Liputan6.com, New Delhi – India reported 22,775 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours on Saturday, January 1, 2022, according to data from the country’s Health Ministry.

The addition raises concerns among authorities about the rising number of cases, just in time for the new year 2022, as reported by Reuters, quoted from Antara (01/01/2022).

The data showed that densely populated metropolitan areas such as the capital New Delhi, the financial hub Mumbai and Kolkata saw the strongest increases.

In West Bengal, infections rose to 3,450 cases in the past 24 hours, including 1,950 from the national capital Kolkata.

16 cases of omicron have been reported in West Bengal.

Kolkata city government set up 17 micro-exclusion zones in residential areas with more than five cases.

Residents living in these zones are not allowed to leave residential areas to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Ajoy Chakrobarty, director of the National Health Service, said he was holding meetings with private hospitals to ensure health facilities were ready to handle the surge in cases.

The Indian government in Delhi has taken steps to impose a curfew to stem the spread of COVID-19, which continues to escalate. The increase is believed to be due to the appearance of the Omicron variant.