Omicron Covid-19 India Latest Update: The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 133.17 crore.Coronavirus Highlights: Eight more cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected in Maharashtra on Tuesday, out of which seven were reported in Mumbai city. One case was detected in Vasai Virar. The total number of cases of Omicron variant in Maharashtra is now at 28.
Earlier in the day, four new Omicron cases were also detected in Delhi, taking the tally in the national capital to six. Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said that of the six cases, one has been discharged from hospital. Officials said that all six are stable and have mild to moderate symptoms.
The other states to have reported the new Covid-19 variant are Gujarat (4), Rajasthan (9), Delhi (6) Karnataka (3), Kerala (1) and Andhra Pradesh (1) and Union Territory of Chandigarh (1).
The World Health Organisation Tuesday said that the Omicron variant of coronavirus is spreading at an "unprecedented rate" and is "probably in most countries".
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom also said that evolving evidence suggests a small decline in efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines in protecting against severe disease and deaths and that boosters can play an important role in the coming days.
Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental COVID-19 pill appears effective against the omicron variant.
The company also said full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill’s promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89 per cent among high-risk adults when taken shortly after initial COVID-19 symptoms.
Separate laboratory testing shows the drug retains its potency against the omicron variant, the company announced, as many experts had predicted. Pfizer tested the antiviral drug against a man-made version of a key protein that omicron uses to reproduce itself. More details here.
Eight new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected in Maharashtra, including 7 in Mumbai on Tuesday. According to the health department, none of the patients had a history of international travel as per preliminary info.
Schools for classes 1 to 7 will reopen in Mumbai on Wednesday, over 20 months after they were shut for physical classes due to the outbreak of the pandemic and imposition of restrictions. The order to reopen the schools was issued by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Tuesday. More details here.
Lok Sabha members on Tuesday cautioned the Modi government on the challenges posed by the rising cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 and asked it to spell out plans for administering a booster dose of vaccination.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said India has already reported 41 cases of Omicron variant and the government should begin preparations of every kind to deal with the challenge.
Chowdhury also wanted the government to spell out its plans for vaccination of children and adolescents, noting that European Union nations have already started giving jabs to children. (PTI)
Union Health Minister on Tuesday tweeted that over 55 per cent of India's eligible adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
According to Health Ministry officials, 55.52 per cent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated with 87 per cent people receiving the first dose of the vaccine, PTI reported.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said India has already reported 41 cases of Omicron variant and the government should begin preparations of every kind to deal with the challenge.
Chowdhury also wanted the government to spell out its plans for vaccination of children and adolescents, noting that European Union nations have already started giving jabs to children.
Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy wanted the government to start administering booster doses immediately. "Booster doses for Covid-19 should be started. Because of some differences within the expert committee, booster dose is not being given," Roy said. He added that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already declared Omicron as an emergency and cases were on the rise in London. (PTI)
Serum Institute of India (SII) plans to launch a Covid vaccine for children in the next six months, the company's CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Tuesday. Participating in an industry conference, Poonawalla said the vaccine 'Covovax' is under trial and would offer protection to children all the way down till three years. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian told reporters that during the test it was found that the 47-year-old man, who tested positive for Covid-19 after travelling from Nigeria to Chennai via Doha, had S-gene drop indicating Omicron variant. However, the presence of the variant is yet to be confirmed by genome sequencing.
"Though he was asymptomatic he and his six close contacts - mostly relatives - were admitted to the government facility at the King Institute, Guindy, for treatment," he said. Their samples have been sent to Bengaluru lab for whole genome sequencing.
A 47-year-old man, who reached Chennai from Nigeria via Doha, has tested positive for Covid-19. His five family members have also tested positive. Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain the presence of Omicron variant.
A yet to be peer-reviewed study by the researchers from the University of Oxford showed that two doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines generate lower levels of antibodies against the Omicron variant of coronavirus, suggesting that those previously infected or vaccinated may be at an increased risk of infection. The researchers, however, noted that there is currently no evidence of increased potential to cause severe disease, hospitalisations or deaths in vaccinated populations.
"Importantly, we have not yet assessed the impact of a 'third dose' booster, which we know significantly increases antibody concentrations, and it is likely that this will lead to improved potency against the Omicron variant," said Matthew Snape, a professor at the University of Oxford and co-author of the study.
"Real-world effectiveness data has shown us that vaccines continue to protect against severe disease with previous variants of concern. The best way to protect us going forward in this pandemic is by getting vaccines in arms," said Teresa Lambe, a professor at the University of Oxford, and an author on the paper. (PTI)
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said that all six patients -- four of whom were reported on Tuesday -- tested positive at the Delhi airport and were sent to Lok Nayak Hospital, where their samples were sent for genome testing.
“Four new cases of the Omicron variant have been recorded in Delhi. There are a total of six such patients now. A total of 74 people who either tested positive at the airport or were suspected cases/contacts have been sent to the hospital since the end of last month. Of these, 36 have been discharged and six have been infected by the Omicron variant. One has been discharged,” Jain said.
Officials said that all six are stable and have mild to moderate symptoms. read more
The Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) are deliberating and considering scientific evidences related to dose schedule of Covid-19 vaccines as well as the need and justification of booster doses.
The current priority of National Covid-19 Vaccination Program is to cover the entire eligible population with full vaccination and at present there are no guidelines regarding administration of booster doses from the two expert bodies, it added. Read more
Director of Health in the Andhra Pradesh government stated that an international traveller from Ireland, who had tested positive for the Omicron variant on December 11, has tested negative for Covid-19 after 14 days. "He is under home quarantine. All his contacts have tested negative," the director was quoted as saying by ANI.
The patient had arrived in India on November 27.
Delhi's first patient of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, a 37-year-old man, has been discharged from the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital, officials said on Tuesday.
The man, a resident of Ranchi, had travelled from Tanzania to Doha and from there, to Delhi on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He stayed in Johannesburg in South Africa for a week and had mild symptoms. (PTI)
Amidst news of the death of one person infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus, there has been a rush to get vaccine booster doses in the United Kingdom, with more than half a million people booking their slots on Monday. The United Kingdom had, on Sunday, announced that booster doses would be made available to everyone above the age of 18 years.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the death of one person infected with Omicron variant. It was not immediately clear whether the infection happened to be the cause of death or was incidental.
Meanwhile, Norway tightened restrictions on movement of people amidst record high number of coronavirus infections in the last few days, powered by the spread of the Omicron variant. Read more
Bengaluru Police on Monday arrested four people who allegedly helped a South-African national obtain a fake Covid-19 negative certificate to facilitate his departure.
The 66-year-old, who works for a pharmaceutical firm, tested positive on arrival on November 20. He was supposed to be quarantined at the Shangri La Hotel for 14 days, but left for South Africa on November 27 after showing a Covid-negative report.
His samples were later found to be infected with the Omicron variant on December 2.
India's daily Covid positivity rate was recorded at 0.58 per cent. It has been less than two per cent for the last 71 days, PTI reported.
The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.68 per cent. It has been below one per cent for the last 30 days, according to the health ministry.
India recorded a single day rise of 5,784 new Covid-19 infections and 252 fatalities. With 7,995 recoveries, the total number of active cases in India stands at 88,993.
Actor Arjun Sarja has tested positive for Covid-19. Sharing the news on Instagram, the actor stated that he is doing well and has isolated himself. Sarja has worked predominantly in Tamil films and was also seen in Harbhajan Singh-starrer Friendship (2021).
In countries with lower-than-average vaccination coverage, vaccination uptake increased 20 days before and 40 days after these countries introduced Covid-19 certification, according to a modelling study published in The Lancet Public Health.
In countries where vaccine coverage was previously low, introduction of Covid-19 certification was associated with a significant increase in the number of additional vaccine doses per million people —127,823 in France, 243,151 in Israel, 64,952 in Switzerland and 66,382 in Italy. In contrast, in Denmark and Germany, where there were higher average vaccination rates before certification was introduced, there was no significant increase in vaccination. Read more
More than a month after Panchkula last reported a death due to Covid-19, a 67-year-old man, resident of village Dhamala, who had been suffering from diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and kidney disease, succumbed to the virus on Monday. This addition to the death tally raises concerns as the Covid-19 cases continue to rise, with positivity percentage crossing 0.1 percent after a gap of several months. The positivity rate on Monday stood at 0.6 percent.
The last death due to the virus in Panchkula was reported on November 4. Read more
While Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar last week warned that those who have delayed their second dose of Covid-19 vaccine will face restrictions on their movements, the vaccination of those in the age group of 60 years and above has been trailing compared to other age groups. In case of both COVID doses, the 60 years and above group is far behind the other two groups, PCMC officials said.
While 100 per cent citizens in the age group of 18 to 44 have taken the first dose, 73 per cent of those in the age group of 44 to 59 years have got the second dose. In case of the 60 years and above group, the figure is just 63 per cent. Read more
Gujarat reported its fourth case of the Omicron variant, after a 42-year old man, who returned from South Africa earlier this month, tested positive for the new variant in Surat.
Karnataka on Monday recorded 236 new cases of COVID-19 and 7 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 30,00,671 and death toll to 38,268. The day also saw 321 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,55,138. Of 236 new cases reported today, 121 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 188 discharges and 4 deaths. Total number of active cases in the state is at 7,236.
While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.29 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 2.96 per cent. Of 7 deaths reported on Monday, 4 are from Bengaluru Urban and one each from Ballari, Belagavi and Kolar. Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 121, Kodagu 35, Dakshina Kannada 19, Mysuru 13, Hassan 10, followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district now has a total of 12,59,025 positive cases, while Mysuru has 1,80,059 and Tumakuru 1,21,209.
Among discharges, Bengaluru Urban is at the top with 12,37,124, followed by Mysuru 1,77,420 and Tumakuru 1,19,936, according to a health department bulletin. Cumulatively a total of 5,46,55,864 samples have been tested in the state so far, of which 80,217 were tested on Monday alone. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu has extended the lockdown curbs till December 31. Ban on cultural, political and religious gathering to continue.
General public would not be allowed to enter beaches for New Year on December 31 and January 1. Classes for standard VI-XII to resume from January 3.
Two more Omicron cases were reported in Maharashtra on Monday. The new variant cases were reported from Latur and Pune. Maharashtra now has a total of 20 Omicron cases.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government will impose restrictions, if required, as regards Christmas and New Year celebrations to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 even as he maintained that currently, there is no need for any such measures. He said the Delhi government is fully prepared to deal with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and he is in constant touch with experts over the issue.
Delhi has so far reported two Omicron cases. It reported the first such case on December 5 when a 37-year-old fully-vaccinated man, who arrived in the city from Tanzania, tested positive for Omicron. The second case was reported last week when a fully-vaccinated individual with a travel history to Zimbabwe and South Africa tested positive for the new Covid variant.
"If need be, we will impose restrictions. At present, these is no need for restrictions. We are in constant touch with experts and if any restriction is to be imposed for the safety of the people of Delhi, we will do that," Kejriwal told reporters on the sidelines of an event where he launched the "Dilli Ki Yogshala" initiative. Asked about possible restrictions or crowd-control measures in view of Christmas and New Year, he said, "We will do that after consulting with experts. If there is a need to clamp restrictions, we will take a decision in accordance with the suggestions of the experts."
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said he has been closely monitoring the situation in the aftermath of the detection of the new coronavirus variant and adequate arrangements, including those related to hospital beds and medicines, will be made available. "The government is fully prepared. I have convened multiple review meetings regarding oxygen supply, beds and medicines. We do not want an Omicron crisis in Delhi but even if it comes, we are prepared," he said. (PTI)
The United Kingdom has reported the first death of a person infected with the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The news was confirmed by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday.
“Sadly, yes, Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly, at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron,” Johnson was quoted by the BBC as saying. Read More
Actors Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Arora have been tested positive for COVID-19. Both having mild symptoms and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked them to remain in home quarantine.
Kapoor and Arora were tested on Saturday and their test results came positive on Sunday. After which the BMC traced their high risk contacts. So far 15 high risk contacts of Kapoor and 15 close contacts have been traced and they will be tested for COVID-19. As per the protocol, their houses has been sealed, official from BMC said.
"We have asked them to remain in home quarantine. The BMC is tracking all their close contacts, "said Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Health.
The BMC officials said that both have mild symptoms. "We will check all their contacts and if they have come in contact with any international travelers from countries at risk then the samples of both will be taken for genomen sequencing to check omicron, "said an official from BMC.
Fresh Covid cases fell below 3,000 in Kerala on Monday when the state reported 2,434 new infections and 203 deaths, which took the caseload to 51,85,210 and the toll to 43,170. Of the 203 deaths, 38 were recorded over the last few days and 165 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, a state government release said.
With 4,308 more people recovering from the virus since Sunday, the total recoveries reached 51,16,928 and the active cases dropped to 36,281, it said. As many as 50,446 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.
Britain said on Monday that the Omicron coronavirus variant was spreading at a “phenomenal rate” and now accounted for about 40% of infections in London, so people should get a booster shot because the double-vaccinated are still vulnerable.
Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and told the nation on Sunday that a “tidal wave” of Omicron was coming. Read More
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday the first patient had died after contracting the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Sky News reported.
The Omicron coronavirus variant, reported in more than 60 countries, poses a "very high" global risk, with some evidence that it evades vaccine protection but clinical data on its severity is limited, the World Health Organization says.
Considerable uncertainties surround Omicron, first detected last month in southern Africa and Hong Kong, whose mutations may lead to higher transmissibility and more cases of COVID-19 disease, the WHO said in a technical brief issued on Sunday.
"The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high for a number of reasons," it said, reiterating its first assessment. (Reuters)
People previously infected with Covid-19 and those vaccinated will have some "stronger than basic" protection against Omicron, according to one of the earliest peer-reviewed studies looking into the recently identified variant of coronavirus. However, the study conducted in a lab suggests that Omicron "exceeds" all other variants in its potential capability to evade the protection gained from previous COVID-19 infection or vaccination.
The findings, published in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infection, also suggest that although a third-dose of vaccines can “significantly boost immunity", the protection from Omicron "may be compromised". The researchers from the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control in China, however, noted that more research is needed to better understand the association. The results support recent findings in South Africa which highlight that for Omicron it was “easy to evade immunity,” they noted. (PTI)
The Bombay High Court said the state of Maharashtra was "one of the pioneers" in successfully tackling the crisis that arose because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Referring to the deadly second wave of COVID-19, the HC expressed hope the next year would bring a new beginning and that people will never see a repeat of April 2021.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik made the comment while disposing of a bunch of Public Interest Litigations filed last year, seeking several reliefs from the HC on issues pertaining to the state government's efforts, disbursement of resources related to the pandemic.
The HC disposed of the PILs after the petitioners sought permission to withdraw the pleas, saying most of the reliefs sought by them had been granted and the state government had acted upon all orders passed by the court. (PTI)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the disease Sunday, his office said.
Ramaphosa started feeling unwell and a test confirmed COVID-19, a statement from the presidency announced. The statement didn't say whether he had been infected with the omicron coronavirus variant.
He is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service, the statement said. He has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week.
The number of active cases has declined to 91,456, comprising 0.26 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.37 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the Health Ministry said.
A decline of 825 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.86 per cent. It has been less than 2 per cent for the last 70 days. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.69 per cent. It has been below 1 per cent for the last 29 days, according to the ministry.
The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 133.17 crore.
India's coronavirus tally rose to 3,46,97,860 with 7,350 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the number of active cases declined to 91,456, the lowest in 561 days, the Union Health Ministry data showed on Monday.
The death toll from the pandemic has climbed to 4,75,636 with 202 new fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 46 days now.