Omicron cases rise rapidly in Europe; Covid R-value above 1 in many Indian states

India's Covid reproduction number is estimated at 0.9 as per data available for December 10. It means that one infected person, on average, can potentially infect less than one person.

With fears of a new Coronavirus variant - Omicron - looming globally, scientists and health experts are still struggling to draw definitive conclusions about its symptoms, transmission, severity and effectiveness of existing vaccines.

However, the available data suggests that the Omicron cases are spiking rapidly in the UK, Denmark, and South Africa, among other nations. So far, it has spread in nearly 60 countries. India's Omicron tally stands at 32 as per the latest update, with 17 cases in Maharashtra, nine cases in Rajasthan. Whereas Gujarat, Karnataka, and Delhi have reported three, two and one cases, respectively.