Covid-19 Omicron Variant Live Updates: Omicron has started replacing Delta variant in India, say sources

Sikkim had to come to terms with a resurgent coronavirus in 2021, as the Himalayan state clocked a disturbing cumulative positivity rate of over 10 per cent, stretching its healthcare apparatus and blowing a hole into its mainstay tourism sector. The administration swung into action, reimposing tough containment and surveillance measures, and augmenting testing and inoculation as the second wave of the pandemic swept through the scenic landscapes. Sikkim recorded a sombre five-fold increase in the positivity rate in the past nine months, while the death toll trebled from 136 at the end of March to 409 till December 30, officials said. The state's Covid tally stood at 32,493. Its back to the wall for the greater part of the year, the Sikkim government decided upon phase-wise easing of the curbs from October, but with strict health protocols in place. Doors were reopened for tourists, too, from the first week of October, aiming at salvaging the state's battered economy to some extent. Travellers lapped up the opportunity, as the border state saw a footfall of more than 22,000 domestic visitors and over 650 foreigners in the month, officials said. In a shot in the arm for the sector, private carrier SpiceJet started daily direct flight services between Delhi and Pakyong Greenfield Airport in Sikkim, and also resumed flights from Kolkata, which were abruptly suspended in June 2019. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions restarted operations and economic activities recommenced in a regulated manner from October. (PTI)

Israel is extending its offer of a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to elderly people in care facilities, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Friday, citing their high exposure and vulnerability to infections. On Thursday, the Health Ministry's director-general, Nachman Ash, approved fourth doses for people with weakened immune systems and the administering of those shots began on Friday. An Israeli hospital administered fourth shots to a test group of health workers on Monday, in what it called the first major study into whether a second round of boosters will help contend with the Omicron coronavirus variant. Results are expected within two weeks. A Health Ministry expert panel last week recommended that Israel offer a fourth shot of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech to medical workers and those over 60 or with compromised immune systems. (Reuters)

New coronavirus infections soared again in Australia on Friday to a record of more than 32,000, just days after surpassing 10,000 for the first time. Experts say the explosion is being driven by the highly contagious omicron variant and a recent relaxation of restrictions in Sydney and other areas. More than 15,000 of the new cases were reported in Sydney. Another 5,000 cases came from elsewhere in New South Wales state, while almost 6,000 were confirmed in Victoria state, home to the second largest city of Melbourne.

While hospitalisations and deaths have been increasing from the surge, so far they haven't reached comparative levels seen in previous outbreaks. And many cities were planning to go ahead with New Year's Eve celebrations, including the famous fireworks display from the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House. Authorities were expecting far smaller crowds than in pre-pandemic years, when as many as 1 million revelers would crowd inner Sydney. Prime Minister Scott Morrison remained upbeat despite the rising virus numbers and the many natural challenges the nation has recently faced. “Despite the pandemic, despite the floods, the fires, continuing drought in some areas, the cyclones, the lockdowns, even mice plagues, Australia is stronger today than we were a year ago. And we're safer,” Morrison said in a New Year's Eve message. “We have one of the lowest death rates and the highest vaccination rates from COVID anywhere in the world,” he said. (AP)

The Omicron variant of coronavirus is largely resistant to antibodies from people who recover from COVID-19 infection, and those vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Cell, also shows that several antibodies used to treat COVID-19 will be ineffective against Omicron. However, a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and mixing Pfizer and AstraZeneca preventives may protect well against the variant. The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be spreading faster than any previous variant and may soon dominate globally, the researchers said. In the study, they used non-hazardous virus-like particles that carry the Omicron spike protein and are well suited for analysis of virus entry and its inhibition. The spike protein is used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter and infect cells. Currently, combinations of the antibodies Casirivimab and Imdevimab, and Etesevimab and Bamlanivimab are used to treat COVID-19. However, the researchers showed that these antibodies are largely ineffective against the Omicron spike. Only one antibody, Sotrovimab, inhibited the Omicron spike, they said. “Our cell culture studies suggest that most antibodies currently available for COVID-19 therapy will be ineffective against Omicron,” said study first author Markus Hoffmann from German Primate Center. “Sotrovimab is an exception and could become an important treatment option for Omicron-infected patients,” Hoffmann said. The researchers further investigated whether patients infected in Germany during the first wave of the pandemic had produced antibodies that protect against the Omicron variant. While the antibodies inhibited the spike of the virus responsible for the first wave, the researchers had little effect against the Omicron spike. They assume that these individuals do not have robust immune protection against the Omicron variant, although an inhibition by T cells, which are also produced during infection, remains to be analysed. (PTI)

A US woman was quarantined in an aeroplane bathroom for three hours after testing positive for COVID-19 halfway through a flight from Chicago to Iceland, according to media reports. Marisa Fotieo, a teacher from Michigan, said her throat began to hurt halfway through the trip on December 19 so she went to the bathroom to perform a rapid Covid test which confirmed she was infected, WABC-TV reported. Before the flight, Fotieo told CNN she took two PCR tests and about five rapid tests, all of which came back negative. But about an hour and a half into the flight, Fotieo started to feel a sore throat. “The wheels started turning in my brain and I thought, 'OK, I'm going to just go take a test.' It was going to make me feel better,” Fotieo said. “Immediately, it came back positive.” Fotieo is fully vaccinated and has received the booster. She tests consistently since she works with an unvaccinated population. When she got her results in the aeroplane bathroom, over the Atlantic Ocean, she said she started to panic. “The first flight attendant I ran into was Rocky. I was hysterical, I was crying,” Fotieo said. “I was nervous for my family who I just had dinner with. I was nervous for the other people on the plane. I was nervous for myself.” The flight attendant Fotieo ran into helped calm her down, the report added. “Of course, it's a stress factor when something like this comes up, but that's part of our job,” the flight attendant told CNN. The flight attendant said she did what she could to try to rearrange seats so Fotieo could be seated in a spot alone, but the flight was full. (PTI)

Arunachal Pradesh on Friday reported three new COVID-19 cases, one more than the previous day, with the tally rising to 55,339, a health department official said. The death toll remained at 280 as no fresh fatality due to the infection was recorded in the last 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said. One more person recuperated from the disease during the period, taking the total number of recoveries to 55,038. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state stood at 99.46 per cent. Arunachal Pradesh now has 21 active Covid-19 cases, the SSO said. The Capital Complex Region, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas, has the highest number of active cases at 13, followed by Namsai at three, Lohit and West Kameng at two each and Tawang at one. Altogether, 12,04,943 samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far, including, 149 on Thursday, Jampa said, adding that the positivity ratio was at 2.01 per cent.

State Immunisation Officer Dr Dimong Padung said 14,61,096 people have been inoculated thus far. (PTI)

China is on high alert against COVID-19 as the New Year holiday looms, with the city of Xian under lockdown while several New Year's Eve events in other cities have been cancelled and some provinces urged restraint in travel during the festive season. China reported 166 locally transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms for Thursday, according to the National Health Commission, with 161 from Xian, which is fighting the worst outbreak for a Chinese city this year. The number of domestically transmitted infections in Xian have exceeded 1,200 during the Dec. 9-30 period. While the case load pales in comparison with many outbreaks overseas, China has insisted on stamping out infections quickly, especially ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. “With the arrival of the New Year and the Lunar New Year, the number of people returning home from abroad will increase and the movement of people within China will rise,” He Qinghua, an official at the National Health Commission, said on Wednesday. “Coupled with the emergence of new variants such as Omicron, these scenarios will increase the risk of the epidemic spreading,” He said. The popular Happy Valley amusement park in Beijing has cancelled an event to ring in the new year, while the Happy Valley park in the eastern city of Nanjing has dropped a drone show and fireworks from its line-up of celebrations for New Year's Eve. In the financial hub Shanghai, the Great World amusement park said it will not organise special events such as stage performances, while no count-down will take place in core districts along Huangpu river. (Reuters)

Canada's Ontario and Quebec announced new measures to combat COVID-19 on Thursday as the country faces a rise in cases that has forced tens of thousands into isolation, made tests difficult to access and burdened its healthcare sector. Quebec, Canada's second-most populous province, will ban private gatherings and dining out, as well as impose a night curfew from New Year's Eve in an escalation of curbs to rein in rapidly rising coronavirus cases due to the Omicron variant. Ontario, home to Toronto, Canada's biggest city, announced new measures from Friday, shortening the isolation period for vaccinated individuals with COVID-19 to five days from the onset of symptoms, the province's chief medical officer, Kieran Moore, told reporters at a briefing. (Reuters)

India saw the highest single-day rise of 309 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, taking the country's tally of such cases to 1,270, the Union health ministry said on Friday. It also recorded 16,764 fresh COVID-19 cases and 220 more fatalities due to the viral disease. Of the 1,270 patients infected with the Omicron variant of the virus, 374 have either recuperated or migrated, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am. Of the 23 states and Union territories that have recorded Omicron cases so far, Maharashtra has registered the highest number of 450, followed by Delhi (320), Kerala (109) and Gujarat (97). The daily rise in the number of coronavirus cases crossed the 16,000 mark after 64 days, taking the country's COVID-19 tally to 3,48,38,804, while the number of active cases of the infection has gone up to 91,361, according to the data. The death toll due to the viral disease has climbed to 4,81,080 with 220 more fatalities, the data stated. The country had witnessed 16,156 fresh coronavirus cases on October 27. The 91,361 active Covid cases account for 0.26 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.36 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 8,959 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 tally in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.34 per cent. It has remained below two per cent for 88 days now. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.89 per cent. It has remained below one per cent for 47 days now, according to the ministry. The number of patients who have recuperated has gone up to 3,42,66,363, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.38 per cent. The cumulative number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far has exceeded 144.54 crore. India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19 last year. (PTI)

South Africa has lifted overnight curfew rules that were first imposed nearly two years ago, with officials saying the country may have passed the peak of its fourth wave of COVID-19 infections. The decision announced by the Presidency on Thursday followed meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the President's Coordinating Council (PCC), which received updates on the management of the current fourth wave of COVID-19 in South Africa. The wave is currently being driven by the Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa last month. “The curfew will be lifted. There will therefore be no restrictions on the hours of movement of people,” the Presidency said in a statement. The number of people permitted at public events has also been increased. “Gatherings are restricted to no more than 1,000 people indoors and no more than 2,000 people outdoors. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue may be used. All other restrictions remain in place,” according to the statement. (PTI)

According to the data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Friday, India recorded 309 fresh Omicron infections, taking the total tally of such cases in the country to 1,270. As per the official data, 1,270 cases have been detected across 23 states and UTs so far, and 374 people have recovered or migrated. Maharashtra recording the maximum number of 450 cases followed by Delhi at 320, Kerala 109 and Gujarat 97, news agency PTI reported. A total of 16,156 new coronavirus infections were reported in a span of 24 hours on October 27. The active cases have increased to 91,361 comprising 0.26 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.36 per cent, the health ministry said. An increase of 8,959 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23. (PTI)

Maharashtra Government has capped the attendance at gatherings in open or closed spaces at 50, following a surge in coronavirus cases in the state. Not more than 100 persons in enclosed spaces and 250 persons in open spaces were allowed to attend a marriage function or a social, cultural, political and religious gathering earlier. The state government issued fresh guidelines on Thursday night, capping the number of attendees at these events to 50 persons. The new order also stipulates that only 20 persons can attend last rites. Maharashtra recorded 5,368 coronavirus cases on Thursday, a spike of 1468 cases from a day before. This propelled the state's COVID-19 tally to 66,70,754. At present, there are 18,217 active cases in the state. With 1193 COVID-19 patients discharged in the day, the number of those recovered rose to 65,07,330. Maharashtra on Thursday reported 198 new cases of the Omicron variant, including 190 in Mumbai alone, taking the tally of cases of this latest coronavirus variant in the state up to 450. (PTI)