Mumbai reported as many as 602 fresh cases of Covid-19 and one death on Thursday giving cause for concern at a time when the heavily mutated Omicron variant is also on the rise.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high level meeting in the evening to take stock of the country’s preparations to contain the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.

 India has recorded over 300 Omicron cases so far, with Maharshtra reporting 65 cases, followed by Delhi with 64 cases. Telangana and Tamil Nadu are next on the list with 38 and 34 cases respectively of the new mutated variant, followed by Karnataka (31) and Kerala (29). Most of the cases are related to travel abroad.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a review meeting on Omicron preparedness on Thursday and said that manpower is being increased and medicine are being arranged to battle the surge in cases.

With the daily count of fresh Covid-19 infections touching a 6-month high and cases of the Omicron variant also on the rise in the national capital, the Delhi government on Wednesday banned all gatherings to celebrate Christmas and New Year.

As many as 125 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the national capital on Wednesday, which is the highest in the last six months, raising fears that infections may suddenly surge again.

Also read:  Explainer: Why Omicron is milder than Delta