PM Modi chairs important meeting on COVID situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing an important meeting on the COVID situation and the vaccination drive in the country with top officials, government sources said on Saturday.

The meeting comes amid rising global concerns over a new strain of the coronavirus which the World Health Organization has named ’Omicron’ and classified as a highly transmissible virus of concern.

The meeting is being attended by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P K Mishra, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and NITI Aayog member (health) Dr V K Paul among others.

India saw a single-day rise of 8,318 new coronavirus infections, taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,45,63,749, while the count of active cases has declined to 1,07,019, the lowest in 541 days, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 4,67,933, with 465 daily fatalities being recorded, the data updated at 8 am showed. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 120.96 crore, according to the ministry.