25 Omicron cases detected in India so far, symptoms mostly mild: Govt

The government on Friday said 25 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been detected in India so far and that mostly mild symptoms have been noted in all the cases.

Clinically, Omicron is not posing burden on the healthcare system yet, but the vigil has to be maintained, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

At a joint press briefing on the pandemic, the government said 25 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in India -- 10 in Maharashtra, nine in Rajasthan, three in Gujarat, two in Karnataka, and one in Delhi.

"Mainly mild symptoms have been seen in the cases of Omicron variant detected so far," Health Ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said.

According to the government, the WHO has highlighted that compliance to public health and social measures is declining globally with the increase in vaccination rates.

Another official said the government has not received any recommendation from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) on the pediatric vaccination against COVID-19 yet.

The government said 86.2 per cent of the country's adult population received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 53.5 per cent has been administered both doses.

It said the weekly positivity rate in 19 districts was between five and 10 per cent and it was over 10 per cent in eight districts of three states.

India's coronavirus tally climbed to 3,46,74,744 with the addition of 8,503 infections in a day, while the number of active cases rose to 94,943, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll mounted to 4,74,735 with the addition of 624 new fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 43 days now.