NITI Aayog's Dr VK Paul on Friday said the mask usage is declining in India even as the cases of the new variant of coronavirus 'Omicron' are rising. He said we need to learn from the global situation and remember that both vaccines and masks are important to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"Mask usage is declining in India. We have to remember that both vaccines and masks are important. As far as protection capability is concerned, we are now operating at a risky and unacceptable level. We should learn from the global situation," Dr VK Paul said.

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Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said surveillance, effective screening, monitoring of international travellers and health infrastructure upgradation is being done. States have been notified to increase their surveillance and actively test passengers arriving from other countries, he added.

"2 countries had reported Omicron cases till 24th Nov. Now 59 countries have reported cases of Omicron. These 59 countries have reported 2,936 Omicron cases. Besides this, there are 78,054 probable cases and their genome sequencing is underway," he further said.

Tanzania-returnee tests positive for Omicron variant in Dharavi

Dharavi has confirmed its first Omicron case on Friday, taking the number of confirmed cases of this new variant of COVID-19 in Maharashtra to 11. The patient has returned from Tanzania and is now admitted to the SevenHills Hospital in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

With this, the total Omicron cases in the country has jumped to 26. However, many of these patients have recovered.

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Mumbai: Tanzania-returnee tests positive for Omicron variant in Dharavi