A young boy receives his first dose of the Covid vaccine at a jumbo vaccination centre in Somaiya Ground in Mumbai's Sion.Covid-19 India Highlights: India is witnessing an exponential rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, which is believed to be driven by the Omicron variant, the Centre said on Wednesday, while highlighting that the country’s R naught value that indicates the spread of the infection is 2.69, higher than the 1.69 recorded during the peak of the pandemic’s second wave. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the spike in the number of Covid cases is being witnessed in cities and “the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain”.
India has reported over 6.3 times rise in Covid-19 cases in the last eight days, the government has informed, while adding that a sharp increase has been witnessed in case positivity from 0.79 per cent on 29 December 2021 to 5.03 per cent on 5 January 2022. Stating that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat have emerged as states of concern due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Union health ministry added that 28 districts in the country have been reporting more than 10% weekly positivity, while 43 districts have reported weekly positivity between 5-10%.
Meanwhile, the government has ruled out mixing Covid-19 vaccines for precautionary dose. Addressing a health briefing, Dr V K Paul said precautionary Covid-19 vaccine dose will be the same as the one given previously.
Children getting vaccinated against coronavirus in Ahmedabad. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)
30 more resident doctors have tested Covid-positive in Sion Hospital, Mumbai, ANI reported.
A total of 260 resident doctors in the state have been tested positive till now, Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The Indian Express had earlier reported,that over 65 doctors, including the dean, at JJ Hospital are learnt to have tested positive. As many as 50 doctors and students from Sion hospital, 40 at KEM Hospital and more than 10 at BYL Nair Hospital are said to have been hit by the infection as well. Read more
"The R naught value is 2.69. This is higher than 1.69 that we saw at the second wave on peak. The acceleration of cases is steeper than ever," NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul told a joint news conference. A ferocious second Covid wave had swept the country in April-May last year.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the spike in the number of Covid cases is being witnessed in cities and "the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain".
Dr Paul, however, added that the hospitalisation rates are relatively low. It is close to 3.7 per cent in Delhi and five per cent in Mumbai. "That is the early input we have. Compared to this, last year and even in 2020, the hospitalisation rate was close to 20 per cent," Paul said.
Joint Secretary in Health Ministry Lav Agarwal further stated that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat are emerging as the states of concern. (PTI)
Mumbai recorded 15,014 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day surge witnessed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The daily positivity rate, too, shot up to 25%.
As the spread continues, officials at the public health department expects the city to record a further daily surge in cases over the next two weeks, which may even lead to increase in hospitalisation.
With the advent of the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible than its predecessor Delta, the active Covid-19 cases have surged over 30 times in a month– from 1,922 cases recorded on December 1, 2021 to 61,923 on Wednesday. Read more
The “precautionary” vaccine dose to be given to healthcare and frontline workers, and individuals 60 years and above with comorbidities, will be the same as that of the first two doses, the government clarified on Wednesday.
Addressing the media, NITI Aayog member Dr Vinod K Paul said, “Those who have received Covaxin will receive Covaxin. Those who have received the primary two doses of Covishield will receive Covishield. That’s the way we are proceeding.” Read more
A 74-year-old man from Rajasthan’s Udaipur, who died last week, was Wednesday confirmed as the country’s first Omicron-related death.
The man was admitted to Udaipur’s Maharana Bhupal government hospital on December 15, tested negative for Covid twice, and eventually died on December 31. Doctors in Udaipur said the patient, who was fully vaccinated, had a host of comorbidities.
Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said Wednesday: “Technically it is an Omicron-related death. He was an elderly person who had diabetes and comorbid conditions.” Read more
The Karnataka government on Wednesday ordered special surveillance measures, including a negative RT-PCR, for people coming to the State from Goa in view of the rise in Covid-19 there. In its order, the government said the negative RT-PCR certificate not older than 72 hours must be produced by the passengers travelling on flight, bus, train or personal transport to Karnataka. This is also applicable for passengers boarding connecting flights from Goa, the order said.
It further said the airlines concerned should issue boarding passes only to the passengers carrying the negative certificate. Similarly, Railway authorities should see to it that all passengers travelling by trains from Goa to Karnataka carried the certificates.
For all the passengers travelling by bus originating from Goa, the bus conductors concerned should be directed to ensure passengers possess the negative RT-PCR report, the order said. (PTI)
In view of rising cases of Covid-19 in the country, the Army has issued a fresh advisory to all its units and formations, recommending precautionary measures to check the spread of the infection.
In the advisory, the Integrated HQ of the Ministry of Defence (Army) prescribed specific measures as per the weekly positivity rate of Covid-19 cases in its establishments besides suggesting health education and awareness campaigns to deal with the situation. It said the weekly positivity rate in the Army for the week ending December 31 was 2.34 per cent but added that the current rising trends necessitate re-visiting the existing measures.
The advisory said if a station records the positivity rate in the range of one to two per cent, then all its personnel returning from leave and temporary duties should undergo Covid-19 tests and that all social gatherings should be cancelled. In such a scenario, the official meetings should be held virtually and quarantine facilities should be kept in a full state of readiness. If the weekly positivity rate is in the range of two to five per cent, then all personnel returning from outstation leave and duties should be quarantined for seven days and tested before allowing them to leave the quarantine facilities, the advisory said. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 26,538 fresh coronavirus positive cases, including 15,166 in Mumbai, the highest-ever daily count in the metropolis, and eight fatalities, civic officials and the state health department said. Compared with Tuesday, the fresh cases in Maharashtra rose by 43.71 per cent or 8,072 in absolute numbers on Wednesday.
With these additions, the state's Covid-19 tally rose to 67,57,032, while the death toll increased to 1,41,581, it said.
Mumbai's overall coronavirus infection count jumped to 8,33,628, while the death toll increased to 16,384, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a bulletin.
Amid the spurt in Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said 100 per cent lockdown is not required as of now, but stressed the need to impose restrictions wherever there is crowding. (PTI)
Assam on Wednesday reported its first Omicron case after a Saudi Arabia returnee tested positive for the new coronavirus variant, Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said. The 35-year-old man, who hails from Hojai district, was found infected with the Omicron variant, he said. His sample was sent to the Jorhat-based North East Institute of Science and Technology as he had tested positive for COVID-19 after his return from the West Asian country, the minister said.
"His report for genome sequencing came during the day. But by this time, he has already recovered from the infection," Mahanta said.
A teenager from Digaru area in Kamrup Metropolitan district had also tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus, but his sample was taken to Meghalaya, the minister said. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 4,862 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths. Of this, Chennai logged 2,481 infections and four deaths. Coimbatore reported 259 cases and Chengalpet reported 596 cases.
West Bengal on Wednesday reported 14,022 new Covid-19 cases and 17 deaths taking the case tally to 16,78,323 and toll to 19,827. Of the new cases and deaths, Kolkata has recorded 6,170 infections and five fatalities.
Mumbai on Wednesday reported 15,166 fresh Covid-19 infections and three deaths. The number of active cases rose to 61,923.
Karnataka on Wednesday reported 4,246 fresh Covid-19 cases and two deaths at a positivity rate of 3.33 per cent. Bengaluru contributed the highest number of cases at 3,605 and both the fatalities were reported from the state capital. The number of Omicron cases stand at 226 in the state.
In view of the surge in Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced that a night curfew (from 10 pm – 5 am) will be imposed in the state from Thursday, January 6 and a complete lockdown will be observed on all Sundays. Read More
Chhattisgarh reports first Omicron case in Bilaspur. The 52-year-old patient has a travel history to the United Arab Emirates, a government data said. (ANI)
Delhi on Wednesday reported 10,665 fresh Covid-19 cases — highest since May 12 — and eight deaths, as the positivity rate also shot up to 11.88 per cent. With the latest addition, the cumulative caseload has gone up to 14,74,366 while the death toll stood at 25,121. The number of active cases in the capital stands at 23,307. As many as 251 hospital admissions were reported within the day, while the number of patients on ventilator support has gone up to 22 from 14 in a single day. Delhi had reported 5,481 cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday at a test positivity rate of 8.37 per cent.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the national capital was likely to record 10,000 cases today and added that the third wave had set in.
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Centre on Wednesday released revised guidelines for home isolation of mild/asymptomatic Covid-19 cases.
According to the new guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, a patient under home isolation will stand discharged after 7 days from testing positive.
“Patient under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least 7 days have passed from testing positive and no fever for 3 successive days and they shall continue wearing masks. There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over,” said the guidelines.
“Asymptomatic contacts of infected individuals need not undergo Covid test & monitor health in home quarantine,” the guidelines said. Explained
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Mumbai civic body has made rapid RT-PCR test mandatory for the passengers coming from at-risk and high-risk countries and the UAE at the international airport here, a senior civic official said on Wednesday.
A day earlier confusion was created due to misinterpretation of revised guidelines by a civic official who had said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had made rapid RT-PCR test compulsory for all the international passengers landing at the Mumbai airport, sources said.
The guidelines, issued last week, came into effect on Monday. (PTI)
Hong Kong on Wednesday reimposed some of its toughest Covid-19 restrictions, banning flights from eight countries including India until January 21, in a bid to arrest the rising number of Omicron cases.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that travellers from eight countries -- Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK and the US, including via transit -- are banned from returning to the city for two weeks starting Saturday, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Hong Kong is reimposing some of its toughest Covid-19 restrictions across the board covering social activities and international travel, setting a 6-PM curfew on all dine-in services and banning flights from eight countries as it braces for a fifth wave of infections amid Omicron fears, the Post report said. (PTI)
Civil Services (Main) examination, 2021 will be conducted as per schedule from Friday, the UPSC said. States have been asked to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to candidates and examination functionaries in their movement.
Further, the UPSC said that candidates' e-admit cards and identity cards of examination functionaries will be used as movement passes.
Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday ordered fresh curbs which includes state-wide night curfew between 10 pm and 5 am with effect from January 6. A shutdown would be enforced on Sunday (January 9) and only 50 per cent occupancy shall be allowed in buses, suburban trains, and Metrorail, the government said.
All government and privately organised harvest festival 'Pongal' and cultural events are postponed and entertainment and amusement parks would be shutdown, an official release said. Public would not be allowed in all places of worship on three days - Fridays, Saturday and Sunday- a week. The present bar for social, cultural and political congregations would continue to be in place. (PTI)
India on Wednesday recorded the first death linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus after the samples of a man in Rajasthan's Udaipur, who died last week, showed the presence of the variant, sources in the Union health ministry said.
The 73-year-old man, who was found infected with Omicron in genome sequencing and who had tested negative for the infection twice, died in a Udaipur hospital on December 31, they added.
He died due to post-Covid pneumonia coupled with comorbidities -- diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypothyroidism -- Udaipur Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Dinesh Kharadi had said. (PTI)
Amid a spurt in Covid-19 cases in Jharkhand, about 150 police personnel including DG and ADG rank officers have been inflicted with coronavirus, an official said on Wednesday. "While 98 were found Covid-19 positive on Tuesday, about 50 others were affected by the disease today," a senior official told PTI.
Director general, additional director general, inspector general and superintendent of police rank IPS officers are among those who tested positive, the official who did not wish to be quoted said.
Altogether 35 personnel are down with the virus at the premises of the Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police alone. (PTI)
? Surge in Covid-19 cases has been noted globally. 25.2 lakh cases were recorded globally on January 4, highest ever since the onset of the pandemic, the government said.
? India has reported over 6.3 times rise in Covid-19 cases in the last eight days. A sharp increase has been witnessed in the case positivity from 0.79% on 29 Dec 2021 to 5.03% on 5 January 2022
? The states of concern are Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat where there has been a rise in cases.
? 28 districts in the country have been reporting more than 10% weekly positivity, while 43 districts have reported weekly positivity between 5-10%.
? 1.06 crore (14.3%) of India's adolescents aged 15-18 have been administered 1st dose of Covid vaccine, says government.
The Union health ministry on Wednesday said Covid-19 patients under home isolation will stand discharged after at least seven days from testing positive and no fever for three successive days, in revised guidelines for home isolation of mild or asymptomatic cases. It also advised people not to rush for self-medication, blood investigation or radiological imaging like chest X-ray or CT scan without consultation of treating medical officer.
Underlining that steroids are not indicated in mild disease and should not be self-administered, the ministry said overuse and inappropriate use of steroids may lead to additional complications. Treatment for every patient needs to be monitored individually as per the specific condition of the patient concerned and hence generic sharing of prescriptions should be avoided, the revised guidelines stated.
According to the guidelines, patients under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least seven days have passed from testing positive and no fever for three successive days, but they shall continue wearing masks. Earlier, the duration of home isolation ended after 10 days of onset of symptoms. There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over. Asymptomatic contacts of infected individuals need not undergo Covid test and monitor health in home quarantine, the guidelines stated. (PTI)
Five IAS officials have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, official sources said.
The officials who have got infected include Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare department, Manoj Aggarwal, Health Commissioner Jai Prakash Shivhare, Principal Cecretary in Finance Department, JP Gupta, Commissioner of Municipalities Rajkumar Beniwal, and Hareet Shukla, chief executive officer of Dholera SIR and Tourism Secretary.
The state government has ordered remaining officials at the secretariat to undergo Covid tests and also restricted entry to the Chief Minister’s office at Gandhinagar. Only those carrying Covid vaccination certificates are allowed to enter. The government has already instructed all staff members and officials to get their second dose of vaccination. (ENS)
With schools in several parts of Maharashtra being ordered to shut down once again, barely a month after they reopened, amid rising Covid cases, education experts termed the decision to shut primary schools impractical and detrimental to the development of children.
Last month, the state government had allowed schools to resume offline classes for Classes I to VIII after continued demands from parents’ groups and educationists.
Former chairman of the state education board and education expert Vasant Kalpande questioned the logic of shutting down schools at a time when all other businesses are on as usual. Read More
With coronavirus infections exceeding 15,000 on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has asked all private hospitals to restore Covid bed numbers to the peak-level that they had during the second wave of the pandemic.
Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal wrote to private hospitals that since 10-12 per cent patients were symptomatic every day, more hospital beds would be required in the days to come. With over 95% cases being detected in non-slum areas, there would be higher demand for private hospital beds because such patients are reluctant to go to corporation-run hospitals, he wrote.
“We are planning for a worst-case scenario, though there is not much demand for beds today,’’ Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal told The Indian Express. Read More
A night curfew will be imposed in Noida from Thursday till January 14 from 10 pm to 6 am. While gyms and swimming pools will remain closed, restaurants and cinema halls will function at 50 per cent capacity. Marriages are allowed with only 100 people or 50 per cent of open air capacity. These measures have been taken after active Covid-19 cases crossed the 1000-mark.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian Wednesday announced a full lockdown on Sundays to curb the spread of Covid-19. Subramanian said that the mega Covid-19 vaccination camp will be held on Saturday. More restrictions and an official order from the chief minister is awaited.
Five districts, including Chennai, accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections on Tuesday as Tamil Nadu continued to witness a surge with 2,731 fresh cases being reported, pushing the tally to 27,55,587, the health department said. Nine deaths were reported taking the toll to 36,805, a department bulletin said.
In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases, including the Omicron variant, the Gujarat High Court has bannned entry of general public into its premises. It is also mandatory for 'party-in-person' to produce a negative COVID certificate not older than 48 hours for entry.
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Centre on Wednesday released revised guidelines for home isolation of mild/asymptomatic Covid-19 cases.
According to the new guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, a patient under home isolation will stand discharged after 7 days from testing positive.
“Patient under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least 7 days have passed from testing positive and no fever for 3 successive days and they shall continue wearing masks. There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over,” said the guidelines. (Read more)
Forty one out of 60 Covid-19 infected passengers on board a cruise ship, which returned to Mumbai from Goa, have so far been shifted to institutional quarantine facilities, a civic spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The other 19 passengers who had tested positive for the viral infection were still on the ship, he said, adding that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) conducted RT-PCR tests of 1,827 people on board the cruise on Tuesday night and their reports were expected later in the day.
Except for the Covid-19 infected people, the civic body did not allow any other passenger to disemark from the ship after it arrived here on Tuesday evening. (PTI)
Novak Djokovic needs to prove that he has a genuine medical exemption from Covid-19 vaccination when he lands in Australia or he will be "on the next plane home", Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.
The world No. 1 announced on Tuesday he received an exemption to play in the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne and said he was heading to Australia. Tennis Australia and the Victorian state government said Djokovic was one of a "handful" of successful applicants among 26 people who sought exemptions from being vaccinated, but had not received any special treatment in the anonymous application process.
"We await his presentation and what evidence he provides us to support that," Morrison told a media conference after chairing a meeting of state leaders about dealing with record levels of Covid infections in the country. "If that evidence is insufficient, then he won't be treated any different to anyone else and he'll be on the next plane home. There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever."
The decision to grant Djokovic an exemption to the tournament sparked sharp criticism in Australia, where more than 90% of people over 16 have had two vaccine doses against Covid-19. (Reuters)
Japan's Okinawa region emerged on Wednesday as the epicentre of a new coronavirus surge with cases more than doubling from the previous day and officials were considering imposing emergency steps to contain it.
New infections in the southern prefecture jumped to 623 from 225 on Tuesday, the most since August when Japan was in the midst of its fifth and biggest wave of Covid-19.
Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki on Tuesday told reporters the region had entered a sixth wave of infections and the highly transmissible Omicron variant was responsible. As of Tuesday, a total of 1,191 cases of the Omicron variant had been found in Japan, including 479 cases considered community transmissions, according to the health ministry. (Reuters)
Four members of the Nitish Kumar cabinet in Bihar, including both Deputy Chief Ministers Renu Devi and Tar Kishor Prasad, tested positive for Covid-19 Wednesday, officials said.
Besides the two Deputy CMs, those who tested positive are Ashok Choudhary and Sunil Kumar, the ministers for building construction, and prohibition, excise and registration respectively. According to officials, all members of the cabinet had undergone RTPCR tests ahead of the cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday as a precautionary measure. (PTI)
The Uttar Pradesh Congress has postponed its 'Ladki Hun Lad Sakti Hun' marathon due to the rise in Covid-19 cases, ANI reported. Around 7 to 8 marathons were planned in Noida, Varanasi, and various other districts of the states over the next few days.
Amid surge in infections of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, several states across the country have imposed stricter curbs to contain the spread of the virus.
On Wednesday, India’s active caseload crossed the 2-lakh mark, with a single-day spike of 58,097 Covid-19 cases. According to the head of the Covid working group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), Dr N K Arora, India is already witnessing the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The rise in cases has been spurred by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus — of which India currently has 2,135 cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health.
Here’s a look at the restrictions across India.
Delhi is likely to report 10,000 cases of Coronavirus on Wednesday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, adding that the third wave of the pandemic has officially set in.
A high-level meeting, chaired by Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, on the surge in Covid cases, concluded on Wednesday morning. No decision was taken on imposing a state-wide lockdown, ANI reported.
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has informed that he is dealing with some "domestic Covid situations" and said he will connect with his fans later. Amitabh Bachchan, who regularly updates his fans about his personal and professional life through his blog, wrote a cryptic one-line text on the platform on Tuesday. "Dealing with some domestic Covid situations .. will connect later," the 79-year-old actor, who got fully vaccinated in May 2021, wrote. (PTI)
Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) President and Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. Dhindsa told ANI that he was on his way to Firozepur to attend PM Modi's rally but returned after receiving the test report.
The last 24 hours witnessed a nearly 50 per cent jump in daily Covid-19 cases in West Bengal – from 6,078 on Monday to 9,073 on Tuesday – with the state’s test-positivity rate climbing to 18.96 per cent. Kolkata alone has contributed half of the daily new cases with 4,759 people testing positive in the city in the last 24 hours.
Amid the surge in the cases, the state Health Department has issued a new Covid treatment guideline, stating that hospitalisation should be avoided as much as possible especially in the case of mild symptomatic patients.
The guideline recommends hospitalisation for Covid-positive people with a body temperature of 102 degrees or more, recurrent fever for at least seven days and a low pulse rate. Read more.
THE SHARP surge in demand for at-home antigen testing kits amid the third Covid wave has become a cause of concern for the Maharashtra health department. Officials believe that many positive cases are going unreported as those testing positive are not informing the agencies. The Covid-19 national task force too has flagged the issue.
Even as active Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra rose five times in the last month, the demand for at-home antigen testing kits also spiked. As per Sujit Jain, director, MyLab Discovery Solutions, the demand for CoviSelf has surged by nearly 200% in the third wave. However, the public health department has no mechanism to record Covid positive cases which is causing under-reporting of the actual daily burden in the state. Read more.
With Covid-19 cases surging, the Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to impose weekend curfew and extend night curfew until January 19. Curfew will be in place between 10 pm and 5 am across the state.
In Bengaluru Urban district, all schools and colleges, except medical and paramedical institutions, will remain closed from January 6, except for students in classes 10, 11 and 12. Schools in other districts will continue to function, it was announced.
The meeting was held in view of the sudden jump in number of Covid-19 cases in the state. Karnataka logged 2,479 cases on Tuesday and four fatalities, PTI reported. Since January 1, the city has been logging over 1,000 cases daily. Read more.
Even as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to infect people in large numbers across the world, news about the emergence of another highly-mutated variant spread rapidly on Tuesday, raising fears of yet another wave of infections. This variant, B.1.640, has been found mostly in France so far, although it has also been detected in several other countries. The variant was reported to have 46 mutations, including some in the spike protein.
Not a new variant
The B.1.640 variant is not new. It has been around for at least three months. The sudden discussion around it was triggered by the circulation of a week-old study by researchers from Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, part of France’s Instituts hospitalo-universitaires (IHU, or University Hospital Institutes). Read more.
India reported 58,097 new Covid-19 cases and 534 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am Wednesday. With 15,389 recoveries, the active cases in the country stood at 2,14,004.
In the wake of surging Covid cases, Karnataka will be placed under a weekend lockdown from 10 pm of Friday, January 7 to 5 am of Monday, January 10, minister R Ashoka said on Tuesday.
At least five Omicron cases have been detected in Meghalaya, health officials Tuesday said.
Health Services Director Aman War confirmed the cases, adding that three were detected in Shillong and two in Saiden village in Ri-Bhoi district.
Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary, Health said that out of the five, only one had international travel history, and had come from the USA. “Another had come from Delhi, one was a tourist from Assam, who was tested at the entry point, and two were detected within the state. We are tracing their travel history now,” he said.
The genome sequencing on these cases was done on Monday, Kumar said.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya's active caseload rose to 97 as 32 more people tested positive for Covid-19.
On Monday, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had announced a slew of new restrictions for the state starting January 5, including 10 pm to 5 am night curfew, odd-even rule for vehicles and restrictions on public gatherings. Meghalaya is the second state in the northeast to report the Omicron variant. Last month, a Tanzania returnee had been detected with Omicron in Manipur.
Bihar on Tuesday imposed fresh curbs as active Covid cases in the state reached 2222 with over 800 cases reported in the last 24 hours. Patna and Gaya are the worst-affected. A statement released by the government said a night curfew will be in force from 10 pm to 5 am. Pre-schools and classes 1 to 8 will remain closed. However, online classes will continue. Educational institutions for classes 9 to 12 will function with 50 per cent capacity. These latest restrictions will remain in effect from January 6 to 21.
Tamil Nadu on Tuesday recorded 2,731 Coronavirus infections and nine fatalities, taking the count to 27,55,587 and the death to 36,805. On Monday, the state had recorded 1,728 cases.
With 674 Covid-19 positive patients getting discharged following treatment, total recoveries rose to 27,06,370. The number of active cases including in isolation remains at 12,412.
A total of 121 persons, including 3 cases cross notified to Kerala, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh, tested positive for Omicron, and of them 105 were discharged. About 13 persons are currently undergoing treatment, a bulletin from the State Health Department said.
Chennai recorded a maximum of 1,489 fresh Coronavirus cases on Tuesday followed by Chengalpattu with 290 cases and Tiruvallur with 147 new infections. Coimbatore (120) and Vellore (105) also recorded higher numbers. As many as 17 districts recorded cases in double figures.
Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 18,466 fresh coronavirus positive cases, around 52 per cent or 6,303 cases more than the previous day's tally, and 20 fatalities, the state health department said. With these additions, Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally rose to 67,30,494 and the death toll to 1,41,573, it said.
Maharashtra recorded 75 new cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the count of such cases to 653 so far. Of the 75 Omicron cases, 40 cases were reported from Mumbai, nine from Thane city, eight from Pune city, five from Panvel, three each from Kolhapur and Nagpur, two from Pimpari-Chinchwad, and one each from Bhiwandi Nizampur, Ulhasnagar, Satara, Amravati and Navi Mumbai.
On Sunday, Maharashtra had recorded 12,160 Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths. (PTI)
? Today's Covid numbers: Delhi (5,481 cases), Mumbai (10,860 cases), Bengaluru (2,053 cases), Kolkata (4,759 cases), Chennai (1,489 cases)
West Bengal on Tuesday reported highest-ever single day spike of 9,073 Covid-19 cases. 16 related deaths were also reported today along with 3,768 recoveries . Active cases 25,475 (+5,289).
Gujarat on Tuesday reported 2,265 new Covid cases, 240 recoveries and 2 deaths today. Active cases 7800: State Health Department.
Mumbai on Tuesday reported 10,860 new Covid-19 cases and two fatalities. With the fresh infections and deaths reported, the number of active cases rose to 47,476 and the toll stood at 16,381. As per the data provided by the city health department, 89 per cent patients are asymptomatic.
Offline schools to remain shut for classes 1 to 8 in Pune till January 30, announced Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. He also added that online classes will continue.
Amid a surge in the number of Covid-19 infections, including high incidence of the Omicron variant, the Haryana government Tuesday restricted the attendance at government offices, boards and corporations to 50 per cent of the total strength. The rest of the employees will work from home, according to a government notification.
The fresh set of instructions were issued by the office of Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal. Read More
In view of the rise in coronavirus infections in Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday ordered a ban on rallies, processions and other kind of public events across the state, an official release said. Baghel also ordered a "night clamp-down" from 10 pm to 6 am in the districts where the case positivity rate is 4 per cent and above, it added.
The directives to district collectors and superintendents of police (SPs) were issued in the light of a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases in the last one week, the release said.
The state recorded 1,782 new cases of coronavirus in the last one week. On Monday alone, 698 fresh infections were reported. (PTI)