Omicron scare: Christmas, New Year celebrations banned in Delhi

In view of the rising cases of Omicron in Delhi, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has put a ban on all kinds of gatherings on Christmas and New Year in the national capital.

"As per the DDMA order, all social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural, religious, and festival related gathering and congregations are completely prohibited in Delhi," the DDMA order read.

The DDMA has directed all the district magistrates and DCPs to ensure that no cultural events, gatherings or congregations take place for celebrating Christmas or New Year in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.

As many as 213 cases of Omicron have been detected across India so far, with Delhi recording 57 cases, the highest among all states and UTs, followed by Maharashtra (54), Telangana (24), Karnataka (19), Rajasthan (18), Kerala (15) and Gujarat (14).

Amid the growing Omicron cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday hold a review meeting on the Covid related situation in the country.

Meanwhile, the Centre has said that the new Covid variant Omicron is three times more transmissible than the Delta variant.

The Centre has asked the states to review the emerging data of Covid-19 affected population, geographical spread, hospital infrastructure and its utilisation, manpower, notifying Containment Zones and the enforcement of perimeter of containment zones at the district levels. The Centre has also asked the states to formulate a strategy that can ensure infection is contained at the local level itself before it spreads to other parts.

Amid the Omicron threat, the states have been asked to 'activate war rooms and keep analysing all trends and surges, no matter how small and keep taking proactive measures at the district or local level'.