Covid-19 Omicron Variant Live Updates: About 17,000 cases expected today in Delhi, case positivity also expected to decline, says Health Minister Satyendra Jain

Twenty more people, including eight students, residing on the IIT Kharagpur campus have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said on Saturday.

Twelve faculty members and non-teaching staff of the premier institute are among the new patients, he said. “The fresh infections were reported in the last two-three days as authorities have adopted a strategy of testing and tracing to contain the spread of the disease,” Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Registrar Tamal Nath told PTI. Sixty people of the institute, including students and researchers, were found infected with COVID-19 between January 1 and 4. All of them have recovered from the disease and they are now either in isolation or returned to their normal activities, the official said. Most of the newly infected patients have mild symptoms of COVID-19 and the on-campus medical care team is monitoring their condition regularly, he said. None of those who recuperated from the coronavirus infection left the campus, Nath said, adding that the COVID situation has improved. (PTI)

ECI allows political parties to hold indoor meetings with a maximum of 300 persons or 50% of the capacity of the hall.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday appealed to party workers to follow COVID-19 norms. He said the Samajwadi Party will soon declare its candidates for the assembly elections in the state. We have to follow Covid protocols. If these are not followed, questions will be raised, Yadav said a day after police lodged an FIR against 2,500 Samajwadi Party activists for flouting Covid norms. A massive crowd had gathered at the Samajwadi Party office on Friday for the induction ceremony of former BJP minister Swami Prasad Maurya and some MLAs. The in-charge of Gautam Palli Police Station was suspended and a clarification sought from two senior officials. Taking cognisance of the Lucknow district magistrate's report about the violation of the Model Code of Conduct on Covid norms, directives were issued to place Gautam Palli Police Station in-charge Dinesh Singh Bisht into suspension with immediate effect, an official statement issued by the office of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer said. Besides, the commission also sought a clarification from Assistant Commissioner of Police (Lucknow) Akhilesh Singh and Additional City Magistrate (First) Govind Maurya, the statement said. Yadav further said that the SP will soon release the list of candidates for the assembly elections. (PTI)

Engineering Export Promotion Council of India has expressed concern that the spread of Omicron, the new variant of coronavirus, may once again disrupt the global supply chain, which could lead to a slowdown in trading activities. Exports of engineering goods registered a 38 per cent year-on-year growth in December, 2021 to USD 38.4 billion. The sustained growth momentum demonstrates the sector is well on track to grow its market share in the global trade, EEPC India chairman Mahesh Desai said in a statement on Friday. “While the order pipeline has been remarkably good, we could see some slowdown if Omicron disrupts the global supply chain. In the recent weeks, we have seen some signs of volatility and uncertainty due to the ongoing pandemic wave across the world but by putting suitable policy measures in place, the government could provide cushion to trade and business,” Desai said. He called for urgent action on part of the government to reduce soaring raw material prices and logistics costs. “We hope that in the upcoming budget, the government will take appropriate measures to reduce the cost of primary steel, copper, aluminium and other raw materials. This will be a major relief for the sector which is dominated by micro, small and medium enterprises,” he said. Some policy push now would keep the industry ready to take challenges in future and set higher export targets next financial year, he added. (PTI)

Although the number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi rose almost by nine times between January 1 and 14, the percentage of patients on ventilator support in city hospitals grew only by double during the same period, government data showed. During the second wave of coronavirus when the number of cases were on similar lines, the hospitalisation rate and those on ventilator support was higher, officials said. The city government has, at various stages, said that people developing serious illness are mostly those who are unvaccinated and have comorbidities. Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain had earlier this week said that though the cases are increasing, the hospitalisation rate has stabilised which indicates that the wave has plateaued. According to the data provided by the government, on January 1, there were 2,716 Covid cases, while on January 14, the number of cases was 24,383. Similarly, on January 1, the hospital occupancy was 247, out of which five patients were on ventilator support (2.02 per cent), while on January 14, the hospital bed occupancy was 2,529, out of which 99 patients (3.91 per cent) were on ventilator. It shows that the number of cases rose by 8.9 times between January 1 and 14, but the percentage of Covid patients on ventilator support saw only a two-fold rise. An official of the health department said the data clarifies that the growth rate of percentage of ventilator patients with respect to total hospitalisation is very low. Only those Covid patients who have comorbidity require ventilator support, but we still have to exercise caution, the official said. On January 5, the number of Covid cases was 10,655, while 5,782 patients were admitted in hospitals and out of which only 2.81 per cent (22 patients) were on ventilator support. Similarly on January 10, the city reported 19,166 Covid cases, while the hospital bed occupancy was 1,999 out of which only 3.25 per cent (65 patients) required ventilator support. On January 13, the number of cases was 28,867, the highest since the pandemic began, while the bed occupancy was 2,424, out of which 98 patients (4.04 per cent) were on ventilator. Jain had on Wednesday claimed that hospital admissions have stabilised indicating the current wave has peaked and cases may start declining soon. “We have observed that the number of hospital admissions has stabilised in the last four to five days… Plateauing of hospital admissions is an indication that the wave has peaked. We may see a decline in cases in two to three days,” he said. Jain added that most of those who have died in the ongoing surge of infections had comorbidities and very few deaths have taken place due to coronavirus. “People with comorbidities are facing more problems, not many people are coming to hospitals for treatment of coronavirus,” he said. (PTI)

Bengal extends COVID-19 restrictions till Jan 31; allows fairs on open grounds in very restricted manner with adherence to safety norms: Official order. (PTI)

Athletes will need to be vaccinated — or face a long quarantine — take tests daily and wear masks when not competing or training. Clapping is OK to cheer on teammates, not chanting. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be sent into isolation and unable to compete until cleared for discharge. Welcome to the Beijing Olympics, where strict containment measures will aim to create a virus-proof “bubble” for thousands of international visitors at a time when omicron is fueling infections globally. The prevention protocols will be similar to those at the Tokyo Games this summer, but much tighter. That won't be a stretch in Beijing, with China having maintained a “Zero COVID” policy since early in the pandemic. Still, China's ability to stick to its zero-tolerance approach nationally is already being tested by the highly transmissible omicron variant, which is more contagious than earlier variants of the virus and better able to evade protection from vaccines. With just weeks to go before the Feb. 4 start of the Games, more than 20 million people in six cities are under lockdown after recent outbreaks. (AP)

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said that it seems the national capital has reached its peak in COVID-19 infections and the government will think of easing restrictions when the cases decline to touch 15,000. He said Delhi is expected to record around 20,000 cases on Saturday, less than Friday's figure of 24,383. On Thursday, there were 28,867 cases recorded in Delhi, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. “We can say that Delhi has reached a peak in terms of cases. Cases have started slowing down. Let's see when the decline happens,” he told reporters. He reiterated that the hospitalisation rate has stabilised in Delhi. (PTI)

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to take a toll on the Yonex-Sunrise India Open badminton tournament with two players being withdrawn from the main draw ahead of their mixed doubles semifinal clash here on Saturday. Second seeded Russian mixed doubles player Rodion Alimov tested positive for the virus and was withdrawn from the USD 400,000 tournament. His mixed doubles partner Alina Davletova was also withdrawn after being identified as a close contact. Indonesian pair of Yong Kai Terry Hee and Wei Han Tan thus made it to the mixed doubles final after getting a walkover. “Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm that one player from the current draw has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been withdrawn from the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2022,” the world's governing body BWF said in a statement. (PTI)