Covid-19 Omicron Jan 21 Highlights: Karnataka sees sharp surge of nearly 50K cases today; Gujarat orders night curfew in 17 towns

In Costa Rica, officials are encouraging those infected with the coronavirus to skip voting in upcoming national elections. On the other side of the world, Beijing is locking down residential communities as the country anxiously awaits the start of the Winter Olympics on Feb 4. In Latin America and Asia, where the omicron variant is making its latest appearance, some countries are imposing such restrictions while others are loath to place new limits on populations already exhausted by previous constraints. Omicron quickly swept through the places it first hit, such as South Africa, the UK and the United States, pushing daily cases far higher than at any time during the pandemic. – AP

Mumbai on Friday reported 5,008 new coronavirus infections, 700 less than the previous day, along with 12 deaths, the city civic body said. With this, the city's COVID-19 case tally rose to 10,28,715 while the death toll reached 16,512, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) bulletin said. This was the third day in a row that daily COVID-19 cases dropped in the country's financial capital. On Thursday, 5,708 COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths had been reported in the city. With 12,913 patients discharged during the day, the number of recovered patients rose to 9,95,338. – PTI

Delhi logged 10,756 fresh Covid cases and 38 more fatalities due to the infection on Friday, while the positivity rate declined to 18.04 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. As many as 434 people have succumbed to the disease in January so far. According to officials, 59,629 Covid tests were conducted on Thursday, as against 57,290 a day ago. Delhi on Thursday reported 12,306 Covid cases and 43 fatalities, while the positivity rate was 21.48 per cent. On Wednesday, the city had logged 35 deaths and 13,785 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 23.86 per cent.

The decision to shut the schools will be taken keeping schools as a unit. If any COVID19 positivity comes into a school, the school will have to be closed: Karnataka Primary & Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh – ANI

In light of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat government on Friday announced night curfew for 17 more towns with high positivity rate and extended the implementation in eight metros and two cities till January 29. While the timing of the night curfew remains unchanged from 10 pm to 6 am, 17 more towns have been added to the list of places where it will be enforced from January 22 till January 29, a government release stated. At the same time, the government has relaxed home delivery services for hotels and restaurants to 24 hours, while permitting these establishments to operate with 75 per cent capacity till 10 pm, it was stated. – PTI

Continuing to register a surge in cases, Karnataka on Friday logged 48,049 new cases of COVID-19, and 22 fatalities, taking the tally to 34,25,002 and the death toll to 38,537. The state had recorded 47,754 fresh infections on Thursday. Of the new cases today, 29,068 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 7,196 people being discharged and 6 virus-related deaths. The total number of active cases across the state is now at 3,23,143. There were 18,115 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries to 30,63,292, a health department bulletin said. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 19.23 per cent, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 0.04 per cent. – PTI

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 8,71,632 on Friday with the addition of 9,603 cases, while the death toll increased by four to reach 10,557 in the last 24 hours, a health department official said. The positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, stood at 12.0 per cent, up from 11.7 per cent recorded on Thursday, when the addition to the tally was 9,385, he said. The recovery count was 8,05,990 after 4,255 people were discharged from hospitals during the day, leaving the state with 55,085 active cases, the official said. Indore and Bhopal, the two worst coronavirus-hit cities in Madhya Pradesh, registered 2,838 and 1,991 cases, respectively, during the past 24 hours, he added.

China reported on Friday the lowest daily tally of confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in nearly two months, while infections edged up in the capital Beijing amid high virus alert before its hosting of the Winter Olympics Games.China reported 23 domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms for Thursday, official data showed on Friday, down from 43 a day earlier.This marks the fourth consecutive day of decline in local symptomatic cases, with the lowest daily case load since Nov. 29, after a national strategy to extinguish flare-ups as quickly as possible forced the worst-hit cities to lock down affected communities and cut non-essential business activity.Volkswagen said its FAW-Volkswagen vehicle assembly plant in the city of Tianjin resumed production on Friday after shutting down on Jan. 10 due to a COVID-19 outbreak. – Reuters

Poles will be able to get tested for COVID-19 in pharmacies free of charge, the government said on Friday, after the country reported a record 36,665 daily cases as the Omicron variant takes hold.Authorities have warned that the latest wave of the pandemic will drive case numbers to levels as yet unseen in the European Union's largest eastern member, with estimates of the peak ranging from 60,000 to as many as 140,000 daily cases.Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that on Saturday the country could report over 40,000 daily cases. A week ago the figure was just over 16,000. – Reuters

Stay-at-home market darling Netflix slumped on Friday, joining a broad decline in the market value of other pandemic favourites this week as investors priced in expectations for a return to normality as more countries gradually relax COVID restrictions.The selloff which began after Netflix and Peloton posted disappointing quarterly earnings spread to the wider stay-at-home sector as analysts judged the new Omicron coronavirus variant will not deliver the same economic headwinds seen in the first phase of the pandemic in 2020.”The is a confirmation that the economy is gradually moving towards some sort of normalisation,” said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard.”What we think is very interesting is that Omicron, because of its very high infectiousness, very low morbidity compared to previous waves such as the Delta variant, might actually be the first tangible sign that the pandemic is evolving in the direction that we all expected, i.e. that it would become a manageable endemic disease like the flu.” – Reuters

A Reuters report says that the Swiss authorities have decided to rollout booster vaccination programme for kids between age of 12 and 15. This means that this would be the third dose for eligible beneficiaries apart from the two-dose regimen. Pfizer jabs have been selected for the booster plan by Switzerland, the Reuters report says.

Scientists in the US have identified tiny natural bubbles containing the ACE2 protein (evACE2) in the blood of COVID-19 patients that can block infection from broad strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The evACE2 are lipid vesicles in nanoparticle size that express the ACE2 protein on cells. These bubbles act as decoys to lure the SARS-CoV-2 virus away from the ACE2 protein, which acts as a gateway for the virus to infect cells. The evACE2 can serve as a therapeutic to be developed for prevention and treatment for current and future strains of SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent coronaviruses, the researchers said. Once developed as a therapeutic product, evACE2 have the potential to benefit people as a biological treatment with minimal toxicities, they said. – PTI

The daily infection positivity rate shot up to 30 per cent as 44,516 tests turned out 13,212 Covid-19 positive cases in Andhra Pradesh in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Friday. Consequently, the number of active cases climbed to 64,136. The state reported five fresh Covid-19 fatalities and 2,942 recoveries in 24 hours, the latest bulletin said. The cumulative case count is now 21,53,268, recoveries 20,74,600 and deaths 14,532, the bulletin added. Visakhapatnam district reported the highest of 2,244 fresh coronavirus cases and three deaths in 24 hours. Chittoor district registered 1,585 more cases and one death. Anantapuramu added 1,235, Srikakulam 1,230, Guntur 1,054 and SPS Nellore 1,051 new cases. (PTI)

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Union Government, Maharashtra Government and the Mumbai civic body to file reply to a petition seeking a policy for administering booster doses of anti-coronavirus vaccines. Advocate Aditya Thakkar, appearing for the Centre, told a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anil Kilor that guidelines have been framed for administering `precaution doses' to senior citizens and frontline workers. The bench then asked the Union government, the state and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to file reply affidavits within ten days. Lawyers Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari, who have filed the public interest litigation, submitted that a third wave of COVID-19 was likely and therefore there was an urgent need to administer booster doses (to those who have had their first two doses of vaccines). The hearing was adjourned for two weeks. (PTI)

Conrad Sangam, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, has tested positive for Covid-19 infection. The leader took to Twitter to make an announcement via his Twitter handle. In a brief post, Sangma said that he has 'mild symptoms' and that he is in isolation right now. He has also asked those who came in his contact in last few days to take the Covid test

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday held a key meet and decided to end weekend lockdown in the state. But the night curfew will remain in force, the officials say. Curbs on rallies, fairs will also remain in force

Amid sharp surge in new Covid cases, Tamil Nadu has become first state to order total lockdown. Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the lockdown on January 23. The Sunday lockdown will be a hard lockdown. This means that except for buses and taxis in limited numbers, nothing will be allowed to operate. No movement, opening of markets will be allowed. Several states have issued curbs such as night curfews etc, but the surge remains unabated.

Pakistan on Friday recorded its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic with 7,678 new patients, showing a worrying spike as the country struggles to contain the fifth wave of the contagion. The country has reported 23 fatalities, taking the death toll to 29,065, according to the Ministry of National Health Services. At the same time, the number of positive cases surged to 13,53,479, it said. The previous highest of 6,825 was reported on June 13, 2020, the ministry data showed. The first coronavirus patient was detected in February, 2020. (PTI)

Himachal Pradesh’s active Covid-19 caseload has witnessed a five-fold rise in the past 10 days, Health Department data showed. The number of active cases increased from 2,793 on January 8 to 14,918 on January 19. A government spokesperson told The Indian Express that the number of hospital admissions had also risen with the bed occupancy going up nearly five times in a 10-day period. READ MORE

Expressing concern over the rise in COVID-19 casualties, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has instructed health officials to conduct an audit of deaths due to the infection, an official said. The state has reported 82 deaths in the last 10 days due to the infection and comorbidities, the official said. The state on Thursday reported 15 deaths, the highest single-day fatalities since the cases started increasing early this month. “The chief minister has expressed serious concern over the sudden increase in the number of deaths due to COVID-19,” the official from the state public relations department said. After receiving information about 15 deaths, Baghel directed the principal secretary of the health department to ensure that an audit is conducted for each of the casualties, he said. (PTI)

Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Friday approved the Delhi government's proposal to allow private offices to function with 50 per cent staff but suggested maintaining the status quo on lifting weekend curfew and removing odd-even rule for the opening of shops in the markets, sources said. Any decision on lifting the weekend curfew could be taken once the COVID-19 situation in Delhi improves further, they said. Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a press conference that the Delhi government has proposed lifting weekend curfew, ending the odd-even system for opening of shops and allowing private offices to run with 50 per cent staff in the city. The proposal approved by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been sent to Lt Governor Anil Baijal for his consent, he said. (PTI)

Poland on Friday will see a record of 36,665 new daily COVID-19 infections, Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska said ahead of the release of official figures. He added that cases will continue to be very high in the coming days, climbing over 50,000 next week. (Reuters)

Singapore will extend its COVID-19 booster vaccination programme to adolescents aged 12 to 17 years from next month, its health ministry said on Friday. Singapore is among the first few countries to recommend boosters for that age group, following Germany, the United States, Israel and Hungary. (Reuters)

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently under home quarantine. The 41-year-old veteran spinner, who announced his retirement from all forms of the game last month, has mild symptoms. “I've tested positive for COVID with mild symptoms. I have quarantined myself at home and taking all the necessary precautions,” Harbhajan tweeted. “I would request those who came in contact with me to get themselves tested at the earliest. Please be safe and take care,” he added. (PTI)

The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 9,033 on Friday as 95 more people tested positive for the infection, 64 less than the previous day, a health bulletin said. Twenty-five new patients have travel history, while 70 infections were detected during contact tracing, it said. The Union territory now has 465 active cases, while 8,439 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 73 in the last 24 hours. (PTI)

Former Kerala Chief Minister, V S Achuthanandan was admitted to a hospital here on Friday after he tested positive for COVID-19. The 98-year-old CPI(M) leader was shifted to a private hospital in the city after he contracted the virus from the nurse, who has been taking care of him. “He was quarantined at home… Unfortunately, the nurse who was taking care of him tested positive for the virus and father also was found to be positive yesterday. He was admitted to a hospital here,” Achuthanandan's son V A Arun Kumar said in a social media post. (PTI)

Ladakh has reported 149 fresh cases of coronavirus infections, taking the tally to 24,034 while the active cases in the union territory is stated to be 1047, officials said. The union territory has recorded 222 covid-related deaths — 164 in Leh and 58 in Kargil — since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, they said. However,there was no death reported from the union territory on Thursday, they said. As many as 122 patients were cured and discharged from hospitals in Ladakh. The total number of cured patients is 22,765, they said. (PTI)

The levels of Omicron-neutralising antibodies of people vaccinated with two doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine did not decline as much as of those who had Pfizer shots, according to a small study. The joint Russian-Italian study — funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund which markets Sputnik V — compared the blood serum samples of people taken three to six months after the second dose of the two vaccines. The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on January 19, was conducted by scientists from the Spallanzani Institute in Italy and Gamaleya Institute in Russia, the developer of the vaccine. The study found that Sputnik V vaccine demonstrates more than 2 times higher levels of virus neutralising antibodies to Omicron variant than two doses of Pfizer vaccine. (PTI)

Pakistan reported on Friday over 7,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day, its highest daily number of infections since the pandemic began, as the south Asian nation imposes new restrictions to curb the fast-spreading Omicron variant. At least 7,678 cases in the past 24 hours pushed the positivity ratio to 12.93%, the highest ever in the last two years, 23 deaths were also reported in the last 24 hours, according to data from the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC), which is overseeing the pandemic response. Karachi, the country’s largest city, recorded its highest ever positivity ratio of 46.58% in the last 24 hours. (Reuters)

Arunachal Pradesh registered 449 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, its highest single-day spike for January so far, as the tally climbed to 58,271, a senior health department official said. The death toll remained at 282 as no fresh fatality was reported in the past 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Lobsang Jampa said. The northeastern state had on Thursday logged 435 infections. It has been witnessing a spurt in coronavirus cases since January 4, with 2,919 new cases reported since then. Out of Friday's count, 172 cases were registered in the Capital Complex Region, 47 from Namsai, Papumpare (40), West Kameng (35), Changlang (29), Lohit (28), East Siang (22) and West Siang (18), the official said. (PTI)