India’s weekly count of Covid-19 cases has come down to a 19-month low even as worldwide the new Omicron variant has emerged as a cause for concern.

The country registered fewer than 56,000 cases between Dec 6-12 which is 8.7% lower than the preceding week. This is the lowest level since May last year.

The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.70 per cent. It has been below one per cent for the last 28 days, according to the Health Ministry.

The daily fresh count fell to 7,774 on Sunday with the total number of active cases declining to 92,281, the lowest in 560 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 45 days now.

However, the number of Omicron cases in the country has gone up to 38 with Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh also reporting one case each for the first time. Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka also reported new cases. All the infections have been linked to overseas travel.

Also read: WHO says Omicron is not unstoppable, vaccines work against new Covid strain