COVID-19 Cases: Omicron is the Most Dominant Variant in Indian Metros Now

COVID-19 Cases in India is currently dominated by Omicron variant which is spreading thick and fast in the metro cities, with over 90% cases reportedly infected with new Covid-19 Variant. According to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (Insacog) Omicron has become the most common variant of the coronavirus in metropolitan areas, accounting for more than 90% of cases in the country.

Omicron was detected in 50 percent of sequenced samples in the fourth week of December, according to genomic monitoring data from the Insacog network. It reached 90-95 percent in all isolated samples in the second and third weeks of January as it spreads rapidly.

The Insacog genomic surveillance data showed that Omicron has been found in 100% cases in Rajasthan, followed by 90% cases in Delhi, 80% in Maharashtra, 70% in both West Bengal and Karnataka.

COVID-19 Cases: Omicron Variant is prevalent in more than 90% Cases in India today

“India is a big country and while Omicron is dominant in India as a whole, we cannot say Omicron has completely replaced Delta in all regions of India. However, by early January 2022, in big metros like Mumbai and Delhi, we can see such replacement,” said Anurag Agrawal, director, CSIR-IGIB, who is a part of the Insacog.

Agrawal says replacement from Delta to Omicron is likely to spread in the country in the next few weeks.

“The replacement is expected to spread to smaller cities, which seems to have happened by mid-January in many tier-2 cities, and subsequently to tier 3-cities, rural and less connected parts of India. I expect that to happen over the next few weeks,” he said.

However, according to him it is unlikely though that Delta will completely get replaced, since Omicron does not have much transmission advantage over Delta in unvaccinated and previously uninfected people.

In some places though Delta still accounts for 20-30% of all cases. “Such populations, where Delta can theoretically successfully compete with Omicron, are small in India, but very much there,” he said