The Tanzanian national had landed in Ahmedabad on December 12 and had reached the RK University campus the following day with another student. After the varsity notified the arrival of the 17-year-old, the health department of Rajkot district panchayat took his samples on December 14 for Covid-19 tests and the results returned positive for the viral disease.
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Iran has detected its first case of the new Omicron variant, state media reported on Sunday. The country has vaccinated 60 per cent of its 85-million population, as reported by AP.
Also, with Delhi reporting 22 cases of the Omicron variant, the state government has intensified random Covid testing at Metro stations, markets, tourist places, and other areas which see a high footfall. Apart from testing, the districts are also vigorously carrying out vaccination, enforcing Covid- appropriate behaviour, and prosecuting those who violate protocol in public places.
Meanwhile, Andaman and Nicobar Islands have achieved 100 per cent double dose Covid vaccination of its target beneficiaries. The administration said it was the first among the states and Union territories to achieve the feat using only Covishield.
India’s Omicron Covid count rose to 126 on Saturday after Karnataka and Kerala reported six and four cases respectively, while three more persons in Maharashtra also tested positive for the variant. According to central and state officials, omicron cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories — Maharashtra (43), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (8), Gujarat (7), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).
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Rajkot became the second district of the Saurashtra region to report the presence of Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 as a 17-year-old student from Tanzanian who had arrived at RK University near the city was on Sunday confirmed to have contracted Omicron.
The Tanzanian national had landed in Ahmedabad on December 12 and had reached the RK University campus the following day with another student. After the varsity notified the arrival of the 17-year-old, the health department of Rajkot district panchayat took his samples on December 14 for Covid-19 tests and the results returned positive for the viral disease. Therefore, the student was admitted to the Omicron ward of the state government-run Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay (PDU) Government Hospital in Rajkot the same day and his samples were sent to Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), Gandhinagar for genome sequencing of the virus.
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Three more cases of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were reported in Gujarat Sunday taking the total number in the state to 10. Meanwhile, the state reported 51 new cases of infection taking the tally to 8,36,810. While Ahmedabad reported the highest number of cases at 18, Vadodara city had 10 and Surat city six.
The three new Omicron cases were reported from Gandhinagar, Anand and Surat. While it is the first known Omicron case from Anand and Gandhinagar, it is the second reported from Surat. All three, including a teenager, have a history of international travel.
With the capital reporting 22 cases of the Omicron variant, the Delhi government has intensified random Covid testing at Metro stations, markets, tourist places, and other areas which see a high footfall. Since the last 15 days, each of the 11 districts has been carrying out about 4,000-5,000 tests daily.
Apart from testing, the districts are also vigorously carrying out vaccination, enforcing Covid- appropriate behaviour, and prosecuting those who violate protocol in public places.
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US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Sunday the easily transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus is "raging through the world" as he urged Americans to get booster shots and continue wearing masks.
Travelling will increase the risk of infection even among vaccinated people, Fauci added. (Reuters)
For the third time, thousands of protesters took to streets in central Brussels on Sunday against Covid restrictions imposed by the government to counter an increase in infections and due to the new omicron variant.
Brussels saw a strong police presence on the streets in anticipation of the crowd, since the protests had earlier descended into violence and injury, AP reported.
Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of Covid-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.
All non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until Jan. 14 starting Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a hastily arranged press conference Saturday night. Schools and universities will shut until Jan. 9, he said.
In what is surely to prove a major disappointment, the lockdown terms also rein in private holiday celebrations. Residents only will be permitted two visitors except for Christmas and New Year’s, when four will be allowed, according to Rutte.
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Britain's health minister Sajid Javid declined on Sunday to rule out the chance of further COVID-19 restrictions before Christmas, saying the spread of the Omicron variant was a very fast moving situation.
Britain reported a surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday, which government advisors said could be just the tip of the iceberg. London's mayor declared a "major incident" to help the city's hospitals cope.
Asked whether he could rule out restrictions before Christmas, Javid told BBC Television: "We are assessing the situation, it is very fast moving."
"There are no guarantees in this pandemic I don't think. At this point, we just have to keep everything under review." (Reuters)
Iran has detected its first case of the new Omicron variant, state media reported on Sunday.
The country has vaccinated 60 per cent of its 85-million population, as reported by AP.
With Omicron cases on the rise, four private hospitals in the city have been directed by the Delhi government to set up isolation facilities for suspected Covid patients arriving at the international airport.
Passengers testing positive for Covid or suspected of it upon arrival from “at-risk” countries at IGI Airport are being referred for isolation. Lok Nayak Hospital had been declared the designated centre for all such cases and it has set aside 100 beds for this purpose. Now, the Delhi government is roping in private hospitals for the same.
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A 45-year-old NRI and a teenage boy, who recently arrived in Gujarat from the United Kingdom, have been found infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, officials said. With this, the total number of such cases in the state has gone up to nine.
The NRI (non-resident Indian) tested positive for the coronavirus infection in the RT-PCR test carried out at the Ahmedabad international airport soon after his arrival from the UK on December 15.
On Saturday, a 15-year-old boy from Gandhinagar was also detected with the Omicron variant after returning from the UK, Gandhinagar Municipal Commissioner Dhaval Patel said. (PTI)
With 7,081 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of cases rose to 3,47,40,275, while the active cases declined to 83,913, the lowest in 570 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated.
The death toll has climbed to 4,77,422, with 264 daily 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 52 days now.
The active cases have declined to 83,913, comprising 0.24 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.38 per cent, the highest since March 2020. (PTI)
Andaman and Nicobar Islands have achieved 100 per cent double dose COVID vaccination of its target beneficiaries. The administration said it was the first among the states and Union territories to achieve the feat using only Covishield.
The vaccination drive in the islands kickstarted with the rest of the country on January 16 this year. As per a health bulletin, 2.87 lakh people have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine against the target of 2.86 lakh beneficiaries, leading to 100.41 per cent vaccination.
Thane has added 104 new cases of coronavirus, raising the infection tally in the Maharashtra district to 5,71,122, an official said on Sunday. These new cases were reported on Saturday, he said.
The virus also claimed the life of one more person, which pushed the death toll in the district to 11,600, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane is 2.03 per cent.
In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,38,923, while the death toll has reached 3,307. (PTI)
Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, including a new nationwide lockdown introduced by the Dutch government.
Schools, universities, and all non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until January 14 starting Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
Residents only will be permitted two visitors except for Christmas and New Year's, when four will be allowed, he said. "The Netherlands is going into lockdown again from tomorrow," Rutte said, adding that the move was "unavoidable because of the fifth wave caused by the omicron variant that is bearing down on us." (AP)
Karnataka on Saturday reported 335 new cases of Covid-19 and 5 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 30,02,127 and death toll to 38,287, the health department said. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.28 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 1.49 per cent.
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Saturday said six more cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in the state. This takes the state's tally of Omicron cases to fourteen.
Of the six cases, five have have been detected from COVID clusters that have emerged from two educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada district.
The new cases of Omicron have been detected after five cases were reported in the state on Thursday. Earlier, the country's first two Omicron cases-- a South African national who has left the country, and the other a local person, a Doctor with no travel history, were detected in Karnataka on December 2. Following this, a 34-year-old Bengaluru native who returned to the city following a business trip in South Africa had become the third case on December 12. (PTI)
The national capital on Saturday recorded 86 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day, the highest in over five months, and zero death as the positivity rate stood at 0.13 per cent, according to data shared by the city's health department. On July 8, Delhi had reported 93 coronavirus cases.
The rise in cases is being recorded amid the Omicron scare in Delhi as the total number of patients infected with the latest variant of coronavirus jumped by 12 on Friday to reach 22. The number of Covid cases recorded in Delhi so far reached 14,42,090. The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25,100. (PTI)
The UK government is reportedly drawing up plans for a short two-week circuit breaker lockdown later this month, after Christmas, to try and keep pace with the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, media reports said on Saturday. According to The Times, draft regulations are being prepared, which would ban different households meeting indoors except for work purposes and pubs and restaurants being limited to outdoor service only.
The Financial Times reported that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been presented with a number of options under a so-called Plan C, ranging from "mild guidance to nudge people, right through to lockdown".
Leaked minutes from the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, accessed by the BBC, reveal scientists warning ministers that tougher measures need to be brought in "very soon" to try and keep hospitalisations within manageable levels for the National Health Service.
The reports of further lockdown restrictions come as the UK recorded another highest daily total of 93,045 COVID-19 infections on Friday, up 4,669 cases from the previous record of 88,376 set on Thursday. (PTI)
Mumbai civic chief IS Chahal on Saturday said ward-level squads will be formed to take action against COVID-19 protocol violators.
Amid the scare from the new Omicron variant of coronavirus and the Christmas-New Year festival season round the corner, he said people in the metropolis must avoid crowding in hotels, restaurants, cinemas, malls and asserted that attendance caps in place for marriages and other functions will have to be adhered to strictly.
While the attendance limit is 50 per cent of capacity of confined/closed spaces, it is 25 per cent of capacity in open places, while any gathering of over 1,000 people will require the prior permission of the Local Disaster Management Authority, the civic chief said. (PTI)
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Saturday clarified that no decision has been taken regarding compulsory institutional quarantine of international travellers from ‘high-risk’ countries.
“The Government of India has identified 12 countries as ‘high-risk countries’ and has stipulated measures to contain the spread of the Omicron variant. Accordingly, the Government of Karnataka and the BBMP have taken measures to screen and test the international arrivals from the ‘high-risk countries’, and if found positive, (mandates) immediate hospital isolation, else self-isolation at home and repeat test after 8 days. BBMP has not yet stipulated compulsory institutional quarantine for international arrivals from any of the countries. Any decision taken in this regard would be after due consultation of experts and in conformity with Government of India and Government of Karnataka guidelines,” the BBMP clarified in a circular. Read More
Tamil Nadu on Saturday requested the Centre to issue further set of guidelines on testing international passengers arriving in the state after a person from a 'non-risk country' tested positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19 recently, becoming the first such case reported in the state.
Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Dr T S Selvavinayagam in his letter to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Secretary Rajesh Bhushan requested that international passengers arriving in Tamil Nadu should undergo mandatory post-arrival testing of Covid-19 as against the current practice of testing only those passengers who arrive from 'at risk' countries. According to him, 28 passengers, who arrived from various overseas destinations till Friday in Tamil Nadu, were detected with 's' gene drop indicating infection of Omicron variant of coronavirus. Of them, only four were from 'high risk' countries while the remaining from 'non-risk countries'.
Selvavinayagam pointed out that as per the current guidelines issued by the Centre, only 11 countries along with the European countries including the United Kingdom were declared as 'high risk' and additional surveillance protocol followed for passengers from these countries were being adhered to, but no additional surveillance protocol was being followed for passengers arriving from 'not at risk countries'. (PTI)
Sixteen students of a school at Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus and admitted to a local COVID Care Centre, a civic official said on Saturday. They are students of Classes 8 to 11, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) official said.
"The father of one of the students had returned from Qatar on December 9. The man, who resides with his family at Gothivali in Ghansoli, had tested negative for the COVID-19 infection. However, when his family members were tested, his son, a Class 11 student of the school, was found infected," he said. The infected students are undergoing treatment at the facility in Vashi, he added. (PTI)
Odisha's Covid-19 tally rose to 10,52,641 on Saturday as 169 more people tested positive for the infection, 15 more than the previous day, while one fresh fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 8,442, a health bulletin said.
Khurda district, of which Bhubaneswar is a part, registered the highest number of new cases at 88, followed by nine in Cuttack. Twenty-nine children are among the new patients, it said.
The fresh fatality was registered in Mayurbhanj district. Fifty-three other patients have died due to comorbidities so far, the bulletin said. (PTI)
A private nursing college in Mangulu has been declared a containment zone by Dakshina Kannada district health department after seven students tested positive for Covid-19. All the seven students are from Kerala, studying for first year in the college. They had arrived with Covid-19 negative RT-PCR certificates.
Dakshina Kannada district nodal officer for Covid-19, Dr H Ashok said the infected students have been isolated. Throat swab samples of 43 first year students were tested of which seven students tested positive, he said. (PTI)
A 29-year-old man with a travel history to the US has been diagnosed with the new variant Omicron in Mumbai. He has been vaccinated with three doses of Pfizer, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The man landed in Mumbai on November 9 from New York. Later, the BMC tracked down the flier and collected his swab samples for the RT-PCR test which returned positive for the virus. Following which samples were sent for genome sequencing to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, which confirmed that he was infected with the Omicron variant.
According to the BMC, the patient was fully vaccinated with the two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Comirnaty, in the US. Later, he also took a booster shot of Pfizer which is supposed to provide additional protection against Covid-19. Read More
With 10 more cases of the Omicron variant confirmed in the city, Delhi’s tally has gone up to 20.
“Ten new cases of Omicron variant have been reported in Delhi, taking the total number of cases of the variant here to 20. A total of 10 people of these 20, have been discharged,” said Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday.
This is the largest number of Omicron cases detected in the city in one day so far. This comes a day after Delhi recorded the highest positivity since June 28 at 0.15 per cent. As of Thursday, there were 475 active cases in the city.
With seven countries in the South-East Asia Region confirming cases of new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the World Health Organization on Saturday stressed on urgent scale-up of public health and social measures to curtail its further spread.
Countries can and must prevent the spread of Omicron with proven health and social measures, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, Poonam Khetrapal Singh said. "Our focus must continue to be to protect the least protected and those at high risk," she said in a statement. The overall threat posed by Omicron largely depends on three key questions - its transmissibility; how well the vaccines and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection protect against it, and how virulent the variant is as compared to other variants.
Sixteen students of a school at Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus and admitted to a local COVID Care Centre, a civic official said on Saturday. They are students of Classes 8 to 11, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) official said. "The father of one of the students had returned from Qatar on December 9. The man, who resides with his family at Gothivali in Ghansoli, had tested negative for the COVID-19 infection. However, when his family members were tested, his son, a Class 11 student of the school, was found infected," he said.
If all the world’s a stage on which Covid-19 has been the longest-running act in a hundred years, then the theatrical axiom about the unsustainability of two prima donnas in the same scene was bound to take effect. On December 12, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson bowed before Omicron and declared an “Omicron Emergency”, predicting a “tidal wave” of Omicron cases.
Johnson’s announcement was preceded by the publication of a not yet peer-reviewed modelling study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The model suggests that if additional control measures are not put in place in the UK, the Omicron variant may result in higher levels of cases and hospitalisations in the country than those seen during January 2021. In the most optimistic scenario, between December and April, there will be close to 25,000 deaths. If no measures are put in place, this number rises to 75,000. With immediate effect, the UK introduced booster doses for all eligible persons. (Read full piece here)
The Centre on Friday said it is likely that the spread of the new variant will outpace the Delta variant where there is community transmission.
Addressing a joint news conference in Delhi, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal said though daily COVID-19 cases are below 10,000 for the past 20 days, there is a need to stay vigilant in view of the new Omicron variant and rising cases in other countries.
India recorded 7,145 new cases of coronavirus and 289 deaths in the 24 hours ending 8 am Saturday. Active cases stand at 84,565, lowest in over 18 months.
India's Omicron COVID count crossed the 100 mark on Friday after recording the highest single day rise of 24 fresh cases of the new variant, even as the Centre advised people to avoid non-essential travel and mass gatherings and keep New Year celebrations at low intensity.
As the Omicron tally from 11 states and union territories stood at 111 exactly 15 days after the first case of the potentially more contagious COVID variant was detected in Karnataka, 20 new cases were reported from Maharashtra(8) and Delhi(12) to take their total to 40 and 22 respectively. Telangana and Kerala recorded two more cases each to take their tally to eight and seven respectively.