Omicron Variant Cases and Deaths in India Live, Covid-19 Booster Vaccine Registration Latest Update: India reported 33,750 fresh Coronavirus infections, 10,846 recoveries, and 123 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated Monday morning. A total of 1,700 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected across 23 states and Union Territories so far, out of which 639 have recovered or migrated, as per the official data.
Amid the rise in Covid-19 infections and the growing number of Omicron cases, India begins vaccinating children in the age group of 15 to 18, today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Dec 25, 2021 announced that the vaccination for the 15-18 year olds will begin from January 3, 2022, while the administration of precautionary third dose for the vulnerable categories will begin from January 10, 2022. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had informed all state governments that only Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will be administered to the beneficiaries in 15-18 age bracket and additional doses of Covaxin will be sent to all States and UTs.
Karnataka’s health department has announced that it plans to vaccinate 31.75 lakh children when the drive to vaccinate children begins today. “The State has targeted 31.75 lakh children in the 15-18 age group. On day-one, we plan to vaccinate six lakh-and-odd in more than 4,000 sessions,” the department said in a statement, reported news agency PTI.
Also Read | Here is how you can register your child for vaccination on CoWIN
Meanwhile, Delhi on Sunday recorded 3,194 infections to its Covid-19 tally with a positivity rate of 4.59 percent. However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the people not to panic as most of the patients were either reported to be asymptomatic or had very mild symptoms and did not need hospitalisation. Maharashtra’s health department on Sunday informed that the state recorded 11,877 new Coronavirus cases and 50 Omicron infections. Maharashtra also reported nine fatalities on Sunday, which increased the overall toll to 1,41,542. Karnataka registered 1,187 new Covid-19 cases and six deaths on Sunday. The health department in its bulletin said that 275 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,60,890 while the total active cases stood at 10,292.
Keeping in view the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, a few states imposed stricter curbs on Sunday as a precautionary measure. The West Bengal government said that it would restrict flights from New Delhi and Mumbai, to just twice a week. In a press conference, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi also announced that only essential services will be permitted to operate between 10 pm and 5 am in the state till January 15th. The Rajasthan government has also put a cap on the number of people attending political and other rallies, dharnas, fairs and weddings at 100 and has ordered closure of schools in Jaipur city for classes 1 to 8. The decisions were taken at a Covid review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, news agency PTI reported.
Watch out this space for latest news related to Covid-19 and Omicron variant from India and around the globe:
Union Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey was admitted at a hospital here on Monday after he tested positive for COVID-19. Pandey, 65, who is a BJP MP from Chandauli constituency, had earlier also tested positive for the coronavirus. “'I was unwell for the last two days due to which I underwent the COVID test and the report came positive. All those who have come in contact with me in the last few days are requested to take care of themselves and get the necessary investigations done,” he tweeted. (PTI)
Odisha government on Monday launched the vaccination drive for 15-18 year-olds at 939 special session sites across the state and geared up to tackle Omicron after 12 people having no foreign travel history tested positive for the coronavirus variant in the state. Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister N K Das said the state government has set the target to complete the inoculation drive by the month end, he said. Students of class 10, who are appearing for assessment tests between January 5 and 8, can take the vaccine after the examination. Similarly, class 12 students will get vaccinated after January 12, the minister said. The state has set a target to vaccinate 25.53 lakh teenagers in the 15-18 age group, the director of health service, Bijoy Mohapatra said. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu continued to witness an increase in fresh Coronavirus positive cases and on Monday the State recorded 1,728 new Coronavirus infections and 6 fatalities, taking the count to 27,52,856 and the death toll to 36,796. On Sunday, the State recorded 1,594 cases and another 1,489 the previous day. About 1,728 persons including a passenger who returned from UAE tested positive today. With 662 COVID-19 positive patients getting discharged following treatment, total recoveries rose to 27,05,696. The number of active cases including isolation, remain at 10,364. (PTI)
Over 20,900 children of Delhi in the age of 15 to 18 years received Covid vaccine doses on the first day of the inoculation drive of this group of beneficiaries. In the northeast district, the highest 3,687 children were vaccinated. In the Central district, the least 739 children received the vaccine shots till 6 pm. As many as 2,667 beneficiaries in the age group of 15 to 18 years in the Southwest district received the shots, 2,268 in the east district and 2,034 in New Delhi. (PTI)
With the launch of COVID-19 vaccination for youngsters from Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India has taken an important step in protecting its youth population against the disease. Modi called for more youngsters to get vaccinated in the coming days. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said earlier that over 40 lakh people in the 15-18 years age group received their first dose on the first day of vaccination drive for children till 8 PM. (PTI)
COVID-19 cases may be rising in Pune city but severe symptoms are not being observed in patients and the civic body was fully prepared to handle any situation, said Mayor Murlidhar Mohol on Monday. The 47 Omicron patients in the state's second largest city also have mild symptoms, he added. “In one week, the number of active cases is 2,500. However, even as numbers are rising, no severe symptoms are being observed in the patients. Of the 2,500 active cases, 70 to 75 percent are fully vaccinated, which is perhaps why they have no complaints. Some 300 active cases are under hospitalization,” he said. (PTI)
Karnataka | 24X7 Control rooms set up to provide all information regarding COVID19 in all eight zones in BBMP limits: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (ANI)
Delhi | Two inmates and six staff have tested positive for Covid-19 in different jails of Tihar. The last positive case detected was in July 2021: Prison officials (ANI)
COVID19 | Maharashtra reports 12,160 fresh cases & 11 deaths today; Active cases 52,422. Omicron case tally 578, of these, 259 patients have been discharged (ANI)
Bihar reports 344 new COVID19 cases in the state today. Active cases stand at 1,385: Bihar Health Department (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh recorded 137 COVID-19 cases and one fatality due to the disease on Monday, taking the state's infection tally to 2,29,153 and its death toll to 3,862, an official said. The fresh death was reported from Hamirpur, he added. The number of active COVID-19 cases now stands at 621, up from 526 on Sunday. (PTI)
West Bengal on Monday registered 6,078 new Covid-19 cases, 75 less than the previous day's figure, pushing the tally to 16,55,228, the health department said. The death toll also went up to 19,794 after 13 more people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, the department said in a bulletin. (PTI)
Mumbai reported 8,082 COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest daily count since April 18, 2021, taking the caseload beyond the 8-lakh mark, while two more patients succumbed to the infection, the city civic body said. Mumbai also reported 40 new cases of the latest coronavirus variant Omicron, pushing the number of such infections to 368 in the metropolis, according to the Maharashtra government's health department.
With fresh additions, the financial capital's coronavirus tally rose to 8,07,602, while the death toll increased to 16,379, according to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) bulletin. (PTI)
The US is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and federal regulators on Monday decided they're also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds once enough time has passed since their last dose. But the move, coming as classes restart after the holidays, isn't the final step. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to recommend boosters for the younger teens. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC's director, is expected to rule later this week. (PTI)
Over 40 lakh children between 15-18 age group received their first dose of COVID19 vaccine on the 1st day of vaccination drive for children, till 8 PM: Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (ANI)
Gujarat on Monday reported 16 more cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, taking the tally of such cases to 152, the state health department said. The number of Omicron recoveries remained unchanged at 85. Only one of these 16 patients was without travel history, it said. Ahmedabad city reported seven cases of the new coronavirus variant, raising the tally to 57, the department said in a release. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 7,94,461 on Monday with the detection of 221 cases, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,533, an official said. The recovery count stood at 7,83,155 after 56 people were discharged from hospitals during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 773, he said. With 61,474 samples being examined during the day, the number of tests in MP went up to 2,38,65,695, the official added. (PTI)
Dismissing reports alleging expired Covid vaccines are being administered in India as “false and misleading”, the Centre on Monday clarified that the national regulator had approved the shelf life extension of Covishield and Covaxin in February and October, 2021 respectively. “There have been some media reports alleging that expired vaccines are being administered in India under its national COVID-19 vaccination programme. This is false and misleading and based on incomplete information,” the health ministry said in a statement. (PTI)
South Korea says it has confirmed its first death related to the new omicron variant. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday that the deceased was in their 90s and living at a nursing home in the southern city of Gwangju. It says the person received a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in October. A total of 21 people in the facility have tested positive for COVID-19 – three of them with the omicron variant – since the first case was reported there on Dec. 24. (PTI)
Goa on Monday reported 631 new COVID-19 cases with the positivity rate jumping by 16 per cent to 26.43 per cent, officials said. On Sunday, Goa had recorded a COVID-19 positivity rate at 10.7 per cent and 388 cases. With the new infections, the overall caseload in Goa mounted to 1,82,201 on Monday. Goa has so far reported five cases of the Omicron variant, including four on Monday. The positivity rate is the percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that are actually positive. As cases surged, the state government has decided to close schools and colleges till January 26. (PTI)
Amid a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases, the Jharkhand government on Monday decided to re-impose pandemic-related restrictions, shutting down all educational institutions and tourist places till January 15 and capping employee attendance at 50 per cent in offices. The announcement was made shortly after senior officials held a meeting here, which was chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. A statement issued by the government said, “The chief minister has directed all districts to be on alert, given the sudden spurt rise in COVID-19 cases…Government and private offices will be allowed to operate with 50 per cent workforce. Biometric attendance is being banned for the time being.” Schools, colleges and coaching institutes will remain closed over the next 12 days. (PTI)
Covid19 | Chandigarh reports 75 new cases today; positivity rate at 6.91%. 1,836 children in 15-17 age group vaccinated today: UT Administration (ANI)
COVID19 | Tamil Nadu reports 1,728 new cases, 6 deaths and 662 recoveries; active cases 10,364 (ANI)
Gujarat reports 1,259 new #covid19 cases and three deaths in the last 24 hours; Active case stands at 5,858
The total number of Omicron cases in the State is 152 (ANI)
COVID19 | Assam: With 978 COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) active today, 72,954 children between the age group of 15-17 years have received the first jab of Covaxin across the state as of 6:00 pm, reads an official release. (ANI)
20,998 children (15-17 age group) administered COVID19 vaccine till 6pm in Delhi today: Delhi government (ANI)
Witnessing a further surge in daily COVID-19 cases, Karnataka on Monday reported 1,290 fresh infections and 5 deaths, taking the count to 30,10,847 and the death toll to 38,351. Of the new cases, 1,041 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 134 discharges and 3 deaths. The total number of active cases is now at 11,345. The state has registered a steady surge in fresh infections for the sixth consecutive day, since last Wednesday, when the daily caseload was 566. There were 232 discharges today, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,61,122, a health department bulletin said. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 1.60 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 0.38 per cent. Of the deaths, three are from Bengaluru Urban, and one each from Chitradurga, and Hassan. Apart from Bengaluru Urban, Dakshina Kannada recorded the second highest of 52 new cases, Udupi 43, and Dharwad 19. (PTI)
As many as 38 personnel of the CRPF's jungle warfare unit CoBRA tested positive for coronavirus in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-hit Sukma district on Monday following which they were quarantined in their camp, officials said. The personnel belong to the 202nd battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), they said. (PTI)
A top epidemiology and communicable diseases expert on Monday said people should get themselves vaccinated at the earliest and not sit back thinking the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is milder because the virus will hunt for the “unvaccinated, the old and immunodeficient”. Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), further said one must not wait for herd immunity to set in as that process will take time and a lot of people may die. “Instead of waiting for natural immunity (by infection), if we go for induced immunity through the vaccine, it will be good and the damage will be minimal. Getting an infection is never good even if it is mild. Today, it (Omicron) may look milder but has anyone thought of long-term effects on the human body,” the health expert asked. Asked if the current situation was the beginning of the end of the pandemic, Dr Gangakhedkar said the scare would persist till the vaccination coverage rises dramatically. (PTI)
Amid rising coronavirus cases in the national capital, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is expected to consider more restrictions — to arrest the spread of the infection — in its meeting scheduled on Tuesday, official sources said. Delhi added 4,099 new COVID-19 cases with positivity rate jumping to 6.46 percent in the past 24 hours, as per the city government's health bulletin on Monday. The DDMA in its last meeting on December 29 had decided that Covid-related restrictions imposed in Delhi under the 'yellow alert' would continue in view of a low number of hospitalisations. (PTI)
The COVID-19 count in Nashik district of Maharashtra rose to 4,14,433 with an addition of 216 new cases on Monday, while two more patients succumbed to the infection, officials said. Two coronavirus-linked deaths in the last 24 hours took the toll in the district to 8,758, they said. So far, 4,04,844 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals following recovery, 74 of them during the day, the officials said. (PTI)
A meeting with health experts on COVID19 and Omicron will be held tomorrow. On Wednesday, issues related to COVID19 will be discussed in the Cabinet, and further decisions will be taken: Karnataka CM Basavaraja Bommai in Bengaluru earlier today (ANI)
Haryana reported eight cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on Monday, pushing the tally of such infections to 71 in the state, according to a health department bulletin. Twelve of the 71 cases are active while the rest have been discharged, the bulletin stated. Meanwhile, the state continued to register a surge in COVID-19 cases, with 793 new infections being reported on Monday, 460 of them from Gurugram alone, the NCR district which is the worst-affected. Faridabad , Panchkula, Karnal and Ambala reported 110, 35, 33 and 41 new infections respectively. (PTI)
COVID19 | Mumbai reports 8,082 fresh infections, 2 deaths and 622 discharges today; Active cases 37,274 (ANI)
Insurance regulator Irdai on Monday said health insurance policies that cover COVID treatment costs will also cover expenses for treating infections due to Omicron. “All health insurance policies issued by all general and health insurance companies that cover treatment costs of COVID-19 also cover the costs of treatment towards Omicron variant of COVID-19 as per terms and conditions of policy contract,” the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said in a release. The regulator has issued the directive to general and health insurers in view of the growing number of cases of the Omicron variant. (PTI)
COVID19 | 37,84,212 children in 15-17 age group vaccinated till 7pm as on the first day of COVID19 vaccination for children, as per CoWIN portal (ANI)
Omicron is producing a more hopeful pattern to the previously dominant Delta variant of COVID-19 in terms of numbers of people needing ventilators and length of time spent in intensive care units (ICUs), a senior UK Cabinet minister said on Monday. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the government is closely monitoring the hospitalisation data as more over-50s are now among those being infected by the Omicron variant. However, this group is also among those almost 90 per cent boosted with top-up third vaccine doses, which should protect against severe disease. “On the whole, we are not seeing the same pattern as with Delta, where we had much greater numbers of people on ventilators,” said Zahawi. (PTI)
Amid rising Covid cases, Personnel Ministry suspends biometric attendance for govt employees till January 31: Official order. (PTI)
COVID19 | 2,560 new cases, 30 deaths and 2,150 recoveries reported in Kerala today; Active cases at 19,359, death toll 48,184
41 deaths added to Covid death tally as per Central government guidelines: State government (ANI)
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday rolled out COVID-19 vaccination drive for teenagers in the age bracket of 15-18 years and announced plans to completely inoculate them within the next two months. Sarma launched the programme at Oil India Higher Secondary School at Duliajan, where 405 eligible school students were vaccinated. He said that the state government is going to launch precautionary third dose of vaccination for frontline warriors from January 10. (PTI)
Veteran actor Prem Chopra and his wife Uma Chopra were on Monday admitted to a hospital here after testing positive for COVID-19, a senior doctor treating the couple said. According to Dr Jalil Parkar, the 86-year-old veteran, along with his wife, was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here. Both are likely to be discharged in “a day or two”, he added. “Prem Chopra and his wife tested positive for covid-19 and were admitted under Dr Jalil Parkar in Lilavati hospital for treatment. (PTI)
Mumbai | Schools for classes 10 & 12 will continue with Covid19 protocols. Students of classes 9 to 12 can come to the school to receive vaccination: Suresh Kakani, Additional Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
Schoolchildren returned to classes Monday in parts of Europe, while the British government pledged to rush ventilation units and enough COVID-19 test kits to schools to ensure they, too, can reopen later this week despite soaring infection rates in the UK. Secondary school students in England also will be required to wear face masks when they return to classes after the Christmas holidays and they could also face merged classes amid staffing shortages. “The priority is to keep schools open,” British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News. “The testing, the staffing support we're putting in place, and of course the ventilation is going to make a big difference to schools this year.” The highly transmissible omicron variant has caused Britain's daily new caseload to soar over Christmas and the New Year, with 137,583 infections and 73 deaths reported for England and Wales only on Sunday, with numbers for Scotland and Northern Ireland to be announced after the holiday weekend. (AP)
As many as 66 of the over 2,000 people on board the Cordelia cruise ship, which came to Goa from Mumbai, have tested positive for COVID-19, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Monday. The cruise liner, where the NCB busted a high-profile rave party in October last year, was carrying hordes of New Year revellers. A medical team in PPE kits came on board to conduct RT-PCR tests of the passengers and crew members, and the sample testing process continued till Monday afternoon. (PTI)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel holds high-level emergency meeting to review Covid19 situation in the State, urges all the districts to be on alert and make all possible efforts to control the spread of the disease: CMO (ANI)
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the latest genome-sequencing report shows that Omicron was found in 81 per cent of the samples tested for COVID-19 in the city and the new variant of concern is the reason behind the surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the capital. Of the latest 187 Covid samples tested, 152 (81 per cent) had Omicron and 8.5 per cent had Delta, Jain told the Delhi Assembly. “So Omicron is the variant spreading now and the share of other variants is very low,” he said, responding to a question from Leader of Opposition Ramvir Bidhuri. (PTI)
The coronavirus caseload in Andhra Pradesh increased to 20,77,608 as 122 were added afresh on Monday. The latest bulletin said 103 infected persons got cured and one more succumbed in the 24 hours ending 9 am today. The total recoveries now climbed to 20,61,832 and deaths to 14,498, the bulletin said. The active caseload in the state is now 1,278. Visakhapatnam district reported 41 fresh cases in 24 hours. (PTI)
The Union health ministry on Monday dismissed media reports alleging that expired vaccines are being administered in the country under its COVID-19 vaccination programme as “false and misleading”. “There have been some media reports alleging that expired vaccines are being administered in India under its national COVID-19 vaccination programme. This is false and misleading and based on incomplete information,” the ministry said in a statement. (PTI)
