Omicron Variant Cases and Deaths in India, Covid-19 Booster Vaccine Registration Latest Update: India reported 117,100 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the most since early June, as the Omicron variant overtakes Delta in the cities.
The health ministry also reported 302 new deaths, taking the total to 4,83,178. Total infections stand at 35.23 million.
India Omicron Cases
The Union Health Ministry has confirmed that a total of 3,007 Omicron cases have been so far reported in 27 States/UTs of India. Out of this 1,199 persons have recovered.
I
ALSO READ — Omicron surge could differ per country, says WHO
Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 876 cases followed by Delhi at 465, Karnataka 333, Rajasthan 291, Kerala 284 and Gujarat 204.
Watch out this space for latest news related to Covid-19 and Omicron variant from India and around the globe:
With a steep rise in cases of coronavirus and its Omicron variant, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has reserved a total of 150 beds for such patients in Hindu Rao and Rajan Babu TB hospitals, an order issued by the civic body said on Friday. According to the order, the North Corporation has directed its Hindu Rao Hospital to reserve 100 beds for COVID-19 patients while authorities at the Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis have been asked to reserve 50 beds for the same. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Aurangabad in Maharashtra reached 1,50,470 on Friday after 183 cases were detected, while the active caseload stands at 527, an official said. The discharge of 28 people from hospitals increased the recovery count to 1,46,285, while the death toll remained unchanged during the day at 3,658, he said. (PTI)
Haryana on Friday witnessed yet another big spike in COVID-19 cases, with 3,748 people, including the ruling party JJP chief Ajay Chautala, testing positive in the last 24 hours. A total of 1,879 new positive cases were reported from the Gurugram district alone. Jannayak Janta Party chief Ajay Chautala tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. He informed about his infection on Twitter and said he has isolated himself. (PTI)
Schools in Mizoram will be closed for students of classes 1 to 9 and class 11 amid the rise in coronavirus cases, as per the new COVID-19 guidelines issued on Friday. Colleges, institutes of higher education and universities will also remain closed across the state, it said. Hostels at the schools will also be closed and the classes will be conducted in the online mode, it said. However, schools and hostels will remain open for students of classes 10 and 12, who are appearing for their board examination this year, it said. (PTI)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Friday urged the Centre to permit booster doses for all categories, saying any person in any age group can have comorbid heath issues. He also said that children of all age group are being vaccinated in several countries and it should be allowed in India too. “The Centre should permit booster dose for all categories as any person in any age group can have comorbid heath issues. Also, the Centre should also start vaccination drive of children in the country,” he said. He was addressing a Covid review meeting from his official residence. (PTI)
Chhattisgarh on Friday added 2,828 COVID-19 cases to its tally, which reached 10,17,356, while three deaths took the toll in the state to 13,609, an official said. The recovery count stood at 9,94,063 after 12 people were discharged from hospitals and 34 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 9,684, he said. (PTI)
The apex child rights body NCPCR on Friday asked Punjab, Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya to take immediate steps to increase the rate of COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 15-17 years as the collective rate of inoculation of kids in these states remained below 1.45 per cent. In a letter to chief secretaries of these four states, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said these states have shown poor performance in providing vaccination to children. (PTI)
The famed Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri will remain closed from January 10 in view of the increasing COVID-19 cases, a senior official said on Friday. The temple will remain closed till January 31, as per the decision taken at the meeting of Chhatisa Nijog — the apex body of the temple's servitors, he said. The meeting was also attended by staff members of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and district officials. (PTI)
In yet another big jump in coronavirus cases, Punjab reported 2,901 fresh infections on Friday while one more person succumbed to the disease, according to a medical bulletin. The new cases pushed the infection tally to 6,13,976 in the state, the bulletin said. Punjab has been witnessing a surge in the number of infections for the past several days. (PTI)
A meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is scheduled to be held on January 10, Monday, in view of the rising #covid19 cases (ANI)
Reeling under a sharp increase in fresh COVID-19 infections, Tamil Nadu on Friday reported 8,981 cases, pushing the state's tally to 27,76,413 while eight fatalities took the toll to 36,833, the health department said. Tamil Nadu has been reporting a sharp increase in new infections since last week. Chennai and 15 other districts accounted for a majority of the new cases with the state capital adding 4,531 cases. Meanwhile, 984 people recovered from the disease and were discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 27,08,763 leaving 30,817 active infections. (PTI)
Jharkhand reports 3,825 new cases, 8 deaths, and 866 recoveries in the last 24 hours; Total active cases 17,206 (ANI)
With India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossing the 150 crore doses on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the feat and said the inoculation drive has ensured that many lives are saved. “A remarkable day on the vaccination front! Congratulations to our fellow citizens on crossing the 150 crore milestone. Our vaccination drive has ensured that many lives are saved. At the same time, let us also keep following all COVID-19 related protocols,” he said. (PTI)
The Karnataka government is mulling issuing green passes to identify those fully vaccinated against coronavirus, Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Friday. “We are planning to issue green passes to those who are fully vaccinated,” the minister told reporters after chairing a high level meeting with the officials of his department. (PTI)
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the third wave of the pandemic along with Omicron variant of COVID-19 has hit the state from January 1 and now the government will treat all coronavirus cases as patients of the highly infectious new variant. Addressing a press conference here, Sarma said that the doubling rate of cases is two days and on some occasions, it's even a single day. “So, we assume that there are lots of Omicron cases in Assam at this moment. We have now decided to consider all positive cases as Omicron and will treat them accordingly,” he said. (PTI)
COVID19 | Tamil Nadu reports 8,981 new cases, 984 recoveries, and 8 deaths, in the last 24 hours. Active cases 30,817 (ANI)
J&K| Complete restriction of non-essential movement imposed in Reasi district b/w 9pm-6am. All dhabas/restaurants in Katra & Ransoo to function b/w 6am-11pm; no movement restrictions for yatris to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine/Shiv Khori Shrine:Reasi DM &DDMA Chairman Charandeep Singh (ANI)
COVID19 | Maharashtra reports 40,925 new cases, 20 deaths and 14,256 recoveries today; Active cases at 1,41,492. Omicron cases reach 876 including 435 recoveries (PTI)
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 150 crore with more than 81 lakh shots being given on Friday, the Health Ministry said. Friday's vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of final reports for the day by late tonight, the ministry added. The 150-crore milestone was reached earlier on Friday with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya calling it a “historic achievement” made possible because of the relentless hard work of healthcare workers under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI)
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday congratulated the tech driven COVID-19 War Room led by senior IAS officer Munish Moudgil for winning the National Awards of e-governance. “Be it the gamut of in-house mobile applications or the fully equipped war room, Karnataka's tech-driven COVID management has been a model to the entire country. Congratulations to Mr. Manish Moudgil and the team for winning GoI's e-governance award for use of ICT in Covid-19 mgmt,” Sudhakar tweeted. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 7,97,715 on Friday with the detection of 1,319 cases, while one death took the toll to 10,536, an official said. The recovery count stood at 7,83,547 after 161 people were discharged from hospitals during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 3,632, he said. (PTI)
Thirty-five junior athletes at the Sports Authority of India's Bengaluru facility, who are participating in various national events, have tested positive for COVID-19, sources in the SAI said. The revelation prompted the SAI Bengaluru to set up a committee of doctors to conduct tests and ensure the standard operating procedure (SOP) is followed on the campus. The solace for the SAI is that none of the players preparing for the international events such as Commonwealth and Asian Games have contracted the disease, they added. “The SAI had conducted random tests on 210 people comprising 175 athletes and 35 coaches. Of them, 35 have tested positive,” a source told PTI on condition of anonymity. (PTI)
Himachal Pradesh on Friday recorded 574 fresh COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day jump in several months, taking the infection tally to 2,30,859, a health official said. Meanwhile, 59 more students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Hamirpur tested positive for the infection, forcing the authorities to declare it a 'mini containment zone', a district official said. The highest 144 fresh cases were found in Kangra followed by 85 in Hamirpur, 80 in Shimla, 79 in Solan, 49 in Sirmaur, 35 in Mandi, 34 in Kullu, 32 in Una, 20 in Bilaspur, nine in Kinnaur and seven in Chamba, the state health official said. (PTI)
Telangana continued to record a surge in daily COVID-19 cases with 2,295 new infections being reported on Friday, taking the tally to 6,89,751 while the death toll rose to 4,039 with three more fatalities, a health bulletin stated. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the highest number of fresh cases with 1,452, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (232) and Ranga Reddy (218) district, the state government bulletin said providing details as of 5.30 pm. (PTI)
Chandigarh reports 390 new cases, 8 deaths, & 46 recoveries today; positivity rate at 10.77% & active cases at 1,323. 18,459 children in the 15-18 age group vaccinated today: UT Administration (ANI)
There will be no night curfew in Goa for the moment but gatherings with more than 100 people in open spaces have been banned, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday. Goa on Friday reported 1,432 COVID-19 cases, with the positivity rate (cases per 100 tests) reaching 21.72 per cent, up from 20.46 per cent a day earlier. The tally in the coastal state touched 1,86,198, while two deaths during the day took the toll to 3,530. (PTI)
Greece's government on Friday issued a civil mobilization order that will oblige some doctors in the private sector to support the state health service during a surge in COVID-19 infections driven by the omicron variant. The emergency order will take effect next Wednesday, affecting doctors specialized in pathology, pulmonology and anesthesiology in four regions in northern Greece where state hospitals are suffering acute staffing shortages. The omicron variant has been blamed by experts for a huge increase in infections, which are up eight-fold since mid-December, over the past 10 days which have hit record levels. (PTI)
COVID19 | Delhi reports 17,335 fresh cases and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours; Active cases 39,873. Positivity rate at 17.73% (ANI)
Nepal on Friday reported 968 cases of COVID-19, including 24 cases of the Omicron variant, as the government urged hospitals and healthcare workers to remain vigilant and take all necessary precautions to tackle the surge in infections. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 968 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, which included 262 recoveries and no deaths. On Thursday, 540 new cases were reported, with 271 recoveries and 1 death. (PTI)
Pune on Friday recorded 4,415 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate, or infections detected per 100 tests, of 15 per cent, taking the district's tally to 11,79,328, an official said. He said 2,757 cases were reported in Pune city, 1,000 in Pimpri Chinchwad and 658 in rural and cantonment limits. (PTI)
Hiring more staff and ramping up infrastructure are some of the steps being taken by laboratories in Delhi as more people get themselves tested amid a surge in Covid cases, triggered by the Omicron variant. Besides these, some have opened walk-in centres and plan to expand the capacity of their central testing labs, where samples are processed, and collection capacity. Opting for these measures has become imperative as unlike the last wave of the Covid pandemic, this time the surge has been sudden, just in a couple of days, laboratories said. (PTI)
COVID19 | West Bengal reports 18,213 new infections & 18 deaths today; Active case tally reaches 51,384 (ANI)
The UK's Armed Forces have sent 200 personnel into National Health Service (NHS) hospitals across London as major incidents were declared on Friday due to staff shortages as a result of a continued surge in COVID-19 cases. The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it will provide 40 defence medics and 160 general duty personnel for the next three weeks to assist with the crisis. These military medics will assist NHS doctors and nurses with patient care, while general duty personnel will help fill gaps caused by other absences as the UK's daily COVID infections maintained a high trend at 179,756, driven by the Omicron variant. (PTI)
COVID19 | Haryana logs 3,748 fresh cases, positivity rate at 8.11% today; Omicron case tally at 123 (ANI)
COVID-19 | Punjab reports 2901 new cases, 135 recoveries and 1 death. Active cases 9425 (ANI)
542 new positive cases reported in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 24 hours; Active cases at 2,492 (ANI)
Shopping malls have seen footfalls drop by up to 25 per cent in the first week of January 2022 due to restrictions imposed by states to check the spread of coronavirus, according to industry body SCAI. On top of that consumers are also apprehensive about venturing out in the midst of rising Covid cases across the country, the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) said. Lower footfalls and sales have resulted in piling of stock at retailers' stores in shopping malls. In cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, which are witnessing a sharp jump in the number of Covid cases, shoppers are giving a miss, skipping the annual sale promotions. (PTI)
The Delhi health department has asked all city government-run hospitals to cancel leaves, barring maternity and medical leaves, granted to their staff in view of a steep spike in coronavirus infections. “In view of recent surge in COVID-19 cases and for efficient management of COVID-19 pandemic in NCT of Delhi, all MDs/MSs/Directors of all hospitals of Government of NCT of Delhi are directed not to grant leaves of any type except maternity leaves and other medical leaves to any medical and non-medical staff with immediate effect and cancel all such leaves, if already granted,” read an order issued by the health department. (PTI)
Underlining the challenge posed by a rising number of COVID-19 cases across the country, with a focus on Omicron, the Centre on Friday emphasised that it is the primary responsibility of the tates to ensure that all the oxygen equipment at all the health facilities are tested and kept in a functional state to meet any emergent situation. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting with representatives from the states and Union territories through a video-conference on Friday to review the preparedness status of the entire spectrum of oxygen equipment, including ventilators, PSA and oxygen plants, oxygen concentrators and oxygen cylinders, for a timely and effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement issued by the health ministry. (PTI)
Coronavirus cases shot up to 20,79,763 in Andhra Pradesh as 840 were added afresh in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Friday. This was the highest number of cases in a day in the state after October 2, 2021. The latest bulletin said the total recoveries increased to 20,62,290 as 133 more got cured while the death toll touched 14,501 with one more fatality in a day. (PTI)
At least 837 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Friday, taking the tally of infections to 4,16,638, an official said. As many as 138 patients were discharged from hospitals, while no casualties were reported during the day, the official said. (PTI)
Kerala recorded 5,296 new positive cases and 189 COVID-19-related deaths on Friday, taking the total count to 52,64,235 and the death toll to 49,305. Of the deaths, 35 were recorded over the last few days and 154 designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court. Among the districts, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest number of cases today–1,116, followed by Ernakulam with 1,086 and Kozhikode with 551 cases. (PTI)
There is no immediate need for imposing lockdown or additional restrictions in Mumbai as the bed occupancy rate, oxygen requirement and number of COVID-19 deaths are low, municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal said on Friday. During the first and second wave the decision to impose lockdown was taken on the basis of case positivity rate, but this criterion cannot be applied for the third wave which started from December 21, 2021, Chahal told a Marathi news channel. No further restrictions were needed to be imposed on travel by local trains as only fully vaccinated people are being allowed to board the trains, he said. (PTI)
Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary reviews the preparedness status of oxygen infrastructure including PSA plants, oxygen concentrators and oxygen cylinders, ventilators with States/UTs. (ANI)
