Covid-19 LIVE updates: A young boy receives his first dose of the Covid vaccine at a jumbo vaccination centre in Somaiya Ground in Mumbai's Sion on Tuesday.Covid-19 India Live News: India is witnessing an exponential rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, which is believed to be driven by the Omicron variant, the Centre said on Wednesday, while highlighting that the country’s R naught value that indicates the spread of the infection is 2.69, higher than the 1.69 recorded during the peak of the pandemic’s second wave. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the spike in the number of Covid cases is being witnessed in cities and “the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain”.
India has reported over 6.3 times rise in Covid-19 cases in the last eight days, the government has informed, while adding that a sharp increase has been witnessed in case positivity from 0.79 per cent on 29 December 2021 to 5.03 per cent on 5 January 2022. Stating that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat have emerged as states of concern due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Union health ministry added that 28 districts in the country have been reporting more than 10% weekly positivity, while 43 districts have reported weekly positivity between 5-10%.
Meanwhile, the government has ruled out mixing Covid-19 vaccines for precautionary dose. Addressing a health briefing, Dr V K Paul said precautionary Covid-19 vaccine dose will be the same as the one given previously.
India reported 58,097 new Covid-19 cases and 534 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am Wednesday. With 15,389 recoveries, the active cases in the country stood at 2,14,004. A total of 2,135 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in the country so far.
Children getting vaccinated against coronavirus in Ahmedabad. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)
Assam on Wednesday reported its first Omicron case after a Saudi Arabia returnee tested positive for the new coronavirus variant, Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said. The 35-year-old man, who hails from Hojai district, was found infected with the Omicron variant, he said. His sample was sent to the Jorhat-based North East Institute of Science and Technology as he had tested positive for COVID-19 after his return from the West Asian country, the minister said.
"His report for genome sequencing came during the day. But by this time, he has already recovered from the infection," Mahanta said.
A teenager from Digaru area in Kamrup Metropolitan district had also tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus, but his sample was taken to Meghalaya, the minister said. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 4,862 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths. Of this, Chennai logged 2,481 infections and four deaths. Coimbatore reported 259 cases and Chengalpet reported 596 cases.
West Bengal on Wednesday reported 14,022 new Covid-19 cases and 17 deaths taking the case tally to 16,78,323 and toll to 19,827. Of the new cases and deaths, Kolkata has recorded 6,170 infections and five fatalities.
Mumbai on Wednesday reported 15,166 fresh Covid-19 infections and three deaths. The number of active cases rose to 61,923.
Karnataka on Wednesday reported 4,246 fresh Covid-19 cases and two deaths at a positivity rate of 3.33 per cent. Bengaluru contributed the highest number of cases at 3,605 and both the fatalities were reported from the state capital. The number of Omicron cases stand at 226 in the state.
In view of the surge in Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced that a night curfew (from 10 pm – 5 am) will be imposed in the state from Thursday, January 6 and a complete lockdown will be observed on all Sundays. Read More
Chhattisgarh reports first Omicron case in Bilaspur. The 52-year-old patient has a travel history to the United Arab Emirates, a government data said. (ANI)
Delhi on Wednesday reported 10,665 fresh Covid-19 cases — highest since May 12 — and eight deaths, as the positivity rate also shot up to 11.88 per cent. With the latest addition, the cumulative caseload has gone up to 14,74,366 while the death toll stood at 25,121. The number of active cases in the capital stands at 23,307. As many as 251 hospital admissions were reported within the day, while the number of patients on ventilator support has gone up to 22 from 14 in a single day. Delhi had reported 5,481 cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday at a test positivity rate of 8.37 per cent.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the national capital was likely to record 10,000 cases today and added that the third wave had set in.
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Centre on Wednesday released revised guidelines for home isolation of mild/asymptomatic Covid-19 cases.
According to the new guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, a patient under home isolation will stand discharged after 7 days from testing positive.
“Patient under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least 7 days have passed from testing positive and no fever for 3 successive days and they shall continue wearing masks. There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over,” said the guidelines.
“Asymptomatic contacts of infected individuals need not undergo Covid test & monitor health in home quarantine,” the guidelines said. Explained
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Mumbai civic body has made rapid RT-PCR test mandatory for the passengers coming from at-risk and high-risk countries and the UAE at the international airport here, a senior civic official said on Wednesday.
A day earlier confusion was created due to misinterpretation of revised guidelines by a civic official who had said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had made rapid RT-PCR test compulsory for all the international passengers landing at the Mumbai airport, sources said.
The guidelines, issued last week, came into effect on Monday. (PTI)
Hong Kong on Wednesday reimposed some of its toughest Covid-19 restrictions, banning flights from eight countries including India until January 21, in a bid to arrest the rising number of Omicron cases.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that travellers from eight countries -- Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK and the US, including via transit -- are banned from returning to the city for two weeks starting Saturday, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Hong Kong is reimposing some of its toughest Covid-19 restrictions across the board covering social activities and international travel, setting a 6-PM curfew on all dine-in services and banning flights from eight countries as it braces for a fifth wave of infections amid Omicron fears, the Post report said. (PTI)
Civil Services (Main) examination, 2021 will be conducted as per schedule from Friday, the UPSC said. States have been asked to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to candidates and examination functionaries in their movement.
Further, the UPSC said that candidates' e-admit cards and identity cards of examination functionaries will be used as movement passes.
Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday ordered fresh curbs which includes state-wide night curfew between 10 pm and 5 am with effect from January 6. A shutdown would be enforced on Sunday (January 9) and only 50 per cent occupancy shall be allowed in buses, suburban trains, and Metrorail, the government said.
All government and privately organised harvest festival 'Pongal' and cultural events are postponed and entertainment and amusement parks would be shutdown, an official release said. Public would not be allowed in all places of worship on three days - Fridays, Saturday and Sunday- a week. The present bar for social, cultural and political congregations would continue to be in place. (PTI)
India on Wednesday recorded the first death linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus after the samples of a man in Rajasthan's Udaipur, who died last week, showed the presence of the variant, sources in the Union health ministry said.
The 73-year-old man, who was found infected with Omicron in genome sequencing and who had tested negative for the infection twice, died in a Udaipur hospital on December 31, they added.
He died due to post-Covid pneumonia coupled with comorbidities -- diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypothyroidism -- Udaipur Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Dinesh Kharadi had said. (PTI)
Amid a spurt in Covid-19 cases in Jharkhand, about 150 police personnel including DG and ADG rank officers have been inflicted with coronavirus, an official said on Wednesday. "While 98 were found Covid-19 positive on Tuesday, about 50 others were affected by the disease today," a senior official told PTI.
Director general, additional director general, inspector general and superintendent of police rank IPS officers are among those who tested positive, the official who did not wish to be quoted said.
Altogether 35 personnel are down with the virus at the premises of the Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police alone. (PTI)
🔴 Surge in Covid-19 cases has been noted globally. 25.2 lakh cases were recorded globally on January 4, highest ever since the onset of the pandemic, the government said.
🔴 India has reported over 6.3 times rise in Covid-19 cases in the last eight days. A sharp increase has been witnessed in the case positivity from 0.79% on 29 Dec 2021 to 5.03% on 5 January 2022
🔴 The states of concern are Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat where there has been a rise in cases.
🔴 28 districts in the country have been reporting more than 10% weekly positivity, while 43 districts have reported weekly positivity between 5-10%.
🔴 1.06 crore (14.3%) of India's adolescents aged 15-18 have been administered 1st dose of Covid vaccine, says government.
The Union health ministry on Wednesday said Covid-19 patients under home isolation will stand discharged after at least seven days from testing positive and no fever for three successive days, in revised guidelines for home isolation of mild or asymptomatic cases. It also advised people not to rush for self-medication, blood investigation or radiological imaging like chest X-ray or CT scan without consultation of treating medical officer.
Underlining that steroids are not indicated in mild disease and should not be self-administered, the ministry said overuse and inappropriate use of steroids may lead to additional complications. Treatment for every patient needs to be monitored individually as per the specific condition of the patient concerned and hence generic sharing of prescriptions should be avoided, the revised guidelines stated.
According to the guidelines, patients under home isolation will stand discharged and end isolation after at least seven days have passed from testing positive and no fever for three successive days, but they shall continue wearing masks. Earlier, the duration of home isolation ended after 10 days of onset of symptoms. There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over. Asymptomatic contacts of infected individuals need not undergo Covid test and monitor health in home quarantine, the guidelines stated. (PTI)
Five IAS officials have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, official sources said.
The officials who have got infected include Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare department, Manoj Aggarwal, Health Commissioner Jai Prakash Shivhare, Principal Cecretary in Finance Department, JP Gupta, Commissioner of Municipalities Rajkumar Beniwal, and Hareet Shukla, chief executive officer of Dholera SIR and Tourism Secretary.
The state government has ordered remaining officials at the secretariat to undergo Covid tests and also restricted entry to the Chief Minister’s office at Gandhinagar. Only those carrying Covid vaccination certificates are allowed to enter. The government has already instructed all staff members and officials to get their second dose of vaccination. (ENS)
With schools in several parts of Maharashtra being ordered to shut down once again, barely a month after they reopened, amid rising Covid cases, education experts termed the decision to shut primary schools impractical and detrimental to the development of children.
Last month, the state government had allowed schools to resume offline classes for Classes I to VIII after continued demands from parents’ groups and educationists.
Former chairman of the state education board and education expert Vasant Kalpande questioned the logic of shutting down schools at a time when all other businesses are on as usual. Read More
With coronavirus infections exceeding 15,000 on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has asked all private hospitals to restore Covid bed numbers to the peak-level that they had during the second wave of the pandemic.
Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal wrote to private hospitals that since 10-12 per cent patients were symptomatic every day, more hospital beds would be required in the days to come. With over 95% cases being detected in non-slum areas, there would be higher demand for private hospital beds because such patients are reluctant to go to corporation-run hospitals, he wrote.
“We are planning for a worst-case scenario, though there is not much demand for beds today,’’ Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal told The Indian Express. Read More