onsdag 5. januar 2022

Omicron: Curfew in Delhi as India Covid cases surge

India is bracing for a third wave of coronavirus as its largest cities - the capital Delhi and financial hub Mumbai - see a surge in cases. India reported 58,097 cases on Wednesday, a six-fold rise in a week that experts say is fuelled by the Omicron variant. Nearly a third of those infections came from Delhi and Mumbai. Both cities have brought back curfews and other restrictions to halt the spread of the virus. Dr NK Arora, head of India's vaccine task force, told NDTV on Monday that the third wave of the pandemic had already begun in the country, adding that the "whole wave seems to be driven by a new variant... Omicron".

The country has reported more than 2,000 Omicron cases - Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, is leading the tally (653), followed by Delhi (464). Delhi's health minister Satyendar Jain has said that 81% of Covid samples in the city tested positive for Omicron. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) - one of India's major hospitals - in Delhi has cancelled winter leave for doctors, according to reports.