Omicron variant LIVE Updates: Delhi govt officers' leaves cancelled to ensure enough manpower, says DDMA
India TV NewsIndia on Wednesday reported its first death linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant in Rajasthan as new COVID-19 cases crossed 70,000 in what the Centre said was an "exponential rise" with the acceleration "steeper than ever" reflected by a higher R naught value than during the peak of the brutal second wave. As Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh joined a growing list of states to clamp night curfew in line with fresh curbs to deal with the expanding pandemic, the Centre said the upsurge in COVID cases--a 6.3 times rise in in the last eight days--is happening in cities and the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain. The acceleration of cases is steeper than ever," NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul told a joint news conference. over 2,135 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected across 24 states and UTs out of which, 828 have recovered or migrated.