Covid-19 LIVE: Thermal scanning and temperature checks are conducted at the Collector's office in Pune. Coronavirus Omicron India Highlights: Maharashtra on Friday recorded 238 new cases of Omicron taking the state’s tally of the new coronavirus variant to 1,605. Maharashtra also reported 43,211 fresh Covid-19 infections and 19 related deaths in the past 24 hours. 33,356 recoveries were also recorded in the state taking the active Covid infections to 2,61,658.
India reported 2,64,202 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, ending at 9 am on Friday, marking a 6.7 per cent uptick since yesterday. This is the highest single-day spike in 239 days. With 1,09,345 recoveries , active cases are now at 12,72,073, while the daily positivity rate has risen to 14.78 per cent.
A recent UN report warned that Covid-related deaths could potentially increase in the near future, like they had during the deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh issued fresh Covid guidelines on Friday, shutting down schools and hostels until the end of the month, and banning large gatherings. In other news, the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal Election Commission to consider postponing the upcoming civil body polls for 4-6 weeks due to rising Covid cases. The EC has been given 48 hours to clear its stand.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Central and state governments to continue with the pre-emptive, pro-active and collective approach followed so far in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Chairing a virtual meeting with the chief ministers to review the situation, fueled by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, PM Modi called for focusing on local containment and emphasised on the need to safeguard the economy and livelihood of common people while framing Covid strategies. Modi also stated that the initial skepticism about the Omicron variant was slowly getting cleared as it has shown to have infected the general population several times faster than the previous ones.
Tamil Nadu recorded 23,459 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Friday, taking the overall tally to 28,91,959. With 26 casualities, the toll reached 36,956. As many as 9,026 people recovered in the past 24 hours, leaving 1,18,017 active infections. The positive cases included 21 returnees from other states and countries. The positivity rate stood at 15.32 per cent.
Chennai continued to lead the overall districts with as many as 8,693 Covid-19 cases. It is followed by Chengalpattu with 2,504 cases and Coimbatore with 1,564. Thiruvallur (1,393), Kancheepuram (802), Madurai (631), Kanyakumari (572) contributed to further maximum cases. As per the report on January 13, the positivity rate in Chennai stood at 22.6 per cent. Chengalpattu (22.3 per cent), Ranipet (22.1 per cent), too recorded a surge in the positivity rate. Read More
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 238 new cases of Omicron taking the state’s tally of the new coronavirus variant to 1,605. Maharashtra also reported 43,211 fresh Covid-19 infections and 19 related deaths in the past 24 hours. 33,356 recoveries were also recorded in the state taking the active Covid infections to 2,61,658.
When he first heard about Covid-19 vaccination drive, Dr Gopal Jha thought the pandemic would soon come to an end. That was a while ago, and though he took the third dose of the vaccine on Wednesday, he continues to remain hopeful.
Dr Gopal Jha (52) and his wife Dr Alpana Jha (50), both of whom work at mohalla clinics in East Delhi, were the first reported cases of doctors getting the viral infection in the capital. They were part of Delhi’s first cluster of infections in March 2020, which branched from a woman who had returned from Saudi Arabia. Read More
Tens of thousands of devotees took a holy dip in the Ganga here on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Friday, braving severe cold and belittling the coronavirus threat.
Devotees have been flocking the Magh Mela area since morning and around 6.5 lakh people, including children and the elderly, had taken bath in the river by 6 pm, an official of the annual religious event said. (PTI)
After almost eight months, Rajasthan again crossed the 10k mark in daily new Covid-19 cases today. Active Covid cases now over 50k in the state.
😷 Today’s Covid numbers: Delhi (24,383 cases), Mumbai (11,317 cases), Bengaluru (20,121 cases), Chennai (8,963 cases), Kolkata (6,867 cases)
Mumbai reported 11,317 fresh Covid-19 cases and nine deaths on Friday. Out of these, 84 per cent of the patients were asymptomatic. The total number of active Covid cases stood at 84,352 as of Friday evening.
Delhi on Friday reported 24,383 fresh Covid-19 cases and 34 deaths, as the positivity rate also rose to 30.64 per cent.
Goa on Friday reported 3,145 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 39.10%.
Andhra Pradesh reports 4,528 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.
Karnataka reports 28,723 new Covid19 cases today.
-New cases in Bengaluru: 20,121
-Positivity rate in Karnataka: 12.98%
-Discharges: 3,105
-Active cases State: 1,41,337 (B'lore- 101k)
-Deaths:14 (B'lore- 07)
-Tests: 2,21,205
The Kerala government has decided to suspend physical classes up to 9th standard after January 21 amid the surge in Covid-19 cases. The decision was taken in the Covid-19 review meeting held on Friday.
Refuting media reports on Covid-19 vaccine shortage in Maharashtra, the Health Ministry said the state had over 24 lakh unutilised doses of Covaxin and received an additional 6.35 lakh doses on Friday. According to the media reports, the state government is unable to increase the pace of vaccination due to a shortage in vaccine availability.
"As per their weekly consumption data available on Co-WIN, the average consumption by Maharashtra for Covaxin to cover the eligible beneficiaries for 15-17 years and for precaution dose is almost 2.94 lakh doses per day. Therefore, the state has adequate vaccine doses for about 10 days to cover the eligible beneficiaries with Covaxin," the ministry said in a statement.
"Furthermore, for Covishield, the state has 1.24 crore unutilised and balance doses available as on date. With an average consumption of 3.57 lakhs per day, this will sustain for more than 30 days for the beneficiaries to be vaccinated using the vaccine," it said.
Hence, the media reports are not factually correct and do not reflect the correct picture of the available stock of balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses with Maharashtra, the ministry said.
The vaccination of children between the ages of 15 to 17 is going slow, shows data of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). In last 10 days, only about 12 per cent of eligible population has been vaccinated.
According to data from the civic body, there are about nine lakh children in the age group of 15 years to 17 years in Mumbai. Of these, so far, 1.08 lakh children have been inoculated. Data shows that 95,441 were vaccinated at BMC centres, 9,359 in private hospitals, and 3,580 in state government-run centres as of Wednesday. Read More
Covid cases are rising fast but there no reason to worry, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday while emphasising that hospitalisation and death rates are low. He asked people to be responsible and assured them that the government has made all preparations and there are enough hospital beds. (PTI)
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held interaction with chief ministers over the coronavirus situation, the NCP on Friday took a dig at him saying it was good that a lockdown was not announced this time unlike in the past when it was imposed "without taking people into confidence and without any consideration".
Speaking about a number of BJP leaders quitting the party in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections there, the NCP said that the saffron party's five-year-long "rule of arrogance" in that state was one of the reasons responsible for it.
On Thursday, Modi held a virtual interaction with the chief ministers over the coronavirus situation in the country amid a surge in the infection cases due to its Omicron variant. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh issued fresh Covid-19 guidelines on Friday. Here are some of the new rules:
🔴 Schools, colleges & hostels for class 1 to 12 will remain closed until January 31.
🔴 Large gatherings such as fairs in which a huge crowd is expected to assemble are prohibited until further orders. Events can be held in closed halls at 50 per cent capacity.
🔴Not more than 250 people will be allowed to assemble in political, cultural, religious, educational or any other such gatherings.
🔴While, sports events can be held at stadiums, only 50 per cent of seats must be occupied.
🔴Covid appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks, and social distancing will be mandatory. Those caught flouting these rules will be fine and appropriate action will be taken.
Here's the latest twist in the Djokovic fiasco: Novak Djokovic’s visa was once again cancelled by Australia on Friday. He still has the option of a legal challenge to avoid deportation and defend his title at Australian Open, AP reported.
The Australian government Djokovic’s visa saying that the World No. 1 is unvaccinated for Covid-19 and may pose a risk to the community.
Keeping in view the risk to non-Covid patients in accessing medical facilities in hospitals amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Odisha government has allowed the activation of telemedicine service for them.
The state government on Thursday issued an order asking telemedicine platforms to provide distance medical assistance to the needy. "The present Covid-19 situation has raised a big challenge to the accessibility of patients to hospitals for general healthcare. Taking the situation into account, it has been decided to use telemedicine centres effectively and proactively established in medical colleges and other hospitals," the notification said. (PTI)