Omicron scare: Impose stricter restrictions in districts with more than 5 per cent Covid positivity rate, says Centre

Four states from the Northeast - Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh – fall in this category with a weekly positivity rate between 5 – 10 per cent, the union health ministry said, on December 17.

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NEW DELHI:

In view of the contagious property of the Omicron variant, the Centre has asked states and union territories registering more than 5 per cent weekly positivity rate, to impose stricter restrictions to contain the new Covid variant.

Four states from the Northeast - Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh – fall in this category with a weekly positivity rate between 5 – 10 per cent, the union health ministry said, on December 17.

Five districts in Mizoram, 1 district each in Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, registered more than 5 percent positivity rate, the ministry informed.

“There is an urgent need to impose strict restrictions in districts registering more than 5 per cent positivity rate. And the restriction should be there till the positivity rate does not come down below 5 per cent for consecutive two weeks,” said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry.

Quoting a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, Agarwal said that in many countries Omicron is found spreading more than Delta.

“It (Omicron) spread faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low. It also appears to spread more quickly than Delta where the incidence of Delta is high, such as in the United Kingdom. It is likely that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs,” said Agarwal.

As on date, 101 cases of Omicron have been detected across 11 states in India - Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Delhi and Chandigarh.

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