A municipal corporation worker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a beneficiary inside a Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport Bus during a special vaccination drive in Navi Mumbai (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)Covid-19 India Live News: Maharashtra on Sunday detected 50 new Omicron cases taking the total tally of the new variant to 510, state public health department said. Meanwhile Kerala recorded 45 new cases of the coronavirus new variant taking the tally of Omicron infections in the state to 152, state health minister Veena George informed. 23 new cases of Omicron were also reported in Odisha today. With this, the total Omicron cases in Odisha rose to 37.
At the same time, the West Bengal government has announced fresh curbs amid surge in Covid-19 cases in the state. All schools, colleges, universities, spas, salons, beauty parlours, zoos, and entertainment parks will remain closed from tomorrow. Offices will be allowed to operate with 50 per cent workforce and only essential services will be permitted from 10 am to 5 pm.
India on Sunday reported a single-day rise of 27,553 Covid-19 cases and 284 deaths. With 9,249 recoveries recorded in the last 24 hours, the active caseload stood at 1,22,801.
Major cities across the country have witnessed a surge in their Covid count. Delhi saw 3,194 fresh cases Sunday with a test positivity rate of 4.59 per cent while Mumbai reported 8,063 new infections.
Vaccine Centre at a Govt Dispensary in New Delhi, Saturday, 01 Jan 2022 (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)
COVID-19 continued to gallop across Bihar on Sunday as 352 fresh cases, 71 more than the previous day's figure, were reported while Patna remained the worst affected district, with 17 doctors among the 142 who tested positive. According to the health department, active cases have shot past the four-digit mark and reached 1074.
On Saturday and Friday, Bihar had registered 281 and 158 fresh cases respectively. However, no fatality due to the disease has been reported in the last four days and the death toll remained unchanged at 12,096 The district administration in Patna has gone into a tizzy after 17 junior doctors at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in the city tested positive for coronavirus NMCH Superintendent Vinod Kumar Singh said samples of 70 junior doctors, who had attended an Indian Medical Association (IMA) function here last week, were sent for testing after they complained of symptoms. (PTI)
Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo has tested positive for Covid-19.
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.
Recoveries were less than half of the new cases with 624 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 27,05,034 leaving 9,304 active infections, a medical bulletin said. (PTI)
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.
The bulletin said that eight people died of coronavirus on Sunday, while nine such patients had perished the previous day. A total of 19,781 people have died of the disease so far, according to the bulletin.
Mumbai on Sunday recorded 8,063 new Covid-19 cases along with 578 recoveries, the public health department said. Active cases in Mumbai stand at 29,819. The city had reported 6,347 new infections yesterday.
45 new cases of Omicron variant have been reported in Kerala, health minister Veena George informed. With this the tally of the new variant in Kerala rose to 152.
Karnataka reported 1,187 new Covid-19 cases. Bengaluru Urban recorded 932 of the total fresh cases in the state.
Kerala on Sunday reported 2,802 fresh Covid-19 cases and 12 related deaths. The state has an active caseload of 19,021 infections.
Delhi on Sunday reported 3,194 fresh Covid-19 cases at a positivity rate of 4.59 per cent. The national capital also recorded one death in the last 24 hours.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday said states and union territories should take necessary measures, including setting up separate vaccination centres, to avoid mixing-up of Covid vaccines during administration of shots to those in the 15-18 age group. Inoculation of children in this age category will start on January 3.
The vaccine option for those in the 15-18 age group would only be Covaxin, according to a set of new guidelines issued by the Union health ministry. Besides Covaxin, the adult population of the country is being administered Covishield and Sputnik V.
To ensure smooth implementation of the guidelines, Mandaviya held an online interaction with health ministers and principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries for health of states and union territories (UTs). He advised them to ensure orientation of vaccinators and vaccination team members for the inoculation exercise for those in the 15-18 age group and for identification of dedicated vaccination session sites for this category of beneficiaries, a health ministry statement said.
West Bengal government announces closure of all schools, colleges, universities, spas, salons, beauty parlours, zoos, and entertainment parks from tomorrow. Offices allowed to operate with 50% workforce; only essential services permitted from 10 am to 5 pm.
23 new cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Odisha. The total number of cases with new variant has reached 37 in the state, said Niranjan Mishra, Director, Public Health.
Delhi schools have been directed to play a central role in the Covid-19 vaccination of eligible students from Monday, and will have to share their vaccination status with the education department every day.
The government has also created a provision for schools to request temporary camps for vaccination in their premises.
Covid-19 vaccination for children between the ages of 15 and 18 will begin from Monday in 159 government centres and 16 private centres. Read more
Veteran filmmaker Rahul Rawail, known for movies like 'Betaab' (1983) and 'Arjun' (1985), has tested positive for Covid-19, PTI reported.
The 70-year-old director had reportedly contracted the virus last week and is recovering. He is one of the latest Bollywood personalities who have recently tested positive for Covid-19 including actors Mrunal Thakur, Nora Fatehi, producer Rhea Kapoor and her filmmaker-husband Karan Boolani.
Amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, the Odisha government on Sunday said that it was withholding its decision to reopen schools for students of classes 1 to 5 from Monday.
School and mass education minister SR Dash, in a statement, said the decision was taken after officials visited various primary schools across the state and held discussions with the stakeholders. Read more
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said, "Covid-19 cases are rising in a few cities like Raigarh and Raipur. Since many samples have been sent to the genome sequencing centre at Odisha for Omicron, it's taking some time." However, he added that there was no need to panic, all arrangements have been made by the state government.
Earlier in the day, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi spoke with Baghel over the Covid situation in the state and inquired about the preparedness, ANI reported.
A 26-year-old woman, who returned to Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district recently from the Netherlands, has been found infected with the Omicron variant, PTI reported. She has been shifted to a private ward of a district hospital, while her three family members have been tested and isolated as well.
With this, the Omicron tally in the state has reached 10. Earlier, nine cases were reported from Indore.
The notion that Omicron is a natural vaccine is a "dangerous idea" spread by irresponsible people who don't take into account "long Covid" about which very little is understood, experts have said.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19, which is said to be much more infectious than the other variants, is, however, causing milder infections, less hospitalisation and deaths which is leading to the notion that it can act as a natural vaccine. Recently, a Maharashtra health official also claimed that Omicron will act as a natural vaccine and may help in COVID-19's progression towards the endemic stage.
Noted virologist Shahid Jameel , the former head of the advisory group to the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (INASACOG), said those who advocate this don't take into account "long Covid" about which very little is understood. "Especially in India, where malnutrition, air pollution and diabetes are rampant, to willingly let people be exposed to a virus about which you understand little is not good science and public health," he said. (PTI)
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said, "very few patients who need oxygen are coming in."
"We have 37,000 oxygen beds prepared in Delhi, at present only 82 are occupied," he added.
Comparing the rise in Covid-19 cases with the surge in March, he said, "On March 27, there were 6,600 active cases. 1,150 oxygen beds were occupied. There were about 10 deaths a day. At present, there are is one death or no death."
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said, "I want to tell you that while cases are increasing at a fast pace, there is no need to panic. Covid cases increased from 1,796 to around 2,700 in a day. There are around 6,000 active cases at present, there were around 2,000 active cases three days ago."
The CM elaborated that on December 29, as many as 262 patients were admitted in hospitals and on January 1, this number was 242. "This means that the cases that are coming in are very mild or are asymptomatic. At present, only 82 oxygen beds are occupied in Delhi. Very few patients who need oxygen are coming in."