Omicron in India: Centre asks states to set up war rooms and 5 other updates

The Ministry of Health confirmed on December 22 that India's Omicron tally has reached 213.  No deaths due to Omicron have been reported in India.

Here are the latest updates:

1. INDIA HAS 213 OMICRON CASES IN TOTAL NOW

Here's the state-wise break-up:

Delhi - 57

Maharashtra- 54

Telangana - 24

Karnataka - 19

Rajasthan - 18

Kerala - 15

Gujarat - 14

Jammu and Kashmir - 3

Uttar Pradesh - 2

Odisha - 2

Ladakh - 1

Andhra Pradesh - 1

Chandigarh - 1

Tamil Nadu - 1

West Bengal - 1

2. JAMMU JOINS OMICRON TALLY, REGISTERS 3 NEW CASES 

J&K Health and Medical Education Department confirmed three new cases of Omicron in Jammu on December 21. The cases were confirmed from a cluster in Jammu by the NCDC, Delhi. The samples were taken on 30th November. An official said, "One case has been reported from the Bantalab area and two from the Talab Tillo area." 

Three Omicron cases confirmed by NCDC, Delhi from a cluster in Jammu. Sample taken on 30th November. RTPCR testing of entire locality ordered. Please observe Covid Appropriate Behaviour.

— Health & Medical Education Department J&K (@HealthMedicalE1) December 21, 2021

3. FIRST OMICRON DEATH IN ISRAEL

An Israeli hospital confirmed the first known Omicron death in the country on December 21. Soroka Hospital which is located in the southern city of Beersheba said the patient was a man in his 60s. He was hospitalised due to Covid-19 for two weeks before his death. The hospital also said that the man suffered from pre-existing health issues but provided no further details.

4. AIIMS DIRECTOR PUSHES FOR VACCINATION AT THE EARLIEST 

With the rising Omicron cases in Delhi, Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS Director, Delhi told ANI that people need to vaccinate and follow Covid-19 rules. He told ANI, "Omicron is a more transmissible variant. We need to do two things to protect ourselves, first one is to take vaccines and the second is to follow Covid-19 appropriate behavior."

#Omicron is a more transmissible variant. We need to do two things to protect ourselves, first one is to take vaccines and the second is to follow Covid appropriate behavior: Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, Delhi pic.twitter.com/senr3AoEIw

— ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2021

5. WAR ROOMS, TESTING, CONTAINMENT: CENTRE ADVISES STATES

The Centre on December 21 said there are initial signs of a surge in Covid-19 cases and asked states to activate 'war rooms'. Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote a letter to states saying, "Omicron is at least 3 times more transmissible than Delta. Hence, even greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making & strict & prompt containment action are required at the local & district level."

Letter by @MoHFW_INDIA to states regarding measures that need to be taken in view of initial signs of surge in cases of #COVID19 as well as increased detection of the Variant of Concern (VoC), #Omicron in different parts of the country. pic.twitter.com/YSEXQqQcAw

— PIB in Maharashtra ?? (@PIBMumbai) December 21, 2021

He also wrote in the letter that in case of new clusters of Covid positive cases, 'containment zones', 'buffer zones' should be notified and a strict perimeter control must be formed. Bhushan also underlined that 'all cluster samples must be sent to INSACOG Labs for Genome Sequencing without delay.