NEW DELHI, Dec 16: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Thursday reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the country amid reports of about 70 positive cases of the Omicron variant of the virus in different parts of the country.
Preparedness of health infrastructure of all Union territories to deal with COVID-19 situation was also reviewed, a home ministry spokesperson said.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan attended the meeting, in which officials from Union Territory administrations also participated.
“Union Home Secretary chaired meeting today along with Union Health Secretary to review COVID-19 situation in UTs. Preparedness of health infrastructure of all UTs to deal with COVID-19 was also reviewed,” the spokesperson said.
Till Wednesday, India reported 68 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Telangana and West Bengal reported their first cases of the Omicron variant on Wednesday, while four more persons tested positive in Maharashtra.
So far, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of Omicron cases at 32, followed by Rajasthan at 17. Cases of the variant have also been reported in Karnataka (3), Gujarat (4), Kerala (1), Telangana (2), West Bengal (1) and Andhra Pradesh (1) and Union Territories of Delhi (6) and Chandigarh (1).
India has added 7,974 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,47,18,602, while the active cases declined to 87,245, according to Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.
The death toll climbed to 4,76,478 with 343 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. (PTI)
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