Covid India update: Nearly 2.5 lakh cases in 24 hrs, PM Modi to meet chief ministers

India saw a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases on Thursday registering a 27% jump in new infections from Wednesday. Government data released on Thursday morning showed that the country recorded close to 2.5 lakh new cases of infection.

In a worrying development, the daily positivity rate - or the number of people infected per 100 tests - has now crossed 13 percent, the govt data showed.

The number of active cases has shot past the 11 lakh mark.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday evening hold a virtual meet with the chief minister to review the Covid third wave situation in the country as the number of cases spiral.

At least 120 districts in 29 states and Union Territories have reported a weekly positivity rate of over 10 percent in the third wave of the pandemic.

The number of patients infected with the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19 is now nearing 5,500 in the country. Currently, 5,488 cases of the new variant have been identified. Maharashtra has the most Omicron cases followed by Rajasthan and Delhi.