Nurses prepare a Covid-19 vaccination ward for teens aged 15 to 18 at a state-run hospital in Thane, Maharashtra, on January 1, 2022. Vaccinating this age group begins January 3. (PTI Photo)
Live news updates: States must set up makeshift hospitals and form special teams, said the central government Saturday amid a surge in Covid-19 cases driven largely by the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of the virus.
India on Saturday reported 22,775 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed, adding to concerns for authorities around the country about the rising number of cases.
The data indicates that thickly populated metros, such as the national capital New Delhi, financial centre Mumbai and Kolkata in the east, are seeing some of the sharpest rises.
The coronavirus poses challenges but it “cannot stall the growth process” of the country, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “2021 will be remembered for India’s strong fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as also for reforms undertaken during the year,” he said.
At least 12 pilgrims died and more than a dozen were injured in a stampede at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday morning.
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