India's Omicron outbreak grows as health officials warn of new Covid-19 wave

Cases of the new variant have risen sharply since the first infection was reported on December 2

A teacher offers hand sanitiser to a pupil as a precaution against Covid-19 as schools reopen in Kochi, in Kerala state, India. All photos: AP

A teacher guides a pupil to his classroom. Schools in this southern state were closed for nearly 20 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A school staff member gestures to parents waiting outside the gate to maintain social distancing.

A teacher guides children to their classroom.

A schoolboy waiting for classes to begin looks through a classroom window.

Students wait for classes to begin and a teacher arrives.

Child wearing masks in their classroom.

The few pupils who turned up on the opening day say prayers at a government school as schools reopened.

Teachers welcome a student at the school gate as schools reopen.

Omicron: Live updates on the spread of the variant

India’s Omicron case tally jumped to 128 on Sunday, as the government warned that the highly transmissible coronavirus variant could cause more than a million new infections a day.

Two new cases were detected in western Gujarat state. A man, 45, and a teenager who arrived in the city of Ahmedabad on a flight from the UK on December 15 were confirmed positive for the strain on Sunday, officials said.

India has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of Omicron infections since confirming its first case on December 2.

Most cases detected so far were travellers coming from abroad, but a significant number of infections have been found in people with no history of travel – triggering fears that the variant is spreading locally.

Maharashtra state remains the most affected area, with nearly 50 cases of Omicron detected since the outbreak began.

The western state has recorded 6.6 million Covid-19 cases and 140,000 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began.

But cases have dropped to around 1,000 a day in recent months. Authorities there have re-imposed restrictive measures designed to slow the spread of Omicron.

Delhi has confirmed 22 Omicron cases in the past two weeks, since the country sounded an alert over the new strain that was first detected in South Africa in November.

The Health Ministry has warned that the new variant could result in a third wave of infections and urged people to avoid social events and follow Covid-19 protocols during the coming festive season.

The head of the government’s coronavirus task force on Saturday warned that analysis of the trajectory of Omicron outbreaks in the UK and France showed that the variant could cause India’s daily cases to top 1.4 million.

“If we look at the scale of spread in the UK, if there is a similar outbreak in India – given our population – there will be 14 lakh [1.4 million] cases every day,” VK Paul said.

The government has advised people to avoid unnecessary travel, crowds, and adhere to Covid-19 protocols, such as wearing masks and maintaining social distance, particularly during new year celebrations.

India has slowly emerged from a brutal second wave of Covid-19 blamed on the Delta variant.

The National Centre for Disease Control said more than 20 million people were infected and more than 160,000 people died from the virus between April and May.

The Health Ministry on Sunday said around 7,000 new Covid cases were confirmed across the country.

India has now reported around 34 million cases since the pandemic began, with nearly 477,000 deaths – the third highest toll in the world.

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