43,41,009. The case fatality rate was recorded at 1.38 per cent, the ministry said.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 148.67 crore.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

The 325 new fatalities include 258 from Kerala and 17 from West Bengal.

So far, 4,82,876 deaths have been reported in the country including 1,41,581 from Maharashtra, 48,895 from Kerala, 38,357 from Karnataka, 36,814 from Tamil Nadu, 25,121 from Delhi, 22,916 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,827 from West Bengal.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.