The government of India's Covid task force chief has warned that India may witness over 14 lakh fresh positive cases in a single day. Dr VK Paul made this grim prediction after analyzing the spread of the Omicron variant in countries like the United Kingdom and France. According to the latest statistics, India has reported 101 cases of the Omicron variant.
VK Paul issues dire warning
VK Paul revealed that Europe is facing absolute chaos despite considering the fact that 80 percent of the population is vaccinated.
"If we look at the scale of spread in the UK and if there is a similar outbreak in India, then given our population, there will be 14 lakh cases every day. France is reporting 65,000 cases. If an outbreak of a similar scale takes place in India, then given our population it will mean 13 lakh cases every day," said Paul.
Unnecessary travel not recommended
Dr VK Paul also urged people not to travel unnecessarily and requested to take proper precautionary measures while engaging in New Year festivities.
"It is time to avoid non-essential travel, time to avoid mass gatherings, and time to observe low-intensity festivities and low-intensity New Year celebrations," added Paul.
Earlier, several medical experts had warned that the Omicron variant will most probably outpace the Delta variant, and will emerge as the most dominant strain in the world.
The Omicron variant was initially detected in South Africa last month. Recent statistics suggest that this new variant along with the already dominant Delta variant is wreaking havoc in the United Kingdom, with daily cases setting new records every day.
The British government on Friday reported 93,045 new coronavirus cases, a third consecutive record daily tally. Apart from rising cases, the pandemic has also claimed the lives of 111 people in the United Kingdom on Friday, taking the overall death tally to 1,47,000.
