The health ministry in a press conference said, "The govt had preemptively advised the states on December 21 to impose restrictions like night curfew, regulating large gatherings and increasing bed capacity and other logistics and strict enforcement of Covid-appropriate behavior.”

Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the doubling rate of Omicron is 1.5 days, which is a matter of concern as cited by WHO. While ICMR chief Dr Balram Bharghava said that the predominant strain in India is still the Delta variant. Bhushan urged people to remain vigilant and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.