Coronavirus Omicron Live Updates: Omicron spreading faster than Delta variant, cases doubling in 1.5 to 3 days, informs WHO

Tamil Nadu on Saturday requested the Centre to issue further set of guidelines on testing international passengers arriving in the state after a person from a 'non-risk country' tested positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19 recently, becoming the first such case reported in the state. Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Dr T S Selvavinayagam in his letter to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Secretary Rajesh Bhushan requested that international passengers arriving in Tamil Nadu should undergo mandatory post-arrival testing of Covid-19 as against the current practice of testing only those passengers who arrive from 'at risk' countries. According to him, 28 passengers, who arrived from various overseas destinations till Friday in Tamil Nadu, were detected with 's' gene drop indicating infection of Omicron variant of coronavirus. Of them, only four were from 'high risk' countries while the remaining from 'non-risk countries'. Selvavinayagam pointed out that as per the current guidelines issued by the Centre, only 11 countries along with the European countries including the United Kingdom were declared as 'high risk' and additional surveillance protocol followed for passengers from these countries were being adhered to, but no additional surveillance protocol was being followed for passengers arriving from 'not at risk countries'. “All international passengers arriving in Tamil Nadu should undergo mandatory post-arrival testing for Covid-19. If found positive, they will be treated as per existing protocol. They should be allowed to leave the airport to take a transit flight only if they are found negative”, he said in his letter, which was shared with the media on Saturday. “Only two per cent of passengers from non-risk countries are being randomly tested with RT-PCR and permitted to leave even before the results are declared, thereby increasing chances of missing passengers from non-risk countries infected with Omicron variant of being detected and leading to rapid transmission in the community”, he said. Selvavinayagam said passengers who have tested 'negative' should be advised to undergo home quarantine for seven days and again should take up a re-test on the eighth day of arrival in Tamil Nadu. “If found (Covid-19) positive, they will be treated as per existing protocol. If found negative, they may be advised to self-monitor their health for further period of seven days”, he said. (PTI)

Beijing city said on Saturday it is advising residents not to leave town during a major holiday season in early 2022, part of efforts to limit coronavirus risks while the Winter Olympics Games are being held. China's capital is keen “to ensure zero local infection, the successful hosting of the Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Paralympic Games, and that the public have joyful, peaceful and tranquil holidays,” it said in a statement. In addition to encouraging people not to take unnecessary trips outside the city, it will also call for some gatherings to be held online, according to the statement. The northern Hebei province that will co-host the Games with Beijing as well as several other cities have issued similar advisories. Wu Shiping, an official at China State Railway Group, told a briefing on Saturday he expects a “relatively huge” increase in the number of train passengers during the 40-day travel season for the Lunar New Year holiday compared to 2021 levels which will challenge COVID-19 prevention work. In pre-pandemic times, the travel period was often described as the world's biggest annual migration, with hundreds of millions of China's migrant workers returning to home towns. Liang Wannian, an official at the National Health Commission, said there shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all rule across China and local governments should balance the need for people to reunite with their families with COVID-19 control. But Beijing city as well as regions with higher virus risks such as those with border cities and ports should have stricter rules, he said. Higher risk groups such as the elderly should also avoid unnecessary trips and gatherings, Liang added. China's recent COVID-19 cases count is low compared with many countries, with daily cases trending at less than a hundred locally transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms. (Reuters)

The Omicron coronavirus variant has been reported in 89 countries and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.

Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, but it is unclear if this is due to the virus' ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both, the WHO said in an update. The agency designated Omicron a variant of concern on Nov. 26, soon after it was first detected, and much is still not known about it, including the severity of the illness it causes. “There are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron,” the WHO said. “More data are needed to understand the severity profile and how severity is impacted by vaccination and pre-existing immunity.” It added, “There are still limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron”. The WHO warned that with cases rising so rapidly, hospitals could be overwhelmed in some places. “Hospitalizations in the UK and South Africa continue to rise, and given rapidly increasing case counts, it is possible that many healthcare systems may become quickly overwhelmed.” (Reuters)

With the gradual spread of Omicron variant of coronavirus in the national capital, the impact of dwindling number of shoppers is not lost on traders as they get ready to face an impending third wave of the pandemic. Twelve more people tested positive for the Omicron variant in Delhi on Friday, taking their number to 22, and officials said most of them are “fully vaccinated” and “asymptomatic”. Sanjay Bhargava, president, Chandni Chowk Vyapar Mandal said they are “waiting and watching” for now, even as they have requested authorities to increase the police presence in the area. “…we have verbally requested the authorities to increase the number of police personnel in the area who can enforce the Covid protocol among those taking it casually. Mostly hawkers and beggars do not follow any such norms,” he told PTI. While observing a “visible decrease in footfall”, he said the market association will soon be sending circulars to shopkeepers in the area to enforce Covid protocols. “We will soon be asking all our traders to enforce Covid protocols in their shops. In the last 10 days, there is visible decrease in footfall in the market. The business is slowing down due to the increasing cases of Omicron in the city,” Bhargava added. Atul Bhargava, president, National Delhi Traders Association said even though the risk of a crowded and congested area is small in Connaught Place (CP), they have already sent out circulars to all traders. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had on Thursday said many international travellers were turning out Covid positive upon arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here. On Tuesday, he had said that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus had not spread in the community so far and the situation was under control. In view of the threat posed by the Omicron variant, the Delhi health department Friday evening issued an order directing hospitals to augment human resource, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitation and security staff, on contract or through existing outsourcing agencies against the vacant posts and extra 25 per cent of the sanctioned strength till March 31. Traders in Sarojini Nagar, another bustling market area of south Delhi, have been asked to paste social distancing circles outside and follow all Covid protocols inside their shops.

Ashok Randhawa, president, Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association, said they have sent out a circular asking shop helpers to get their second doses as soon as possible. “Almost all our traders are fully vaccinated, those who are not have been asked to do it as soon as possible. We have told everyone to follow Covid norms inside the shops,” Randhawa told PTI. Even though the crowds have gone down 20-25 per cent in the area, he added that people were rushing to do their shopping now for the next wedding season in case another lockdown is announced. (PTI)

A U.S. appeals court on Friday reinstated a nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses, which covers 80 million American workers, prompting opponents to rush to the Supreme Court to ask it to intervene. (Reuters)

Paris has cancelled planned fireworks as well as festivities on the Champs Elysees avenue on New Year's Eve in line with new government rules to prevent the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, BFM TV reported on Saturday. French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Friday major public parties and fireworks would be banned on New Year's Eve and recommended that people – even if vaccinated – take a COVID-19 self-test before getting together for year-end parties. (Reuters)

Egyptian health authorities said they have identified the country's first cases of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus. Three people were found to have the variant among 26 travelers who tested positive for coronavirus at Cairo International Airport, the Health Ministry said in a statement late Friday. It didn't say where the three came from. The local Masrawy news outlet reported the three were among travelers from South Africa. The ministry said two of the people infected showed no symptoms, while the third suffered from mild symptoms. The three have been isolated in a Cairo hospital, it said. Authorities on Friday reported more than 900 confirmed new cases of coronavirus and 43 deaths over the previous 24 hours. Egypt has reported a total 373,500 cases, including 21,277 fatalities, since the pandemic began. (AP)

GERMANY REPORTS 6,764,188 CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS CASES, 108,053 CORONAVIRUS DEATHS (Reuters)

Seven to 10% of new confirmed coronavirus cases in France are suspected to be of the Omicron variant, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Saturday. He said the rapid spread of the new variant was the main reason for the planned introduction of a new vaccination pass early next year, which will require that people show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and long-distance public transport. Under the current health pass regulation, a recent negative COVID test is sufficient for entering public places. (Reuters)

Japan will extend a curb on foreigners entering the country beyond year-end to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Saturday citing anonymous government sources. Japan reversed an easing of controls late last month as Omicron spread around the world and has one of the world's strictest border policies. Although COVID-19 cases have fallen dramatically since a deadly wave in August, there is growing concern about the Omicron variant, which has been found more than 30 times in Japan, mostly during airport screening and quarantine. (Reuters)

A private nursing college here has been declared a containment zone by Dakshina Kannada district health department after seven students tested positive for Covid-19. All the seven students are from Kerala, studying for first year in the college. They had arrived with Covid-19 negative RT-PCR certificates. Dakshina Kannada district nodal officer for Covid-19, Dr H Ashok said the infected students have been isolated. Throat swab samples of 43 first year students were tested of which seven students tested positive, he said. (PTI)

Thirty COVID-19 patients are currently undergoing treatment at various hospital in Arunachal Pradesh, a senior health official said on Saturday. The coronavirus tally of the northeastern state remained unchanged at 55,320 as no new case was reported. The death toll also remained unchanged at 280 as no fresh fatality was registered, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said. As many as 55,010 people have been cured of the disease so far, including three on Friday, he said, adding that the recovery rate slightly improved to 99.44 per cent from 99.43 per cent on the previous day. The Capital Complex region, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas, has the highest number of active cases at 18, followed by Namsai (four) and West Kameng (three). The state has thus far tested over 12.02 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 203 on Friday, Jampa said, adding that the positivity rate stood at 0.40 per cent. State Immunisation Officer Dr Dimong Padung said that 14.46 lakh people have been inoculated to date, including 1,232 on Friday. (PTI)

With seven countries in the South-East Asia Region confirming cases of new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the World Health Organization on Saturday stressed on urgent scale-up of public health and social measures to curtail its further spread. Countries can and must prevent the spread of Omicron with proven health and social measures, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, Poonam Khetrapal Singh said. “Our focus must continue to be to protect the least protected and those at high risk,” she said in a statement. The overall threat posed by Omicron largely depends on three key questions -– its transmissibility; how well the vaccines and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection protect against it, and how virulent the variant is as compared to other variants. “From what we know so far, Omicron appears to spread faster than the Delta variant which has been attributed to the surge in cases across the world in the last several months,” Singh said. Emerging data from South Africa suggests increased risk of re-infection with Omicron, she said, adding that there is still limited data on the clinical severity associated with Omicron.

Further information is needed to fully understand the clinical picture of those infected with Omicron, she said. “We expect more information in the coming weeks. Omicron should not be dismissed as mild,” Singh said, adding that even if it does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm health systems. Hence, health care capacity including ICU beds, oxygen availability, adequate health care staff and surge capacity need to be reviewed and strengthened at all levels, she stressed.

“We must continue to do it all. Protect yourself and protect each other. Get vaccinated, wear a mask, keep a distance, open windows, clean your hands and cough and sneeze safely. Continue to take all precautions even after taking vaccine doses,” Singh said. (PTI)

Australia reported record high new COVID-19 cases on Saturday for a third day, with outbreaks growing in the two most populous states, however Prime Minister Scott Morrison continued to downplay the risks as the country eases pandemic curbs. New South Wales state reported 2,482 new cases, Victoria state reported 1,504 new cases and Queensland state reported 31 new cases on Saturday, together topping Austalia's previous high of 3,820 cases a day earlier. Morrison reiterated on Saturday the focus should be on hospitalisations and cases in intensive care and on ventilators rather than actual case numbers as the country learns to live with the virus. So far, he said the rising case numbers in New South Wales were not translating into pressure on hospitals, with only 26 people in intensive care. (Reuters)

Two COVID-19 patients are currently undergoing treatment in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a health bulletin said on Saturday. The COVID-19 caseload of the Union territory remained unchanged at 7,700 as no fresh infection was detected. A total of 7,569 people have been cured of the disease so far, including one on Friday, and 129 patients have succumbed to the infection to date, it said. The administration has thus far tested over 6.49 lakh samples for COVID-19, and inoculated over 2.98 lakh people, of whom 2.85 lakh have been fully vaccinated. (PTI)