Omicron cases in India: Supreme Court reverts to virtual hearing as COVID cases soar

According to the Rajasthan government's official order, "In Jaipur, all govt and private schools will be closed for classes 1 to 8 from Jan 3 till Jan 9. Other District collectors can take decisions as per requirement discussing it with education dept".

As vaccination for the 15-18 age group will begin from January 3, a total of 6,79,064 teenagers of the eligible age group have registered for vaccination on CoWIN app. 

Assam has reported 156 new COVID19 cases with 100 recoveries, and no deaths in the last 24 hours.

Mumbai has reported 8,063 new cases with 578 recoveries in the last 24 hours. On January 1, the city had recorded 6,347 fresh COVID cases with 451 recoveries and one death.

"All universities and colleges (state/government or private) shall remain closed till 12th January for students. The staff shall attend colleges/universities as usual and online classes will take place regularly" Haryana Higher Education Department informed.

According to the official order of SDMA, UT Chandigarh, "Restaurants including hotels, coffee shops, eating places, marriage palaces and banquet halls in Chandigarh will now open with 50% capacity. Only those who have taken both doses of vaccine will be allowed entry".

Maharashtra has reported 11,877 new cases with 2,069 recoveries, and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours. While 50 patients have tested positive for the Omicron variant today.

Supreme Court has decided to shift to the virtual system of hearings from January 3 for two weeks in view of rising in COVID-19 cases.

Kerala has reported 2,802 new cases with 2,606 recoveries and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours. Kerala govt in an official statement said that 66 deaths were added to the death tally as per the new guidelines of the Central government. 

Delhi has reported 3,194 fresh COVID cases and 1,156 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting with Task Force, DCs, and SPs to review COVID-19 status, vaccination for 15-18 age group, and preparedness of health infrastructure across the Union Territory. 

BKC Covid center in Mumbai has reopened yesterday (Jan 1). Even the BKC Jumbo facility has started on Jan 1. Vaccination of children (15-18yrs of age) starts tomorrow (Jan 3). We have started taking international passengers from today. 3208 beds are available here, informed Dr Rajesh Dhere, Dean, BKC Covid center.

"All schools, colleges, universities, spas, salons, beauty parlours, zoos, and entertainment parks to be closed in the state from tomorrow", West Bengal Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi said.

"All government and private offices to operate at 50% capacity, all administrative meetings to be conducted via virtual mode", he added.

"In a recently published news article by a reputed international news agency, it has been claimed that India has missed its vaccination target. This is misleading and does not represent the complete picture", Union Health Ministry said in an official statement. 

"India’s national COVID-19 Vaccination programme has been one of the most successful and largest vaccination programmes compared with the many developed western nations with significantly low population base to vaccinate", the statement further read. 

23 new cases of Omicron detected in Odisha, the total number of cases with new variant has reached 37 in State, informed Niranjan Mishra, Director, Public Health. 

Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya held a meeting with states and Union Territories and reviewed public health preparedness for COVID19 and vaccination progress. Mansukh Mandaviya said, "We've to put up a strong fight against COVID earlier & this learning must be used to re-focus on efforts against Omicron variant". 

Preparations begin for COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged between 15-18 years at Delhi's Star Imaging & Path Lab, Tilak Nagar. 

See visuals here:

"COVID19 cases are rising in a few cities like Raigarh & Raipur of Chhattisgarh. Since many samples have been sent to our genome sequencing centre at Odisha for #Omicron, it's taking some time. No need to panic, all arrangements done by state govt," said Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel:

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi speaks with Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel over COVID19/Omicron situation and inquires about the preparedness of the State:

"COVID19 cases are increasing rapidly in Delhi, but there is no need to panic. Currently, the active cases in the city are 6360. Today, 3100 new cases expected to be reported today. Only 246 hospital beds were occupied y'day. All cases are mild & asymptomatic," said Delhi CM Kejriwal. 

Delhi Government has informed that it has collected over Rs 99 lakhs collected in fines and 66 FIRs registered on January 1, 2022, for violation of COVID-19 protocols, following the enforcement of 'Yellow alert' restrictions in the national capital.

In districts with high daily cases, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala, Panchkula&Sonipat, malls & markets to close by 5pm. Only fully vaccinated allowed to enter public transport, hotels, restaurants, malls, grain markets. Teams formed for enforcement of law, informed Haryana Health Min Anil Vij. 

The program organised to mark the occasion of Students' Week at Netaji Indoor Stadium in West Bengal's Kolkata on January 3 has been postponed by the State government, in view of the current COVID19 situation:

India reports 27,553 fresh COVID-19 infections, 284 deaths and 9,249 discharges in the last 24 hours; Active caseload stands at 1,22,801 Omicron case tally rises to 1,525:

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Kakryal (Katra) campus closed after 13 students test positive for COVID19, informed District Magistrate Reasi:

There have also been concerns that the 'twin threats'- Delta and Omicron- known together as the 'Delmicron' may take over the globe and cripple healthcare systems, as predicted by the World Health Organisation (WHO). 

Florona basically stands for 'Flu + Corona'. It is not a new variant of COVID-19 but a double infection that causes a major breakdown of a person's immunity when both the influenza virus and SARS-Cov-2 enter the body at the same time. Earlier this week, a pregnant woman was infected with Florona, becoming the first person to report the disease. According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the young woman was not vaccinated for either of the two viruses.

Read the full story here. 

Auto drivers were seen sitting near the fire to comfort themselves on a cold winter morning in Delhi.

"With night curfew in place, we are not getting enough passengers. Our daily income has been affected due to the curfew," said an auto-driver.

Two liquor shops in Seelampur in North East Delhi were slapped with fines of Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 for violation of COVID norms:

Two weekly markets closed in Karawal Nagar area of North East Delhi for COVID rules violation:

BMC has announced that COVID vaccination for children aged 15-18 in Maharashtra will be inaugurated by State Minister Aditya Thackeray at Bandra Kurla COVID Centre in Mumbai on January 3:

Owing to the COVID-19 spread, Telangana Govt has prohibited rallies, public meetings, and mass gatherings of all types; to strictly enforce fine of Rs 1,000 for not wearing of mask in public spaces:

Keeping COVID spread in view, Haryana Govt has closed cinema halls, sports complexes, swimming pools, and entertainment parks in Gurugram, Faridabad & three other districts; govt & private offices to function with 50% staff attendance:

In last 1 month, 138 Omicron cases here - 95 returned home after recovering: