Cases plateauing in parts but keep guard up: Govt

India's Covid trajectory in the ongoing Omicron surge seems to be on a declining trend but the high positivity rate means that the wave is yet to turn a corner, experts say.

- RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI, SHINE JACOB & VINAY UMARJI

Countrywide cases have been below the 300,000-mark for the past three days and below the peak level of 414,000-plus daily reported cases during the second wave, but the daily positivity touched 19.59 per cent on Thursday.

A cautiously optimistic health ministry said on January 27 that there are early indications of a plateauing of cases in certain geographies. “The trend needs to be observed and required precautions need to be continued," the health ministry said.

The top 10 states in terms of active cases make for more than 77 per cent of the total active cases in the country, according to government data.

With home antigen tests gaining popularity like never before, revised guidelines that limit the testing of asymptomatic individuals have meant that a large number of cases are going undetected or unreported. This has made it difficult for epidemiologists to detect a peak as well.

That said, experts believe Omicron in itself is a different pandemic, unlike all the previous waves. Some experts have suggested two sets of possible peaks in India for the Omicron variant first in the urban areas followed by a dip in the number of cases and then a peak in the rural areas.