Students attend a class after schools reopened for 9th to 12th standard, following ease in Covid-induced restrictions in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)Coronavirus Omicron India Live News: India recorded 67,597 new cases of Covid-19 and related 1,188 fatalities Tuesday, recording a decrease in fresh infections but a rise in the death toll, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. However, of the 1,188 deaths, 733 were reported by Kerala which is reconciling its data as per government orders. These are demises that have been designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.
In view of decreasing Covid-19 cases, several states and union territories have reopened schools for physical classes on Monday. Delhi, Kerala, Odisha and Gujarat were among others where schools have reopened. Children were seen wearing masks as they returned to schools. Meanwhile, India’s single day infections dropped below 1 lakh, with the country reporting 83,876 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours on Monday, 8 am. The active cases now stand at 11,08,938, while the daily positivity rate is 7.25 percent. In the last 24 hours, 895 deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 5,02,874.
At the same time, the Centre told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar card is not mandatory for registration on CoWIN portal for Covid-19 vaccination. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant was informed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that one of the nine identity documents including passport, Driving Licence, PAN card, Voter’s Card, Ration card can be produced for vaccination
The Covid-19 pandemic will not end with the Omicron variant and New Zealand will have to prepare for more variants of the virus this year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday in her first parliamentary speech for 2022.
Ardern's warning came as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliament building in the capital Wellington, demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions and vaccine mandates.
"Mr Speaker, advice from experts is that Omicron will not be the last variant we will face this year," Ardern told lawmakers in the speech which was livestreamed. "It’s not over. But that doesn’t mean we cannot move forward. And keep making progress. And so we are," she said. (Reuters)
As Covid-19 cases continue to rise, people perpetually remain worried for their health and immunity. While children remained the least affected during the first two waves, an increasing number of kids are getting infected by the virus in the third wave.
Follow these measures if your child has tested positive for Covid-19.
✅Nutritious diet
✅Tepid sponging
✅ Good hygiene
Vaccines administered: 170.21 crore
Active caseload: 9,94,891 (2.35%)
Recovery Rate: 96.46%
Total Recoveries: 4,08,40,658 (1,80,456 in the last 24 hours)
Daily positivity rate: 5.02%
Weekly Positivity Rate: 8.30%
Total Tests conducted: 74.29 crore (Of this, 13,46,534 tests conducted in the last 24 hours)
India recorded 67,597 new cases and 1,188 deaths Tuesday, recording a decrease in new infections but a hike in reported toll. However, of the 1,188 deaths, 733 were reported by Kerala which is reconciling its data as per government orders. These are demises that have been designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.
The total number of active cases in India currently stands at 9,94,891.
Tamil Nadu continued to witness a decline in daily Covid-19 cases as 5,104 new infections were reported on Monday—14 districts logged fewer than 50 cases—pushing the total to 34,15,986.
A total of 1,18,782 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 6.26 crore. With 13 more deaths, the toll reached 37,772. Read More
The cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 170 crore landmark on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said. Over 50 lakh (50,48,778) vaccine doses were given till 7 pm on Monday.
More than 1.52 crore (1,52,95,149) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of final reports for the day by late night.
Maharashtra on Monday recorded 6,436 new coronavirus cases, a steep fall of 3,230 from a day ago, and 24 fresh deaths linked to the infection, while 18,423 more patients recovered from the disease. With these additions, the overall tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 78,10,136, while the death toll jumped to 1,43,098, the state health department said.
As per the bulletin, the number of recovered cases in Maharashtra increased to 75,57,034 after 18,423 patients were discharged during the day, leaving the state with 1,06,059 active cases. According to the department, till date a total of 3,334 patients infected with the highly contagious variant Omicron have been detected in the state. Out of these, 2,023 patients have been discharged following a negative RT PCR test.
😷 Today’s Covid cases: Delhi (1,151 cases), Mumbai (356 cases), Kolkata (75 cases), Bangalore (2,718 cases), Chennai (839 cases)
Karnataka on Monday reported 6,151 new Covid cases and 49 related deaths. The test positivity rate was recorded at 6.19 per cent. The day also saw 16,802 discharges. The active cases in the state stand at 87,080. Meanwhile, 2,718 fresh infections were detected from Bengaluru.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Serum Institute of India's proposal to manufacture a vaccine against omicron variant of coronavirus for examination, test and analysis, official sources said on Monday.
"With reference to your application, please find herewith the permission to manufacture SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (Covid-19) recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccine (omicron variant) for examination, test and analysis under the provisions of New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 to manufacture the test batches of the drug/drugs mentioned therein," an approval order issued on February 4 stated.
Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at the SII, Prakash Kumar Singh had put in an application to the DCGI on January 6 stating the Pune-based firm, in collaboration with Novavax Inc, is working on the development of a vaccine against omicron, an official source said, adding that the SII has obtained permission and licence to manufacture SARS-CoV-2rS drug substance for examination, test and analysis.
"... the new coronavirus variant 'omicron' has already been reported in more than 60 countries and is spreading very fast worldwide and in our country also. Our CEO, Dr Adar C Poonawalla is very concerned about protection of citizens of our country and world at large against coronavirus and its new variants and we are relentlessly working on development of SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (COVID-19) Recombinant Spike Nanoparticle Vaccine (omicron variant). Development of this vaccine shall be another example of vaccine production strength of our country in line with the clarion call of our prime minister 'Making in India for the World' and shall further keep our country's flag flying high globally," Singh had stated in the application," the source said. (PTI)
Delhi on Monday reported 1,151 new Covid cases, a drop from 1,410 on the previous day, and 15 fatalities with a test positivity rate of 2.62 per cent.
The Covid-19 tally in Nashik in Maharashtra reached 4,72,715 on Monday, while the toll stood at 8,850, an official said. So far, 4,59,561 people have been discharged post recovery, including 881 on Monday, leaving the district with 4,304 active cases, he said. (PTI)
Kerala reported 22,524 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, which raised the caseload to 62,93,907, with a test positivity of 28.62 per cent. A total of 78,682 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. There are 3,01,424 active Covid cases in the state, a statement from the health department said.
Kerala also reported 860 deaths which raised the total fatalities to 59,115. Of the deaths, 14 were reported in the last 24 hours, 113 were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 733 were designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.
Daily Covid-19 cases in Chennai dropped below 1,000 for the first time in a month on Sunday (927) and the active cases stood at 17,865. Tamil Nadu reported 6,120 cases and the active cases in the state stood at 1,21,828. With 26 more deaths, the toll reached 37,759.
Coimbatore (911), Chengalpattu (531), Tiruppur (473), Salem (310), Tiruvallur (256) followed Chennai in the most number of cases reported on Sunday. Read More
India is implementing the largest inoculation drive globally where annually over 3 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore children are covered through the Universal Immunisation Programme, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday. The minister launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 virtually in presence of health officials of various states and Union Territories.
The IMI 4.0 will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts (including 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav) across 33 states and UTs, a health ministry statement said.
"India is implementing the largest immunisation programme globally where we annually cover more than 3 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore children through the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP)," he said.
In view of decreasing Covid-19 cases, several states and union territories have reopened schools for physical classes on Monday. Delhi, Kerala, Odisha and Gujarat were among others where schools have reopened. Children were seen wearing masks as they returned to schools.
All educational institutions resumed physical classes across Odisha on Monday, almost a month after remaining closed in wake of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. All classes for students of Class 7 and above, colleges, ITIs, polytechnics, professional institutions and universities started functioning adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines. Hostels in colleges and universities reopened a day before on Sunday.
Odisha's School and Mass Education Minister SR Dash said schools for the students of Class 1 to 6, will resume from February 14. Students of these classes have not attended schools for almost two years now due to the pandemic. (PTI)
Schools reopened for offline sessions for classes 1 to 9 across Gujarat on Monday in the wake of a decline in Covid-19 cases in the state. The physical sessions for classes 1 to 9 were suspended on January 8 in view of the then rising Covid-19 cases in the state, but schools for classes 10 to12 and colleges were not closed.
Gujarat on Sunday reported 3,897 new Covid-19 cases as against its all-time high peak of 24,485 on January 20 this year, as per official figures.
On Monday, schools reopened across the state with students appearing happy and excited to be back to their classrooms. They were seen wearing face masks and adhering to other Covid-19 guidelines. Parents were required to submit consent letters for sending their children to schools. Some schools in Surat started offline classes with "mind fresh activities" to help the students relax. (PTI)
The Centre told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar card is not mandatory for registration on CoWIN portal for COVID-19 vaccination.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant was informed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that one of the nine identity documents including passport, Driving Licence, PAN card, Voter's Card, Ration card can be produced for vaccination. (PTI)
Assam will withdraw all Covid-related restrictions from February 15 as the pandemic situation has improved with the number of cases declining, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
School board examinations, municipal elections, and the by-elections to the Majuli assembly constituency will be held in the next two months, Sarma announced at a press conference. Students appearing for the board examinations must get both doses of vaccination, he said. There will be no night curfew, malls and cinema halls will open with full capacity. (PTI)