With the Omicron tally in India crossing the 300-mark, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday suggested that the government should consider banning rallies, political gatherings and, if need be, even postponing the upcoming Assembly elections in view of a possible third wave of Covid-19.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, held a review meeting on the Covid-19 situation in the country on Thursday evening.PM Modi took stock of the pandemic situation across the country in the high-level meeting attended by senior officials and experts and asked them to be ‘satark, savdhaan [alert and cautious]’ over the Omicron variant.As per the last available update, Maharashtra has recorded over 80 cases of the new Omicron variant so far — the maximum across states. Delhi is second on the list with 64 reported cases. As many as 24 cases have been reported in Telangana, 21 in Rajasthan and 31 in Karnataka.Several states and UTs have passed orders to ban gatherings on Christmas and New Year to restrict the spread of the virus.PM Modi held a meeting on Thursday to review the Covid-19 situation in the country. PM Modi directed officials to maintain a high level of vigil and alertness at all levels.He directed the Centre to work in close coordination with the states to support their efforts of public health measures of containment and management under the ‘Whole of Government’ approach, a statement said.”The strategy of the Centre for proactive, focussed, collaborative and cooperative fight against the pandemic should guide all our future actions,” the PM directed the officials.PM Modi asked authorities to be “satark and saavdhan [alert and cautious] in view of the new variant. “The fight against the pandemic is not over,” PM Modi said, adding that the need for continued adherence to Covid-safe behaviour is of paramount importance even today.
