Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the COVID-19 situation in the country as the Omicron variant of the virus fuels a surge in cases.

The meeting was held virtually.

According to Union health ministry data updated at 8 am on Sunday, a total of 1,59,632 new coronavirus infections were reported, the highest in 224 days, while the active cases increased to 5,90,611, the highest in around 197 days.

On May 29 last year, India had logged 1,65,553 infections in a day.