COVID-19 in India Updates: Maharashtra reports 46,197 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

West Bengal has reported 10,959 new COVID-19 cases with 17,815 recoveries and 37 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra has reported 46,197 new COVID cases with 52,025 recoveries and 37 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state has also recorded 125 Omicron cases today.

In view of the surge in COVID cases, Jammu and Kashmir government has imposed complete restrictions on non-essential movement from every Friday (2 pm) to Monday (6 am).

"The positivity rate in Maharashtra is 23.5% but districts like Raigad, Pune, Nashik, Nanded have a much higher positive rate. Despite the high positive rate, the hospitalisation rate is very less and 95% of the beds in the state are vacant", said, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

Tamil Nadu has reported 28,561 new COVID cases and 39 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Himachal Pradesh has reported 2,368 new COVID cases and 7 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Assam has reported 7,929 new COVID cases and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Delhi government has fixed the maximum price for the RT-PCR COVID19 test at Private laboratories at Rs 300 and Rs 500 for RT-PCR samples collected from home. Rapid antigen test (RAT) to be done at Rs 100.

Mumbai has reported 5,708 new COVID cases with 15,440 recoveries and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Goa has reported 3,390 new COVID-19 cases with 3728 recoveries and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Karnataka reports 47,754 fresh COVID-19 cases with 22,143 recoveries and 29 deaths in the last 24 hours.

J&K has reported 5,992 new COVID-19 cases with 1,177 recoveries and 7 deaths in the last 24 hours.

"62 more cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 confirmed in Kerala today, taking the case tally to 707", said, the state government.

Jharkhand government has revised the RT-PCR testing rates from Rs 400 to Rs 300; Rs 100 additional charge for home visit (for home sample collection). Rapid Antigen Test rates revised from Rs 150 to Rs 50.

Delhi has reported 12,306 new COVID-19 cases with 18,815 recoveries and 43 deaths in the last 24 hours.

“In wake of the COVID-19 situation, it has been decided to extend all the existing restrictions till 6th February 2022," tweeted, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.

Kerala reports 46,387 new COVID-19 cases with 15,388 recoveries and 32 deaths in the last 24 hours.

After a virtual conversation with the councilors on the COVID situation in Lucknow, Yogi Adityanath said, "I discussed the corona epidemic with all the councilors today. We have many responsibilities in view of Omicron and the third wave."

Andhra Pradesh has reported 12,615 new COVID cases with 3674 recoveries and 5 deaths in the last 24 hours. 

"Vaccines have remained beneficial in India. Deaths have considerably reduced due to vaccinations. In this third surge of COVID19, we are currently not witnessing severe illness and deaths due to high vaccination uptake", said DG ICMR Dr Balram Bhargava.

"Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are among the 'States of Concern'. We have sent Central health teams to these States and are continuously reviewing the situation", said, Rajesh Bhushan, Health Secretary on COVID19 situation

Health Ministery addresses press conferences on actions taken, preparedness, & updates on COVID

Total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India cross the 160 crore mark, tweeted Union Health Minister Manuskh Mandaviya.

The union territory of Puducherry recorded 2,783 fresh Covid-19 infections during the last 24 hours as the overall tally went up to 1,45,342 and the active cases broke the 13,000 mark, a senior Health department official said on Thursday.

The test positivity rate (the number of cases per 100 tests) shot up to 43.19 per cent in the last 24 hours ending 10 AM on Thursday as against 30.23 per cent recorded on Wednesday.

Arunachal Pradesh reported 435 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day spike so far this month, as the tally climbed to 57,822, a senior health department official said. The northeastern state had Wednesday logged 350 infections.

Maharashtra schools except for class 10th and 12th and educational institutions of Maharashtra are closed till February 15 due to the COVID situation. It is being said that now the Maharashtra government is considering reopening of schools in areas with fewer COVID cases. The cabinet is likely to make a decision on this on Thursday, January 20, 2022. 

In a viral video from Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, a boatman was seen attacking a health care worker when the former was asked to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The man strongly resists the vaccine out of fear and threatens a health care worker who was there to carry out a vaccination drive.

As Omicron cases across the world continue to rise, the World Health Organisation (WHO), has batted against international travel bans and mandatory vaccination for entry into countries. The WHO's International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee issued these recommendations after its tenth meeting on COVID-19 held on Wednesday. As of date, the world has seen 33.4 crore COVID cases till date and 55.5 lakh deaths.

Kannada film director Pradeep Raj passed away on Thursday. The filmmaker reportedly died of COVID-19. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital, where the incident took place. Pradeep Raj breathed his last at 3 am. His last rites are reportedly said to be held in Pondicherry on Thursday. 

Pradeep Raj has directed films like Kirataka, which had starred popular Sandalwood star Yash in the lead role.

Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday became the fifth coronavirus vaccine approved for use in Australia. The country has ordered 51 million doses of the U.S.-manufactured vaccine, supplied under the brand Nuvaxovid, for its population of 26 million. 

The Novavax vaccine will be available to unvaccinated Australians aged 18 years and older but will not be used as a booster for the 95% of the population aged 16 and older who have already received a vaccine.

Odisha recorded 10,368 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, raising the tally to 11,77,462, while the single-day death count of seven was the highest in more than three months, the Health Department said. The state had logged 11,607 new cases and six deaths on Wednesday.

It now has 88,346 active cases, and 10,80,562 patients have recovered from the disease so far, including 6,785 in the past 24 hours. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced the end of COVID-19 measures that he had introduced to curb the significant upsurge of the B.1.1.529  Omicron variant in England. This would imply that the UK would no longer adhere to the work-at-home advisory, and mandatory mask-wearing and requirement to produce the vaccine passes at public venues. The decision was taken in view of Britain's booster rollout campaign and the strain’s almost negligible death rate and mild symptoms. 

India has reported 3,17,532 new COVID cases, 491 deaths, and 2,23,990 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours.

• Active case: 19,24,051
• Daily positivity rate: 16.41%

9,287 total Omicron cases detected so far with an increase of 3.63% since yesterday.

A total of 70,93,56,830 samples were tested up to January 19, of which 19,35,180 were tested on January 19: Ministry of Health.

Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla and US Dy Secretary of State Wendy R Sherman reviewed upcoming bilateral engagements and COVID pandemic, including vaccines supply, and exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific, Middle East, UNSC, India’s neighbourhood, etc: MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi

In the last 24 hours, 12 policemen tested positive for COVID in Mumbai. Active cases stand at 1,246; so far, a total of 10,678 policemen have tested positive & 127 have died in the city, as per Mumbai Police

With only two weeks left for the Olympics to begin, China is in a soup as the country witnesses a high surge of COVID-19 and Omicron cases, as per reports. Despite strict lockdowns and a vaccination rate near 90%, the country is seeing an alarming increase in the number of COVID cases and deaths daily. Omicron cases have been reported in seven out of 31 provinces in major cities of China. 

President Joe Biden has acknowledged that the pandemic has left Americans exhausted and demoralized but insisted at a news conference marking his first year in office that he has "outperformed" expectations in dealing with it.

He said on Wednesday that he would likely have to settle for "big chunks" of his signature economic package to break an impasse in Congress and further attack inflation and the pandemic.

In a blatant violation of COVID restrictions, Chindwara MP Nakul Nath on Wednesday, claimed he was not scared of COVID or section 144. Addressing a packed rally in Chindwara, the ex-CM's son said that that particular event had been delayed due to the onslaught of COVID-19. Madhya Pradesh has imposed strict COVID restrictions amid the rise of COVID cases.