Omicron Variant Cases and Deaths in India Live, Covid-19 Booster Vaccine Registration January 22 Highlights: In the last 24 hours, India recorded 3,37,704 new cases of COVID-19, as the country is amid a third wave of the pandemic. With this, the active caseload in India has reached 21,13,365. On the other hand, 488 people have died in the last 24 hours due to coronavirus, according to the data shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
A total of 10,050 cases of Omicron have been detected in the country. However, the actual number of Omicron cases is suspected to be much more than that, since Omicron is the driving factor for this sudden surge in cases witnessed over the past one month. Once again, the country is witnessing more new cases than recoveries in a day, and even though the recovery rate in India currently stands at 93.31%, the active cases are at 5.43%, up from 5.23% on Friday morning.
From today, staying at isolation facility not mandatory for foreign arrivals testing Covid positive
Travellers from any country arriving in India, who test Covid positive, will not mandatorily be managed at an isolation facility from Saturday, but have to quarantine themselves at home according to protocols, authorities said.
In its revised ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ released on Thursday, the government said foreign arrivals, who test positive, will still have to undergo home quarantine for seven days even after they test negative, and undertake RT-PCR test on the eighth day of arrival in India. The revised guidelines came into effect from Saturday.
Earlier the norm was that travellers coming from any country, including those considered ‘at-risk’, would be managed at an isolation facility and treated according to the standard protocols, the government said. In the revised guidelines, this clause that mandated staying at ‘isolation facility’ upon arrival, has been removed.
The government said still passengers found to be symptomatic during screening will be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility. If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed according to norms, it said.
Amid this, Delhi will continue to have the weekend curfew and odd-even opening of shops in the market, after the LG rejected the Delhi government’s proposal to lift these restrictions. Meanwhile, the private offices would now be able to operate at 50% capacity, the capital has announced.
The vaccination drive in India is also going at a fast pace with 161.16 cr vaccine doses having been administered till now.
Financial Express Online brings you the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.
Covid-19 Omicron India January 22 Live Update: Isolation norms changed from today for travellers arriving to India who test Covid positive — check details
Pune on Saturday recorded 16,362 COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally in the district to 13,29,378, while 15 deaths pushed the toll to 19,358, a health official said. The district's positivity rate (cases detected per 100 tests) was over 41 percent, he added. Of the new cases, 8,246 were reported from Pune city, 4,875 from Pimpri Chinchwad, and 3,241 from rural and cantonment areas, he said. "As many as 11,951 patients recovered from the infection on Saturday. There are 89,673 active cases, including 2,866 who are hospitalized," the official informed. PTI
A 32-bed Covid care centre will be set up on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, according to a circular issued by the varsity on Saturday. The JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) had been demanding for setting up the centre and had even written to the varsity's vice-chancellor over the issue earlier this month. Officials from the university had said they were awaiting a response from the Delhi government. Last week, the Delhi High Court had pulled up the city government for "inaction and lethargy" in making operational a COVID-19 care centre on the JNU campus even though space has been earmarked for it. PTI
Maharashtra records 46,393 new coronavirus cases and 48 pandemic-related deaths. PTI
Delhi reports 11,486 new #covid19 cases, 14,802 recoveries and 45 deaths in the last 24 hours; positivity rate 16.36%
Active cases 58,593
Cumulative Positivity Rate 5.18% - ANI
Night curfew is all set to begin in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday in 17 towns of Gujarat amid the COVID-19 outbreak and police have been asked to implement it with "officer-oriented policing with human approach", a top official said. The night curfew, which will be in force from 10pm to 6am, was announced in these towns for the first time by the state government recently, while such curbs are already in place in 10 major cities of the state. "Police officers, including SPs and Range IGs, have been informed through video conferencing about strict implementation of night curfew in 17 additional towns. They have been asked to enforce it with officer-oriented policing with human approach, involving local police, home guards and GRDs (gram rakshak dal)," State Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia told reporters. - PTI
The COVID-19 tally in Nashik in Maharashtra reached 4,46,958 on Saturday with the addition of 2,524 cases, while three deaths took the toll to 8,780, an official said So far, 4,21,515 people have been discharged post recovery, including 1,823 during the day, he said. The active tally in the district stands at 16,663, the official informed. PTI
Limit of 5 persons for door to door campaign enhanced to 10 persons
Video vans for publicity permitted at designated open spaces with COVID restrictions
ECI extends ban on physical rallies and road shows till January 31, 2022.
Relaxation for Physical public meetings of Political parties or contesting candidates for Phase 1 allowed from January 28, 2022 and for Phase 2 from February 1, 2022.
Labs giving real-time data to states, segregation of coronavirus patients on basis of districts and assembly constituencies are part of the SOPs laid down by the Delhi government. In an order issued last week, the Health Department stated that it has prepared SOPs for Covid-care centres which also listed out guidelines to be followed for telecalling patients. Under the SOPs, labs have been directed to give real-time data within 20 hours to the State COVID-19 Response Centre. They have been directed to segregate cases on the basis of districts, assembly names and wards, etc. This data will be published on the integrated management app. The tele-calling unit of the Covid-centre is responsible for calling up the patient within half-a-hour of testing positive, it said. In case a patient requires admission, the team from the centre has to reach within an hour and facilitate it, the order said. (PTI)
The Champions Cup clash between Racing 92 and Northampton Saints in France on Sunday has been cancelled due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases in the English side, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) said on Saturday. Racing 92 were awarded the Pool A tie 28-0 and five match points, in accordance with competition rules. "EPCR would like to reiterate that awarding the match to Racing 92 is a tournament management measure with the objective of ensuring that all fixtures in the 2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup are accounted for, and not a sanction," EPCR said in a statement. (Reuters)
In what appears to be an extremely worrying sign, the UK Health Security Agency has designated a sub-lineage of the extremely contagious and infectious Omicron variant and taken it under its investigation. In its preliminary comments, the health agency has said that the variant which shares the lineage with the Omicron variant could also have growth advantages, news agency Reuters reported. The strain which has for now been scientifically been identified as BA.2 is currently being probed but for now has not been designated as a variant of concern. READ MORE
A team of researchers, including an Indian-origin scientist at the prestigious University of British Columbia, has become the first in the world to conduct a molecular-level structural analysis of the Omicron spike protein, which could help accelerate the development of more effective treatments against the variant. Spike protein helps the virus enter and infect cells. Dr Sriram Subramaniam, professor in UBC faculty of medicine's department of biochemistry and molecular biology, said that Omicron has greater binding affinity than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, with levels more comparable to what seen with the Delta variant. The findings, published in the Science journal, sheds new light on why Omicron is highly transmissible and will help accelerate the development of more effective treatments, according to a statement issued by the Vancouver-based university. (PTI)
In view of the emerging COVID-19 situation, the Lakshadweep administration on Saturday decided to close madrasas up to Class 9 with immediate effect among other educational institutions and restrict the number of passengers in the ships to and fro the island to ensure social distancing norms. All the passenger ships/HSC vessels under the Lakshadweep administration operating from islands to Kochi and for inter-island movement shall operate with 50 per cent passenger capacity to ensure proper social distancing until further orders, District Collector S Asker Ali said in an order. The full medical quota tickets can be released to all passenger ships, the order stated quoting him. (PTI)
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Saturday members of the public should avoid gatherings, just days ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, as the city has seen a rapid rise in coronavirus cases. (Reuters)
A study by a private hospital has said that 60 per cent of the patients who died during the current wave of COVID-19 pandemic were either partially or fully unvaccinated. The study by Max Healthcare said the deaths reported were largely among those aged over 70 and those suffering from multiple co-morbidities such as kidney diseases, heart diseases, diabetes, cancers etc. "In our hospitals, out of 82 deaths so far, 60 per cent was seen in the partially or unvaccinated population," it said in a statement. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has also been stressing that the fatalities are occurring among those patients who are immunocompromised and have co-morbidities. The comparative study of the three waves of the pandemic also said that only 23.4 per cent of the patients required oxygen support during the third wave of the pandemic, as against 74 per cent during the second wave and 63 per cent during the first wave. Across the network of hospitals, there have been 41 admissions of minors. (PTI)
Poland reported a record 40,876 new daily COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the health ministry said, as the Omicron variant takes hold across the country. Authorities have said the latest wave of the pandemic will drive case numbers to levels not yet seen in Poland, with estimates of the peak ranging from 60,000 to as many as 140,000 daily infections. Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Twitter that the number of tests being conducted had grown steadily over the past week, with some 151,000 test results, including 100,000 PCRs, reported on Saturday. (Reuters)
More than 16,000 COVID cases reported in Pune yesterday. So, we've decided not to re-open schools in the Pune district for the next one week. COVID numbers are not likely to come down in Pune, for at least the next 8 days: Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar
Hong Kong health officials warned on Saturday of a significantly worsening COVID-19 outbreak in the Asian financial hub as suspected infection numbers rose in a congested residential area. Health officials said some 26 confirmed cases and more than 100 cases classed as preliminary positive were recorded on Saturday, centred on three buildings in the Kwai Chung district north of the Kowloon peninsula. "It's not easy for us to control the spread because we cannot trace all their whereabouts," senior Health Department official Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said, referring to the 2,700 residents as well as workers and visitors linked to the building at the centre of the outbreak. She urged people across the city to limit their social engagements and avoid large gatherings. On Friday, officials shut down the building for five days after more 20 cases were linked to it, with mass testing now underway and food being delivered to residents stranded inside. Local media reports on Saturday said that officials were considering tighter city-wide restrictions but none have yet been confirmed. (Reuters)
About 62 per cent of surveyed parents in Maharashtra are unwilling to send their children to school from January 24, amid the state government's decision to allow reopening of schools from Monday. The findings were based on a survey conducted by online community platform LocalCircle across tier-I, tier-II/III and tier-IV cities of the state that received 4,976 responses. Of the total, 67 per cent respondents were men and the remaining 33 per cent women, the survey showed. Immediately after the onset of the Omicron-led third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government had on January 8 ordered closure of all schools and colleges in the state till February 15 to contain the spread of the virus. However, on January 20, the state education minister, contrary to earlier decision, announced that schools in the state for 1st-12th standard will reopen from January 24. (PTI)
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a resurgence recently and if the last two years have taught us anything, it is to not take the coronavirus for granted. And while face masks have become an essential in the two-year-old pandemic, there are many who are still aren’t entirely aware of the right kind of masks. Some of these questions have gained currency yet again following the emergence of Omicron, a variant that is highly transmissible. Let’s take a quick look at the right masks that can help keep Omicron at bay and what are the effective mask-wearing etiquette that needs to be followed. READ MORE
With increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the district, Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Senthil Balaji on Saturday inaugurated a special ward with oxygen-bed facility in ESI Hospital here. An additional 200 beds, including 28 with oxygen facility, were opened in the ESI Hospital in the last 72 hours as a precautionary measure, Balaji told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration. An oxygen concentrator to produce 100 litres of oxygen in a minute, donated by Rotary Club was also inaugurated, he said. Reacting to the raids on the premises of former AIADMK ministers, he said the DMK was fulfilling its election promises through which action was being taken against those involved in corruption. (PTI)
A mobile Covid-19 diagnostic facility that can travel to areas difficult to access for conducting tests was inspected by Tamil Nadu Minister Ma Subramanian at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras here on Saturday. The unit 'Parakh' has been housed in a van which can be deployed in remote locations for testing samples to detect Covid-19 infection. The facility would be useful to detect outbreak in rural areas where testing facilities immediately not available, IIT Madras said. The van can travel to such difficult to access areas, perform sample collection, process and analyse everything on a real-time basis, a press release said. (PTI)
The number of precautionary doses of Coronavirus has dropped considerably in the national capital for the past few days. As per the latest data, only 10862 beneficiaries were administered the precautionary dose on Friday. On an average this week only 14k beneficiaries were administered the third precautionary dose per day in the national capital. It is significant to understand that the weekly average of Coronavirus doses administered in the national capital for the preceding week was 21k per day. The trend is significant as it shows that the enthusiasm among the Delhi residents to get vaccinated with the third precautionary dose is declining, the Indian Express report reported. READ MORE
The sweeping 'zero-tolerance' strategy that China has used to keep COVID-19 case numbers low and its economy functioning may, paradoxically, make it harder for the country to exit the pandemic.
Most experts say the coronavirus around the world isn't going away and believe it could eventually become, like the flu, a persistent but generally manageable threat if enough people gain immunity through infections and vaccines.
In countries like Britain and the US, which have had comparatively light restrictions against the omicron wave, there is a glimmer of hope that the process might be underway.
Cases skyrocketed in recent weeks but have since dropped in Britain and may have levelled off in the US, perhaps because the extremely contagious variant is running out of people to infect. Some places already are talking about easing COVID-19 precautions.
China, which will be in the international spotlight when the Beijing Winter Olympics begin in two weeks, is not seeing the same dynamic.
The communist government's practice throughout the pandemic of trying to find and isolate every infected person has largely protected hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and staved off the deaths that have engulfed most of the world.
But the uncompromising approach also means most people in China have never been exposed to the virus. At the same time, the effectiveness of China's most widely used vaccines has been called into question.
New studies suggest they offer significantly less protection against infection from omicron, even after three doses, than people get after booster shots of the leading Western vaccines.
Together, those factors could complicate China's effort to get past the pandemic. (AP)
The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday extended the closure of schools in the state till January 30 in view of rising coronavirus cases in the state. The closure of schools has been extended till January 30 and online classes will continue, according to an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi. The government had earlier ordered closure of the educational institutions till January 23 in view of a rise in Covid cases. (PTI)
Tokyo recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 infections for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday as the Omicron variant continued to spread rapidly. The capital city had 11,227 new coronavirus cases, the local government said, a day after reinstatement of curbs on mobility and business activity that are set to run until Feb. 13. The case count jumped nearly 2.5 times from 4,561 lodged a week before and was higher than 9,699 confirmed cases on Friday. Three people died of COVID-19 and 12 patients were in serious condition on Saturday, the Tokyo government also said. (Reuters)
Russia reported on Saturday a new record number of COVID-19 infections confirmed in the past 24 hours as the Omicron variant of the virus spreads across the country, the government coronavirus task force said.
Daily new cases jumped to 57,212, from the previous record of 49,513 a day earlier. The task force also reported 681 deaths. (Reuters)
Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Saturday congratulated healthcare workers and district authorities as the state crossed six crore COVID-19 tests.
"Testing has been one of the cornerstones of Karnataka's success in fighting Covid. We have completed crore tests since the beginning of the pandemic, third highest in the country. Congratulations to all the health workers and district administration who made this possible," the minister tweeted.
Later speaking to reporters, the minister said when the pandemic started in early 2020, National Institute of Virology units were used to conduct tests and Karnataka used to send samples to NIV centres in Pune.
Karnataka gradually established labs across the state and now we have about 268 testing facilities including 99 government and 169 private labs, he added.
According to him, Karnataka has tested 6,01,14,815 samples so far including 1,14,12,162 Rapid Antigen Test and 4,87,02,653 RT-PCR tests.
While 1,41,96,065 samples were tested in 2020, 4,23,91,357 samples were tested in 2021 and so far 35,27,393 tests have been conducted in 2022, he explained.
Sudhakar said, "Testing plays a vital role in this battle against pandemic. Karnataka has always been aggressive in testing and tracking and it has been one of our cornerstones in this direction against COVID. Karnataka has now achieved another milestone by crossing 6 crore tests." Further, the minister said that both Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education departments have always religiously followed 5T strategy of Test, Track, Trace, Triaging and Technology.
"We have set up 3,678 comprising of 3,102 government and 666 private swab collection centres, which is one each for every 20,000 population. We have labs in government hospitals, medical colleges and also private hospitals," Sudhakar explained.
He also said that initially only 10 to 12 government labs had COVID testing facility which has now increased to 57.
"With 108 NA extractors and 139 RT-PCR machines we have capacity to test 1,20,800 samples per day in govt facilities," the minister said.
After Omicron variant was found, the state mandated that at least 2 per cent of the tests should be conducted at airports, the minister said adding, the government then increased the target to about 80,000 to one lakh samples per day.
Speaking about infection among children he said since it was opined that third wave could predominantly affect children, the state government mandated to conduct at least two per cent of the tests on children.
"Out of total tests conducted between December 1 and January 20, 29 per cent of the tests were conducted on children. We are also conducting random RAT tests in schools, colleges, restaurants once in every 15 days," the minister told reporters.
He also said that the testing target has been increased to two lakh per day from January 18.
Further, targeted testing of symptomatic persons and primary contacts has been started, the minister said adding the RTPCR tests has been made mandatory for symptomatic persons even if RAT report is negative. (PTI)
Travellers from any country arriving in India, who test Covid positive, will not mandatorily be managed at an isolation facility from Saturday, but have to quarantine themselves at home according to protocols, authorities said.
In its revised 'Guidelines for International Arrivals' released on Thursday, the government said foreign arrivals, who test positive, will still have to undergo home quarantine for seven days even after they test negative, and undertake RT-PCR test on the eighth day of arrival in India.
The revised guidelines came into effect from Saturday.
Earlier the norm was that travellers coming from any country, including those considered 'at-risk', would be managed at an isolation facility and treated according to the standard protocols, the government said.
In the revised guidelines, this clause that mandated staying at 'isolation facility' upon arrival, has been removed.
The government said still passengers found to be symptomatic during screening will be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility.
If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed according to norms, it said. (PTI)
Covid-19 Omicron India January 22 Live Update: Isolation norms changed from today for travellers arriving to India who test Covid positive — check details