India’s Covid-19 cases set for new highs as Omicron spreads rapidly

 Government officials have privately said they are working under the assumption that daily infections will surpass the record of more than 414,000 set in May

India’s daily Covid-19 cases jumped to 117,100 on Friday, a five-fold increase in a week and on course to overtake its previous infection peak as the fast-spreading Omicron variant replaces Delta in cities.

Government officials have privately said they are working under the assumption that daily infections will surpass the record of more than 414,000 set in May, given what has happened in countries such as the United States where daily cases recently rose past 1 million. “We will clearly surpass our record shortly and reach a new peak by early February,” M.D. Gupte, a former director of the state-run National Institute of Epidemiology and an immunisation adviser to the government, told Reuters.

“Given the size of our population, we will report more daily cases than the U.S. But what we have seen is that these cases are much more mild, so the need for hospitalisation and oxygen and all that is not picking up.” He said India’s high rate of infection during a previous major wave in April and May, as well as vaccinations, would mean a reduction in the severity of the illness for those infected by the Omicron variant.