People celebrate Republic Day in Delhi while wearing face masks. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)Coronavirus Omicron India Highlights: An ICMR study has demonstrated that individuals infected with Omicron have significant immune response which could neutralise not only the Omicron, but also other variants of concern, including the most prevalent Delta variant. It suggests that the immune response induced by the Omicron could effectively neutralise the Delta variant, making the re-infection with Delta variant less likely, thereby displacing the Delta as dominant strain, the study said emphasising upon the need for Omicron-specific vaccine strategy.
India reported 2.85 lakh (2,85,914) new Covid-19 cases and 665 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am Wednesday. The country has 22.23 lakh active cases, 5.55 per cent of its caseload. The daily positivity rate is 16.16 per cent, while the recovery rate is 93.23 per cent. In the last 24 hours, 17.69 lakh tests were conducted. And, India has administered 163.58 crore vaccine doses so far. While a few cities recorded a uptick in infections, may saw a sharp fall as well. Today’s Covid-19 numbers from the major metro cities are: Mumbai (1,858 cases), Delhi (7,498 cases), Bengaluru (22,427 cases), Kolkata (654 cases), and Chennai (5,973 cases)
A series of events took place on Wednesday as the country celebrated its 73rd Republic Day. The parade at Rajpath was held amid strict Covid-19 protocols in the national capital. You can follow live updates on it here.
With the plateauing of the pandemic curve in the third wave, the test positivity rate (TPR) — the number of positive cases detected when compared to the total tests conducted — in Mumbai dropped to 4.3 per cent on Wednesday. This is a sharp fall from 28.9 per cent TPR reported 19 days back on January 7. On January 7, out of the 72,442 tests conducted, 20,971 samples had returned positive. But after hitting its pandemic peak around January 10, the daily cases gradually started declining. On January 11, out of the 62,097 tests conducted, 11,647 were detected with Covid-19 with a TPR of 18.7 per cent. A week after, on January 18, the daily cases dropped marginally with 6,149 cases from 47,700 tests at a positivity rate of 12.8 per cent. Seven days later, on Wednesday, it plunged to 4.3% with 1,858 positive cases from 42,315 tests conducted in Mumbai. Read More
The Covid-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 9,24,161 on Wednesday after detection of 9,966 new cases, while death toll increased to 10,591 after eight more patients succumbed to the infection in the state, a health department official said. The positivity rate reduced to 12.3 per cent from 13 per cent on Tuesday, when the state had registered 9,451 cases, he said. The rate indicates the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested.
The recovery count stood at 8,41,346 after 8,604 people were discharged from hospitals during the day, he said. (PTI)
New Covid-19 infections dropped below 30,000 in Tamil Nadu as it added 29,976 cases on Wednesday, pushing the caseload to 32,24,236, the health department said. As many as 47 more people succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, mounting the death toll to 37,359 till date, a medical bulletin said. Fresh have been hovering over 30,000 over the last few days and Tamil Nadu has been witnessing a declining trend after reaching a peak of 30,744 cases on January 22.
Seven districts led by Chennai accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections with the state capital adding 5,973 cases followed by Coimbatore 3,740, Chengalpet 1,883, Tiruppur 1,787, Salem 1,457, Erode 1,302 and Kanyakumari 1,035 with the remaining in other districts. Those who tested positive, included 18 returnees from various states. (PTI)
Mumbai reported 1,858 new coronavirus infections and 13 deaths on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a release. The city has been reporting fewer than 2,000 cases for the last three days. The caseload of the financial capital of the country went up to 10,40,363, while death toll rose to 16,569. The new daily cases were hovering over 2,000 since December 29, 2021. With 1,656 patients being discharged from hospitals on Wednesday, the tally of recoveries increased to 9,98,698. (PTI)
Karnataka reported 48,905 new Covid-19 cases along with 39 deaths today. The state also witnessed 41,699 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The test positivity rate dipped to 22.51 per cent from 26.70 per cent on Tuesday. Of the new cases, Bengaluru Urban reported 22,427 infections. Click here to read live updates.
Delhi today recorded 7,498 fresh Covid cases, up from yesterday's count of 6,028 infections. The national capital also saw 29 related deaths. The positivity rate currently stands at 10.59 per cent.
The Omicron variant of coronavirus can remain alive on skin for over 21 hours, and more than eights days on plastic surfaces, which may be contributing to its faster spread compared to other strains, according to a study. The researchers from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan analysed the differences in viral environmental stability between the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain and all variants of concern. The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted recently on the preprint repository BioRxiv, found that the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants exhibited more than two-fold longer survival on plastic and skin surfaces, than the Wuhan strain. (PTI)
As the nation grapples with the third wave of Covid-19, the government needs to be extremely vigilant so that mistakes made previously are not repeated, health activists of Jan Arogya Abhiyan said. On the occasion of Republic Day 2022, based on the participation of constituent organisations across the state, Jan Arogya Abhiyan has drawn the attention of the Maharashtra government to several matters like strengthening of public health services and regulation of private hospitals. Read More
An ICMR study has demonstrated that individuals infected with Omicron have significant immune response which could neutralise not only the Omicron, but also other variants of concern, including the most prevalent Delta variant. It suggests that the immune response induced by the Omicron could effectively neutralise the Delta variant, making the re-infection with Delta variant less likely, thereby displacing the Delta as dominant strain, the study said emphasising upon the need for Omicron-specific vaccine strategy. The study was conducted on 39 individuals, of which 25 had taken both the doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, eight people had taken double dose of Pfizer jab, while six were unvaccinated.
Also, 28 of these 39 were mainly foreign returnees from the UAE, South/West/East Africa, Middle East, the US and the UK, and 11 people were their high-risk contacts. All these individuals were infected with Omicron variant. The study assessed the IgG antibody and Neutralizing Antibody (NAb) response in the people with breakthrough and natural Covid-19 infections.
A newly married couple was arrested in Valsad along with their seven family members early Tuesday for allegedly violating night curfew while they were returning after the wedding rituals. Surat Range IG Rajkumar Pandian has ordered an inquiry against the police personnel involved in the incident. Read More
Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the most effective weapon to the world in its war against Covid-19 in the form of a unique gift called “Mangal (well-being) teeka” (vaccine) which continues to protect people from coronavirus. Addressing the Republic Day function at the Lal Parade ground here, the governor said only two per cent of the infected persons required hospitalisation during the third wave of the pandemic while others are recuperating at home thanks to the "PM's extraordinary vision and the rapid free vaccination".
“The severity of the infection has lessened due to the protective cover provided by the vaccine against Covid-19 during the third wave. The Prime Minister has given the most effective weapon to the world in its war against Covid-19 by gifting a unique 'Mangal teeka' which is saving the people even today,” Patel said. (PTI)
With daily Covid cases dipping to around 6,000 and the positivity rate going below 10 per cent, the Delhi government may soon lift curbs like the weekend curfew and odd-even days for markets and malls, said sources Wednesday. Cinema halls and dine-in facilities of restaurants may also be allowed at 50 per cent capacity, the sources added.
“There is a meeting tomorrow. Weekend curfew, odd-even and opening of all shops in the markets and malls are expected to be lifted from this week or next week but the exact dates will be discussed in the meeting by the CM and the L-G. Cinema halls and restaurants may also be allowed to function at 50 per cent capacity,” the source said. Read more here
More than 1,600 parents have signed a petition sent to Delhi authorities on Republic Day requesting the opening of schools and anganwadi centres for physical classes on priority once Delhi begins lifting its current set of Covid-19 restrictions.
The petition states, “On Republic Day, as citizens and voters, we strongly urge you to respect our children’s constitutional rights to education, health, and life. As you lift Omicron-related restrictions, schools and anganwadis must be the first to open (for all classes). Attendance can be subject to parental consent. SOPs must be reviewed and updated in a timely manner based on current science – they must be realistic in order to restore normalcy to our children’s lives and education." Read more here
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian has said a surge in cases was seen last week in the state due to people travelling for the Pongal festival. “In view of Pongal festival, people travelled to their villages following which the virus spread (in such areas). Over the next three days, the actual prevalence of the virus in the state will emerge,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
With high vaccine coverage in the city, Delhi has seen fewer immunisations over the last week. Over 72,800 shots were administered daily on average over the last seven days in comparison to over 132,400 shots in the previous corresponding period.
Delhi has already administered over 16.8 million first doses in adults as against an estimated nearly 15 million eligible people over the age of 18 years, completing 100 per cent coverage. And 12.2 million second doses have also been administered so far, covering 81 per cent of the adult population. The Centre, earlier this week, said that high uptake in vaccination has resulted in a less severe third wave, with fewer hospitalisations and deaths. Read more here
At least 163.58 crore (1,63,58,44,536) vaccine doses have been administered in India since the national vaccination drive began in January 2021. On Tuesday, 59 lakh doses were administered. Further, 94 lakh precaution doses have been administered so far.
West Bengal registered a decline in its Covid-19 tally with 4,494 people tested positive in the state on Tuesday. The virus claimed 36 lives, taking the state toll to 20,411, reported PTI. Meanwhile, state Education Minister Bratya Basu has said the state government is in favour of reopening schools in a phased manner but the final decision will be taken by CM Mamata Banerjee “at the right time”.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the Covid restrictions imposed across the national capital will be eased soon so that people’s livelihood and economic activities can return to normalcy.
“After receiving several requests from the market and traders’ association, we sent a proposal to the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) to lift the weekend curfew and ease restrictions. He agreed to some recommendations, but deferred others like the odd-even system and weekend curfew. All these restrictions are imposed for public safety and people need not worry; all these restrictions will be lifted soon,” said Kejriwal.
For the first time in the ongoing third wave in Karnataka, the number of recoveries exceeded the number of new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. Karnataka reported 41,400 fresh Covid-19 cases, of which 19,105 were detected in Bengaluru alone. The state health department also recorded 53,093 recoveries during the day.
The positivity rate in the state stood at 26.70 per cent, whereas the case fatality rate was 0.12 per cent. The state currently has 3,50,742 active cases. Fifty-two people succumbed to the virus on Tuesday, with 19 dying in Bengaluru.
“Health is one of the strongest pillars of the society and I will continue to work towards making it equitable for all,” Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman and managing director of the Poonawalla Group, said while expressing his gratitude to the Government of India after being bestowed with the Padma Bhushan award.
Dr Poonawalla, who founded the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) in 1966, said, “It is a great privilege for me to be among the prestigious list of illustrious people who have contributed to the growth of the country.” SII is manufacturing the Covishield vaccines in India.