Satyendar Jain said though there is a spike in new cases, the situation is under control as not many people are developing severe disease or require hospitalisation. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)Delhi News and Live Updates: Delhi reported 4,099 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday at a positivity rate of 6.46%. One more person has died due to Covid-19 while 1,509 have recovered.
Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the latest genome sequencing report shows the Omicron variant of coronavirus has been found in 84 per cent of the samples tested. He said though there is a spike in new cases, the situation is under control as not many people are developing severe disease or require hospitalisation.
“As per genome sequencing reports of December 30-31 from three labs – at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Lok Nayak Hospital and National Centre for Disease Control – 84 per cent samples were infected with Omicron. Most of the cases are of Omicron,” he said in the Delhi Assembly.
According to the health bulletin to be issued later on Monday, the capital has recorded around 4,000 new cases of coronavirus and the positivity rate has increased to 6.5 per cent, the minister said. (PTI)
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP workers staged a “chakka jam” protest against the city government’s new excise policy on Monday and blocked roads at different locations in the national capital, including near the Akshardham temple. The protest near the Akshardham temple was led by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta.
In other news, vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group against covid-19 began as inoculation centres across the country started administering the shots to the younger population. In Delhi, where daily cases have registered a record surge in the last few days, vaccination centere at Fortis hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, and other facilities began administering the jabs.
Delhi reported 4,099 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday at a positivity rate of 6.46%. One more person has died due to Covid-19 while 1,509 have recovered.
A review meeting of development projects at the Noida International Airport (Jewar airport) site will take place on Monday. The board meeting, likely to be the last in the current Uttar Pradesh assembly session, will be taking crucial decisions on the status of several ongoing projects. The foundation stone for the Jewar airport was laid in a large-scale ceremony last month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath. Read more
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the latest genome sequencing report shows the Omicron variant of coronavirus has been found in 84 per cent of the samples tested. He said though there is a spike in new cases, the situation is under control as not many people are developing severe disease or require hospitalisation.
"As per genome sequencing reports of December 30-31 from three labs - at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Lok Nayak Hospital and National Centre for Disease Control - 84 per cent samples were infected with Omicron. Most of the cases are of Omicron," he said in the Delhi Assembly.
According to the health bulletin to be issued later on Monday, the capital has recorded around 4,000 new cases of coronavirus and the positivity rate has increased to 6.5 per cent, the minister said. (PTI)
Delhi BJP "chakka jam" protest blocked roads at different locations in the national capital, leading to traffic snarls at important stretches including at the ITO, near the Akshardham temple and on the Ring Road.
Key roads that were affected by the protest include the ITO crossing, Vikas Marg from Laxmi Nagar to ITO, the road near Akshardham temple, National Highway 24, Noida-Delhi Link Road, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Mother Dairy Road and the Signature Bridge road.
Reacting to the "chakka jam" protest, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said BJP leaders are "rattled" as the new excise policy aims to curb illegal liquor sale. Sisodia said BJP leaders are "rattled" with the new excise policy as the Arvind Kejriwal government has "stopped the theft" of Rs 3,500 crore (that used to come through illegal sale of liquor)."Now this money is going to the government to carry out public welfare work. Earlier, this money used to go to BJP leaders and the liquor mafia," the deputy chief minister said in a tweet in Hindi.
Delhiites woke up to a chilly Monday morning with the minimum temperature of the city settling at 5.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average. The relative humidity was recorded at 95 per cent at 8.30 am. The air quality of the national capital was "very poor" as the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 389 in the morning.
Schools in Delhi have been directed to play a central role in the vaccination of eligible children from Monday, and will have to share the vaccination status of students with the education department every day by 4 pm.
Covid vaccination for children between the ages of 15 and 18 will begin from Monday in 159 government centres and 16 private centres. Around 60 schools run by the MCDs, government, New Delhi Municipal Council and cantonment board will be functioning as vaccination centres for this age group. (With Sukrita Baruah)
Delhi BJP workers staged a "chakka jam" protest against the city government's new excise policy and blocked roads at different locations in the national capital, including near the Akshardham temple.
The protest near the Akshardham temple was led by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta. "The Delhi government is opening liquor shops illegally across the city under its new excise policy. Shops are being opened near residential and religious places. Our protest will continue until the new liquor policy is rolled back," Gupta told reporters.
People had to face heavy traffic due to the protest near the Akshardham temple.
Other locations where the "chakka jam" protest is being conducted include the Car Bazar at Vikas Marg, Dayaram Chowk and Civil Lines.
Sidharth Abrol, 15, said he was excited to be the first in his class to take the vaccine. “With Omicron doing the rounds, I'll try to stay at home and not be a carrier. Now that we are getting vaccinated, I wonder if school and transport to school will return to normal,” the Pushp Vihar resident said.
Gunit Sahai (15) said even though she is vaccinated she will have to be home as everything has been shut down. “All I expect is that even if I get COVID now, it'll hopefully be mild,” she said.
Shivam Ghanghas, a student of DAV school, Gurgaon, said, "I wanted to get a shot at the earliest so that even if there are any side effects, my studies are not hampered later. My uncle is a doctor and he had informed me about the importance of getting vaccinated and about Covaxin."
Expressing joy and relief that vaccinations has commenced for some children, Akshit Marodia, a Class 10 student of APS Dhaula Kuan said the drive is important to stop the spread of COVID-19. "I don't know, how many students from my class will be taking the first shot but I have put a message in my class group urging everyone to get the jab," he said.
After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine shot at a centre in Laxmibai Nagar, Saumya Bansal said she has sent a picture of her getting jabbed to her friends, to encourage them to get vaccinated. "It was not scary or painful at all. My teachers have also asked all the children to send the vaccination certificate," the Safdarjung Enclave resident said.
16-year-old Harsh said he got vaccinated to feel safer from the Omicron variant. "I wanted to get it (the vaccine) early to show people that it's safe and nothing bad will happen. There are still quite a few people, friends and elders, who don't think they need to get vaccinated and maybe I can help convince them," he said.
As vaccination for those aged been 15 and 18 year olds commenced on Monday, teenagers were seen lining up outside inoculation centres in Delhi. Waiting in the line at Lajpat Nagar's LNC Hospital, 16-year-old Radha Shukla said, "I'm scared of getting injections, but my parents and teachers told me I should get it on the first day itself to avoid crowds later." She will be missing her 10 am online class today.
Shreshta Karki, 16, said she was excited about getting vaccinated on the first day itself. "I hope I can go outside more freely now," she said.
The tally of Omicron cases in Delhi remains 351, as no new cases of the COVID-19 variant have been reported in the last two days.
The Delhi University has allocated Rs 10 crore for its centenary celebrations and has plans to bring out a coffee table book to mark the occasion. The university development fund committee, comprising former pro vice-chancellor Professor PC Joshi and Registrar Vikas Gupta, in its report stated that the occasion should be commemorated in a grand way. The panel has decided to allocate Rs 10 crore from the fund. "The committee noted and took on record that the University of Delhi would be completing 100 years of glorious service to the nation in May 2022. The university has grown from strength to strength since its inception in the pre-independence era in 1922. The committee endorsed the decision of the university to commemorate and celebrate the occasion in a grand way," the report said. --PTI
Delhi on Sunday recorded 3,194 Covid-19 cases and one death while the positivity rate stood at 4.59%. As many as 1,156 people recovered from the disease in past 24 hours.
The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly uploading a doctored picture of a woman journalist on a website, officials said on Sunday. The journalist had lodged an online complaint and she shared the copy of the complaint on Twitter. The case was registered at the Cyber Police station of the southeast district on Saturday night, the police said. A senior police officer said the case has been registered under sections 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 354 A (sexual harassment and punishment for harassment) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of the journalist alleging that she is being targeted by an unidentified group of people on 'Bulli Bai' portal. --PTI
Kejriwal said: “Yes, there was a shortage of beds and oxygen during the second Covid-19 wave. As such, I wanted to compare the data from then with now. We have around 6,300 active cases right now and on March 27, too, there were 6,600 active cases. Then, 1,150 oxygen beds were occupied. Today, only 82 are. Ventilators that were in use in March were 145, whereas today, that is 5. There were about 10 deaths a day then, and at present, there are either no or one each day. I am telling you these things to show that the current coronavirus strain is very mild right now and there is no need to panic."
Kejriwal also compared the active case count in the city. “There are 6,360 active cases in Delhi right now. This number was around 2,191 three days ago. But on December 29, only 262 patients were admitted to hospitals. On January 1, this number came down to 247. This means that the cases that are coming in are very mild, or are asymptomatic and people do not need hospitalisation. At present, only 82 oxygen beds are occupied in Delhi…very few patients who need oxygen are coming in. We have 37,000 such beds and can scale-up at any time,” he added.
The air quality of the national capital was in the "very poor" category on Sunday morning with the AQI clocking 398 at 9 am, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.
Delhiites woke up to a cold morning as the minimum temperature settled at 5 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Meanwhile, the AQI of Delhi's neighbouring Faridabad stood at 332, Ghaziabad at 368, Greater Noida at 314 and Noida at 367, all in the "very poor" category. (PTI)
Vinay Kumar’s mother had tried her best to dissuade her son from visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu. It would be too cold and crowded, she had said. But he resisted. “This is the last time I can go. Once I get a job in the army, there won’t be any time. I need to go now.”
On December 29, the 21-year-old army aspirant left for the shrine on a night train from Faridabad, planning to return by January 2. On Saturday, Kumar’s family woke up to the news that he was among the 12 who died in the stampede late Friday night. It was Kumar’s third trip there.
“Vinay was among 12 people from our locality who had gone to the shrine. They were in groups of two. We made frantic calls to the others who were with him. One of them, Kapil, told us he had been injured, but that he was let go from the hospital after first-aid. He told us Vinay was still admitted. A little while later we were told he’s no more,” said Mahesh Chand, Kumar’s inconsolable father and a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) employee.
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Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal urged people not to panic as the cases that are coming up are mostly mild asymptomatic.
"We have to be responsible, wear marks, sanitise and avoid gatherings. This Covid variant (Omicron) is very mild," Kejriwal added.