Asserting that Omicron is at least thrice more transmissible than Delta, the Centre on Tuesday asked states and union territories to “activate” war rooms, keep analysing even small surges. Earlier in the day, it said Omicron cases had crossed 200 in the country.

In a letter to the states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan advised implementing strategic interventions for containment like imposition of night curfew, strict regulation of large gatherings, curtailing numbers in marriages and funerals besides increasing testing and surveillance. The letter highlights measures that need to be taken in view of initial signs of surge in cases of Covid-19 as well as increased detection of the variant of concern Omicron in different parts of the country.