PM Narendra Modi holds Covid review meeting amid rising concerns over Omicron variant of coronavirus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting on the COVID-19 situation in the country on Thursday evening amid rising concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Official sources said Modi took stock of the pandemic situation across the country in a high-level meeting attended by senior officials and experts.

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India has recorded 236 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus across 16 states and Union Territories (UTs) so far, out of which 104 people have recovered or migrated, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.

In a communication to the states and UTs on Tuesday, the Centre said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is at least thrice more transmissible than its Delta variant and asked them to "activate" war rooms, keep analysing even small trends and surges and keep taking strict and prompt containment action at the district and local levels.

There have been demands that the government allow booster doses of vaccines to be administered to those already fully inoculated against COVID-19, as has been done by many countries.