A health ministry official said two cases of the novel Omicron coronavirus variety had been identified in India's southern state of Karnataka.

"All primary contacts and secondary contacts of both the cases have been traced and are being tested," joint secretary of the health ministry Lav Agarwal said during a news briefing.

India had planned to resume scheduled commercial foreign flights on Dec. 15 but canceled the plan on Wednesday, stating that a new date would be announced in due course. continue reading

The government has asked states to increase testing a week after the health ministry warned that a recent decline in testing could jeopardize India's pandemic containment efforts.

After a record-breaking increase in infections and deaths in April and May, coronavirus cases have significantly decreased in India, where the Delta variation is the predominant strain.

On Thursday, the government reported 9,765 new cases, bringing the total to 34.61 million. Only the United States has provided more inclusive information.