Coronavirus Vaccine Registration, Coronavirus Omicron Variant Cases in India January 15 News Highlights: India seems to be heading into the third wave of the Coronavirus pandemic as daily count of Covid-19 cases is rapidly increasing on account of the new Omicron variant. According to the Union Health Ministry’s bulletin, India recorded 2,68,833 new cases in the last 24 hours, more than double the number of recoveries which stand at 1,22,684. With this, the active caseload in India has reached 14,17,820. India, so far, has 6,041 confirmed cases of Omicron, with a daily increase of 5%. The variant, which is highly transmissible, is suspected to be the reason behind the rapid increase in cases, with the numbers increasing much faster than they did even with the Delta wave last year. Amid this wave, India’s recovery rate has declined to 94.83% from 95.20% a day ago.
The number of Omicron cases in the country surged to 6,041. The daily positivity rate was 16.66% while the weekly positivity rate was 12.84%. The number of active cases has increased to 14,17,820, the highest in 223 days, and now accounts for 3.85% of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 94.83%, according to the Health Ministry’s data on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the vaccination drive is still going strong, with now, children between the ages of 15 to 18 years also having been added to the population that can be vaccinated. So far, 156.02 crore doses of vaccines have been administered in the country since the inoculation drive began in January last year. This includes young adults and priority groups who are now getting a third precautionary dose as protection against Omicron.
Stay tuned as Financial Express Online brings you the latest coronavirus updates.
West Bengal's COVID-19 tally rose to 18,82,761 on Saturday as 19,064 more people tested positive for the infection, 3,581 less than the previous day, a health bulletin said. The state's coronavirus death toll rose to 20,052 as 39 more patients succumbed to the infection, the highest single-day toll since the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, it said. West Bengal's positivity rate slightly improved to 29.52 per cent from 31.14 per cent on the previous day, the bulletin said. Kolkata recorded 4,831 new cases, 2,036 less than the previous day, followed by 3,496 infections in neighbouring North 24 Parganas district, it said. The metropolis registered the highest number of fresh fatalities at 12, followed by 10 in North 24 Parganas, it said. PTI
Mumbai on Saturday reported 11 new coronavirus-related deaths, the highest single-day toll since July 29 last year, and 10,661 fresh infections, the civic body said. As many as 21,474 patients were discharged, taking the total of recoveries to 8,99,358. The number of new infected patients has been decreasing for the last three days, as per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) data. Further, only 722 of the new 10, 661 patients found during the day were admitted to hospitals, which raised the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients to 5,962. As many as 8,955 or 84 per cent of the new patients were asymptomatic. The city on July 29, 2021, had reported 13 deaths and the mortality figure had started declining after that. – PTI
Uttar Pradesh on Saturday reported 15,795 fresh coronavirus infections that pushed its active caseload to 95,148, while four more fatalities pushed the death toll to 22,953, an official statement issued here said. Lucknow reported the highest number of fresh cases at 2,769, followed by 1,873 from Gautam Budh Nagar, 1,371 from Ghaziabad and 1,135 from Meerut, among other districts, it said. With the new infections, Uttar Pradesh's coronavirus tally stands at 18,16,974. The latest deaths were reported from Lucknow, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Mainpuri, the statement said. As many as 5,031 more coronavirus patients have recuperated from the viral infection, taking the total number of recoveries to 16,98,873, it said. So far, over 9.60 crore tests, including 2.58 lakh done the previous day, have been conducted for the detection of COVID-19 in the state, it said. PTI
Pakistan's civil aviation authority on Saturday announced a ban on serving snacks and meals in flights amid a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases across the country fuelled predominantly by the Omicron variant. The directives came in line with the country's COVID-19 task force, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), which has said that the ban would be effective from January 17. On Saturday, the NCOC held meetings with various stakeholders to discuss the current coronavirus situation in the country. After consultations, it directed the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure a complete ban on in-flight snacks and meals, and ensured other standard operating procedures such as wearing masks were implemented at all airports across the country.
The Chinese capital Beijing on Saturday reported its first locally transmitted infection of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant, according to state media, just weeks ahead of its staging of the Olympic Winter Games.State television reported on Saturday that the new infection had been identified as the Omicron strain.Lab testing found “mutations specific to the Omicron variant” in the person, Pang Xinghuo, an official at the city's disease control authority, told a news briefing.Officials have sealed up the infected person's residential compound and workplace, and collected 2,430 samples for testing from people linked to the two locations, a Haidian district official said.The detection of the Omicron variant Beijing came as cities across the country ratchet up viral vigilance ahead of the Winter Olympics, due to start Feb. 4.Authorities have also warned that Omicron adds to the increased risk of COVID-19 transmission as more people travel across the country and return to China from overseas for the Lunar New Year holiday starting at the end of the month. – Reuters
Indonesia reported 1,054 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the highest daily increase in three months, as the government braces for a new wave of coronavirus infections driven by the spread of the Omicron variant.The world's fourth most populous country grappled with a devastating second wave of infections in July, driven by the spread of the Delta variant.Daily case numbers dropped to around 200 by December, before rising this month amid reports of local transmission of the Omicron variant.”Local transmission has been found and Jakarta has become an infection cluster,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a statement on Saturday. – Reuters
The Arignar Anna Zoological Park here, popularly known as the 'Vandalur zoo', would be closed to the public till January 31, a senior official said here on Saturday. To avoid rapid spread of Covid, the zoological park would be closed to public from January 17 to 31, an official release said. The AAZP is located in the southern suburb of Vandalur and it is among the key attractions of the metropolis. A press release from the office of the Director of the AAZP said that the situation would be reviewed on January 31 and an appropriate decision shall be taken. Like last Sunday, a shutdown would be enforced on January 16 too in Tamil Nadu and restrictions like night curew are already in place to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. PTI
Karnataka has effectively leveraged technology in COVID battle and so far about 2.5 lakh healthcare and frontline staff have been trained through online platforms, Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Saturday. He said, this is a model for the entire country. The Minister today inaugurated the virtual training programme being conducted in association with StepOne for about 10,000 medical, dental and Ayush students to train them in home isolation care and addressed the students. PTI
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)
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)
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.
COVID19 | Delhi reports 20,718 new cases & 30 deaths in last 24 hours; Active cases rise to 93,407. Positivity rate remains at 30.64% (ANI)
— ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2022
Mizoram reports 477 new cases today; Active case tally at 8,048 (ANI)
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)
— ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2022
— ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2022
Amid the scare caused by the Omicron variant of coronavirus, a senior official of the Maharashtra health department has said that the Delta strain of the virus still accounts for the maximum number of infection cases in the state as revealed by the genome sequencing of the patients' samples. Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary of the health department, in a letter written to his colleagues on Wednesday said that the Delta variant was found in 68 per cent samples, out of the over 4,200 analysed, while the remaining 32 per cent patients were found infected with the Omicron strain. The Delta variant had wreaked havoc during the second wave of the pandemic last year. The Omicron strain, which was first detected in South Africa in November 2021, started spreading in India from the first week of December. Till Friday night, Maharashtra has reported 1,605 Omicron cases, while its overall COVID-19 infection tally has jumped to 71,24,278. “Since November 1 last year, the samples of 4,265 COVID-19 patients were sent for genome sequencing. The results of 4,201 cases have been issued, which indicate that Omicron variant was detected in 1,367 cases or in 32 per cent, while the prevalence of Delta variant was found in the remaining 68 per cent cases,” Dr Vyas said in the letter. It also said that of the 2,40,133 active coronavirus cases in Maharashtra till Wednesday (January 12), 90 per cent patients were in home isolation or in COVID Care Centres. (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)
The West Bengal government on Saturday extended the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions till January 31, allowing fairs on open grounds in a very restricted manner with strict adherence to safety norms, an official order said. The state government also allowed marriage functions with a maximum of 200 attendees or 50 per cent of the venue's capacity, whichever is lesser, it said. “Restrictions and relaxation measures and advisory as already stand extended up to 31/01/2022. Marriage-related functions with a maximum of 200 people at a time or 50 per cent seating capacity of the hall/venue whichever is lower. Mela/fair may be allowed in open air venues in a very restricted manner, following COVID-19 protocols,” the order issued by Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi said. All outdoor activities including the movement of people and vehicles shall be strictly prohibited between 10 PM and 5 AM except for health, law and order, transport of essential commodities including agricultural produce, and other emergency services. The order asked district administrations, police and local authorities to ensure strict compliance with the directives. (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)
Kerala confirmed 48 new Omicron cases on Saturday, taking the total infected in the state with the new variant of COVID-19 to 528, the health department said. State health minister Veena George said out of the 48 cases, 33 came from low-risk countries while two were from high-risk nations. While nine contracted the disease from their contacts, four people are from other states. Out of those who were found infected with the new variant, 12 people are in Kozhikode district, 9 in Ernakulam, 7 in Thrissur, 6 in Thiruvananthapuram, 4 in Kottayam and 2 in Malappuram. Kollam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Palakkad and Wayanad districts have one case each, the health department said in a release. The health department also said there are three Tamil Nadu natives among the infected. (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)
Unvaccinated children in the 15 to 18 age group will not be allowed to enter schools: Haryana minister Anil Vij (ANI)
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)
The West Bengal Election Commission on Saturday postponed polls to four municipal corporations by three weeks to February 12 in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases. According to a notification issued by the SEC, polls to Siliguri Municipal Corporation, Chandernagore Municipal Corporation, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation and Asansol Municipal Corporation would now be held on February 12 instead of January 22. (PTI)
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 Philippine health ministry confirmed the local spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant around Manila on Saturday, as infections hit a record high for a third straight day. “We are seeing community transmission of the Omicron variant in the capital region,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a public briefing. The region is an urban sprawl of 16 cities home to more than 13 million people. The community transmission of the Omicron variant is characterised by a steep rise in cases, Vergeire said, adding that infections may peak from the end of this month to mid-February. The ministry reported 39,004 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, while active cases also hit a record, at 280,813. With more than 3.16 million cases and nearly 53,000 deaths, the Philippines has the highest COVID-19 infections and casualties in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. (Reuters)
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)
We have decided that everyone purchasing self-test kits will have to provide their Aadhar cards to the chemists to maintain a record. If anyone tests positive they must inform the authorities and update this online: Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar (ANI)
RUSSIA REPORTS 27,179 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES IN PAST 24 HOURS (Reuters)
US health officials on Friday encouraged more Americans to wear the kind of N95 or KN95 masks used by health-care workers to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Those kinds of masks are considered better at filtering the air. But they were in short supply previously, and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention officials had said they should be prioritised for health care workers. In updated guidance posted late Friday afternoon, CDC officials removed concerns related to supply shortages and more clearly said that properly fitted N95 and KN95 masks offer the most protection. (AP)
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☑️Together we can win the battle against #covid19.#we4vaccine#largestvaccinationdrive#unite2fightcorona pic.twitter.com/DBJO55PpMM
— #indiafightscorona (@COVIDNewsByMIB) January 15, 2022
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty on Saturday said there was no considerable spread of COVID-19 among students in the state and the government's decision to put on hold the offline classes for students of grade 1 to 9 for two weeks was a precautionary step as the viral infection saw a surge in recent days. The classes would be suspended for two weeks as a precaution and it was applicable to all educational institutions in the southern state, he told a press conference here. Noting that the safety of children was of paramount importance to the government, he said the timetable of the online classes would be restructured as per the new decision. However, there would be no change in the offline classes of 10th, 11th and 12th standards and special arrangements would be made for those children coming to schools, he said. (PTI)
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday imposed “complete restriction on non-essential movement” during weekends in the Union Territory amid a surge in Covid cases that rose by 2,456 a day earlier. The district authorities swung into action immediately, closing down markets and asking people to return to their homes. Announcing the decision of the State Executive Committee (SEC), which met under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary A K Mehta, officials said night curfew and online mode of teaching in schools and colleges will continue. After a weekly review of the COVID-19 situation, Mehta said there was a need for additional steps besides continuing with the existing Covid containment measures in all districts given the uneven trend in daily cases as well as rising positivity rate. “There shall be a complete restriction on non-essential movement during weekends in entire Jammu and Kashmir,” Mehta said in his latest order. Following the order, Deputy Commissioner of Jammu Anshul Garg, in a tweet, said the complete restrictions on non-essential movements in the district is from Fridays 9 pm to Mondays 6 am. (PTI)
Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa reported record daily numbers of COVID-19 cases on Saturday, fueled by the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Okinawa, which hosts 70% of U.S. military facilities in Japan, said it recorded 1,829 new coronavirus cases on Saturday. The governor of the prefecture, Denny Tamaki, previously said he was “furious” about what he called inadequate infection controls at U.S. bases that allowed the variant to spread to the public. Japan has since stepped up coronavirus restrictions in three regions that host U.S. military facilities, which have also announced stricter infection controls. Though Japan halted the entry of almost all foreign travellers into the country last November, the U.S. military moves staff in and out of the country under a separate testing and quarantine regime. Public broadcaster NHK said the western prefecture of Osaka was likely to also see record daily cases on Saturday exceeding 3,000 cases. (Reuters)
Evidence of early community transmission of Omicron (B1.1.529) in Delhi: Department of Clinical Virology at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi (ANI)
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 8,538 as 73 more people tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours, a health department official said on Saturday. Twenty-seven new patients have travel history, while 46 infections were detected during contact tracing, he said. The Union Territory had on Thursday reported 68 fresh cases. Sixty-three more people recuperated from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 7,938. (PTI)
The West Bengal government is likely to cancel a rally to mark legendary freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary on January 23 as well as curtail the Repuplic Day programme on Red Road here, owing to the surge in COVID-19 cases, a state secretariat source said on Saturday. Discussions regarding the possible measures were held during a meeting of senior officials, including Chief secretary H K Dwivedi and Home Secretary B P Gopalika late on Friday, he said. (PTI)
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar continues to remain under observation in the ICU of a city hospital here, the doctor treating her said on Saturday. The 92-year-old singer tested positive for coronavirus with mild symptoms and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai last week. Associate professor Dr Pratit Samdani from the Breach Candy Hospital said Mangeshkar will continue to remain in the hospital for some time. (PTI)
Puducherry reported 1,213 fresh Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours ending 10 a.m. on Saturday pushing the cumulative positives to 1,36,550. The test positivity rate shot up to 51.75 percent while fatality and recovery rates were 1.38 percent and 93.65 percent respectively. The new cases were identified at the end of examination of 2344 samples and the cases were spread over Puducherry 1100, Karaikal 93, Mahe 17 and Yanam three. (PTI)
Ladakh's coronavirus caseload increased to 23,079 on Saturday as 106 more people tested positive for the virus, officials said. Eighty-six of the new cases were reported from Leh district and 20 from Kargil district, they said. According to the officials, the COVID-19 death toll in the Union territory stands at 222 — 164 fatalities in Leh and 58 in Kargil. (PTI)
In view of the rising cases of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, the state government has banned visitors from meeting prison inmates till the end of March this year in an attempt to prevent the spread of infection. An order to this effect was an issued by the state jail department on Friday. “In a bid to prevent the spread of the pandemic inside the prisons, the visits of friends, family members and acquaintances of jail inmates will remain banned till March 31. The jail inmates will continue to avail the facility of e-meeting (through video calls) and incoming phone calls,” the order read. From November 1 last year, visitors were allowed to meet the inmates of jails in the state after a decline in coronavirus cases. (PTI)
Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday recorded 89 new COVID-19 cases, 39 less than the previous day, with the caseload mounting to 56,227, a health department official said. Of the fresh cases, 26 were reported from the Capital Complex Region, 24 from West Kameng district, 13 from Changlang, seven from Papum Pare and six from Lohit, he said. Five new infections were also registered in Lower Subansiri district, three in Lower Siang and one each in Lower Dibang Valley, Namsai, Tawang, Tirap and West Siang. The death toll remained at 282 as no fresh fatality due to the disease was reported in the past 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said. (PTI)
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday imposed “complete restriction on non-essential movement” during weekends in the Union Territory amid a surge in Covid cases that rose by 2,456 a day earlier. Announcing the decision of the State Executive Committee (SEC), which met under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary A K Mehta, officials said night curfew and online mode of teaching in schools and colleges will continue. After a weekly review of the COVID-19 situation, Mehta said there was a need for additional steps besides continuing with the existing Covid containment measures in all districts given the uneven trend in daily cases as well as rising positivity rate. (PTI)
Brazil reported 112,286 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 251 COVID-19 deaths, the Health Ministry said on Friday. The country has now registered 22,927,203 cases since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, while the official death toll has risen to 620,796, according to ministry data. Friday's number of new cases is the highest since June 23 last year in regular records and represents a huge leap from the same day of the week last year, when 63,292 cases were recorded. Brazil has the third highest number of deaths from COVID-19, behind the United States and Russia, and the third most confirmed cases, after the United States and India. (Reuters)
Australia has likely neared the peak of its Omicron wave, authorities said on Saturday but warned daily infections will linger near record levels for “the next few weeks” after more than 100,000 cases were reported for a fourth straight day. Having limited the spread of the coronavirus through tough restrictions earlier in the pandemic, Australia is now suffering record caseloads from the Omicron variant. Most parts of the country have shifted to a strategy of living with the virus as they reached higher vaccination rates. More than 1.2 million infections have been recorded this year, compared with 200,000 for 2020 and 2021 combined. (Reuters)
A case has been registered by Uttar Pradesh Police after a massive crowd, in violation of Covid norms, gathered at the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow on Friday for the joining-in function of two rebel ministers and some MLAs. The FIR against Samajwadi Party was registered according to the directives of the Election Commission on Covid-related norms and Model Code of Conduct. Former ministers — Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini — besides five BJP MLAs and one from the Apna Dal (Sonelal) joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the presence of its president Akhilesh Yadav. READ MORE
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