Omicron is not common cold: Centre's warning as case positivity rises

As many as 300 districts in India are reporting weekly Covid case positivity of more than 5 per cent, the Union government said on Wednesday as it urged people not to treat infection due to Omicron variant as common cold and get vaccinated.

In a press conference, Joint Secretary of the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said that a sharp increase in Covid-19 infections has been observed in India, with case positivity increasing to 11.05 per cent on Wednesday from 1.1 per cent on December 30.