Amid Omicron threat, India sees lowest one-day rise in new COVID-19 cases in 551 days

India's active coronavirus caseload has now dropped to 1,00,543, which is the lowest in 546 days.

Representational Image (Credits: WHO)

New Delhi: As the world reels under fear from the newly discovered COVID-19 strain, Omicron, India in the last 24 hours saw its lowest one-day rise in 551 days. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday (November 30, 2021) morning, the country recorded 6,990 new coronavirus cases. With this, India's active caseload has now dropped to 1,00,543, which is the lowest in 546 days.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 53 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 155 consecutive days now.

The Health Ministry also informed that there were 190 deaths and 10,116 recoveries across the country in the last 24 hours. 

India has now so far registered 4.68 lakh coronavirus-related fatalities and 3.4 crore recoveries.

Meanwhile, the cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 123.25 crore. The Health Ministry stated that more than 22.70 crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses are still available with the States and UTs to be administered.

Earlier on Monday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the global risk from the omicron variant is 'very high' based on the early evidence. It also said that the mutated coronavirus could lead to surges with 'severe consequences'.

The assessment from the UN Health agency, contained in a technical paper issued to member states, amounted to WHO's strongest, most explicit warning yet about the new version that was first identified days ago by researchers in South Africa.

WHO said there are 'considerable uncertainties' about the omicron variant. But it said preliminary evidence raises the possibility that the variant has mutations that could help it both evade an immune-system response and boost its ability to spread from one person to another.

(With agency inputs)