Latest breaking news: India's Omicron wave may intensify in coming weeks-experts
NEW DELHI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - India's COVID-19 infections, led by the Omicron variant, may see a sharp rise in the coming weeks, some top experts said, noting that the variant was already in community transmission and hospitals were seeing more patients despite a decline in cases in major cities.
India reported 306,064 new infections over the last 24 hours, the health ministry said, about an 8% decline from the average daily cases reported in the last four days. Deaths were 439, the lowest in five days.
But weekly positivity rates have risen to 17.03% in the week to Jan. 24, from about 0.63% Dec. 27, led by the highly -transmissible Omicron variant.
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"Omicron is now in community transmission in India and has become dominant in multiple metros," a report by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said on Jan. 10 in a report released on Sunday.
Most cases of the Omicron variant have been mild, the advisory group said, although hospitalisations and cases in intensive care were increasing.
In last two weeks major cities such as the capital, Delhi, and financial hub Mumbai in the wealthiest state of Maharashtra, have been reporting big falls in cases after hitting peaks. read more
That might change, said Dr. Subhash Salunke, a member of the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research and the national taskforce on COVID, as the variant is spreading to semi-urban and rural areas. The state expects to see multiple peaks in the next eight to 10 weeks, said Salunke, who previously advised the Maharashtra government.
"The number of cases in cities like Mumbai and Pune are the tip of the iceberg," Salunke told Reuters, adding that the deadly Delta variant from the previous wave was also circulating.
India's tally of overall infections reached 39.54 million, the second-highest globally behind the United States. The country has seen 489,848 people die of the virus.
'Post-mortem' for India after South Africa ODI whitewash
India's cricket pundits on Monday called for changes in the team after South Africa's one-day series whitewash following Virat Kohli's exit as skipper.
India lost their third and final ODI by four runs in Cape Town to end a disappointing tour that also saw the tourists lose the Test series 2-1.
Quinton de Kock's 124 set up a tense win in the final 50-over match, which followed two emphatic victories for the hosts.
"Huge for South Africa. Huge. And very well played. Proper post-mortem for India now," commentator Harsha Bhogle wrote on Twitter.
KL Rahul captained the ODI side in the absence of white-ball leader Rohit Sharma, who missed out due to injury.
Kohli, who quit as Test skipper after the South Africa series loss, was the top scorer with 65.
Deepak Chahar, a pace bowler who bats in the middle order, hit a gritty 54 in India's chase of 288 but got out with the team needing 10 runs to win, and the remaining two batters soon departed.
"What's lacking about this particular Indian outfit is the batters that they have in the team, none of them chip in with three-four overs of bowling," former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
"That's got to be the quest for India with their 50-overs team. If they can't find an obvious sixth bowling option...you have got (to have) pure batters who walk in to the team and can chip in with some bowling."
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar had backed Chahar's inclusion in the XI after the first two losses, saying veteran fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who went wicketless in two matches and gave away too many runs, has lost his sting.
Gavaskar had also told TV channel India Today that captain Rahul "had run out of ideas" during opposition partnerships in the first two ODIs.
But cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra said the losses could help the team reinvent itself.
"Losing... allows you to take bold decisions," he said.
"India's white-ball cricket template needs a makeover... this could very well be the beginning of the new approach."
