New Delhi: The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading fast and 358 cases of the new variant have been found in India so far, said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday.
Addressing a press briefing, the Union Health Secretary said that 358 Omicron cases have been reported in 17 States/UTs of the country and 114 persons have recovered to date.
“Omicron has a significant growth advantage over Delta and is thus spreading faster with a doubling time of between 1.5 and 3 days,” Bhushan, said quoting World Health Organization (WHO).
Bhusan said: “WHO on December 7 said that Omicron has a significant growth advantage over Delta which means, it has greater transmissibility. Omicron cases double within 1.5-3 days, so we have to remain vigilant with COVID appropriate behaviour.” He further added that the treatment protocols for COVID-19 including the Delta variant will apply to Omicron also.
Stating that the world is witnessing the fourth surge and the overall positivity is 6.1 per cent, the Union Health Secretary said that we have to be on guard and cannot afford to slacken.
