Omicron Covid-19 India Latest Update: Health workers admit a COVID-19 patient at a state government-run COVID-19 hospital in Kolkata. (PTI)Coronavirus Omicron India LIVE News: Kerala on Tuesday reported 55,475 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 49.9 per cent. This is the first time that the TPR is almost at 50 per cent, meaning one of the two persons tested for Covid in Kerala is diagnosed with the infection. 70 related deaths and 84 deaths that were newly certified as Covid-19 deaths based on the revised rules, were also recorded pushing the death toll to 52,141 in the state. Kerala has been witnessing drastic increase in fresh infections for the past few days. There are 2,85,365 active Covid cases in the state.
Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday asked states and Union Territories to ramp up testing in areas where it has gone down. In a meeting with officials from these states and UTs, Mandaviya also urged them to send Covid-19 testing and vaccination data timely, according to news agency ANI. The health minister also told the states that as a large number of people are opting for home isolation, they should be monitored as per national guidelines.
India Tuesday reported 2,55,874 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours down from 3,06,064 infections a day before, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data. The health ministry’s data also showed as many as 614 fatalities pushed India’s death toll to 4,90,462. The daily positivity rate stands at 15.52 per cent and the weekly figure is 17.17 per cent—both lower than Monday. As many as 614 fatalities pushed India’s death toll to 4,90,462. After 2,67,753 patients recovered from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the number of recoveries, has gone up to 3,70,71,898 and the recovery rate now stands at 93.15 per cent.
Students attend a class after schools reopened for students of Classes 1 to 12 from Monday. (Express photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)
😷 Today’s Covid numbers: Delhi (6,028 cases), Mumbai (1,815 cases), Bengaluru (19,105 cases), Chennai (6,241 cases) and Kolkata (591 cases)
Gujarat on Tuesday reported 16,608 new Covid-19 cases and 28 deaths along with 17,467 recoveries in the last 24 hours. There are 1,34,261 active Covid cases in the state. (ANI)
Mumbai on Tuesday reported 1,815 new Covid cases along with 10 deaths. Active cases in the city stand at 22,185.
Delhi on Tuesday logged 6,028 Covid-19 cases, 9,127 recoveries, and 31 deaths. The active case tally of the national capital went up to 42,010 along with the positivity rate dipping to 10.55 per cent.
Karnataka on Tuesday reported 41,400 new Covid-19 cases along with 52 deaths. The state also recorded 53,093 recoveries in the past 24 hours. State health minister K Sudhakar said that this is the first time since third wave began, recoveries exceeded new infections. The test positivity rate dipped to 26.70% from the 32.95% on Monday. Among the new cases, 19,105 were reported from Bengaluru.
Kerala on Tuesday reported 55,475 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 49.9 per cent. This is the first time that the TPR is almost at 50 per cent, meaning one of the two persons tested for Covid in Kerala is diagnosed with the infection. 70 related deaths and 84 deaths that were newly certified as Covid-19 deaths based on the revised rules, were also recorded pushing the death toll to 52,141 in the state. Kerala has been witnessing drastic increase in fresh infections for the past few days. There are 2,85,365 active Covid cases in the state.
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. (Reuters)
In view of a substantial number of Covid-19 patients recuperating in home isolation, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday asked states to focus on expanding the reach of teleconsultation services to provide timely healthcare. He interacted with health ministers, senior bureaucrats and administrators of nine states and union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Ladakh and Uttar Pradesh, according to a statement from the health ministry.
Mandaviya urged them to adopt the hub and spoke model and open additional teleconsultation centres. This will enable beneficiaries to access advice from experts stationed at district hubs, it said. He said the government's eSanjeevani telemedicine system has provided services to more than 2.6 crore beneficiaries where people can seek medical advice from the confines of their homes.
Are we really in the pandemic's endgame? Or do we have to learn to live with the virus?
In the third wave of the coronavirus epidemic, India has acknowledged that the disease is now in the community transmission stage. While it is no more than a statement of the obvious, and has little operational implication at this stage of the epidemic, this acknowledgment has attracted attention because this is the first time India has officially done so. What does it really mean? To find out, read the Explained article by Anuradha Mascarenhas and Amitabh Sinha.
Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday asked states/UTs to ramp up testing where it has gone down. In a meeting with the meeting with states/UTs, he also urged them to send Covid testing and vaccination data timely, according to news agency ANI. The health minister also told the states that as a large number of people are opting for home isolation, they should be monitored as per national guidelines.
With INSACOG stating that Omicron is in community transmission and has become dominant in multiple metros, experts have said that focus should be on sequencing clinical samples of those who are severely ill and keep a close watch on clusters.
“We should change the strategy of sample collection for genome sequencing. There is no point in focusing on airports. A close watch should be kept on clinical samples from the ICU or those with serious symptoms to check if there is further mutation of the SARS-CoV2 virus and whether it is changing a bit. There is a need to keep an eye on clusters at localities or parties or any gathering in case there is a sudden eruption of cases and also ensure a randomised sampling in large areas,” Dr Rakesh Mishra, former director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, said. Read More
Belgium's health ministers have approved a recommendation to use a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine to better protect people with a weakened immune system against the virus.
Christie Morreale, the minister for public health in the federal government, said Monday that she and her regional counterparts have greenlighted the proposal made by the country's health council. Morreale did not give a date for the start of the program.
About 77% of Belgium's nearly 11.5 million people are now fully vaccinated, and some 6.3 million Belgians have received a booster dose, according to the latest figures from health authorities. (AP)
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.
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.
The test uses a "PCR-like" method to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome in a nasal swab sample with the aid of a small, low-cost detector. A smartphone is used to operate the detector and read the results, the researchers said. The detector can handle up to four samples at a time and would fit into a standard car's glove compartment. (PTI)
The Sikkim Government has made it mandatory for all persons entering the Himalayan state to produce a negative RT-PCR report conducted within 72-hours prior to the date of entry.
A Home department notification issued on Monday said in case a person cannot produce an RT-PCR negative test report he/she has to undergo a rapid antigen test at all entry check posts and Pakyong Airport. (PTI)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Covid-19 restrictions will be eased as soon as possible as the government does not want the livelihoods of people to be affected.
Kejriwal said that after receiveing several requests from market and traders' association, a proposal was sent to the L-G to lift weekend curfew and ease restrictions. "He agreed to some recommendations, but deferred others like odd-even and weekend curfew. All these restrictions are imposed for the public safety and will be lifted soon," he added.
Lok Sabha member from East Delhi Gautam Gambhir said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and has mild symptoms.
With over 62 lakh Covid-19 doses being administered in the last 24 hours, India's vaccine coverage exceeded 162.92 crore.
Over 88 lakh booster doses have been administered since January 10, when the campaign to give a third vaccine dose to healthcare workers, frontline workers and the elderly began.
Among the age group of 15-18 years, 4.27 crore doses have been administered since January 3.
South Korea recorded more than 8,000 new coronavirus infections for the first time on Tuesday as health authorities reshape the country's pandemic response to address a surge driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The 8,571 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency followed three straight days exceeding 7,000. With Omicron spreading more than twice as fast as the Delta strain that caused the last surge, experts say new cases may exceed 10,000 this week and possibly 20,000 after the Lunar New Year's holiday break that begins this weekend and continues to next Wednesday. (AP)
Britain announced that it will scrap Covid-19 test requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering the country from next month.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps made a statement in the House of Commons, confirming that from 4 am on February 11, travellers who have had both doses of a COVID vaccine will no longer be required to take a test within two days of arriving in England.