Covid-19 latest update: India reports over 2.64 lakh new covid cases in last 24 hours

India reported 2,64,202 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, ending at 9 am on Friday, marking a 6.7 per cent uptick since yesterday. With 1,09,345 recoveries , active cases are now at 12,72,073, while the daily positivity rate has risen to 14.78 per cent. Confirmed cases of the Omicron variant presently stand at 5,753.

Delhi has officially surpassed its peak from the delta-fuelled second wave last year, reporting 28,867 fresh Covid cases on Thursday. With a high number of cases being reported despite fewer tests, the positivity rate shot up to 29.2%. But despite the high number of cases, there have been fewer hospitalisations and deaths during the current omicron-driven wave. There are 94,160 active cases in the city, of whom 2,424 persons are admitted to hospitals, as per the daily health bulletin.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Central and state governments to continue with the pre-emptive, pro-active and collective approach followed so far in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Chairing a virtual meeting with the chief ministers to review the situation, fueled by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, PM Modi called for focusing on local containment and emphasised on the need to safeguard the economy and livelihood of common people while framing Covid strategies. Modi also stated that the initial skepticism about the  Omicron variant was slowly getting cleared as it has shown to have infected the general population several times faster than the previous ones.

By line : Divya Thearia