PM Modi chairs Covid review meeting as Omicron spreads alarm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a meeting to review the pandemic situation in the country in the wake of the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease.

According to available reports, several senior officials and experts attended the high-level meeting attended by senior officials and experts.

The country saw a significant rise in the daily Covid-19 tally with 7,495 new cases being reported in the last 24 hours. The cumulative count of Omicron cases also neared 300 with a number of infections from the new strain being detected from across states.

Earlier in the day, the Centre held another review meeting with states wherein the latter, especially those awaiting Assembly election early next year, was asked to expedite vaccination coverage in the wake of Omicron’s spread.

The Centre also asked the states to consider local curbs and restrictions ahead of the upcoming festive week.