Coronavirus LIVE: A young boy is administered a dose of the Covid vaccine in Jangpura, New Delhi. Coronavirus Omicron India Live News: Kerala on Friday logged 54,537 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 47.05 per cent. The state also recorded 13 related deaths. There are a total of 3,33,447 active Covid cases in Kerala, a statement from the health department said. It also added that only 3.5 per cent of the total active cases are hospitalised. Meanwhile state health minister Veena George said that quarantine is not mandatory for all those who came in contact with Covid-19 patients. Only caregivers who assist the patients need to isolate themselves, she added.
Bharat Biotech, the maker of Covaxin, on Friday obtained approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for conducting trials of its intranasal booster doses against Covid-19 (BBV154). According to news agency ANI, the trials will be conducted at nine different sites in India.
India reported more than 2.51 lakh (2,51,209) new coronavirus cases and 627 deaths in the last 24 hours, ending at 9 am on Friday. With 627 deaths and 3,47,443 recoveries, active cases declined to 21.05 lakh (21,05,611). The daily positivity rate is now at 15.88 per cent.
A woman wearing a protective face mask walks past a mural on a street, amidst the spread of the coronavirus in Mumbai, India. (Reuters)
On day 1 of the odd-even restrictions being lifted at markets, shopkeepers were seen directing customers to wear masks properly and maintain social distancing while shops sported posters on following Covid-appropriate behaviour. The district administrations have also restarted random testing at Metro stations and public places.
However, the footfall on Friday at usually busy markets at Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and local residential markets was thin. Read More
Easing restrictions imposed earlier this month in view of rising Covid-19 cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Thursday decided to lift weekend curfew and odd-even rule for shops. See more pics here
Tamil Nadu on Friday added 26,533 new Covid-19 infections, pushing the caseload to 32,79,284, while 48 more deaths took the death toll to 37,460, the health department said. Recoveries eclipsed new infections with 28,156 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 30,29,961 leaving 2,11,863 active infections, a medical bulletin said.
Chennai accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections with 5,246 followed by Coimbatore 3,448, Tiruppur 1,779, Chengalpet 1,662, Salem 1,387, Erode 1,261, while the remaining was spread across other districts. A total of 1,45,376 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 6,13,46,285, the bulletin said.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the capital has remained almost the same, even as the positivity rate dropped further. There were 4,044 fresh cases reported in Friday’s health bulletin, just over 200 cases short of the previous day’s 4,291 when the tally dropped below the 5,000-mark for the first time since the current surge began.
The positivity rate – the proportion of samples tested that return positive – stood at 8.60 per cent on Friday with just 47,042 tests conducted. In comparison, 60,080 tests were conducted every day on an average over the last seven days. Usually, when the number of tests increases, the positivity rate goes down. At the peak of the current wave, the positivity rate rose to 30.64 per cent, the data shows. Read More
Over 60 per cent of children aged 15-18 years have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday. He also congratulated the children, saying "Young India showed the way".
"Congratulations to all my young friends who have got vaccinated. Over 60 per cent children aged 15-18 years have received their first dose of vaccine against Covid-19," Mandaviya tweeted.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday held a Covid-19 review meeting with five southern states and three Union Territories and emphasised that they should keep a close watch on emerging clusters and hotspots being reported in the third wave of the pandemic,.
In his meeting with his counterparts from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep, Mandaviya reiterated that the five strategies of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate & adherence to COVID-Appropriate Behaviour, coupled with effective surveillance of cases, remain crucial for Covid-19 management. Read More
😷 Today’s Covid numbers: Delhi (4,044 cases); Mumbai (1,312 cases); Kolkata (481 cases); Bengaluru (15,199 cases); Chennai (5,246 cases)
For the first time since the latest surge in coronavirus cases began in Mumbai, the slum-dominated Dharavi area of the metropolis on Friday recorded no new infections, a civic official said.
Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, G- North ward, said new cases fell to zero in the densely-populated area after 39 days. It had recorded zero cases last on December 20, 2021. The area now has 43 active cases, 11 of them hospitalized, Dighavkar added.
Dharavi's coronavirus caseload is 8,581, of whom 8,121 have recovered. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation does not publish the number of deaths from the area. It had logged a record 150 new cases on January 6, 2022, before the numbers started dipping. Dharavi, teeming with shanties and micro-industrial units over 2.5 sq km area, has a population of around 6.5 lakh. (PTI)
Karnataka has issued new guidelines for home testing of Covid:
Mumbai on Friday reported 1,312 new Covid-19 cases along with 10 deaths in the past 24 hours. There are 14,344 active cases in the city.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to review the Covid-19 situation, public health preparedness, and response measures being taken in the view of Omicron variant in Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, via video conferencing at 3 pm tomorrow.
Delhi on Friday reported 4,044 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 8.6 per cent. The national capital also logged 25 deaths and 8,042 recoveries in the last 24 hours. There are 29,152 active Covid cases in Delhi.
The Maharashtra government, while responding to PILs alleging improper pandemic management, told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the Covid-19 situation in the state is “fully under control” and “the government is geared to meet any eventuality arising out of further spread of Omicron variant.”
The counsel for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also reiterated that the Covid-19 situation under its area is “under 100% control” as the positivity is going down and the government is also taking steps towards “reopening”. Read More
Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday said the transmission rate of Covid-19 has come down in the state. Of the 3.33 lakh active cases in the state, only 3.6 per cent have required hospitalisation, she said. The daily test positivity rate is at 47 per cent.
On Friday, the state reported 54,537 new cases even as 1.15 lakh samples were tested in the last 24 hours. The total Covid-19 deaths in the state have risen to 52,786 with the reporting of 13 deaths in recent days and the addition of 81 deaths through appeal. Read More
Kerala on Friday logged 54,537 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 47.05 per cent. The state also recorded 13 related deaths. There are a total of 3,33,447 active Covid cases in Kerala, a statement from the health department said. It also added that only 3.5 per cent of the total active cases are hospitalised. Meanwhile state health minister Veena George said that quarantine is not mandatory for all those who came in contact with Covid-19 patients. Only caregivers who assist the patients need to isolate themselves, she added.
The daily national count of Covid-19 cases has been falling for a week now. Active cases have been going down for four days. The weekly positivity rate has remained almost stable for a week. By all indications, the third wave seems to have already peaked, and it has happened at a level well below the peak of the second wave. The cases can rise again, but current trends suggest that it is unlikely to go very high. Read the full report here
India has administered over 1 crore precaution doses of Covid vaccine among the eligible beneficiaries within 19 days, said Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Owners of gyms and an association representing them on Saturday will stage a protest near the Delhi lieutenant governor's office to demand reopening of their establishments, which have been shut for a month under Covid restrictions. Though the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Thursday lifted the weekend curfew and also allowed restaurants, bars and cinema halls to operate with 50 per cent capacity, gyms and schools in the city are still shut. Restrictions had come into force under a 'yellow alert' issued by the authority in December last year when the Covid positivity rate had crossed 0.5 per cent in the national capital. (PTI)
Bharat Biotech, the maker of Covaxin, on Friday obtained approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for conducting trials of its intranasal booster doses against Covid-19 (BBV154).
The Indian Express explained article takes a look at this type of vaccine, why it may be important in a pandemic and the expert committee’s recommendations. Read the report by Prabha Raghavan.
Russia's daily Covid-19 cases surged to 98,040 on Friday, a new record high for the eighth consecutive day as the Omicron variant continued to spread, the government's coronavirus task force said. The number of new infections was a significant jump from the 88,816 reported on Thursday. Officials also said that 673 people had died in the last 24 hours. (Reuters)