Covid-19 Omicron India January 4 Highlights: Omicron surge could differ per country, says WHO; Delhi announces weekend curfew as single-day Covid-19 cases cross 5,000

The Table Tennis Federation of India on Tuesday decided to postpone events in three categories (Under-15, Under-13 and Under-11) in the ongoing National Ranking (Central Zone) Championships in the wake of a fresh COVID-19 surge in the country. The committee also decided to postpone the Senior Nationals to be held in Shillong from January 22 to 29. The Cadet and Sub-Junior Nationals that were to begin from January 11 have also been put on hold. (PTI)

Punjab on Tuesday reported a big jump in fresh COVID-19 cases with 1,027 more people getting infected, taking the infection tally to 6,06,927 in the state, where two more people died from coronavirus. So far, the virus has claimed 16,653 lives in the state, according to a medical bulletin. Punjab has been witnessing a surge in infection numbers for the past a few days. The state's positivity rate rose from 4.47 per cent on Monday to 6.49 per cent on Tuesday. (PTI)

A fine of Rs 200 will be imposed for not wearing a mask in Bhopal from Wednesday. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Crisis Management Committee of the Bhopal district. “In view of rising COVID-19 cases, a campaign will start in Bhopal district from Wednesday. Those not wearing masks will be fined Rs 200 to make people aware about the prevention of pandemic,” said Urban Administration Minister Bhupendra Singh, in-charge of the district. (PTI)

Odisha recorded the highest single-day jump in COVID-19 cases in over three months on Tuesday, as 680 more people including 31 students of a research institute near here tested positive for the virus, the Health Department said. The daily positivity rate surged to 1.31 per cent from 0.77 per cent a day ago, while 119 children, or 17.5 per cent of the fresh cases, were infected in the past 24 hours, a bulletin stated. The state had logged 424 COVID-19 cases on Monday. On September 22, there were 734 infections. (PTI)

Around 170 resident doctors in hospitals run by the Maharashtra government and civic corporations have tested positive for coronavirus in the last two days, an association representing them said on Tuesday. Avinash Dahiphale, president, Maharashtra Resident Doctors Association, said “About 170 resident doctors have been infected by COVID-19 till today evening.” (PTI)

Seven new Omicron cases were reported in Andhra Pradesh on 3rd January, taking the total number of cases to 24 in the state. One patient is mildly symptomatic and under hospital isolation. All others are healthy and are under isolation: Andhra Pradesh government (ANI)

The city's wedding industry has urged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to ease covid protocols imposed on wedding-gatherings in view of rising COVID cases. Amid the peak season of weddings, the industry body called for a meeting with the government suggesting measures it could follow during gatherings. The industry body wrote the government a letter saying 99 per cent weddings are getting postponed or cancelled due to capping of guests to 20 people. Citing other industries which are allowed to function with 50 per cent capacity, such as hotels, it said no such provisions have been made for the wedding industry. (PTI)

With a gradual increase of COVID-19 cases and detection of Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday directed the officials concerned to keep dedicated COVID hospitals ready in the next 10 days. During a virtual review meeting on the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state, the chief minister also asked the authorities to strictly enforce necessary restrictions without affecting the livelihood of people. Patnaik said that general and ICU beds at government and private COVID hospitals should be kept ready like the measures taken during the peak of the second wave last year, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said. (PTI)

Haryana's Covid tally rose to 7,76,842 on Tuesday with 1,132 fresh cases, while two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 10,066, according to the Health Department's daily bulletin. A maximum of 634 cases were reported from Gurgaon, followed by Faridabad 141, Panchkula 94, Ambala 69 and Karnal 44. There are 4,036 Covid active cases in the state, while 7,62,717 people have recuperated from the infection. The recovery rate was 98.18 per cent, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Over 37.5 lakh children received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, the second day of the inoculation drive for those in the age group of 15-18 years, according to Union Health Ministry. With more than 87 lakh doses being administered till 7 pm on Tuesday, of which 37,51,524 were for children, the cumulative number of doses administered in the country has reached over 147.62 crore (1,47,62,53,454), according to the ministry's data. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said. The total number of children in the age group of 15 to 18 years who have received the first shot in the two days has now gone up to 81,45,038. (PTI)

The Delhi government on Tuesday announced a weekend curfew and work from home for its offices as the city recorded 5,481 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest number since May 16, with a positivity rate of 8.37 percent and three fatalities. Health Minister Satyendar Jain, however, asserted that no lockdown was being imposed in the national capital. Taking to Twitter, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal informed he had tested positive for COVID-19 and did not attend the Delhi Disaster Management Authority chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal that took the decisions on the new curbs. (PTI)

Over one-fourth of eligible teenagers in the 15-18 age group were administered the first dose of coronavirus vaccine on a single on Monday, Himachal Pradesh government data showed. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had told the media after launching the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Mandi on Monday that about 3.57 lakh teenagers are eligible for vaccination in the state. Later in the evening on Monday, a spokesperson said 90,531 doses of Covaxin were administered across the state to teens in the 15-18 age group. (PTI)

The Centre on Tuesday asked states and Union territories to review infrastructure preparedness, including re-establishment of field and makeshift facilities, so that they are not found wanting if there is a surge in hospital admissions due to escalation in Covid cases. To tackle a possible rise in COVID-19 cases, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on January 1 advised states to start setting up makeshift hospitals, constitute special teams to monitor patients in home isolation as he emphasised the significance of upgrading health infrastructure timely and swiftly. Referring to the letter of Bhushan, Additional Secretary in the ministry Arti Ahuja wrote to all states, saying it is expected that the work for re-establishment and re-commissioning of field and makeshift hospital facilities would have begun. States and Union Territories must have also started the exercise to repurpose the beds in public and private hospitals for Covid cases to ensure maximum preparedness against another potential surge in cases, the officer said in the letter additional chief secretary, principal secretary and health secretary of all states. (PTI)

Karnataka government deploys eight IAS officers to handle and manage the COVID19 situation and Omicron related cases in eight zones of Bengaluru. (ANI)

COVID19 | Tamil Nadu reports 2,731 new cases, 9 deaths and 674 discharges today; Active cases 12,412 (ANI)

Assam reports 475 new COVID19 cases and three deaths in the last 24 hours (ANI)

Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Tuesday decided to put on hold all forms of local cricket till January 15, keeping in mind the recent surge of COVID-19. The affected events include first division, second division, age group tournaments, women's cricket and all forms of cricket in the districts. (PTI)

Ranji Trophy put on hold due to surge in COVID-19 cases, will not start on January 13 as scheduled. (PTI)

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said on Tuesday that all physical public hearings at its offices have been suspended with immediate effect to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection. The move came on a day when Delhi reported 5,481 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike since May 16, with a positivity rate of 8.37 per cent, and three more fatalities due to the viral disease, according to data shared by the city health department. (PTI)

At least five cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been detected in Meghalaya, a senior health official said on Tuesday. Health Services Director Aman War that three cases were detected in Shillong, and two in Ri-Bhoi district. “Three Omicron cases were detected in Happy Valley, Langkyrding and Laitumkhrah areas of Shillong, and two in Saiden village of Ri-Bhoi,” he said. (PTI)

Bihar imposes fresh curb in view of rising number of COVID19; Pre-school& 1 to 8 classes to remain close, online classes will continue. Educational institutions of classes 9-12 will function on 50% capacity. Restrictions to remain in effect from Jan 6 to 21, reads order (ANI)

Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday recorded 199 fresh cases of the coronavirus, which took the tally to 3,42,001, while no death due to the virus was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 90 were from the Jammu division and 109 from the Kashmir division, they said. Srinagar district recorded the highest of 60 cases followed by 58 cases in Jammu district. (PTI)

The daily COVID-19 cases in Gujarat on Tuesday crossed the 2,000-mark for the first time in over seven months with the addition of 2,265 infections, a rise of 1,006 cases than the day before, taking the state's overall tally to 8,37,293, the health department said. Gujarat had recorded 2,521 cases on May 28, 2021. With two more fatalities- one each in Navsari and Bhavnagar–the overall COVID-19 death toll in Gujarat climbed to 10,125. (PTI)

A top World Health Organisation official says low hospitalisation and death rates in South Africa due to the omicron variant cannot be considered a template for how the variant will fare as it surges in other countries. Dr. Abdi Mahamud, COVID-19 incident manager at the U.N. health agency, notes a “decoupling” between case counts and deaths in the country, which first announced the emergence of the fast-spreading new variant. He said Tuesday that in terms of hospitalisations South Africa remains “very low, and the death has remained very, very low.” (AP)

The tally of COVID-19 cases in Nashik district of Maharashtra rose to 4,14,755, after 322 people tested positive for the infection on Tuesday, an official said. At least 109 patients were discharged from hospitals while one died of the infection during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 4,04,953 and toll to 8,759, the official said. (PTI)

he COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 7,94,769 on Tuesday with detection of 308 new cases, while the death toll increased by one to reach 10,534, an official said. The recovery count increased to 7,83,206 after 51 people were discharged from hospitals during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 1,029, he said. With 58,044 swab samples examined during the day, the number of tests in MP went up to 2,39,31,760, the official added. (PTI)

Agra mayor Naveen Jain has tested positive for COVID-19 and has gone into self-isolation, an official said Tuesday. The district reported 23 fresh COVID-19 cases Tuesday and the total number of active cases now stands at 113, according to data released by the Agra administration. The mayor's Public Relation Officer (PRO) said Jain tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and is into isolation. (PTI)

Rajasthan on Tuesday reported 1,137 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its tally to 9,58,570, while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 8,965, according to the health department. Of the fresh cases, 745 were reported from Jaipur, 185 from Jodhpur, 43 from Ajmer, 39 from Alwar, 31 from Kota, 21 from Bhilwara, 20 from Bharatpur and nine from Udaipur, a health department spokesperson said. (PTI)

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, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. With these additions, Mumbai's tally of coronavirus cases jumped to 8,18,462, while the death toll increased to 16,381, said the BMC in a bulletin. On Monday, the city had recorded 8,082 COVID-19 cases and the latest daily tally showed an increase of 2,778, or 34.37 per cent. (PTI)