INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi was set to chair a meeting at 6.30 pm local time in New Delhi on Thursday (23) to review the pandemic situation in the country amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Indian health ministry said on the same day that the country reported 7,495 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. It also said that 236 cases of Omicron variant have been reported in India so far. Out of this, the western state of Maharashtra reported the maximum number of confirmed cases – 65, followed by Delhi (64) and Telangana (24).
One hundred and four patients have recovered from the virus.
With the recovery of 6,960 patients in the last 24 hours, the cumulative tally of people who have recovered from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic stood at 34,208,926, Asian News International reported.
The number of deaths caused by the virus that have been reported in the last 24 hours is 434, taking the cumulative death toll from the virus to 478,759.
Earlier this week, the health ministry alerted states and union territories about the new variant and said that based on the present scientific evidence, Omicron is at least three times more transmissible than the Delta variant.
The ministry also added that greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision-making and strict and prompt containment action is needed at the lower levels.
India has administered 70,17,671 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours which has expanded the Covid-19 vaccination coverage to nearly 140 crore (1,400 million), the health ministry informed.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images