Omicron Variant Cases and Deaths in India Highlights, Covid-19 Booster Vaccine Registration Highlights: India reported 27,553 new Covid-19 infections, 284 deaths and 9,249 discharges in last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry data updated on Sunday morning. A total of 1,525 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected across 23 states and Union Territories so far, out of which 560 have recovered or migrated. Maharashtra recorded a maximum of 460 cases, followed by Delhi at 351, Gujarat 136, Tamil Nadu 117 and Kerala 109, as per the official data.
#Unite2FightCorona#LargestVaccineDrive#OmicronVariant
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) January 2, 2022
𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛https://t.co/LDF4970mnU pic.twitter.com/UdWsFZVb25
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) The Centre on Saturday urged all the state governments and union Territories to be prepared for a possible surge in Omicron and Covid-19 cases. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote a letter to all state chief secretaries and said that it is imperative to re-emphasize the significance of timely and swift upgradation of health infrastructure in all states and UTs, news agency PTI reported. He also asked the states to begin the process of setting up makeshift hospitals and to form special teams that would monitor patients in home isolation.
Delhi recorded 2,716 fresh cases of coronavirus on Saturday which is the highest single-day rise since May 21, as per the city’s health department data. The national capital’s South district reported the highest number of Covid-19 infections on Saturday in a single day at 372. Mumbai on the other hand recorded 6,347 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, an official was quoted as saying by PTI. Kerala’s health department logged 2,435 new coronavirus cases and 22 Covid-19 related deaths on Saturday. Karnataka recorded a spike in new infections for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday with 1000 new Covid-19 cases and 5 deaths.
Also Read | Here is how you can register your child for vaccination on CoWIN
Amid growing number of infections and rapidly spreading Omicron variant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India will not allow the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to dampen the growth process of the country. He noted that the country will continue to fight the pandemic with caution and vigilance.
Going by the global rise in Covid-19 cases, things are not looking up internationally as well. France became the sixth country in the world to report more than 10 million COVID-19 infections since the outbreak of the pandemic, a Reuters report said. Italy recorded 141,262 Covid-19 related cases on Saturday, following 144,243 the day before, the health ministry said.
Watch this space for the latest updates Covid-19 and Omicron surge in India and around the globe:
Gujarat reports 968 fresh COVID cases, 141 recoveries, and one death today: State Government
Total cases: 8,33,769
Total recoveries: 8,18,896
Active cases: 4753
Death toll: 10,120
Cases of Omicron: 136 (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo tested COVID-19 positive (ANI)
Assam reports 156 new COVID-19 cases, 100 recoveries, and no deaths in the last 24 hours
Total cases: 6,21,071
Total recoveries: 6,12,585
Death toll: 6,165
Active cases: 974 (ANI)
COVID-19 | Haryana reports 577 new Covid positive cases and 84 recoveries today.
Active cases: 2400
Total positive cases: 7,74,917 (ANI)
Israel could reach herd immunity amid surging Omicron infections, its top health official said on Sunday, as the country approved the use of Merck & Co’s molnupiravir anti-viral pill for COVID-19 patients.
The highly transmissible Omicron variant has caused a wave of coronavirus cases across the globe. Worldwide infections have hit a record high, with an average of just over one million cases detected each day between Dec. 24 and 30, according to Reuters data. | Read More
Tamil Nadu continued to witness a rise in new coronavirus cases with 1,594 being added afresh on Sunday, pushing the cumulative tally to 27,51,128 while the toll climbed to 36,790 with six more deaths.
Chennai and neighbouring Chengalpet accounted for the majority of infections with 776 and 146 cases respectively, while the remaining were scattered across other districts. | Read More
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said there was still a danger of a surge in hospitalization due to a large number of coronavirus cases even as early data suggests the Omicron COVID-19 variant is less severe.
“The only difficulty is that if you have so many cases, even if the rate of hospitalization is lower with Omicron than it is with Delta, there is still the danger that you will have a surging of hospitalizations that might stress the healthcare system,” Fauci said in an interview on Sunday with CNN. | Read More
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, reads an official order of SDMA, UT Chandigarh (ANI)
On a day Mumbai reported 8,063 fresh coronavirus positive cases, civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal on Sunday sought to allay apprehensions of citizens, saying that 89 per cent of the infections are asymptomatic and 90 per cent of beds are vacant.
He urged people to strictly adhere to COVID-19 protocols. | Read More
In view of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the galleries and gardens of the Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata as well as the Projection Mapping show each evening, will remain closed from Jan 3 until further orders, reads an official release (ANI)
Mumbai recorded a steep rise in the daily coronavirus cases with 8,063 infections on Sunday, 1,763 more than the figure added to the tally on Saturday, the civic body said.
The city did not see any death during the day due to the infection and 89 per cent of the cases reported are asymptomatic, it added. | Read More
Continuing with the steep hike in Covid-19 cases in West Bengal for the past one week, the state on Sunday recorded 6,153 infections with Kolkata accounting for 3,194 of them, a health department bulletin said.
The state had recorded 4,512 Covid-19 cases on Saturday, with the metropolis alone reporting 2,398 of them. | Read More
The Supreme Court on Sunday decided to conduct all hearings in virtual mode for two weeks starting from January 3, in view of rising number of cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The Supreme Court administration issued a circular announcing the decision on Sunday evening. | Read More
COVID-19 | Mumbai reports 8,036 new cases, 578 recoveries today. Active cases 29,819
Mumbai reported 6,347 infections yesterday (ANI)
Eighty-five students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Gangarkot in Nainital, Uttarakhand test positive for COVID-19; school declared micro containment zone: Officials (PTI)
As cases of coronavirus are increasing again in the national capital, the government of Delhi has promised to provide free online Yoga classes to COVID-19 patients who are in home isolation. Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was interacting with instructors at “Dilli Ki Yogshala” on Saturday when he said that free customised online Yoga classes would be provided to the patients. He said that medical treatment coupled with “immunity-booster” Yoga would help them recover quickly, according to a report in IE. The report also cited a Delhi government statement as saying that currently, Yoga sessions are being conducted at 65 places across the national capital by 61 Yoga instructors under the banner of “Dilli Ki Yogshala”. | Read More
COVID19 | Kerala reports 2,802 new cases, 12 deaths, and 2,606 recoveries today; Active cases at 19,180. Death tally at 48,113
66 deaths were added to the death tally as per the new guidelines of the Central government, says Kerala govt in an official statement (ANI)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that Dharavi reported 60 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Presently, there are 179 active cases in Dharavi. (PTI)
The Goa government is aiming to inoculate all 72,000 children in the 15-18 age group against COVID-19 with the first dose in the next four days after vaccination opens for them on Monday, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Sunday.
Rane attended a meeting of Health Ministers of states chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. | Read More
India's vaccination programme against coronavirus has been one of the most successful and largest in world: Union Health Ministry, terms as misleading some media reports that claimed country has missed its COVID-19 inoculation targets | Read More
Under-fire England head coach Chris Silverwood has tested positive for COVID-19 while quarantining here with his family but he is expected to join the team ahead of the fifth Ashes Test in Hobart.
Silverwood was due to miss the fourth Test against England starting in Sydney on Wednesday after he was forced into isolation when a family member tested positive for COVID-19. | Read More
Delhi reports 3,194 fresh COVID cases (positivity rate 4.59%) and 1,156 recoveries in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 8,397
Total recoveries: 14,20,615
The national capital recorded 2,716 infections yesterday (ANI)
Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is among four players in the Paris Saint-Germain squad to have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the team's French Cup game on Monday night. PSG added that one staff member also had COVID-19 in a statement on Saturday night. None of them were named at that point, but in a further statement on the team's medical news Sunday the club named Messi, left back Juan Bernat, backup goalie Sergio Rico and 19-year-old midfielder Nathan Bitumazala. PSG is playing at third-tier Vannes. Last year's runner-up Monaco was in action later Sunday at second-tier Quevilly-Rouen in one of 13 games scheduled for the day as sides bid to reach the last 16. Monaco said Saturday that seven players had COVID-19 but none showed any worrying signs and are isolating. | Read More
Odisha Sunday registered 23 more omicron cases, raising the tally of the of the new variant of COVID-19 in the state to 37, a senior health department official said. While 13 of them returned from Finland, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Syria, 10 are local-contact cases, he said. On Thursday, the coastal state had logged five omicron infections, and the first such case on December 21. Odisha's coronavirus tally on Sunday mounted to 10,55,556 with 424 fresh cases. The death toll stood at 8,463. (PTI)
Daily coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia have climbed above 1,000 for the first time since August, while daily infections in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) haven crossed the 2,500-level. Authorities in the two Gulf Arab states did not break down the cases by COVID-19 variant. Both countries confirmed their first known case of the Omicron variant in early December. Saudi Arabia, the largest Gulf state with a population of around 30 million, on Sunday registered 1,024 new coronavirus infections and one death. Daily cases had fallen below 100 in September. Neighbouring UAE, a tourism and commercial hub now marking its peak tourism season and hosting a world fair, announced 2,600 new coronavirus cases and three deaths. Daily infections in the UAE rose above 2,000 on Dec. 29, after having fallen below 100 in October. The UAE said on Saturday it would ban non-vaccinated citizens from traveling abroad from Jan. 10 and that fully vaccinated citizens would also require a booster shot to be eligible to travel. (Reuters)
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty on Sunday urged school teachers and Parent Teachers Association (PTA) to take initiative to vaccinate children against the coronavirus. The Minister urged the school authorities and the PTA to also create awareness on the virus among students and the parents. Around 15.4 lakh students, including 12 lakh studying in government schools and in the age group of 15 to 18 years, would receive the vaccine, the Minister's office said in a press release. This includes students from CBSE, ICSE, ITI and polytechnic institutions. “Everyday, the Education Department will collate the details of students who have been administered with the vaccine. The Minister will soon call a meeting of the other streams, including the CBSE and ICSE,” the release said. The vaccination for children is arranged at all General/District/Taluk/Community Health Centres till January 10 except on Wednesdays, the release said. Meanwhile, State Health Minister Veena George told reporters that an action plan for the vaccination has been formulated. The vaccination would begin from January 3. There would be separate areas in the hospitals for the vaccination of children in the hospitals. (PTI)
With the sudden spike in daily COVID-19 cases in Karnataka and the new infections breaching the 1,000 mark on Saturday, a state minister indicated that the government is mulling 'tough rules'. The government has imposed night curfew from 10 PM to 5 AM till January 7 in order to check the spread of the disease. “We will convene a meeting and announce some tough rules before January 7 when the night curfew will be lifted,” Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka told reporters. Elaborating, Ashoka said a government panel on COVID-19 in which he, Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan and Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar are part of would convene a meeting before January 7. He also said that the expert committee on health will also brief Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the measures to be taken.
“We will implement the recommendations of the committee in toto because we have seen the sufferings and deaths last time,” Ashoka said. The Minister explained that the government will not leave any loophole this time in terms of oxygen supply, availability of beds or medicines. “We will make all necessary arrangements. We are cautious and we will make all necessary arrangements under the leadership of our chief minister,” he added. Stating that an atmosphere of third wave is already built in the country, Ashoka said the spike in infections in Karnataka was a serious issue. According to him, Bengaluru is in the Red Zone. “Bengaluru is in the Red Zone according to the list declared by the Union government. It is important to sound an alert in Bengaluru. We can save people's lives if we impose more restrictions in Bengaluru and reduce the number of hospitalisations,” Ashoka said. The state witnessed sudden a spike in coronavirus infections when 1,033 cases were reported on Saturday. Three months ago on September 9, 2021, the state had last reported over 1,000 cases. (PTI)
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2022
“West Bengal to operate flights from Delhi and Mumbai only twice a week which will be on Monday and Tuesday w.e.f Jan 5,” West Bengal Chief Secretary said pic.twitter.com/sqYulEgQTj
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2022
In view of the rise in coronavirus infections and its Omicron variant, the Centre has decided to hold a series of webinars from January 5 to 19 on various aspects of clinical management of Covid cases in collaboration with AIIMS, Delhi. In a letter to states and Union Territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has requested that all state-level Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and doctors in public and private district-level COVID-19 health facilities along with CDMOs and in-charges of COVID-19 treatment facilities may be directed to attend these webinars. “The growing trajectory of COVID-19 cases and Variant of Concern (VOC) Omicron, in some of the states and Union Territories in the country is a matter of concern,” Bhushan said. “While public health action in terms of containment, surveillance, contact tracing, testing, adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour and vaccination are of prime importance, it is equally crucial that efforts are made by all stakeholders to minimize the mortality due to COVID-19 to a minimum possible level,” he said in the letter on Sunday. The Ministry of Health in collaboration with AIIMS, New Delhi, under the Centres of Excellence initiative had earlier held a series of webinars with state-level CoEs (which are medical college hospitals) on various aspects of clinical management of COVID-19 cases. This series of webinar has been well received by the doctors, particularly intensivists and critical care experts. The CoEs of states and Union Territories were urged to hold similar scries of webinars with their district-level counterparts, which was undertaken by many states, the letter highlighted. “In continuation of those efforts, it is proposed to have another series of Centre of Excellence webinar for all state-level Centres of Excellence and district-level public and private Covid healthcare facilities in collaboration with AIIMS, Delhi,” the letter said. (PTI)
