Omicron Covid-19 India Latest Update: Covid-19 testing underway for passengers arriving at the Lokmanya Tilak Railway terminus on Friday. Covid-19 India Highlights: The number of fresh Covid-19 cases in both Delhi and Mumbai exceeded 20,000 on Saturday. While the national capital recorded 20,181 new infections, taking the city’s positivity rate to 19.6%, Mumbai added 20,318 more cases to its total tally. However, the death rate in this wave continues to be low for both the cities, with Delhi and Mumbai logging seven and five Covid-related deaths respectively in the last 24 hours.
With India fighting a third wave of Covid-19 ahead of assembly polls in five states, the election commission on Saturday banned all kinds of physical roadshows, padyatras, processions, cycle or bicycle rallies till January 15. Terming the situation as “very dynamic”, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said all the government officials on poll duty will be doubly vaccinated. The election officers will be treated as frontline workers and will be administered booster doses, he added.
India reported 1,41,986 daily Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking the country’s total caseload to 3,53,68,372. With 40,895 recoveries, the active caseload stands at 4,72,169. The death toll increased to 4,83,463 with 285 patients succumbing to the infection.
According to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday, 3,071 cases of Omicron variant reported across 27 states and union territories so far, out of which 1,203 have recovered or migrated. The active cases currently stand at 1.34 per cent of the total infections. The national Covid-19 recovery rate decreased to 97.30 per cent, the health ministry said.
The three priority groups of healthcare workers, frontline workers and 60-plus population with comorbidities, who are eligible for their third “precautionary dose” 39 weeks after getting their second jab, can either book an online appointment or walk in to any vaccination centre, sources in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.
Weekend curbs kick in across most cities in India as the states try to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. While Delhi and Karnataka have imposed weekend lockdowns, the Tamil Nadu government has ordered a shutdown on Sundays.
Covid testing kiosk at the Bengaluru railway station for passengers arriving from other states. (Express photo)
Announcing fresh Covid curbs amid rising cases in Maharashtra, the state government on Saturday imposed a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am and said no movement will be allowed within this period except for essential purposes. The government also barred the movement of people in groups of five or more.
The number of fresh Covid-19 cases in both Delhi and Mumbai exceeded 20,000 on Saturday. While the national capital recorded 20,181 new infections, taking the city’s positivity rate to 19.6%, Mumbai added 20,318 more cases to its total tally. However, the death rate in this wave continues to be low for both the cities, with Delhi and Mumbai logging seven and five Covid-related deaths respectively in the last 24 hours.
The daily Covid-19 cases in Delhi breached 20,000 mark on Saturday, recording 20,181 fresh infections. With this, the positivity rate in the city has surged to 19.6%. Seven Covid-related deaths have also been recorded.
General guidelines to be followed during the entire election process for all persons:
? Roadshows, physical rallies banned till January 15
? Maximum of five persons to be allowed for door-to-door election campaign by candidates
? Political parties and candidates are advised to conduct their campaign as much as possible through digital/virtual/ media platforms /mobile based mode
? No victory procession to be allowed post-results
? All officials on election duty shall be doubly vaccinated.
? Every person shall wear face mask during every election related activity.
? At the entry of hall/ room/ premises used for election purposes: (a) Thermal Scanning of all persons shall be carried out; (b) Sanitizer, soap and water shall be made available. 3) Social distancing shall be maintained as per the extant Covid-19 guidelines of the State Govt. and Ministry of Home Affairs. Read more
The World Health Organization on Saturday called for stringent implementation of public health and social measures as Covid-19 cases surged in most countries in the South-East Asia region, with some nations witnessing an exponential rise.
“All preventive and protective measures must be implemented with full earnestness by one and all. Authorities must implement situation-specific measures to arrest the further spread of the virus. People must adhere to these measures. Masks, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, ventilation and physical distancing is an absolute must,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region.
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Puducherry witnessed a big jump in the number of fresh coronavirus cases with 280 infections being reported during the last 24 hours ending 10 a.m. on Saturday pushing up the overall tally to 1,30,278. The new cases identified at the end of examination of 3,554 samples were spread over Puducherry 234, Karaikal 27 and Mahe 19.
Yanam an enclave in Andhra Pradesh reported no fresh case. A 57 year old man hailing from neighbouring Villianoor succumbed to the virus, raising the toll to 1882. Director of Health G Sriramulu said the active cases were 825 with 96 patients being in hospitals taking treatment and the remaining 729 patients in home isolation.
The Director said 16 patients recovered and were discharged during last twenty-four hours while overall recoveries stood at 1,27,571. The test positivity rate was 7.88 percent while fatality and recovery rates were 1.44 percent and 97.92 percent respectively. The Department of Health has tested so far 20,66,680 samples and has found 17, 55, 037 to be negative. Sriramulu said the department has administered 14,51,290 which comprised 8,74,619 first doses and remaining 5,76,671 were second. (PTI)
With Covid-19 cases skyrocketing in Bengaluru by over 840 percent in the last one week – from 810 on January 1 to 6,812 on January 7 – the Karnataka government has begun approaching many government and private hospitals in the city to allocate beds for Covid-19 patients. This, when as many as three new hospitals set up by the state during the second wave – with corporate funds – lie locked and unused following the tapering of the second wave in June last year.
Though only 166 of 1,836 hospital beds available across government hospitals in Bengaluru are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients, there is a growing concern that more beds will be needed if Covid-19 cases continue to increase at the rate of over 500 per cent every week.
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Ladakh's Covid-19 caseload increased to 22,413 on Saturday as 43 more people tested positive for the virus, officials said. Seventy one patients recovered from the disease bringing down the active cases in the union territory to 241, they said. Of the fresh cases, 36 were reported in Leh and seven in Kargil district, they said. No fresh death was reported in the union territory.
According to the officials, the death toll stands at 221 -- 163 fatalities in Leh and 58 in Kargil. The number of active Covid-19 cases in Ladakh has come down to 241, 204 in Leh and 37 in Kargil from 269, a day earlier, the officials said.
Sixty-four patients were discharged from hospitals in Leh and seven in Kargil, taking the total number of recoveries to 21,951, they said. The officials said the total positivity rate of Ladakh stands at 3.7 per cent. (PTI)
India’s R-naught value which indicates the spread of Covid-19 was recorded at 4 this week, suggesting a very high infection transmission rate, according to a preliminary analysis by IIT Madras predicting the peak of the third wave between February 1-15.
R-naught or R0 indicates the number of people an infected person can spread the disease to. A pandemic is considered to end if this value goes below 1. Based on preliminary analysis by computational modeling done by IIT Madras, which was shared with PTI, the R0 value was close to 2.9 nationally in the past week (December 25 to December 31). The number was recorded at 4 this week (January 1-6).
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Political rallies, dharnas and demonstrations have been banned in poll-bound Uttarakhand till January 16 in view of the rising coronavirus cases, according to an official order. In fresh guidelines issued late Friday night that come into effect from Sunday, Chief Secretary SS Sandhu said all political rallies, dharnas, demonstrations and public events like cultural gatherings etc will remain suspended in the state till January 16.
The Uttarakhand High Court had recently asked the Election Commission to see if poll rallies could be held virtually and if online voting was possible. Assembly polls in the state are due in a few weeks and the Election Commission may announce the dates this month. Covid cases have been constantly on the rise in Uttarakhand with single-day cases crossing 800 mark on Friday after several months.
Anaganwadi centres and schools upto class XII besides swimming pools and water parks will also remain closed during the period, the order said. However, gyms, shopping malls, cinema halls, spas, saloons, entertainment parks, theatres and auditoriums will remain open during the period with 50 per cent capacity.
Night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am will continue during which essential and emergency services can operate with strict adherence to Covid protocol, said the order. Covid-appropriate behaviour such as wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing and hand sanitisation in public places is compulsory. (PTI)
Odisha registered 3,679 fresh Covid-19 cases, a 36% rise over the previous day and the biggest single-day spike in more than six months, the Health Department said on Saturday. The coastal state's coronavirus tally stood at 10.66 lakh.
The daily test positivity rate rose to 5.15 per cent from 3.92 per cent on Friday., it said, adding, the new infections include 384 children. The death toll stood at 8,468 as no fresh fatality was reported in the past 24 hours. Fifty-three other Covid patients have died due to comorbidities so far, officials said.
Khurda district reported one-third of the fresh cases with 1,223 infections, followed by 582 in Sundargarh, 372 in Sambalpur, 310 in Cuttack, 134 in Jharsuguda and 100 in Puri, the department said in a bulletin. Single-day cases in the state jumped more than 12-fold from 298 infections on January 1 and nearly doubled in just two days from 1,897 on Thursday. (PTI)
With a single-day jump of 64 Omicron cases, India, to date, has seen 3,007 people getting infected by the new variant of the novel coronavirus. Omicron has been reported in 27 states, with the most cases in Maharashtra with 876 cases, followed by Delhi with 513 infections. Out of the total Omicron cases reported so far, 1,203 people have recovered or migrated.
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The West Bengal government Saturday relaxed its Covid-19 curbs in the state, allowing salons and beauty parlours to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 10 pm. An official order to this effect said the owners should ensure that the staff and customers are fully vaccinated and they follow all health protocols.
However, there was no clarification from when the order would be applicable. Salons and parlours should be regularly sanitised, it added. As part of the ongoing Covid curbs, all educational institutions are closed in the state, and flight services are regulated. Gymnasiums and swimming pools are also shut. (PTI)
Delhi is likely to record 20,000 Covid cases on Saturday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said. Jain said that the positivity rate is likely to be around 19 per cent. (PTI)
Meghalaya on Friday reported 64 new COVID-19 cases, 26 less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 85,085, a health department official said. Of the fresh cases, 55 were detected in East Khasi Hills district, three each in Ri Bhoi and West Garo Hills and one each in West Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills and North Garo Hills, Health Services Director Dr Aman War said.
The death toll remained at 1,485 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported, the official said. Fourteen more people were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 83,338. Meghalaya now has 262 active cases.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said no fresh case of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus was reported in the state. Of the four patients infected with the new strain, three have already recovered and one is undergoing treatment, he told reporters after a review meeting on the Covid-19 situation in the state. (PTI)
Bihar has registered 3,048 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, an uptick of nearly 30 per cent, with Patna remained the worst affected district with 1362 new cases. On Wednesday and Thursday, Bihar had registered 1659 and 2379 fresh cases respectively. Two Covid patients, both women, died in Bihar on Thursday.
Other than Patna, the fresh surge has badly hit Gaya, which accounted for 193 of the fresh cases. Patna (5074) and Gaya (889) together also account for about 80 per cent of the state's total active caseload. Altogether 6.19 crore samples have been tested so far, including 1.84 lakh in the last 24 hours. The state has so far accounted for one confirmed case of the Omicron variant.
Meanwhile, with the continuing surge in Covid-19 cases in Bihar, Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Friday ordered complete closure of the Bihar Legislative Assembly secretariat from January 8 to January 17. (PTI)
Fully vaccinated and mostly masked, the Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared skeptical Friday of the Biden administration's authority to impose a vaccine-or-testing requirement on the nation's large employers. The court seemed more open to a separate vaccine mandate for most health care workers.
The arguments in the two cases come at a time of spiking coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant, and the decision Friday by seven justices to wear masks for the first time while hearing arguments reflected the new phase of the pandemic.
An eighth justice, Sonia Sotomayor, a diabetic since childhood, didn't even appear in the courtroom, choosing to remain in her office at the court and take part remotely. Two lawyers, representing Ohio and Louisiana, argued by telephone after recent positive Covid-19 tests, state officials said. (AP)
Kolkata’s test-positivity rate on Friday shot up to 53.1 per cent Friday, which means that the result of every second sample for Covid-19 test is returning positive in the city. The state Capital reported 7,484 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths in the last 24 hours. Kolkata’s daily case count was also the highest among all districts of West Bengal.
The state reported 18,213 fresh infections with a test-positivity rate of 26.31 per cent, according to a bulletin issued by state Health Department. As per officials, 69,158 samples were tested on Friday.
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Australia's former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, as case numbers hit new highs across the country and health officials warned that the real number of cases is likely much higher than testing shows. Turnbull, who was prime minister from 2015 to 2018, confirmed on Twitter he was isolating at home after a positive test.
"Like hundreds of thousands of other Australians I have tested positive for COVID. Symptoms moderate so far. Isolating as required," Turnbull wrote. "This pandemic and especially this latest wave has put our health professionals under enormous pressure."
"Please be polite and considerate when dealing with the front-line health workers,' he added. 'They have had two years of relentless pressure and it's now at its most intense. So give them the love and respect they deserve, please." (AP)
Many would say the Covid-19 outbreak may change forever the world as we have known it till now. Power structures may be shifted, economic systems remodeled, along with significant changes in the way we touch, behave, and breathe. With the number of cases continuing to surge and the prospect of a vaccine still distant, we are yet to see the impact that the virus will play out in times ahead. Lessons from the past though can provide some insight into what lies ahead.
In this five-part series, Indianexpress.com will chart out how major epidemics of the past have altered the course of history in the world. Each of these began as a biological phenomenon, but soon turned into economic, social, or political ones. Loss of lives and livelihoods had followed, distress and despair experienced, and yet despite the scale of devastation, the human race made peace with its surroundings and came out victorious. The message was, and still remains the same- there is hope!
Read the full story here
French lawmaker Jose Evrard, whose vaccine-sceptic far-right party had opposed government measures to control the spread of Covid-19, has died after contracting the coronavirus, the president of the parliament said on Friday.It was unclear whether Evrard, who was 76, had refused to be vaccinated himself.
He had expressed support on social media for protesters against Covid-19 curbs and health measures. “To his wife, his children, his relatives, as well as his colleagues and collaborators, I send my heartfelt thoughts,” President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand said on Twitter.
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Delhi reported 48 new cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 Saturday, taking the total number of such cases so far to 513 as per the official tally released by the Union Health Ministry. At present, Delhi has the second-highest number of confirmed Omicron cases in the country after Maharashtra which has reported 876 cases of the new variant. The city reported one case of the Omicron variant on Friday and no cases on Thursday, but 82 cases were added on Wednesday.
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Odisha registered 3,679 fresh COVID-19 cases, the state's biggest single-day spike since June 18 last year, raising the tally to 10.66 lakh, the Health Department said on Saturday. The daily test positivity rate rose to 5.15 per cent from 3.92 per cent the previous day, it said, adding, the new infections include 384 children.
Odisha had reported 2,703 coronavirus cases on Friday. The death toll stood at 8,468 as no fresh fatality was reported in the past 24 hours. (PTI)
For the third consecutive day on Friday, the industrial city of Pimpri-Chinchwad registered a massive jump in Covid-19 cases. As many as 1,000 positive cases were reported on Friday, a figure that was last reported six months ago. However, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) administration said a majority of these cases are “mild ones” and do not require hospitalisation.
The spike in positive cases started from this month. Last month, the positive cases had gone below 50 on a daily basis. On January 1, 112 positive cases were registered. It then jumped to 590 (on Wednesday), 817 (Thursday) and finally 1,000 cases on Friday.
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On Wednesday, Hyderabad-based manufacturer Bharat Biotech, whose vaccine Covaxin is being administered to adolescents, said no paracetamol or painkillers are recommended after being vaccinated with Covaxin.
Like any vaccine, Covid-19 vaccines can cause side effects, most of which are mild or moderate and go away within a few days. While many may feel tempted to use a painkiller or paracetamol, experts advise against routine use of these.
Read our explained
A total of 3,071 cases of the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus were reported in 27 States/UTs of India so far. The Union Health Ministry said that close to 1,203 people recovered from Omicron.
India reports 1,41,986 new Covid-19 cases and 285 deaths on Saturday. Over 40,895 patients recovered from the infection, leaving 4,72,169 active cases. India’s daily positivity rate is currently at 9.28%.
With the number of Covid-19 cases rapidly rising in Karnataka, the state government Friday imposed a weekend curfew till January 19, restricting movement between 10 pm Friday and 5 am Monday. Only essential services will be allowed during this period.
This comes in the backdrop of the single-day spike in cases breaching the 5,000-mark Thursday with 5,031 fresh cases being recorded alongside one death. Of the 5,031 cases, Bengaluru alone clocked 4,324 cases while the state’s positivity was pushed to 3.95 per cent.
Meanwhile, Health Minister K Sudhakar Friday said, “As many as 107 new Omicron cases have been confirmed in Karnataka Friday, taking the overall tally to 333.”
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India's actual Covid-19 toll could be six times the reported figure, with a study published in the Science journal on Thursday estimating it to be nearly 3.2 million. A total of 483,178 Covid-19 deaths have been officially recorded so far since the pandemic began.
Nearly 71% or 2.7 million of the total estimated deaths occurred between April and June last year, when the Delta wave was ravaging through the country, the researchers found. In fact, the study states that during this period, Covid-19 likely doubled the all-cause mortality (total deaths recorded in a period due to any reason).
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The three priority groups of healthcare workers, frontline workers and 60-plus population with comorbidities, who are eligible for their third “precautionary dose” 39 weeks after getting their second jab, can either book an online appointment or walk in to any vaccination centre, sources in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.
“There is no need for new registration on CoWIN. Those who have taken two doses of Covid vaccine can directly take an appointment or walk in to any vaccination centre,” said a source in the ministry. “Online appointment facility will start from tomorrow (Saturday) evening. Vaccination with on-site appointment starts on January 10,” said the source.
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In peak poll season, public meetings and gatherings in Goa will have to be restricted to not more than 100 persons in open air venues, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced on Friday, as Goa saw its highest single-day rise in Covid-19 since the third wave of the pandemic set on December 28.
On Friday, the test positivity rate in Goa was 21.72 per cent as the number of active cases in the state climbed to 5,931. Of the 1,432 cases that were new, 14 patients were hospitalised while 418 were isolated at home. Read full story here
At least 173 passengers on a Rome-Amritsar charter flight were found to be Covid-positive after being tested on arrival on Friday, officials said.
This is the second consecutive incident wherein a large number of passengers coming from Italy to Amritsar airport have tested positive for coronavirus on arrival.
On Thursday, 125 passengers who were travelling from Milan in Italy on another charter flight were found positive after being tested on arrival at the Amritsar airport.
Amritsar airport Director V K Seth told PTI on Friday, "Test results of 210 passengers have been shared with me. Out of them, a total of 173 passengers have tested positive."
"This flight came from Rome. It landed at around 12.20 pm today at the airport," he added.
The officials said there were total 285 passengers on the charter flight that landed on Friday.
District health authority officials said all 173 passengers, who were found positive, were being sent for institutional quarantine at their respective home town districts.
According to the rules of the Union Health Ministry, passengers coming from "at risk" countries to India have to compulsorily get tested for COVID-19 on arrival at the airport.
All European countries, including Italy, have been deemed as "at risk" countries by the Union Health Ministry. --PTI
A new study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology published this week has analysed the data of nearly 4000 US based individuals regarding the effects of Covid-19 vaccines on women’s menstrual cycle.
So far the effects of vaccines on menstrual cycles have been known only anecdotally and this study is one of the first ones to document if vaccines affect the cycles.
The study says that some people may experience slight, but temporary changes in the length of their monthly menstrual cycles following Covid-19 vaccination. This means that for some women who receive Covid-19, their menstrual cycles may start a day later than they are supposed to. Read our explained
Today’s Covid numbers: Delhi (17335 cases); Mumbai (20971 cases); Bengaluru (6812 cases); Kolkata (7484 cases); Chennai (4531 cases)
Coimbatore District Collector G S Sameeran on Friday inspected the Walayar check post located on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border and said that only those who are fully vaccinated and have the necessary documents will be allowed to enter the district from other states.
Coimbatore is among the districts which have been reporting a spike in cases amid the latest surge of Covid infections in the state. During the second wave of the pandemic, the district had recorded more cases than Chennai for several weeks. With the Omicron threat, the district has now tightened its borders and ramped up screening. Read more
Amid rising Omicron cases in Kerala, the government on Friday decided to make seven-day home quarantine compulsory for all international passengers arriving in the state. On the eighth day, they would have to undergo the RT-PCR test.
The decision to make seven-day home quarantine mandatory for all international travelers was taken considering the fact that a major chunk of Omicron cases reported in Kerala had traveled from countries reckoned as low-risk.
Health minister Veena George said that of the 280 Omicron cases reported so far in Kerala, 186 of the infected came from low-risk countries, whereas 64 had traveled from high-risk countries. Besides, 30 others got infected through contact. Read more
The Union Health Ministry in a notification on Friday said that all international travellers will need to undergo 7-day mandatory quarantine on arrival in India, even if they test negative for Covid-19 at the airport. They will then have to undertake an RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in the country.
The cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India surpassed 150-crore mark on Friday. Terming it a “historic achievement”, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said it could be attained only because of the relentless hard work of healthcare workers under the “able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. When everyone makes efforts together then any goal can be achieved, Mandaviya said in a tweet in Hindi.
Continuing the upward trend, the national capital is likely to report 17,000 new Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of nearly 17 to 18 per cent on Friday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said. “Yesterday, there were 15,000 cases, I expect that there will be 17,000 cases today. The data is being collected right now. And, the positivity rate would be a couple of percentage points more than yesterday, it would be around 17 to 18 per cent,” he said.
He maintained that despite the increase in the number of cases, the restrictions that are currently in place will continue. Read more
West Bengal BJP on Friday sought deferment by at least one month of elections to four municipal corporations, scheduled to be held on January 22, and control on the number of people attending the upcoming Gangasagar Mela in view of a massive upsurge in Covid-19 cases. State BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya also urged the governments of other states from where pilgrims come in large numbers to the annual fair to impose some restrictions at their end. (PTI)
The 15th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), scheduled to run between January 28-February 1, has now been postponed to March 5-14 in view of the rising number of Covid cases, the organisers said on Friday. About 250 authors, thinkers, politicians and popular culture icons across the world are expected to participate in the festival, which will be held in hybrid mode. It will be virtual from March 5-9, and in person from March 10-14. (PTI)
Karnataka on Friday reported 107 new cases of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus taking the total count to 333 in the state, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.
"107 new Omicron cases have been confirmed in Karnataka on Jan 6th taking the overall tally to 333," Sudhakar tweeted. (PTI)
With the number of Covid-19 cases rapidly rising in Karnataka, the state government Friday imposed a weekend curfew till January 19, restricting movement between 10 pm Friday and 5 am Monday. Only essential services will be allowed during this period.
This comes in the backdrop of the single-day spike in cases breaching the 5,000-mark Thursday with 5,031 fresh cases being recorded alongside one death. Of the 5,031 cases, Bengaluru alone clocked 4,324 cases while the state’s positivity was pushed to 3.95 per cent.
Meanwhile, Health Minister K Sudhakar Friday said, “As many as 107 new Omicron cases have been confirmed in Karnataka Friday, taking the overall tally to 333.” Read more.
Delhi is expected to add 17,000 cases to its coronavirus infection tally with a positivity rate of around 17 per cent on Friday, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said. He said Delhi is the first to witness a surge in infections because most of the international flights come to the capital.
"That is the reason we have implemented stricter measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 as compared to other states. Some people may say that this is not needed but it is better than repenting later," Jain told reporters. (PTI)
Amid a surge in Covid cases, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has asked Delhi and neighbouring districts to immediately strengthen health infrastructure, maintain buffer stocks of essential drugs and ensure that oxygen supply equipment is fully functional.
At a meeting convened to review the Covid-19 situation in the national capital and adjoining districts on Thursday, Bhalla also favoured ramping up of testing in all districts of Delhi-NCR where the number of tests is low. The home secretary stressed that the health infrastructure in all districts of Delhi-NCR should be immediately strengthened to be able to deal with any enhanced requirement, an official statement said. (PTI)
Though COVID-19 came as curse, it also brought some virtues in terms of increasing efficiency levels of employees in the Department of Personnel, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the 24th national conference on e-Governance here, the Minister of State (independent charge) for Science and Technology, said though at times employees' output remain the same even when the physical attendance was just 25 per cent some times during lockdown periods. (PTI)
Even with coronavirus infections shooting up in Delhi, no fresh case of the Omicron variant was added to the official tally released by the Union Health Ministry Friday. So far, Delhi has reported 465 cases of the Omicron variant, which is still second only to Maharashtra, that has seen 876 cases of the new variant, and recorded 79 cases in the last 24 hours.
The reason for adding only one case over the last two days could be that results of genome sequencing are released in bulk. The city had added 82 Omicron cases to its tally on Wednesday. Read more.
Out of the total Omicron cases reported so far, 1,199 people have recovered or migrated. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 876 cases followed by Delhi at 465, Karnataka 333, Rajasthan 291, Kerala 284 and Gujarat 204.
The country saw a single day rise of 1,17,100 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 3,71,363, the highest in around 120 days, according to the data updated at 8 am. (PTI)
India reported 1,17,100 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, ending at 9 am on Friday. With 30,836 new recoveries, the country’s active caseload is now at 3,71,363. The death toll increased to 4,83,178 after 302 patients succumbed to the deadly infection. The country’s caseload includes 3,007 cases of the Omicron variant.
Two Supreme Court judges have tested positve for Covid-19, The Indian Express has learnt. While one has comorbidities and has been admitted to the hospital, the other is presently under home quarantine, sources said.
As Covid-19 cases surge in the city — 15,097 new cases were reported on Thursday — fuelled mostly by the Omicron variant, data accessed from the Delhi health department show that none of the confirmed Omicron cases have required oxygen or ventilator support, or been admitted to the ICU so far.
According to the data, there have been no Omicron deaths so far. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain also confirmed this on Thursday.
Jain had said earlier that of the samples being sent for genome sequencing, about 81% reported the Omicron variant. Not all positive samples are being sent for genome sequencing.
Delhi’s Covid case count and positivity rate have seen a surge over the last two weeks. On Thursday, the positivity rate was 15.34%, up from 11.88% a day before. Active cases have jumped to 31,498; the last time active cases were over 31,000 was on May 21 last year. Read more.
Barely a week after it was approved for early-stage Covid-19 patients, molnupiravir, an anti-viral drug developed by US companies Merck and Ridgeback, has been kept out of the treatment protocol recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Dr Balram Bhargava, head of ICMR, said on Tuesday that the drug had “major safety concerns”. This has resulted in a awkward situation: The drug is approved for use, but not recommended.
The drug
Molnupiravir is a repurposed Covid-19 drug, originally developed to treat influenza. It is meant for mild or moderately ill Covid-19 patients who are at risk of developing serious illness. The pill, if administered during the first five days after contracting the infection, has the potential to prevent serious illnesses.
The pill is among the first few therapeutics now being deployed for treatment of Covid-19. Molnupiravir was first cleared for use in the UK in November, and more recently in the US. Read more.
Maharashtra recorded a total of 36,265 Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths on Thursday. The state reported 79 new Omicron cases on Thursday taking the total tally to 876 cases.
Mumbai reported 20,181 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a fresh all-time high daily count and up 5,015 from a day ago, while four more patients succumbed to the infection, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. With these additions, the financial capital's coronavirus tally jumped to 8,53,809, while the death toll climbed to 16,388, the BMC said in a bulletin.
On Wednesday, Mumbai had logged 15,166 new coronavirus infections, surpassing the previous all-time high of 11,163 logged in April 2021 during the second wave of the pandemic.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said that a Pongal event, to be attended by PM Modi, on Jan 12 has been deferred due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, it’s not clear if an event in Virudhanagar, where PM Modi will share stage with CM MK Stalin for the inauguration of 11 new medical colleges in the state, will take place as planned.
Annamalai said only the state government would be able to comment on whether the Virudhanagar event would go ahead as per schedule.
A 45-year-old woman from Odisha, who died on December 27, was found to have been infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, officials said on Thursday. Health authorities said further investigation would be conducted to determine what specifically caused her death. Read the full report here.
Karnataka on Thursday recorded 5,031 new cases of Covid-19 cases and one death. Out of the total cases, Bengaluru alone registered 4,324 infections, taking the positivity rate in the city to 7.5 per cent.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that he has tested positive for Covid-19 and has mild symptoms. He urged everyone who came in contact with him to get tested.