World witnessing 4th Covid surge, can't lower guard: Centre

Noting that the world is witnessing a fourth surge in COVID-19 cases, the government on Friday cautioned people against lowering the guard, particularly during year-end festivities.

It urged people to avoid crowding and unnecessary travel and stressed on Covid-19-appropriate behaviour and expedited vaccination.

India has so far reported 358 cases of the Omicron variant, of which 183 were analysed and 121 of them were found to have foreign travel history.

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Of the 183 Omicron cases analysed so far, 91 per cent were fully vaccinated with three having booster shots, 70 per cent were asymptomatic, and 61 per cent were males, the government said.

Citing the World Health Organisation's findings, the government said Omicron has significant growth advantage over Delta and is spreading fast through communities with a doubling time of 1.5 to 3 days.