Omicron in India hits 200 cases: 5 latest updates

The Ministry of Health confirmed on December 21 that India has registered more than 200 Omicron cases. No deaths have yet been reported in India from this new strain of the virus. 

Data has also revealed in the UK that a high positivity rate means that the high case rates are not a result of more tests. Instead, people are more likely to get positive results when they are tested. This data showed that there is a high possibility that there are lots of people who are infected around the world but not counted due to testing hesitation.

There seem to be a lot of people who think the very high number of cases in London is "just" the result of more testing. It's not. Here's what test positivity looks like in London. (Data are here: https://t.co/x1Y6bjSKoY). pic.twitter.com/woJNfaKnOG

— Colin Davis (@ProfColinDavis) December 20, 2021

Here are the latest updates on Omicron: 

1. INDIA HAS 202 OMICRON CASES IN TOTAL NOW

Here's the states break-up:

Maharashtra - 54

Delhi - 54

Telangana - 20

Karnataka - 19

Rajasthan - 18

Kerala - 15

Gujarat - 14

Uttar Pradesh - 2

Odisha - 2

Andhra Pradesh - 1

Chandigarh - 1

Tamil Nadu - 1

West Bengal - 1

2. 2 NEW OMICRON CASES CONFIRMED IN ODISHA

Two cases of the Omicron variant emerged in Odisha on December 21. Health department officials confirmed that the patients are a 41-year-old man who returned from Nigeria and a 43-year-old man, who came to India from Qatar. The officials said, "They were earlier tested positive for Covid-19 and now their samples have confirmed Omicron after genome sequencing at the Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar." The Nigeria returnee is from Jagatsinghpur and the Qatar-returnee is from Khurda.

3. US RECORDS FIRST OMICRON DEATH 

A man between the ages of 50 and 60 years died due to the Omicron variant in Texas, US, on December 20. The man was unvaccinated and had been affected with Covid-19 in the past. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged people on December 20 to get vaccinated at the earliest on the same day, and said that about 73% of the Covid-19 cases in the US are now of the Omicron variant. 

BREAKING—First #Omicron US death in Texas—in an unvaccinated man **reinfected** after previously having #COVID19. New convalescent blood? studies of survivors (of Alpha, Beta, or Delta variants) show little to no neutralization defense against Omicron. Please #Vaccinate& Boost? pic.twitter.com/SjB39XxjNU

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 21, 2021

4. WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM POSTPONES DAVOS MEETING TILL MID-2022

The annual January coming together of world leaders, billionaires and executives in Davos, Switzerland, has been postponed due to concerns over Covid-19 and rising Omicron cases. The group said in a release on December 20, "The World Economic Forum will defer its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in the light of continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak. It is now planned for early summer."

The event had been scheduled from January 17 to January 21 with the intention to address “economic, environmental, political and social fault-lines exacerbated by the pandemic”.