Online Desk :
With the new Covid-19 strain Omicron surging, the overall number of coronavirus cases is fast approaching 279 million, causing nearly two years of collective trauma.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 278, 866,214 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,392,020 on Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 51,962,787 cases so far and more than 816, 362 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,234,623 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 618,655.
India’s Omicron tally crossed 350 on Friday, with the health ministry on Christmas Eve recording over 120 fresh cases of the new Covid strain in 24 hours.
The Indian Health Ministry said that as many as 122 new Omicron cases were reported in the past 24 hours, indicating the caseload nearly tripled in just one day. Delhi and the western state of Maharashtra are the worst hit, according to the Ministry data.
Asunder Maharashtra and Delhi, the southern Indian states of Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka also reported over 30 Omicron cases, as per the latest figures.
“The World Health Organisation 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,” India’s Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a media briefing in the national capital in the evening.
India’s Covid-19 tally rose to 34,772,626 on Friday, as 6,650 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.
