PM Modi to have a meeting of the Council of Ministers today; Omicron and assembly elections are likely to be discussed

In the wake of an increase in instances of the Omicron form of coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will convene a Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday. According to Hindustan Times' sister publication Livehindustan, the meeting would begin at 4 p.m.

According to the newspaper, all ministers are scheduled to attend the conference, which will cover a variety of topics including next year's assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

PM Modi held a high-level meeting last Thursday to assess the pandemic scenario, instructing officials to maintain a high degree of vigilance and alertness as the Omicron virus spread.

The Centre had previously stated in a communication to states and UTs that the Omicron variant is at least three times more transmissible than the Delta variant, and that they should "activate" war rooms, continue to analyse even minor trends and surges, and take strict and prompt containment action at the district and local levels.

According to statistics released by the Union health ministry on Wednesday, India has identified 781 cases of the Omicron strain. The Omicron variation has been identified in the highest number of instances in Delhi (238), followed by Maharashtra (167), Gujarat (73), Kerala (65), Telangana (62) and Rajasthan (62). (46). Karnataka (34), Tamil Nadu (34) and Haryana (34), among other states, have reported cases of the novel variety (12).

According to a Bloomberg article released on Tuesday, India's Covid-19 growth rate could spike in the coming days, resulting in an intense but short-lived virus outbreak.

"It is likely that India will have a time of exponential development in daily cases and that the intense growth phase will be relatively short," an expert said in the paper.

In India, booster doses were approved last week, and teens aged 15 to 18 were included in the ongoing immunisation campaign. On Tuesday, the local drug regulator approved two more vaccinations as well as Merck & Co.'s antiviral tablet molnupiravir.