Coronavirus in India updates: Omicron found in Delhi's 65% COVID samples

Goa on Wednesday reported eight new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus and five of the patients have no recent travel history,  Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said.

With this, the number of Omicron cases in the coastal state has gone up to 19.

Rane tweeted, 8 Genome sequence reports tested positive as confirmed by NIV Pune, bringing the (Omicron) count to 19. 3- travel history from UK, 5- no travel history. These 5 from Goa, i.e. Margao, Bardez, Chicalim, and Canacona.

The first case of Omicron was detected in Goa on December 28, 2021, when an eight-year-old boy from the UK had tested positive for the highly contagious strain of SARS-CoV-2 discovered in South Africa late last year.

(PTI)

At least 220 resident doctors at government hospitals in Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus in the last three days, a senior office-bearer of their association said on Wednesday.

Ganesh Solunke, president of the J J Hospital chapter of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), said 73 resident doctors at this state-run hospital in central Mumbai have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 72 hours.

Besides, 60 resident doctors at the King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, 80 at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and another seven at R N Cooper Hospital have also contracted the viral infection, he added.

These three hospitals are run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Further, in the neighbouring Thane city, eight resident doctors at the civic-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital have tested positive for the virus. 

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 26,538 new coronavirus cases including 15,166 in Mumbai, the highest-ever daily count in the metropolis, and eight fatalities. 

(PTI)

Families that have lost loved ones to COVID-19 in Delhi will get a one-time ex gratia assistance of Rs 50,000 from the Delhi Disaster Response Fund (DDRF), in addition to the financial aid of Rs 50,000 being provided by the city government, officials said on Wednesday.

Senior government officials said directions have been issued to district magistrates to disburse ex gratia assistance of Rs 50,000 out of the DDRF to such families and a public notice in this regard is expected to be issued on the weekend.

Around 21,000 such families have received a financial assistance of Rs 50,000 under the Delhi government's "Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana" scheme. Now, they will also receive an ex gratia of Rs 50,000 out of the DDRF, a senior official said.

Applicants are required to apply directly to the concerned district magistrate in GNCT of Delhi for COVID-19 death related ex-gratia assistance and District Disaster Management Authority/district administration will release fund directly to beneficiary in accordance to guidelines, the DDMA said in an order.

Ex-gratia assistance of Rs 50,000 from DDRF will be released without calling of any fresh application in respect of all those cases where compensation of Rs 50,000 has been released by the districts under the Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojna, it stated.

All districts have been directed to maintain a separate database in respect of ex gratia assistance released from the DDRF. A separate window under the e-district portal will be made available for this purpose, the order said.

In September, the National Disaster Management Authority had issued guidelines for ex gratia assistance to the next of kin of Covid victims which read: "The authority recommends an amount of Rs 50,000 per deceased person including those involved in relief operations or associated in preparedness activities, subject to cause of death being certified as COVID-19."

"The ex gratia assistance shall be provided by states from the State Disaster Response Fund," it had said.

A senior official said, "Families which have already received aid under the Delhi government scheme will not have to apply for the ex gratia out of the DDRF separately. We have their details, and they will be immediately provided the financial assistance in their bank accounts or whatever mode they had opted for the aid under the scheme."

Families that have not yet availed the assistance under the scheme can apply on the e-District Delhi portal, and their application will be automatically submitted for the DDRF aid too, he said.

The SDRF was constituted by states under provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The Centre contributes 75 per cent of SDRF allocation for general category of states and 90 per cent for special category states, including the northeastern states, Uttarakhand, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir.

Under the Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana notified in June last year, the Social Welfare Department of the Delhi government is also providing a monthly assistance of Rs 2,500 to households that have lost their sole breadwinner and to children orphaned due to the pandemic. 

(PTI)

ICMR Chief Dr Balram Bhargava said on Wednesday that Covid antiviral drug Molnupiravir has major safety concerns and has not been included in the national protocol for treatment of coronavirus.

During a press briefing, he said the World Health Organisation and the UK have not included it for treatment.

"We have to remember that this drug has major safety concerns. It can cause teratogenicity, mutagenicity and it can also cause cartilage damage and can also be damaging to muscles also. Contraception will have to be done for three months for male and female if this drug is given because the child born could be problematic due to teratogenic influence," he told reporters.

Bhargava said the US has approved it based on only 1,433 patients in which three per cent reduction was observed in symptoms in patients with mild to moderate disease.

He stressed that it is not part of the national treatment protocol for Covid.

"We have concerns about the drug and its use during lactation, in children, soft-tissue injuries, reproductive age group," he said, adding that they have debated on its usage twice and will further debate over it.

India's Drug Regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on December 28 had approved Molnupiravir for restricted use in emergency situations.

"Molnupiravir will now be manufactured in the country by 13 companies for restricted use under emergency situations for treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 and who have high risk of progression of the disease," Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said. 

Molnupiravir is an antiviral that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication by viral mutagenesis. The UK MHRA on 04.12.2021 granted approval for Molnupiravir under special condition for treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults with a positive SARS-COV-2 diagnostic test and who have at least one risk factor for developing severe illness, an official statement had said.

The US FDA on December 23 had granted EUA for Molnupiravir for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in adults with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, and for whom alternative COVID-19 treatment options authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate.

The CDSCO had received 22 applications for manufacture and market of the drug Molnupiravir in the country.

"Considering the emergency and unmet medical need in Covid, the SEC  on December 27 recommended for grant of permission to manufacture and market the Molnupiravir 200mg capsule with recommended dose of 800 mg twice daily for 5 days for restricted use under emergency situation in the country for treatment of adult patients with COVID-19, with SpO2 over 93 per cent and who have high risk of progression of the disease including hospitalization or death subject to various conditions," the statement said.

According to the conditions, the drug should be sold by retail only under prescription of medical specialists and the recommended dose should be 800mg twice daily for five days. 

(PTI)

The Delhi government has cancelled the leave of all staff and directed them not to leave station, citing the "grimness" of the situation due to rising COVID-19 cases in the city and the need for enough manpower.

The national capital on Wednesday reported 10,665 new coronavirus cases, almost double the number of infections logged the day before, with the positivity rate shooting up to 11.88 percent, according to the health department bulletin on Wednesday.

It is anticipated that the containment of the pandemic will involve a huge mobilisation of human resources at various levels in the city government, stated a Delhi government memorandum on Wednesday.

"The competent authority directs to cancel all leave granted, except medical leave, to all officers/officials/staff in all the departments, offices of Delhi government until further order," it said.

No leave, except for medical reasons, shall be granted to the officers, officials and staff of different departments of the GNCT of Delhi nor shall they be allowed to leave station, it further directed.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority, after its meeting on Tuesday, observed that numbers of COVID-19 cases (including the cases of Omicron variant) have been rapidly increasing over the last few days and the positivity rate has now crossed six percent.

The Authority in its order mentioned the "grimness of the situation" and further steps to be taken for containment of the spread of the virus, including work from home direction for all Delhi government employees barring these associated with essential services.

The DDMA has identified essential and emergency services including health, sanitation, police, fire services among others which will continue to function during the night and weekend curfews.

The 10665 fresh cases reported on Wednesday are the highest since May 12, when 13,287 people were diagnosed with the disease in Delhi.  The number of active cases has increased to 23,307 from 14,889 on Tuesday.

A total of 2,239 patients were discharged in a day, the health bulletin said.  With the 10,665 fresh cases, Delhi's infection tally climbed to 14,74,366. Of this, over 14.25 lakh patients have recovered from the disease, the bulletin said. 

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.

"Once we were alerted about his status, we started contact tracing of his family members and others. All protocols are being followed," Mahanta said. 

He stated that the state government has been monitoring on international travellers with rising cases of Omicron variant in the country. 

During the period between December 1, 2021 and January 4 this year, 3,198 people had entered the northeastern state from foreign countries, and of them, 52 were found infected with COVID-19, including the one who contracted the Omicron strain, the minister said.

Since December 12, the state has sent 1,598 samples of COVID-positive patients to a Kolkata laboratory for genome sequencing, he said.

Of these, reports of 1,348 samples have been received, and all were found negative for the new variant, the minister said, adding that besides monitoring the situation in view of the rising Omicron cases in the country, the authorities are also gearing up to tackle any increase in overall COVID infections.

He pointed out that the state had reported 150 and 156 new COVID-19 cases on January 1 and 2 respectively, and the numbers had shot up to 351 and 475 on the two consecutive days, with the most infections being reported from Kamrup Metropolitan district.

The district comprises the state's largest city Guwahati. 

Mahanta said the government is strengthening infrastructure in hospitals and COVID care centres to manage hospitalisation of at least 25,000 patients.

At least 8,539 beds, including 4,991 isolation and 935 ICU beds, are already ready, the minister said, adding that only five per cent of these beds are currently occupied. 

"We will hold a meeting with the chief minister on Thursday morning. Decisions on how to tackle the emerging situation will be taken," Mahanta added.

(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.

It said teleconsultations for treatment should be resorted to if feasible besides activating quarantine facilities.

The advisory recommended that attendance in offices should be restricted if the weekly positivity rate ranges between five to 10. It said all non-essential travel of service personnel should be curtailed in such a scenario.

For stations that report a weekly positivity rate of over 10, the advisory recommended stopping physical attendance as well as all non-essential leave and temporary training.

The advisory said the military hospitals will continue to provide all Covid-related and emergency/life-saving services.

It said the hospitals should postpone "cold surgeries' ' if the bed-occupancy (ICU) is 40 per cent. 

The advisory also recommended ensuring "advance engagement and information campaigns" so that there is no misinformation or panic.

It said actions will be taken to reduce overcrowding in offices, personnel lines and dining halls. 

Food timings in dining halls to be staggered, it added. 

(PTI)

Gujarat minister Jitubhai Chaudhari on Wednesday said he has tested positive for coronavirus, while three senior IAS officers have also been diagnosed with the infection in the state.

Notably, Chaudhari, Minister of State for Narmada, Kalpasar and Fisheries, has contracted the virus for a second time in nine months. Earlier, he was infected with COVID-19 in April last year during the second wave of the pandemic.

"My Rapid Antigen Test gave a positive result (for COVID-19) today. RT-PCR results are yet to come. I have isolated myself at home. I have urged people, who came into my contact recently, to get themselves tested," he said in a statement.

On Tuesday, senior IAS officer Manoj Aggarwal, who was heading the state Health Department as its Additional Chief Secretary, was found positive for coronavirus.

On Wednesday, three more senior IAS officers - JP Gupta, Rajkumar Beniwal and Commissioner of Health JP Shivahare - were found positive for coronavirus, said Health Officer of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation Dr Kalpesh Goswami.

Meanwhile, the state government on Wednesday gave additional charge of the Health Department to the Principal Secretary in the Urban Development Department, Mukesh Kumar. 

(PTI)

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.

Deputy Commissioners of Belgavi and Uttar Kannada districts, which border Goa, have been directed to set up check-posts and deploy necessary staff to ensure that all the vehicles entering Karnataka are checked. 

Regular travellers from Goa to Karnataka would have to have the negative report.

These restrictions would not be applicable to the constitutional functionaries, healthcare professionals, and children below five years.

(PTI)

East Delhi Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal on Wednesday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and isolated himself at home.

This is the second time he has been diagnosed with the coronavirus infection, having been infected first in June 2020, he said.

"I had slight fever and sore throat day before yesterday. Since I had a few symptoms, I decided to get myself tested yesterday, and my report came positive for Covid," 59-year-old Aggarwal said.

"I have self-isolated and due to my condition, did not attend the special session of the EDMC House today to discuss the budget," he said, adding, he has consulted a doctor to monitor his condition.

Delhi is currently reporting a fresh surge in coronavirus cases. 

On Wednesday, the city reported eight deaths and 10,665 cases with a positivity rate of 11.88 per cent.

The east Delhi mayor, also a senior BJP leader, had last December gone to Varanasi to attend an all-India mayor's conference.

"Corona cases have been rising, and we all have to be very careful amid this surge," he said.

"In June 2020, I was admitted in a private hospital for eight days, but thankfully had not needed oxygen support or ventilator support," Aggarwal said.

(PTI)

More than 1 crore (1,24,02,515) COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to children in the 15-18 age group since the inoculation drive began for them on January 3, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.

With this, the cumulative doses administered in the country has increased to over 148.58 crore (1,48,58,19,491), it said.

More than 82 lakh (82,26,211) vaccine doses had been administered till 7 pm on Wednesday. This includes 37,44,635 doses administered to beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group, the ministry said.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night.

In a tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya praised the enthusiasm among adolescents for vaccination and congratulated them on this achievement.

He also appealed to all eligible adolescents to get vaccinated at the earliest.

The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started on February 2.

The next phase of vaccination commenced from March 1 for people aged above 60 and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged above 45 from April 1.

The government then decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above the age of 18 to get vaccinated from May 1.

The latest phase of COVID-19 vaccination for children aged between 15 and 18 commenced from January 3.

(PTI)

Sixty-five per cent of Covid samples in Delhi, whose genome sequencing reports came out between January 1 and 3, were found to have the Omicron variant as against 28 per cent from December 1 to 31, official data showed.

Of the 72 samples, whose reports arrived in the first three days of this year, 47 were found to be infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus, while Delta and its sublineages were found in 20 samples. Only seven per cent had other variants.

Delhi on Wednesday reported 10,665 new coronavirus cases, almost double the number of infections logged the day before, with the positivity rate shooting up to 11.88 per cent, according to health department data.

The Delhi government has attributed the surge to the highly contagious Omicron variant. According to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, the third wave of COVID-19 has hit the city.

The Delhi government's data showed that between December 1 and 31 last year, 28 per cent of 1,553 Covid samples sent for genome sequencing were found to have the Omicron variant, 34 per cent Delta and 38 per cent others. 

Between December 25-31, reports of 563 samples arrived and out of these, 62 per cent had Omicron, 22 per cent Delta and 16 per cent others variants of coronavirus.

Amid the rise in cases, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced a return of the weekend curfew as the Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to reimpose some more restrictions in the wake of a fresh surge in Covid infections. 

(PTI)

As many as 2,813 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra's Pune district, raising the tally of infections in the region to 11,71,265 on Wednesday, an official from the district health department said. 

With a single casualty reported from the rural part of the district, the toll stood at 19,255, the official said.        

Of the fresh cases reported during the day, 1,805 were detected in the Pune municipal corporation limits, while 590 were from the Pimpri Chinchwad area, he said.

The Pune rural and cantonment areas together recorded 418 cases, the official said, adding that the district currently has 8,201 active cases, of which 818 patients were isolated in hospitals. 

(PTI) 

Sixty people have tested positive for COVID-19 in IIT Guwahati and  its authorities have declared the entire campus as a containment zone, an official order said on Wednesday. 

All the cases were detected over the last six days and almost 99 per cent of the cases were those who had returned to the campus from outside Assam after the holidays, an IIT Guwahati official said.

According to an order issued by Kamrup (Rural) district administration, the entire campus of the institute has been declared a containment zone with immediate effect until the area is declared safe. 

The entry and exit of all people to and from the campus have been prohibited, it added. 

The Dean-PR, IIT Guwahati, Parmeshwar Iyer told PTI that among those who tested positive for the virus are a faculty member, five members of his family and another staff member. The rest are students.

Except for the faculty member and his family, all the affected are lodged at the quarantine centre at the institute's guest house on the campus, Iyer said. 

As the faculty member's parents, mother-in-law and young son preferred to be hospitalised, they are currently undergoing treatment at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, he said. 

"We are closely monitoring the situation and taking all necessary measures. The district authorities have provided us with extra resources to augment the testing process," he added. 

(PTI)

Schools in Nagpur city and some adjoining areas will remain shut for physical classes for students of Grades 1 to 8 from Thursday in view of the rising coronavirus cases, Maharashtra minister Nitin Raut said on Wednesday.

Raut, who is also the Nagpur district guardian minister, announced the decision after holding a meeting with the local administration on the coronavirus situation and preparedness on tackling the spurt in cases.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, he said offline classes for students of Grades 1 to 8 in private and government schools will be closed from January 6 in Nagpur city and some areas in its periphery.

Raut did not say how long these schools will be closed for in-person learning, but added the decision has been on lines of Pune where schools for Classes 1 to 8 will remain shut till January 30.

The minister said from January 6, RT-PCR test will be made mandatory in government and private offices in Nagpur district and only those returning   negative result will be allowed to attend offices.

On Wednesday, Nagpur district recorded 404 new coronavirus cases, up from 196 a day ago, officials said.

There are now 1,076 active cases in the district, they added. 

(PTI)

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 418 fresh Covid cases in the past 24 hours, taking the infection tally to 3,42,419, while no new death due to the virus was reported in the Union Territory, officials said on Wednesday.

Out of the fresh cases, 311 were from the Jammu division and 107 from the Kashmir division, they said.

The number of daily positive cases has doubled in the last 24 hours as 199 cases were detected on Tuesday.

Reasi district recorded a maximum of 156 cases followed by 109 cases in Jammu district.

There are 1,819 active cases in the Union Territory, while the number of recovered patients was 3,36,070, the officials said.

The death toll in the Union Territory was 4,530 as no fresh fatality was reported in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the officials said there were 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis (black fungus) in Jammu and Kashmir as no fresh case was reported since Tuesday evening.

(PTI)

Maharashtra's Nashik district recorded 508 new cases of COVID-19 that raised the tally of infections to 4,15,263 on Wednesday, an official said. 

At least 88 patients were discharged from hospitals, while two died of the infection during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 4,05,041 and toll to 8,761, the official said.

Of the total cases reported so far, 2,34,003 were from Nashik city, 1,58,490 from other parts of the district, 12,720 from Malegaon and 6,134 from outside the district, the administration said.

As many as 30,42,399 swabs have been tested till date, of which 4,416 were tested on Wednesday, it was stated.

(PTI)

New Delhi, Jan 5 (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.

The man was found Covid positive on December 15 and had symptoms like fever, cough and rhinitis and therefore, was admitted to the hospital.

A sample was sent for genome sequencing and the results were received on December 25, in which he was found infected with the Omicron variant of the virus. The man had tested negative for COVID-19 twice on December 21 and 25. 

(PTI)

Kerala reported 4,801 new cases, 29 deaths, 1813 recoveries on Wednesday which took the active cases to 22,910. The number of people who succumbed to the virus has risen to 48,895.

Raipur, Jan 5 (PTI) A 52-year-old man from Bilaspur district, who returned from the UAE, became the first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in Chhattisgarh, health officials said on Wednesday.

The man, who recently returned from United Arab Emirates (UAE), had tested positive for coronavirus following which his sample was sent to the Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) for a genome sequencing test, an official statement said.

The health department on Wednesday received the sample's report that confirmed the presence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, it added. 

(PTI)

Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) 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.

"All international passengers coming from at-risk and high-risk countries and the UAE will be asked to take a rapid RT-PCR test. If positive, they will be asked to take routine RT-PCR and ask to wait for results," Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, BMC, tweeted.

Presently, 13 countries are listed in the 'at risk' category. Passengers arriving from the UAE will also have to undergo rapid RT-PCR tests on arrival as per rules.

On Tuesday, Mumbai reported 10,860 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count after April 7, 2021, while two more patients succumbed to the infection, as per the civic body.

The passengers found positive for coronavirus in the rapid RT-PCR test will have to undergo a regular RT-PCR test at the Mumbai international airport itself, as per the revised order of the BMC. 

"If the routine RT-PCR test is positive, then the sample will be sent immediately for genome sequencing and the passenger will be sent to institutional quarantine," the order said.

Passengers who test negative will be allowed to leave the airport, but they will need to observe mandatory home quarantine for seven days.

"If this sample (routine RT-PCR) test is negative, then the concerned passenger will be allowed to go home for mandatory home quarantine for a total period of seven days," as per the revised guidelines.

All symptomatic passengers testing positive at the airport will be admitted to Seven Hills Hospital, while asymptomatic passengers will be admitted to the jumbo COVID-19 facilities in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) or Kanjurmarg.

If any symptomatic passenger prefers a private hospital, he/she will be shifted to the Bombay Hospital or Breach Candy Hospital, while the asymptomatic patients with similar preferences will be transferred to linked hotels on their expenditure, the guidelines said. 

(PTI)

Amaravati, Jan 5 (PTI): The total number of Omicron cases in Andhra Pradesh increased to 28 as four more people tested positive for the variant of the coronavirus on Wednesday. 

The State Public Health Director P Hymavathi said a 60-year-old person who arrived from the USA and a father-son duo who arrived from the UK tested positive for Omicron.

The three belonged to Prakasam district. A 14-year-old girl in Guntur district, a contact of a foreign traveller, also tested positive, Hymavathi said. All contacts of the cases have been traced and tested and the positive samples sent for genome sequencing, she said. 

(PTI)

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) The Centre on Wednesday said the upsurge of COVID-19 cases is happening in cities and the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain.

It also noted that the precautionary dose of Covid vaccine for healthcare and frontline workers as well as those above 60 years with comorbidities will be same as the first two doses of the vaccine.

The government, however, said there is no need to panic and one must be alert, disciplined and prepared, adding that the country will face this phase of the pandemic as well.

Upsurge of infections is happening in cities. Omicron is the predominant circulating strain and mass gatherings need to be avoided to reduce the speed of the spread of infection.

There has been a surge in Covid cases globally whereas 25.2 lakh cases were recorded globally on January 4, the highest ever since the onset of the pandemic, officials said.

India reported over 6.3 times rise in Covid cases in the last eight days. There has been a sharp rise in case positivity from 0.79 per cent on December 29 to 5.03 per cent on January 5, they said.

They said six states/UTs now have over 10,000 active Covid cases.

It further stated that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat are emerging as states of concern due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

A total of 28 districts are reporting over 10 per cent weekly Covid positivity, while 43 districts are reporting weekly positivity between 5-10 per cent, the officials said.

The Centre added that 1.06 crore or 14.3 per cent of India's adolescents aged 15-18 years have been administered the first  dose of Covid vaccine.

An estimated 7,40,57,000 adolescents in the age group 15-18 years are there in the country and are eligible for vaccination, it said.

It added that relatively less hospitalisation has been observed in countries reporting the surge in Omicron cases.

(PTI)

To tackle the rising coronavirus 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 here 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)

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 on the need to impose restrictions wherever there is crowding. 

Talking to reporters after a meeting with the state's COVID-19 Task Force and officials of the health, planning and finance departments, Tope said the state reported over 16,000 cases on Tuesday, and the number could rise to 25,000 on Wednesday. 

He said the silver lining is that 90 per cent of the cases are asymptomatic. Of the 10 per cent symptomatic patients, only one to two per cent require hospitalisation. 

The state has seen a sharp rise in the daily cases since the last two weeks. 

The Task Force has used the term augmented restrictions, which means if the cases rise like this...we don't have to use the term lockdown. Hundred per cent lockdown is not certainly required as of today, the minister said.

He said augmented restrictions means that non-essential activities have to be stopped. 

Wherever crowding takes place, there have to be restrictions, but it is not the case that it (curbs) should be brought today, Tope said.

He said recommendations of the Task Force will be discussed with Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. 

The minister strongly emphasised on ramping up the vaccination against COVID-19, and focusing on those who have not taken the jabs and third dose for frontline workers.

As the cases rise, an aggressive focus will also be on information, education and communication activities on the precautions to be taken after testing positive for the coronavirus, he said.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday said if the daily COVID-19 cases cross the 20,000-mark, a lockdown will be imposed in the city as per the Union government's rules.

She had also suggested that people wear triple-layer masks while traveling by public buses and local trains.

The mayor had also appealed to citizens to get vaccinated at the earliest and follow all COVID-19-related standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Mumbai reported 10,860 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up 34.37 per cent from a day ago and highest daily count since April 7, 2021, while two more patients succumbed to the infection, as per the city civic body.

(PTI)

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has set up a control room to monitor issues related to transportation and delivery of goods and essential commodities due to curbs imposed by various states in view of the rising number of coronavirus infections.

In April last year, the department had set up a similar control room.

The issues reported by stakeholders through this control room will be taken up with the state/UT governments concerned, according to a communication of the department to all industry and trade associations.

"Due to the surge in the COVID cases across the country, DPIIT has taken cognizance of the steps taken by various state governments/UTs to control the spread of COVID cases.

"Therefore, as a measure of precaution and for supporting our business ecosystem, DPIIT will monitor the status and issues arising (if any) during transportation and delivery of goods and essential commodities due to the restrictions (if any) imposed by various state governments/UTs," it said.

It added that in the event of any manufacturing, transportation, distribution, wholesale or e-commerce companies facing difficulties in transportation and distribution of goods or mobilisation of resources, it can be informed to the department at dpiit-controlroorn@gov.in.

Telephone numbers 91 11 23063554, 23060625 will remain functional from 9 AM to 9 PM from Wednesday.

Total 2,135 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected across 24 states and UTs, out of which, 828 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.

India saw a single-day rise of 58,097 new coronavirus infections, the highest in around 199 days, taking the total tally of cases to 3,50,18,358. The active cases were recorded above 2 lakh after around 81 days, according to the data updated at 8 am.

Several states including Delhi, Punjab and Maharashtra have imposed certain restrictions such as night curfew.

(PTI)

Omicron detecting RT-PCR kit has been developed in partnership with Tata MD and ICMR and it has been approved by DCGI. This kit will test will give results in 4 hours: Dr Balram Bhargava, DG, ICMR

27th Kolkata International Film Festival has been called off in the wake of the present Covid situation in West Bengal, news agency ANI reported. It was scheduled to be held between January 7-14, 2022.

Witnessing a heavy surge in COVID-19 cases triggered by the Omicron variant in Maharashtra, the National Congress Party (NCP) has cancelled all its political and social events that had been scheduled to take place in the coming days. In a meeting chaired by NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday, the decision was taken in view of the rising Coronavirus cases in the state, informed party leader Nawab Malik who also took part in the meeting with the other party leaders and ministers. 

While speaking to the media after the party meeting, NCP leader and Maharashtra State Minister Nawab Malik said that concerned ministers and guardian ministers have also been instructed to visit their respective districts and review the COVID situation there. Also, they have been directed to hold discussions with the local administration for managing the situation in their districts.  

"The party has taken the call to cancel any public meetings in the state as all COVID norms have to be followed," he said.

As Omicron cases surge across India, the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday issued revised guidelines for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients who are under home isolation or showing mild symptoms.

As per the new rules, patients under home isolation will stand discharged and can end isolation after at least 7 days have passed from testing positive and have no fever for 3 successive days. There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over, the health ministry said. 

The present guidelines are applicable to COVID-19 patients who have been clinically assessed and assigned as mild /asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.

What are asymptomatic cases and mild cases of COVID-19?

The asymptomatic cases are laboratory-confirmed cases who are not experiencing any symptoms and have oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93%.

Clinically assigned mild cases are patients with upper respiratory tract symptoms with or without fever, without shortness of breath and having oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93%,

Bihar Government on Tuesday, January 4, announced fresh restrictions and curbs considering the rise in COVID-19 cases in Bihar. It has been announced that Bihar schools will be closed from January 6 to January 21, 2022. It is to be noted that offline classes will be allowed for students of classes 9-12 but with proper COVID restrictions. Pre-schools have also been closed in the state. Amid Omicron fear, the state government has decided to implement a statewide night curfew too. 

For classes 9 to 12, offline classes are permitted as of now. Schools and colleges will have to ensure a maximum capacity of 50%.  The order released reads, "Pre-school and 1 to 8 classes to remain close, online classes will continue. Educational institutions of classes 9-12 will function on 50 per cent capacity. Restrictions are to remain in effect from January 6 to 21."

It further reads, "Night curfew will be imposed from 10 pm to 5 am. Religious places to remain closed. Malls, cinemas, clubs, swimming pools, stadiums, gyms, parks will also remain close till January 21."

A new research revealed that white-tailed deer are particularly susceptible to the Coronavirus, which could hinder efforts to end the pandemic. Last year, from January to March, researchers from Ohio State University gathered nasal samples from 360 wild white-tailed deer in nine different areas across Northeast Ohio. The study, published in the journal Nature, found genetic material from at least three different strains of the virus in over 35% of the deer that were sampled at six different sites. It suggested that 129 deer had recently been infected or were now dealing with an active case of the disease, The Hill reported. 

The latest research comes in the backdrop of previous research studies which noted COVID-19 infection in white-tailed deer in Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York. While no cases of COVID-19 transmission from deer to humans have been reported so far, researchers warn that the virus' circulation in deer could pose a risk to humans if the animal becomes a reservoir for the virus. "The fact that wild deer can become infected, also suggests that we may have actually found a new maintenance host outside humans," stated Andrew Bowman, the lead author of the study and a professor of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State University. 

"We knew they were being exposed in the wild based on data from earlier studies, that we could infect them in the lab, and that the virus could spread from deer to deer. And if they can keep it up, we may have a new source of SARS-CoV-2 entering humans. That means, in addition to tracking what's in people, we will also need to know what's in deer, Bowman explained, as per The Hill. COVID-19 mitigation and control efforts may be complicated if deer serve as a viral reservoir for the Coronavirus,'' Bowman added. 

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With the addition of 319 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh's Indore city as seen a 23-time jump in infections in the last 10 days, an official said on Wednesday.

Indore, one of the worst affected regions in the state due to the pandemic, had recorded 14 cases on December 26 and the number has rapidly increased since, the official from the district administration said.

According to the government data, the district has so far recorded 1,54,437 cases, including 1,397 casualties.

Following a meeting of the District Crisis Management Committee, the administration has prepared a proposal to permit a maximum of 200 attendees at weddings and 50 in funeral processions to prevent the viral spread, he said.

The administration had earlier lifted the restrictions on the number of guests at weddings and mourners at funerals, as the cases had seen a decline.

A proposal has also been prepared to allow coaching classes in the district to function with 50 per cent student strength, the official said, adding that these guidelines will be implemented once the state government approves them.

Coronavirus cases are continuing to soar in Puducherry with the confirmation of 73 fresh infections in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday.

With 73 cases being reported today, the overall tally went up to 1,29, 692.

The new cases identified at the end of examination of 2,727 samples were spread over Puducherry 50, Karaikal 13 and Mahe 10.

However, there was no fresh fatality today and the toll remained 1881.

The active cases were 278 with 59 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals and remaining 219 patients being in home isolation.

Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release that while nine patients recovered and were discharged during the last twenty-four hours the overall recoveries were 1,27,533.

The Health Department has tested so far 20,56,978 samples and has found 17,45,772 out of them to be negative.

Mizoram on Wednesday reported 443 new COVID-19 cases, recording a positivity rate of 13.38 per cent, a health official said.

The state had reported 347 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 15.66 per cent, he said.

Among the new patients are 88 children and 21 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, he added.

There are 2,162 active cases in the state at present, while the toll rose to 553 as one more person from Aizawl district died.

Aizawl district reported the highest number of new cases at 134, followed by Serchhip (122) and Mamit (51), the official said.

The state has so far reported 1,42,691 COVID-19 cases. Of them, 1,39,976 have recovered, including 112 in the last 24 hours.

The new cases were detected after testing 3,311 samples.

Gujarat High Court bans entry of the general public into its premises, making it mandatory for 'party-in-person' to produce a negative COVID certificate not older than 48 hours for entry.

Over 1 crore youngsters between 15-18 age group receive 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine on the 3rd day of vaccination drive for children.

"Superb enthusiasm among Young India for Vaccination Over 1 crore youngsters between 15-18 age group have received 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine that too on the 3rd day of vaccination drive for children. I appeal to all eligible young friends to get vaccinated at the earliest."

COVID-19 vaccine booster aimed at tackling multiple coronavirus variants shows promise in inducing a comprehensive immune response, early data suggests. The initial phase one clinical data shows the vaccine has strong levels of neutralising antibodies, similar to approved mRNA vaccines, but at up to a 10-fold lower dose in the first 10 individuals.

The yet-to-be peer-reviewed results also show the vaccine, being trialled with the anticipated involvement of 20 people aged 60 and over, was generally safe and well-tolerated. The trials are being conducted by US-based biotechnology company Gritstone bio in collaboration with the University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

The self-amplifying mRNA second-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine -- or samRNA -- delivers antigens from both spike and non-spike proteins. The spike protein is used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter and infect human cells and is a target of most currently used vaccines.

The samRNA vaccine also produced broad CD8+ T cell responses against targets from SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins and boosted spike-specific T cells. T cells are part of the immune system, and form the second line of defence beyond antibodies. Based on the results, the trial is now being expanded to 120 people, potentially enabling more rapid advancement into a later-stage trial.

"These initial data with samRNA Covid programme strongly support its unique approach of CD8+ T cell priming and potent neutralising antibody generation with a dose of samRNA potentially up to 10-fold lower than that required for first-generation mRNA vaccines," said Professor Andrew Ustianowski from the University of Manchester.

Over 50 people, including students and a faculty member, have tested positive for COVID-19 in IIT-Guwahati over the last six days, forcing the authorities to impose restrictions on the campus, an official said on Wednesday.

Almost 99 per cent of the cases were people who returned to the campus from outside Assam after holidays, said Parmeshwar Iyer, Dean-PR, IIT-Guwahati.

"More than 50 cases of COVID-19 have been detected on the campus since December 31. Among them are a faculty member and five members of his family, and another staff member. The rest are students," he told PTI.

Except for the faculty member and his family, all the patients are lodged at the quarantine centre at the institute's guest house on the campus, Iyer said.

"As the faculty member's parents, mother-in-law and young son tested positive, they preferred to be hospitalised. They are currently undergoing treatment at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital," he said.

As India faces a surge of COVID-19 cases, political rallies are still being held and norms are being violated in poll bound states. On Wednesday, Delhi Health Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain spoke about the political rallies being held by his party in several states. The AAP is set to contest the upcoming Assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, the Delhi Health Minister refused to speak up against the AAP rallies even as COVID-19 cases soar across the country. 

Responding to a question, the senior AAP leader said that the Delhi government is taking measures and doing "what's in their hands".

Speaking about the Kejriwal-led government's decision to impose rules, he maintained that measures are in place in the national capital. However, in a shocking remark, Jain asked the reporters if they expect his party to stop campaigning in poll-bound states. He later claimed that the Delhi government has "set an example" by imposing COVID-19 rules in the national capital. 

"Do you want us to stop campaigning in the elections? You don't want us to contest the elections?" asked Satyendar Jain .

With the addition of 61 doctors, approximately 139 resident doctors across Maharashtra have tested positive for COVID-19

The 320 cabs deployed at Covid vaccination centres in Delhi can be used to ferry patients who have tested positive for the viral disease if such a need arises, officials have said.

Besides these, 371 CATS ambulance are operational in Delhi at present. Each ambulance has an oxygen support system, including children's mask and ambu bag.

Paramedics deployed on these ambulances have been trained to tackle paediatrics emergencies, officials said at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.

The four vendors who provide ambulances to the government have been kept on high alert and they will provide 250 ambulances on a short notice of one to two days, they said.

Ladakh has reported 32 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 22,321 out of which 21,836 patients have cured while the active cases in the union territory has gone down to 265, officials said.

The union territory has recorded 220 Covid-related deaths -- 162 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, they said.

Sixteen patients were cured and discharged from hospitals from Ladakh. Of the total 32 fresh cases, 23 were reported from Leh and 9 from Kargil district, they said.

A total of 785 sample reports in Ladakh were found negative, they said.

Out of 265 active COVID-19 cases in Ladakh, 205 were reported in Leh and 60 in Kargil district.

As the world is still battling to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Coronavirus, scientists in France have discovered a new strain that is said to have 46 mutations. According to a research paper released on medRxiv, the new variant is more transmittable and vaccine-resistant than the existing Omicron variant, news agency Sputnik reported. Scientists at the Méditerranée Infection University Hospital Institute (IHU) first discovered the new variant, called as B.1.640.2. or ‘variant IHU’, on December 10. They had announced that the new strain was discovered in Forcalquier, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region.

At least 12 cases of the new variant have been reported near Marseilles, with reports indicating that majority of the victims were hospitalised. "In the Marseilles geographical area, we have numerous cases of this novel variant. We have named it as IHU variant. Two new genomes had already been submitted," Professor Philippe Colson, the leader of the department that discovered the new variant stated in the research paper. According to the paper, the first case was a fully vaccinated man who returned from a trip to Cameroon in November. He tested positive for the COVID-19 three days later and developed moderate respiratory symptoms, as per Sputnik. 

Ahead of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's rally in Bhatinda, two members from the CM's staff have tested positive for COVID-19. Moreover, this also comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur. Reportedly, CM Channi, who was going to be present at PM's stone foundation laying ceremony of PGIMER’s Satellite Centre, will now join the event virtually.

Two members of Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's staff test positive for COVID-19. 

Odisha recorded its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases in nearly five months as 1,216 more people tested positive for the disease on Wednesday, the health department said.

The toll mounted to 8,466 as two patients succumbed to the virus in Khurda.

An audit has confirmed that the two deaths occurred due to COVID-19, the department said.

Fifty-three other coronavirus patients in the state have died due to comorbidities, according to data.

As many as 187 children were among those newly infected, the department's bulletin stated.

The infection tally rose to 10.58 lakh, including 10.45 lakh recoveries -- 121 of them in the last 24 hours.

Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of new cases at 456, followed Sundargarh at by 166, Sambalpur at 99 and Cuttack at 80, it said.

Odisha currently has 3,981 active cases, including 1,551 in Khurda.

On August 8, the coastal state had logged 1,243 infections.

Altogether 68,878 samples were tested on Tuesday. 

Delhi Govt has instructed private hospitals to increase the number of reserved beds for COVID patients to 40% from 10% of their capacity. Nearly 2% of beds are occupied in the government hospitals, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told ANI. 

"How has India set a vaccination milestone? Through the resilient efforts of its health workers going the extra mile, snow or rain, remote or plain regions. India’s vaccination drive is the story of a determined billion, diverse yet united in their fight against COVID19"

WHO on Tuesday warned that more evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus strain B.1.1.529, a variant of concern, is affecting the upper respiratory tract among the COVID-19 patients while it is causing milder symptoms than previous variants. "We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike the other ones, which could cause severe pneumonia," WHO incident manager Abdi Mahamud told Geneva-based journalists. The “good news” said the WHO official, is that the strain causes mild symptoms but its extremely high transmissibility means that it would become dominant within weeks and cause widespread coronavirus infections. 

Omicron will pose a threat in countries where a high portion of the population remained unvaccinated against the novel SARS-CoV-2, the WHO reiterated on Tuesday, as many countries including India mull booster shots to enhance the protection. The centre stressed in a statement earlier that its decision on the need and timing of the booster dosages will be governed based on scientific evidence and studies related to India’s condition apart from global data. 

Scientists worldwide, though, have expressed concerns about the new variant’s high number of mutations on the protein spike that makes the variant super contagious. “What we’re worried more about is the transmissibility and the immune-evasion capabilities,” Dr Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease doctor who is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security told NPR. The bigger concern, scientists have said, is how quickly the Omicron variant, with its a high number of mutations, spreads and that the unvaccinated people will be at a higher risk of getting COVID-19.

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WHO further warned that more evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus strain B.1.1.529, a variant of concern, is affecting the upper respiratory tract among the COVID-19 patients while it is causing milder symptoms than previous variants. "We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike the other ones, which could cause severe pneumonia," WHO incident manager Abdi Mahamud told Geneva-based journalists. The “good news” said the WHO official, is that the strain causes mild symptoms but its extremely high transmissibility means that it would become dominant within weeks and cause widespread coronavirus infections. 

Omicron will pose a threat in countries where a high portion of the population remained unvaccinated against the novel SARS-CoV-2, the WHO reiterated on Tuesday, as many countries including India mull booster shots to enhance the protection. The centre stressed in a statement earlier that its decision on the need and timing of the booster dosages will be governed based on scientific evidence and studies related to India’s condition apart from global data. 

Scientists worldwide, though, have expressed concerns about the new variant’s high number of mutations on the protein spike that makes the variant super contagious. “What we’re worried more about is the transmissibility and the immune-evasion capabilities,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease doctor who is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security told NPR. The bigger concern, scientists have said, is how quickly the Omicron variant, with its high number of mutations spreads and that the unvaccinated people will be at a higher risk of getting COVID-19.

Separately, the WHO expressed concerns about breakthrough infections or reinfections among the doubly jabbed population and in healthy people. “The antigen we use in the vaccines is specifically the spike protein, so there’s always a concern that the more mutations you see in the spike protein, the greater the possibility that it could be able to evade the immunity provided by the vaccine if it’s different enough,” Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health warned in a statement to NPR. 

In the wake of the daily rise in COVID-19 cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday decided to impose a weekend curfew in the national capital. The curfew will be in force from Friday 10 pm to Monday 5 AM every weekend till further notice.

“DDMA has decided to impose a curfew in Delhi on Saturdays and Sundays to curb COVID surge. All govt officials except for those engaged in essential services will work from home. 50% workforce of private offices will work from home”, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said while addressing a press conference after the meeting. 

Delhi weekend curfew Rules

• The curfew will be in effect between 10 pm Friday and 5 am Monday
• All services, except shops selling essential items such as groceries, will be shut over the weekend.
• This includes malls, markets and restaurants.
• Since a night curfew is already in place throughout the week
• All employees of government offices will shift to “Work From Home” mode

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the impact of the Omicron variant of coronavirus was less severe but asked people to be on guard. He said that DTC buses and metro services will run at 100% capacity, but people will have to strictly adhere to the mask rule and other Covid-safety norms.

Amid an uptick in coronavirus cases in Delhi, the city government on Tuesday said telemetry devices are being installed in oxygen tanks of 53 major government and private hospitals in the national capital to help monitor availability of the life-saving gas at the facilities.

This will help in timely delivery of oxygen to the hospitals in need in case of an emergency, an official statement said.

Delhi had battled a brutal second wave of the coronavirus, with shortage of oxygen and hospital beds adding to people's woes.

During the last wave of COVID-19, it was seen that there was a sudden shortage of oxygen in hospitals across the country, and many hospitals started sounding the emergency alarm of running out of oxygen, said the statement.

The government was finding it difficult to decide which hospital should be provided oxygen first and which facility needed it the most, it said.

India administered more than 96 lakh COVID vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, taking the total coverage to over 147.72 crores: Union Health Ministry

India reports 58,097 fresh COVID cases, 15,389 recoveries, and 534 deaths in the last 24 hours Daily positivity rate: 4.18% Active cases: 2,14,004 Total recoveries: 3,43,21,803 Death toll: 4,82,551 Total vaccination: 147.72 crore doses

Amid the spike in cases of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron throughout the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated on Tuesday that more has to be done to ensure that all nations obtain life-saving coronavirus vaccines as soon as possible. It appealed to more nations to push for 70% vaccine coverage as soon as possible, stating that vaccination of the most vulnerable groups has remained the main issue to combat the pandemic. This announcement comes after a top WHO epidemiologist reiterated the agency's warning by saying that nations could not "boost" their way out of the outbreak since the Omicron was propagating so "intensely", much like the Delta strain. 

Epidemiologist Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove told BBC radio, “In the context of intense social mixing, in the context of limited use of proven public health measures, in the context of limited vaccination coverage globally…those are conditions that will allow any variant, any virus, to thrive. Omicron is taking advantage of that, and so is Delta,” as per a UN report.  

Amid rising cases of COVID-19 infection, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar chairs a meeting with Health Minister Rajesh Tope and senior govt officers in Mumbai:

Amid looming Omicron scare and spiralling COVID-19 cases nationwide, doctors across Kolkata have asserted that antibody cocktail is not required as the formula is not effective on the WHO-acclaimed 'variant of concern'. In addition, a medical practitioner, in a conversation with ANI, said that people with comorbidities in their initial 5 days of coronavirus infection may be helped by the antibody cocktail.

Dr Abhijit Chowdhary of SSKM Hospital said, "Antibody cocktails are only useful for a small segment of people. For most of the people with COVID-19 or almost 99% of the patients will not need an antibody cocktail. Only patients above 60 years or the ones who have comorbidities in their initial 4-5 days of the initial diseases may help from antibody cocktail. Antibody cocktail is not going to be a great solution for the COVID-19 pandemic."

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Bharat Biotech received the nod to conduct Phase 3 trials for its intranasal vaccine and a study to ascertain its use as a booster dose. This decision was taken by the Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on the Hyderabad-based firm's application seeking permission to test its intranasal vaccine on 5000 subjects consisting of an equal number of persons fully vaccinated with Covishield and Covaxin. As the SEC urged Bharat Biotech to add a Covishield arm in the booster trials, the latter is likely to submit a revised proposal by today.

Elaborating on the intranasal vaccine, Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Dr.Krishna Ella told Republic TV, "If you take one dose of nasal vaccine you could block the infection and thereby block the transmission chain and then you can flatten the curve. It is just about 4 drops like Polio, 2 in one nostril and 2 in the other. Now global authorities like the WHO are getting convinced about nasal as a second-generation vaccine."

Read more about the intranasal COVID-19 vaccine. 

Mumbai civic body has made rapid RT-PCR test mandatory for all the international passengers landing at the international airport here, as per revised guidelines. The guidelines, issued last week, were effective since Monday, an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Tuesday.

Earlier, the RT-PCR test was mandatory only for international travellers arriving from 'countries at risk'. On Tuesday, Mumbai reported 10,860 new COVID-19 cases, up 34.37 per cent from a day ago and highest daily count since April 7, 2021, while two more patients succumbed to the infection, as per the civic body. The BMC official said passengers testing positive for coronavirus in the rapid test will then have to undergo routine RT-PCR test, while the negative passengers will be allowed to leave, but they will need to observe mandatory home quarantine for seven days.

"All international passengers who test positive in the rapid RT-PCR test shall undergo routine RT-PCR test at the airport itself," the revised order said

.

Kerala reports 3,640 new cases, 30 deaths, 2363 recoveries today; Active cases at 20, 180. Death tally at 48,637. 423 deaths were added to the death tally as per the new guidelines of the Central government, says the Kerala government in an official statement.

Over 54,000 teenagers in Delhi belonging to the 15-17 age group have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose so far, the Directorate of Education said on Tuesday.

The drive was started at 169 centres in the national capital on Monday.

"Till Jan 4, 5.30 pm, a total of 54,204 children in the age bracket of 15-17 have been vaccinated across Delhi. North East district with 9,923 inoculations is leading the districts, followed by South West at 7,079," the Directorate of Education of the Delhi government said in a tweet.

The department urged all students to get the jabs.

According to the data of cumulative coverage of teenagers till January 4, the lowest number of 2,769 jabs was administered in the central district.

On Tuesday only, 33,179 teenagers were inoculated till 5.30 pm across 11 districts in Delhi, the data showed.

The Northeast district scored the highest single-day inoculations till 5.30 pm on Tuesday with 6,237 jabs, followed by the Southwest district with 4,402.

North Delhi district administered the lowest number of 1,886 vaccine doses to teenagers till 5.30 pm on Tuesday, the data showed.

According to the Health Ministry guidelines, those aged 15 and above will be able to register for vaccination on the CoWIN portal.

Nearly 5,500 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in Delhi on Tuesday with a positivity rate of about 8.5%.

As the new highly complex and mutated Omicron B.1.1.529 variant continues to grip the nations worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday clearly stated that it still recommends a 14-day quarantine for those infected. WHO official Abdi Mahamud from the organization’s COVID-19 Incident Management Support Team, told a press briefing that the accurate duration of quarantine for those who contract COVID-19 must ideally isolate for 14 days as the patients start to recover within five to seven days since the onset of their symptoms.  

Nations worldwide, however, have set the quarantine period based on their individual situations but WHO’s Mahamud explains that in countries with low infections, a longer quarantine time could, in fact, help keep the COVID-19 case numbers as low as possible. Although, the latter iterated that the shorter quarantines may be justified as it may help keep countries’ economies running and might effectively work in nations with runaway cases.

The WHO official, shockingly, revealed at the conference that it is possible for an individual to be infected with both influenza and COVID-19 at the same time. While there is little risk for the two viruses to combine, both may cause the disease to spike at the same time and affect the health of the infected person, he said. 

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Dr Abhijit Chowdhury of SSKM hospital told ANI, "Antibody cocktails are only useful for a small segment of people. For most of the people with COVID or almost 99% of the patients will not need an antibody cocktail. Only patients aged above 60 years or who have comorbidities in their initial 4-5 days of the initial disease may help from antibody cocktail. Antibody cocktail is not going to be a great solution for the COVID-19 pandemic."

"However, the judges will have the discretion to hear the matters either physically or virtually," says the court in a notification

Goa reported 592 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday with positivity rate remaining high at 13.89 per cent, while two more patients succumbed to the infection in the state, an official said.

With these additions, Goa's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,82,793, while the death toll increased to 3,525, he said, citing health department data.

The state government has imposed curbs on indoor activities, while educational institutions continued to remain shut in view of the soaring cases.

The case positivity rate was 13.89 per cent on Tuesday, which was lower than Monday's 26.43 per cent. The positivity rate was 10.7 per cent on Sunday.

The rate indicates the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested.

On Monday, Goa had reported 631 COVID-19 cases.

The number of fresh COVID-19 infections in Assam on Tuesday increased to 475, registering an increase of over 35 per cent in a single day, the National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said.

The new cases, 124 more than the figures reported on Monday, registered a positivity rate of 1.29 per cent against the testing of 36,781 samples.

The virus tally has now increased to 6,21,987, the bulletin said.

Besides, three persons lost their lives to the disease during the day, taking the total number of deaths to 6,170. The virus had claimed two lives on Monday.

NHM said 1,347 more COVID-19 patients have died till now, but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus as they had other ailments too. The number of patients who recovered from the infection rose nearly three-fold to 154 persons on Tuesday from 53 on Monday, the bulletin said.

As many as 6,12,792 people in the northeastern state have recovered from COVID-19 thus far.

With six travelers who had arrived in the state from the United Kingdom testing positive for Omicron infection, the tally of such cases in Goa rose to 11 on Tuesday.

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane tweeted late at night that six more samples sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune had tested positive for Omicron variant of coronavirus.

"All six are travelers from the UK and are asymptomatic. Total cases – 11,” he said.

The first case of Omicron was detected in Goa on December 28.

The coastal state is witnessing a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases with 592 fresh infections reported on Tuesday.

Individuals affected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and who have received two doses of vaccination are advised to be under home isolation and the health department has issued necessary guidelines in this connection, Tamil Nadu Minister Ma Subramanian said on Tuesday.

As of Monday, the number of Omicron cases in Tamil Nadu was 121.

After inaugurating a Covid-19 Siddha Centre in the city, Subramanian said those patients affected by the Omicron variant and who have received two vaccine doses are advised home isolation and can receive treatment at home. 

"After receiving treatment for five days, the RT-PCR tests will be conducted again and if they test negative they can do their routine work," he told reporters.

Subramanian said similar to last year's initiative by the Government to treat Covid-19 patients using traditional Indian medicines, a Siddha Centre to treat Covid-19 individuals was inaugurated in the city today.

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Patna district on Tuesday exploded with 565 fresh COVID-19 cases, a three-fold increase in 24 hours while Bihar's single day infections tally shot up two-and-a-half times to 893, forcing the Nitish Kumar government to order night curfew and other restrictions which will come into effect from Thursday. 

According to a notification issued by the state's home ministry, the curfew hours will be from 10 PM to 5 AM and, along with other curbs, shall remain in force till January 21. 

Schools shall remain closed for up to Class VIII though online teaching will be allowed and offices, government as well as private, shall be permitted to function with not more than 50 per cent attendance.

After Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai chaired an important meeting on Tuesday with members of the COVID Task Force and experts in Bengaluru amid a surge in Coronavirus cases, Karnataka minister R Ashoka announced that a weekend curfew is set to be imposed from 10 pm on Friday to 5 am on Monday in the entire state, issuing a fresh set of COVID guidelines. 

The state government has deployed eight IAS officers to handle and manage the COVID-19 situation and Omicron-related cases in eight zones of Bengaluru. 

"Theaters, malls, pubs & bars are allowed to operate at 50% capacity, no gatherings allowed at public places. Schools in Bengaluru, apart from 10th and 12th standards to be shut down for two weeks from 6th January," Karnataka minister R Ashoka added. 

BMC has mandated rapid RT-PCR COVID test for all international passengers arriving in Mumbai:

After announcing fresh curbs in Delhi amid COVID-19 spread, DDMA in order has said that metro can run with 100% seating capacity however no standing passengers would be allowed:

Punjab Health minister OP Soni said as per the central govt’s guidelines, there are no restrictions on rallies. Soon CM will call a Corona review meeting and will take a decision on it:

Sonu Nigam has tested positive for COVID along with his wife & kid in Dubai amid Omicron scare: