India reported its lowest tally of active COVID-19 cases in 18 months on Monday, but a sharp drop in the use of protective face masks is causing concern after a rise in the number of infections with the Omicron variant.
Many people have been standing or sitting close to each other without masks, or covering only their chins, at big rallies held by political parties in several states before elections.Cases have come down sharply since then, with an active COVID-19 total of 91,456 as of early Monday, the lowest in 561 days, according to the Health Ministry.of the virus sequences analysed in the country in the past two weeks, with Delta accounting for the rest.
"The falling graph of mask use could cost us," top Indian health official Vinod Kumar Paul told a recent news briefing. "Mask is a universal vaccine, works on every variant." Mask-wearing in public has fallen to levels last seen in March, before the second wave of cases, data from theshows. Current mask-wearing is estimated at 59%, nearly the same as in March, having peaked at 81% in May.
The country reported 7,350 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the total to 34.69 million. Deaths rose by 202 to 475,636.Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Chandini Monnappa, Editing by Timothy HeritageSubscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Covid-19: Three more deaths and 1,446 new cases in NIThe total number of deaths with coronavirus recorded by the Department of Health is now 2,921.
Read more »
How a Pennsylvania hospital system is working to free up beds during latest COVID-19 surge
Read more »
Inflation Hits Workers Already Worn Down by Covid-19In northern Maine, jobs abound, consumer demand is up and local businesses are offering sign-on bonuses. But many pandemic-weary workers say inflation is pinching their budgets and dimming their holiday cheer.
Read more »
'Terror and Confusion': On the Ground in Wuhan, China in the Early Days of Covid-19In this excerpt from the new book The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine, journalist Brendan Borrell takes us back to January 2020
Read more »
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ on Broadway Sunday Performances Cancelled Due To Covid-19 Detection Within The CompanyLooks like Mrs. Doubtfire is battling the Coronavirus as the 2:30pm and 7:30pm performances of Mrs Doubtfire on Broadway were cancelled today December 12. The production just returned to Broadway O…
Read more »