India reports 179,723 new cases on Monday, with most of them in the country's biggest cities – Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata – where the Omicron variant has overtaken Delta.
NEW DELHI, India – India began administering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to frontline workers and vulnerable elderly people on Monday, January 10, with the fast-spreading Omicron variant fueling an almost eightfold rise in daily infections since the start of the year.
In recent days, hundreds of healthcare and frontline workers, including police, have contracted the virus, and there were media reports that hundreds of parliamentary staff have also tested positive ahead of a budget session on Feb. 1. Despite the rise in infections, five states including the most populous Uttar Pradesh will hold elections starting February 10, though authorities have barred political party rallies until at least the middle of this month.