‘India could see 14 lakh cases per day, if a UK-like Omicron situation arises’: Centre warns .
If a UK-like situation arises in India, the country could see as many as 14 lakh cases of Omicron variant per day, warned the Central government on Friday.
The government also highlighted the fact that the United Kingdom and France are witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases – both Delta and Omicron – despite cent per cent vaccination in the adult population.
During a press briefing, Niti Aayog member-health, Dr VK Paul said, “You are aware from the information in the public domain that situation in parts of Africa but also in parts of Europe has gone worse.”
He went on to say stressing that pandemic spreads rapidly, particularly with variants like Omicron. “We have to make an effort so that such a situation do not emerge here. Conversely, we have to be prepared to effectively face even such a situation,” he said.
Dr Paul highlighted the example of the UK which reported over 80,000 cases on Thursday despite high vaccination rate and exposure to Delta.
“If there is a similar outbreak in India, given our population, there will be 14 lakh cases every day. Similarly, France — where there is 80% partial vaccination — is reporting 65,000 cases. If an outbreak of a similar scale takes place in India, it will mean 13 lakh cases every day,” he added.
