Omicron Variant Cases and Deaths in India, Covid-19 Booster Vaccine Registration January 25 Latest Update: First, some good news! India on Tuesday recorded less than 3 lakh Covid cases, the official data shows. The decline is continuing for the last 48 hours. Around 30,000 fewer infections were detected on Monday, which brought the national Covid tally closer to 3-lakh mark. On Tuesday, it further declined to 2,55,874 Covid-19 infections. This is 50,190 cases less than Monday. Other indicators such as positivity rate and active cases have also improved. India’s positivity rate as of January 25 stands at 15.52 per cent. On Monday, this figure was at 20.75 per cent. On the other hand, the number of active cases has also dropped to 22,36,842. However, it is the fatalities figure that is still in alarming red. The government report shows that 614 people succumbed to Covid-related issues in the span of 1 day. These are much higher Covid deaths than what India saw on Monday. There has been an increase of over 200 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours.
Is the notion of ‘mild’ effects helping in spread of Omicron variant? The data says so. Scientists have repeatedly said that it’s is much more transmissible than the Delta variant of the Coronavirus. Yet, it has resulted in any greater degree of mask discipline among people either in India or around the globe. Talking about situation at home, latest study has said that India will see the worst of Omicron-led third wave in about next 15 days with numbers reaching the peak. The weekend saw a consistent trend of over 3 lakh cases each day. To add to the grim scenario, the latest observation by INSACOG has revealed that the community spread is happening in several metro cities in India. While local authorities have refuted the claims of lesser testing, the data suggest that every time we see fewer cases, the tests conducted in the region also show a decline.
Elsewhere, China is still grappling with the contagion as it readies for the Winter Olympics. Europe is also looking at new surge. Omicron has also spread in New Zealand resulting in PM Jacidna Adern cancelling her wedding plans.
Watch this space for latest, verified Omicron-Coronavirus updates from India and across the world:
Coronavirus India Live News: Covid-19 Omicron Cases in India Live Count, Coronavirus Lockdown, Omicron Latest News Today, Omicron Lockdown News, Omicron Night Curfew Guidelines and Restrictions Live Updates January 25 latest Covid news
The US on Tuesday advised its citizens to reconsider any travel to India due to the current high level of COVID-19 cases in the country. The latest travel advisory from the US State Department also advised them to exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism. The new advisory comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level-3 Travel Health Notice for India due to COVID-19, indicating a high level of COVID-19 in the country. (PTI)
Twenty-two more people died from coronavirus in Rajasthan on Tuesday as 9,771 new cases pushed the state's infection count to 11,49,153. Till now, 9,140 people have died from the infection in the state, according to an official report. Eight deaths were reported from Jaipur, followed by three in Bikaner, two in Jodhpur and one each in Ajmer, Alwar, Bundi, Dausa, Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Jhalawar, Kota and Nagaur. (PTI)
Pfizer is enrolling healthy adults to test a reformulated COVID-19 vaccine that matches the hugely contagious omicron variant, to see how it compares with the original shots. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech announced the study on Tuesday. COVID-19 vaccine-makers have been updating their shots to better match omicron in case global health authorities decide the change is needed. (PTI)
Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 count rose to 11,05,132 on Tuesday with an addition of 4,914 fresh cases, while the death toll rose to 13,769 after 23 more patients succumbed to the infection in the state, an official said. The daily figure was marginally up from 4,509 cases registered on Monday. The state's case positivity rate was 10.45 per cent, he said. The rate indicates the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested. The number of recoveries reached 10,61,109 after 216 people were discharged from hospitals, while 5,495 others completed their home isolation during the day, the official said. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh's COVID-19 death toll rose to 23,088 on Tuesday with 15 more fatalities, while the infection tally reached 19,69,368 following detection of 11,583 new cases, officials said. Of the 15 deaths, two each were reported from Ghaziabad and Moradabad, they said. In the last 24 hours, 18,875 COVID-19 patients recovered from the disease, taking the total number of recoveries so far in the state to 18,59,717. (PTI)
Eighteen more people died of COVID-19 in Haryana on Tuesday as 6,029 fresh cases surfaced, pushing the state's infection count to 9,20,855, a Health Department bulletin said. So far, 10,212 people have died of the infection in the state. The worst-hit Gurugram district reported 2,030 fresh cases. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 33,914 new coronavirus cases, including 13 of the Omicron variant, and a sharp jump in deaths at 86, the state health department said. The daily figure is a jump of 5,628 from 28,286 coronavirus cases registered a day ago. On Monday, the state had recorded 36 deaths linked to the infection. The department said 30,500 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, taking their cumulative number to 71,20,436. The coronavirus recovery rate in the state is 94.07 per cent. (PTI)
Schools to open for students of classes 10th, 11th & 12th from Feb 1 in Haryana: State Education Minister Kanwar Pal (ANI)
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus laid out more plans Tuesday to fight the virus as he pitched his case for a new five-year term and faced criticism from his own country 'Ethiopia' over his comments about the embattled Tigray region. Tedros, who like many Ethiopians goes by his first name, is running unopposed for a second term as WHO director-general. That makes his presentation to the U.N. health agency's executive board a bit of a formality, since he is all but certain to win re-election when the WHO Assembly takes place in May. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Tuesday continued to record a marginal decline in new Covid-19 cases with 30,055 infections, pushing the caseload to 31,94,260, while 48 more fatalities took the death toll to 37,312, the health department said. With 25,221 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, recoveries climbed to 29,45,678 leaving 2,11,270 active infections, a medical bulletin said. (PTI)
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 163.49 crore on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said. More than 51 lakh (51,64,473) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm. Over 93 lakh (93,53,837) precaution doses have been given to healthcare workers, frontline workers and citizens aged 60 and above with comorbidities so far. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 9,14,195 on Tuesday after the detection of 9,451 new cases, while the toll increased to 10,583 with seven patients succumbing to the infection in the last 24 hours, a health department official said. The positivity rate remained unchanged at 13.0 per cent on Tuesday, he said. The recovery count was 8,32,742 after 8,467 people were discharged from hospitals during the day, leaving the state with an active caseload of 70,870, he said. (PTI)
Nagaland on Tuesday logged 164 new COVID-19 cases, 95 more than the previous day, with the tally rising to 33,818, a health official said. One more fatality due to the infection raised the death toll to 708, he said. Nagaland now has 775 active cases, while 30,987 people have recuperated from the disease so far, including 68 in the last 24 hours, the official said. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday recorded 6,570 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest single-day spike since the pandemic began, taking the infection tally to 4,09,166, while 14 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 1,555 were from the Jammu division and 5,015 from the Kashmir division of the Union Territory, the officials said. This is the highest single-day spike in fresh cases since the first Covid case was detected in Kashmir in March 2020, surpassing the previous high of 6,568 infection on January 22 this year. (PTI)
Gujarat reported 16,608 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising its overall tally to 10,92,968, while 28 more patients succumbed to the infection in the state, the health department said. The daily figure was higher than a day ago (13,805), but lower than over 20,000 cases reported for four consecutive days last week. With 28 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the statewide coronavirus toll rose to 10,302, said the department in a release. (PTI)
After fresh infections dropped over the past two days, the number of discharges overtook new coronavirus cases in Karnataka on Tuesday, which further declined to 41,400, taking the tally to 36,05,508. According to a health department bulletin, 52 deaths were recorded, pushing the death toll to 38,666. The state had recorded 46,426 fresh infections on Monday as against 50,210 on Sunday. There were 53,093 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries to 32,16,070, a bulletin said. Of the new cases, 19,105 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 33,011 people being discharged and 19 virus-related deaths. (PTI)
Nine more people died from Covid in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday as 1,026 fresh cases pushed the state's infection count to 2,63,113, a health official said. So far, the state has reported 3,936 deaths. Two women were among nine people who died due to the infection, the official added. The youngest of them was a 23-year-old girl in Hamirpur. (PTI)
Karnataka reports 41,400 new Covid-19 cases, 53,093 recoveries, and 52 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Active cases 3,50,742 (ANI)
Telangana on Tuesday reported 4,559 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 7,43,354 while the death toll rose to 4,077 with two more fatalities. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) reported the highest number of daily cases with 1,450, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (432) and Rangareddy (322) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM today. The state had registered 3,980 new cases on Monday. (PTI)
Citing a survey conducted by it, a digital community-based platform has urged the Election Commission to delay assembly polls in five states due to Covid. In a letter to the poll panel, the platform claimed that 55 per cent citizens now believe that elections should be postponed in the poll-bound states. It said 30 per cent of the respondents want the elections to be postponed by one to two months, while 25 per cent said they should be postponed by three to four months. It said 41 per cent felt that elections should be conducted as scheduled. (PTI)
Gujarat reports 16,608 new COVID cases, 17,467 recoveries, and 28 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 1,34,261
Total recoveries: 9,48,405
Death toll: 10,302 (ANI)
As many as 2,944 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Tuesday, taking the tally of infections to 4,54,632, an official said. At least 1,912 patients were discharged from hospitals, while two died of the infection during the day, raising the count of recoveries to 4,27,830 and toll to 8,785, he said. The district is currently left with 18,017 active cases, the official said. (PTI)
A delegation of Delhi BJP MLAs met Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Tuesday and requested him for lifting of weekend curfew and odd-even system of opening shops dealing in non-essential items, citing improvement in Covid situation in the city. Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said after the meeting that the LG responded positively to the requests of the BJP legislators. The legislators also raised other issues like liquor shops opened in residential areas of Delhi in violation of the Master Plan-2021 and non-payment of salaries to the staff of 12 colleges of Delhi University funded by the Delhi government, Bidhuri said. (PTI)
Mumbai reports 1815 new COVID19 cases, 753 recoveries and 10 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Active cases 22,185 (ANI)
Sikkim on Tuesday reported 237 fresh coronavirus infections, 122 more than the previous day, a health department bulletin said. The fresh infections raised the tally to 37,333. The death toll rose to 424 as one more person succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court Tuesday said the doctors and paramedic staff of small nursing homes have also provided treatment against COVID-19 to thousands of patients here during the first and second waves of the pandemic and creating any distinction for grant of ex-gratia between them and other medical practitioners working in hospitals requisitioned by the government is not justified. The high court said that only because some nursing homes may not have been requisitioned on account of their capacity, does not take away the fact that the doctors and paramedic staff working at such nursing homes were also exposing themselves to the risk of contracting COVID and suffering death on that account. (PTI)
Meghalaya on Tuesday recorded 397 new COVID-19 cases, 92 more than the previous day, with the tally mounting to 89,161, a health official said. The death toll rose to 1,499 as one more person succumbed to the disease, he said. Of the new cases, 211 were reported from East Khasi Hills, 104 from West Garo Hills and 20 from Ri Bhoi. The remaining fresh infections were detected from nine other districts. (PTI)
Delhi logs 6,028 COVID cases (57132 tests), 9,127 recoveries, and 31 deaths today
Active cases: 42,010
Death toll: 25,681
Today's positivity rate: 10.55% (ANI)
Kerala reported 55,475 new COVID cases, 30,226 recoveries, and 70 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 2,85,365
Death toll: 52,141 (ANI)
Russian figure skater Mikhail Kolyada will miss next month's Beijing Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, the Russian Figure Skating Federation said on Tuesday. “Mikhail Kolyada felt unwell a few days ago,” the federation said in a statement. “Before leaving for the training camp in Krasnoyarsk, Mikhail Kolyada underwent a PCR test, the result of which was positive.”Kolyada, 26, will be replaced by 18-year-old Evgeny Semenenko, who finished fifth at the European championships this month. Kolyada took eighth place at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and won silver in the team event with his compatriots. (Reuters)
Owing to large number of people visiting their hometowns in view of Pongal festival, there had been a surge in new virus cases last week in Tamil Nadu, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Tuesday. During the course of this week, the actual prevalence of virus will emerge in the state, the minister told reporters, adding that various preventive measures have been taken by the government, including vaccination drives, to contain the spread of the virus. “In view of Pongal festival, people travelled to their villages following which the virus spread (in such areas). Over the next three days, the actual prevalence of the virus in the state will emerge,” he said. (PTI)
The coronavirus caseload in Andhra Pradesh crossed 22 lakh while the number of active cases crossed the 1-lakh mark with the addition of 13,819 fresh infections on Tuesday. The last one lakh cases came in a span of 10 days with the state registering over 10,000 fresh positives per day over the past few days. The state also reported 12 fresh Covid-19 deaths, the highest in a day after about two months. Also, 5,716 infected persons got cured in the state, the latest bulletin said. The state Covid-19 chart now showed a total of 22,08,955 positive cases, 20,92,998 recoveries and 14,561 deaths to date. (PTI)
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said on Tuesday they started a clinical trial to test a new version of their vaccine specifically designed to target the COVID-19 Omicron variant, which has eluded some of the protection provided by the original two-dose vaccine regimen. The companies plan to test the immune response generated by the Omicron-based vaccine both as a three-shot regimen in unvaccinated people and as a booster shot for people who already received two doses of their original vaccine. They are also testing a fourth dose of the current vaccine against a fourth dose of the Omicron-based vaccine in people who received their third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine three to six months earlier. The companies plan to study the safety and tolerability of the shots in the more than 1,400 people who will be enrolled in the trial. “While current research and real-world data show that boosters continue to provide a high level of protection against severe disease and hospitalization with Omicron, we recognize the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address Omicron and new variants in the future,” Pfizer's head of vaccine research and development, Kathrin Jansen, said in a statement. (Reuters)
A newly-wed couple and their family members were arrested in Gujarat's Valsad for allegedly violating the night curfew, which has been enforced in several cities to contain the spread of coronavirus, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday night when the couple, still in their wedding attire, and their family members travelling in three cars were intercepted on an overbridge around 12.20 am, deputy superintendent of police Manojsinh Chavda said. While the couple claimed that they were made to spend nearly two hours at Valsad city police station on their wedding night, police officials said the duo and their family members were let go once the legal process was completed. (PTI)
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar's health has “marginally improved” but she continues to remain in the ICU, her family said on Tuesday. 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 on January 8. The Mangeshkar family, through the official account of the singer, once again asked people to not indulge in spreading “disturbing rumours” about her health condition. (PTI)
Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya reviews public health preparedness to COVID-19 & vaccination progress with 9 States/UTs; urges them to focus on tele-consultation like eSanjeevani, and efficient monitoring of those in home isolation (ANI)
Three Indian-origin youths were among four people charged in a Singapore court on Tuesday for flouting Covid-19 rules in a New Year party held at a popular river-side spot. The chargings came after videos went viral online showing large crowds at Clarke Quay area on Dec 31, 2021. The COVID-19 multi-ministry task force had called the impromptu gathering “a potential superspreading event”, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported. The three youths — Harjaz Singh, Verma Pulkit and Kotra Venkata Sai Rohankrishna — along with William Alexander Brooks-Potts faced charges, including for failing to keep a one metre safe distance and not wearing a mask near Read Bridge at Clarke Quay at midnight on Jan 1, 2022, The Straits Times reported. (PTI)
Current COVID-19 vaccines prompt the body to make effective, long-lasting T cells against SARS-CoV-2 that can recognise variants of concern, including Omicron, and protect from severe disease, a study has found. The research, published in the journal Cell, also shows that fully vaccinated people have fewer memory B cells and neutralising antibodies against the Omicron variant. Both T and B cells play an important role in the immune response against an infection. Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) in the US tested four COVID-19 vaccines — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, J&J/Janssen, and Novavax. “The vast majority of T cell responses are still effective against Omicron,” said study co-leader Alessandro Sette, a professor at LJI. (PTI)
Health experts say that states and Centre should tweak the testing protocols. An Indian Express report says that health experts have said that instead of testing the travelers on the airports, local authorities should look at the clinical samples collected at the hospitals and keeping a tab on the patients admitted in the ICUs. Along with this, randomised testing in larger pool of people is the need of the hour.
An expert panel on Tuesday advised the Israeli government to begin offering a fourth vaccine dose to everyone over the age of 18, citing research showing it helps prevent COVID-19 infection and severe illness. The advisory committee said research shows a fourth dose provides three to five times the level of protection against serious disease and double the protection against infection compared to three doses. The Health Ministry's director must approve the recommendation.
London police said Tuesday they are now investigating Downing Street parties during lockdown. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick revealed an investigation was underway in a statement before the London Assembly. Dick said that Scotland Yard is now investigating ‘a number of events’ at Downing Street. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has been under fire for allegedly holding events during months in which the nation was under lockdown because of COVID-19. (AP)
Hong Kong expanded a partial lockdown and tightened pandemic restrictions Tuesday after more than 200 cases of COVID-19 were discovered at a public housing estate. Hong Kong has already suspended many overseas flights and requires arrivals be quarantined, similar to mainland China's ’zero-tolerance’ approach to the virus that has placed millions under lockdowns and mandates mask wearing, rigorous case tracing and mass testing. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said a second residential block at the Kwai Chung housing complex would be locked down for five days. The block where the virus was first discovered is already under lockdown, which will now be extended from five to seven days. AP
Russia reported a record number of COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours on Tuesday as the Omicron variant of the virus spread across the country, the government coronavirus task force said.New daily cases jumped to 67,809, from 65,109 a day earlier. The task force also reported 681 deaths. – Reuters
Germany expects to receive 3.8 million doses of Novavax's newly approved COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid by March 20, the health ministry said on Tuesday, as the government looks to persuade unvaccinated Germans to get a shot.Germany will receive 1.4 million doses in the week of Feb. 21 and should receive the rest of the 3.8 million doses in the subsequent few weeks.Novavax is expected to deliver 34 million doses to Germany this year. The shipment is a part of the U.S. drugmaker's deal to supply up to 200 million doses to the European Union's 27 member states.Novavax's protein-based vaccine, which was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in December, uses alternative technology to the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, , Moderna, AstraZeneca and J&J .This could convince reluctant Germans, sceptical about the novel mRNA technology and its long-term effects, to take Novavax's more traditional vaccine and boost Germany's vaccination rate, which is lower than other western European countries. – Reuters
Researchers in the US have developed a low-cost smartphone based diagnostic tool for COVID-19 that combines the speed of over-the-counter antigen tests with the accuracy of PCR tests. The Harmony COVID-19 test developed by researchers at the University of Washington in the US detects genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the researchers said. While the conventional PCR tests can take several hours, the Harmony kit can provide results in less than 20 minutes for some samples and with similar accuracy, they said. “We designed the test to be low-cost and simple enough that it could be used anywhere,” said Bary Lutz, an associate professor at the University of Washington. – PTI
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that his government does not want livelihood of people to be affected and Covid restrictions will be eased as soon as possible. Restrictions were put in place in view of people's health, Kejriwal said after hoisting the national flag at the Delhi government's Republic Day function. “Delhiites have suffered the most due to Covid. We don't want that your livelihood is affected but your health is important, so we had to put restrictions,” he said. Recently, the Delhi government's proposal to lift weekend curfew and odd-even scheme of opening shops in view of the improving Covid situation here was turned down by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G). – PTI
The Czech Republic recorded 30,350 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest daily tally since pandemic started in the country of 10.7 million as the Omicron variant of coronavirus spreads, health ministry data showed on Tuesday.The country is bracing for a surge in cases from the new variant which could peak this month, the health minister has said. – Reuters
Puducherry witnessed a rise in number of daily coronavirus cases with 1911 fresh infections being reported during the last 24 hours ending 10 a.m. on Tuesday. The new cases were reported at the end of examination of 5,191 samples. The total infection count stood at 1,55,254. The active cases also shot up to 16,394 (223 in hospitals and 16,171 in home quarantine) as against 15,632 cases on Monday. The fresh cases identified today were spread over Puducherry 1410, Karaikal 331, Mahe 19 and Yanam 151. Director of Health G Sriramulu said the Department of Health has tested so far 21,36,582 samples and found 17, 97,357 out of them to be negative. – PTI
Odisha recorded 5,891 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, 19 per cent less than the previous day, as the number of clinical tests registered a significant drop over the past two days, the health department said. The tally in the coastal state climbed to 12,17,842, the department stated. The toll mounted to 8,532 with seven more deaths, including three in Khurda. Fifty-three COVID-19 patients have died due to comorbidities in the past, it said. The infections are the lowest in a fortnight. The state had reported 11,086 cases exactly a week ago. On Monday, it logged 7,291 new cases and five deaths. The test positivity rate stood at 9.85 per cent as 59,807 samples were examined in the past 24 hours, down from 61,969 on Sunday and 72,524 on Saturday. – PTI
While the nature of the cases in this wave are much more ‘milder’ than the Delta disasters, health experts have warned that this may not hold true in long run. An Indian Express report says that Covid experts have likened the Omicron transmission to a cyclone. Dr Shashank Joshi, who is a member of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 task force, says this is not a wave, this a cyclone. A tsunami of infections that can impact the already exhausted healthcare infrastructure in the country. He says that since almost 90 per cent cases are asymptomatic the focus is on the at-risk patients.
Coronavirus India Live News: Covid-19 Omicron Cases in India Live Count, Coronavirus Lockdown, Omicron Latest News Today, Omicron Lockdown News, Omicron Night Curfew Guidelines and Restrictions Live Updates January 25 latest Covid news
