Vaccination status of passengers being checked onboard a public bus in Pune.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry, in its latest guidelines for the management of Covid-19 in children and adolescents, advised against the use of antivirals and monoclonal antibodies for those below the age of 18. India reported more than 3.17 lakh (3,17,532) new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on Thursday, marking a 12 per cent increase in fresh cases since Wednesday. The country’s active caseload currently stands at 19,24,051, while the recovery rate stands at 93.69 per cent. The total tally of Omicron cases rose to 9,287 on Thursday, 3.63 per cent higher than yesterday. As many as 491 Covid patients succumbed to the deadly infection in a day.
Here are some major Covid updates: As the recent Omicron-fuelled third wave in Maharashtra has started to show signs of plateauing, the state government has decided to start reopening schools for students of classes 1-12 from Monday onwards. Meanwhile, the Covid test positivity rate has surged to 37 per cent in Kerala, as the Omicron-fuelled third wave continues to surge across the coastal state. "Next three weeks would be critical for Kerala," said state health minister Veena George. In other news, Data show a sharp gender gap in vaccination, particularly in the country’s top metros. India has clocked over 158 crore vaccines – first, second and precaution doses taken together — until January 18, at a ratio of 954 women for every 1,000 men.
In Covid year, a third of Gujarat Board’s Class 10 students got grace marks to pass Over a third of the 8.5 lakh Class 10 students of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) who were promoted to Class 11 in the 2020-2021 academic year had to be given grace marks for them to get past the threshold of 33 per cent that’s required to pass.
Of the 2.66 lakh students who got grace marks, around 170 of them got up to 200 extra marks — 231 is the minimum pass marks — and nearly 9,400 students got over 100 grace marks, data accessed by The Indian Express show.
In a pandemic year, when learning took a hit and the CBSE and most state Boards, including GSHSEB, cancelled the Class 10 and 12 term-end exams, the findings, showing how mass promotions were facilitated, are significant since they are likely to be mirrored across the country.
Explained: The global toll of bacterial resistance to drugs Hundreds of thousands of deaths occur today due to previously treatable infections — such as lower respiratory and bloodstream infections — because the bacteria that cause them have become resistant to treatment. A comprehensive estimate of the global impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), covering 204 countries and territories and published in The Lancet, has found that 1.27 million people died in 2019 as a direct result of AMR, which is now a leading cause of death worldwide, higher than HIV/AIDS or malaria.
The analysis
The Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) report used statistical modelling to estimate deaths linked to 23 pathogens and 88 pathogen-drug combinations. Apart from 12.7 lakh deaths caused directly by AMR (these would not have occurred had the infections been drug-susceptible), another 49.5 lakh deaths were associated with AMR (a drug-resistant infection was implicated, but resistance itself may or may not have been the direct cause of death). HIV/AIDS and malaria were estimated to have caused 8.6 lakh and 6.4 lakh deaths respectively in 2019.
Delhi on Thursday had reported 12,306 Covid cases and 43 fatalities, while Mumbai had reported 5,708 cases and 12 fatalities. (File)
Tamil Nadu recorded 29,870 new Covid-19 cases and 33 deaths on Friday. With 21,684 people recovering from the virus on Friday, the active case toll stood at 1,87,358 on Friday evening.
Haryana reported 9,655 fresh Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths on Friday. The number of recoveries were 9,247 making the active Covid cases tally 62,016.
Mumbai on Friday reported 5,008 new coronavirus cases, 700 less than the previous day, and 12 fresh fatalities linked to the infection, the city civic body said.
With this, the city's Covid-19 tally rose to 10,28,715, while the death toll jumped to 16,512, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) bulletin said.
This was the third day in a row when daily Covid-19 cases have dropped in the financial capital. On Thursday, 5,708 Covid-19 cases and 12 fatalities were reported in the city. (PTI)
Delhi logged 10,756 Covid cases in a single day and 38 more fatalities due to the infection, while the positivity rate declined to 18.04 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Friday.
According to officials, 59,629 Covid tests were conducted on Thursday, as against 57,290 a day ago.
Delhi on Thursday reported 12,306 Covid cases and 43 fatalities, while the positivity rate was 21.48 per cent. (PTI)
With a decline in the daily Covid-19 cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday allowed private offices to function with 50 per cent staff but maintained that weekend curfew and other restrictions, including odd-even rule for opening shops in city markets will continue, an order said.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi government proposed lifting the weekend curfew and ending the odd-even scheme for opening shops in view of the coronavirus situation but Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal directed that status quo be maintained on the restrictions till the situation is better.
The LG office, however, approved the government's proposal to allow private offices to function with 50 per cent staff.
The order issued by the DDMA said it has been observed that as the number of COVID-19 cases and positivity rate are witnessing a decline, some prohibitions or restrictions may be revised in areas outside containment zones. (PTI)
The Centre has sought clarification from Kerala over its Covid death reporting mechanism, saying daily reconciliation of large numbers leads to an overall skewed scenario of Covid-19 mortality, further impacting planning for public health response.
In a letter to the state government, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said Kerala has reported a total of 20,563 reconciled Covid deaths since October 22, 2021. He drew the state government's attention to the ministry's letter dated November 12, 2021 and further reiterations during review meetings, where states were advised to ensure that all backlog deaths are reconciled and updated at once including the date of death.
Kerala has been consistently publishing data on "reconciled deaths" since October 22 last year, and "a total of 20,563 reconciled deaths so far have been reported by Kerala", Bhushan said in his letter addressed to Principal Secretary (Health) Rajan N Khobragade.
"It is not clear if these are over and above the deaths reported so far or there is an overlap," Bhushan said. (PTI)
Karnataka on Friday registered 48,049 new Covid-19 infections along with 22 deaths and 18,115 recoveries. The capital, Bengaluru alone logged 29,068 fresh cases and six deaths.
The state currently has 3,23,143 active cases majority of which are from Bengaluru.
For LIVE updates from Karnataka follow: Karnataka Bengaluru News Live
Kerala on Friday reported 54 more Omicron, a variant of coronavirus, and took the total affected by the variant to 761, said the State Health Department.
Of the 54, one, belonging to Karnataka, came to Kerala from the UAE.
"Out of those infected today, 35 were from low-risk nations and seven from a high-risk country. One patient reached the State from outside it and 11 contracted the disease through their contacts," the department said in a press release. (PTI)
Delhi on Friday registered 10,756 new Covid-19 cases along with 38 deaths. The test positivity rate of the national capital went down to 18 per cent.
The Indian government has increased the limit of registering on Co-WIN using one mobile number from four members to six numbers on Friday.
Kerala on Friday logged 41,668 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the total caseload to 55,29,566, a day after registering 46,387 cases, the highest single day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.
The health department said the state tested 95,218 samples in the last 24 hours and there are 2,23,548 active Covid-19 cases.
However, in a relief to the state's health sector, only 3 per cent are admitted to the hospitals. (PTI)
Tripura's COVID-19 tally soared to 96,422 on Friday as 1,034 people tested positive for the infection, 151 less than the previous day, an official said. The state's coronavirus death toll rose to 857 as five more patients succumbed to the disease.
West Tripura district, under which Agartala falls, registered the highest number of new cases at 395, followed by 122 in South Tripura and 112 in North Tripura. Four fresh fatalities were recorded in West Tripura and one in Gomati, he said. (PTI)
Scientists in the US have identified tiny natural bubbles containing the ACE2 protein (evACE2) in the blood of Covid-19 patients that can block infection from broad strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The evACE2 are lipid vesicles in nanoparticle size that express the ACE2 protein on cells. These bubbles act as decoys to lure the SARS-CoV-2 virus away from the ACE2 protein, which acts as a gateway for the virus to infect cells.
The evACE2 can serve as a therapeutic to be developed for prevention and treatment for current and future strains of SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent coronaviruses, the researchers said. (PTI)
Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma took to Twitter on Friday to inform that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
He said, "I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am isolating myself for the required time. I have mild symptoms. All those who came into contact with me last few days are requested to observe their symptoms and test if necessary."
Isolation facility would not be mandatory for international travellers arriving from at-risk countries from January 22, said Union Health Ministry in a statement.
"If tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at INSACOG laboratory network. They shall be treated/isolated as per laid down standard protocol."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced that there will be a complete lockdown in the state on January 23 due to rising Covid-19 cases.
Poland's deputy health minister said Friday the nation hit a Covid-19 pandemic record of 36,665 new infections reported in 24 hours.
Waldemar Kraska said that 1,390 among the new cases were confirmed as caused by the highly contagious omicron variant.
Health care authorities are expecting up to 50,000 new daily infections next week, saying the fifth wave will be a tough challenge to the system, which has some 31,000 hospital beds prepared for coronavirus patients. (AP)
Covid-19 testing starts after a week-long break at Anand Vihar Railway Station in New Delhi.
After a two hours long meeting with TAC members and senior officials chaired by CM Basavaraj Bommai, Revenue Minister R Ashoka said weekend curfew across the state has been withdrawn by the government. Ashoka added that the night curfew will continue to be imposed in the state.
Russia on Friday reported a new record number of Covid-19 confirmed in the past 24 hours as the Omicron variant of the virus spread across the country, the government coronavirus task force said.
Daily new cases jumped to 49,513, from 38,850 a day earlier. The task force also reported 692 deaths. (Reuters)