Omicron Coronavirus India Live News, Coronavirus Vaccination Statistics and Registration Latest Updates, Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in India Recent Updates, Covid Restrictions Feb 20 Live: As India administered more than 175 crore Covid-19 vaccines and fully vaccinating 80 per cent of the India adults to attain yet another milestone in its universal Covid-19 immunisation programme, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech announced that it will be evaluated as Covid-19 vaccine candidate in US. FDA has lifted its clinical hold on the company’s investigational new drug application to evaluate Covid-19 vaccine candidate BBV152 known as Covaxin outside the United States, a statement from Ocugen Inc that is co-developing Covaxin for USA and Canada said.
The threats of the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant looms large as experts say it may possess certain features that not only make it more transmissible, but also more capable of causing severe disease.
Maria Van Kerkhova, COVID-19 Technical Lead at WHO, however, has noted that the BA.2 sub-variant is more transmissible than BA.1, there is no difference in severity.
This comes at a time when several countries are lifting restrictions as the recent wave of infections driven by Omicron appears to be waning.
Over 75,000 COVID-related fatalities and over 16 million new Covid-19 cases were reported in a single week globally, WHO said. The number of deaths rose by 38% in the Middle East and by about one-third in the Western Pacific. The UN health agency has pointed out include – getting vaccinated, keeping a safe distance and avoiding crowds, wearing well-fitted masks, keeping indoor spaces ventilated, cleaning hands often, and covering your face while coughing or sneezing.
Financial Express brings you the latest and verified Covid updates from India and around the globe. Check out here:
COVID19 | Mumbai reports 167 fresh infections, 286 recoveries, & zero deaths today; Active cases stand at 1,511 (ANI)
Nagaland on Sunday reported two new COVID-19 cases, 13 less than the previous day, taking the tally in the state to 35,357, a health department official said. The state's coronavirus death toll stood at 753 for the fifth consecutive day as no patient succumbed to the disease during the period. Nagaland now has 264 active cases, while 32,864 people have recovered from the disease, including 33 in the last 24 hours, the official said. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Nashik reached 4,75,387 on Sunday with the detection of 89 cases, while one death took the toll to 8,887, an official said. So far, 4,65,674 people have been discharged post recovery, including 198 during the day, leaving the district with an active caseload of 736, he said. (PTI)
Daily COVID-19 cases continued to drop in Kerala with the state on Sunday recording 5,427 fresh infections which raised the total caseload to 64,68,990. On Saturday, the southern state had recorded 6,757 fresh COVID-19 cases. Kerala reported 92 deaths today, which raised the total fatalities to 64,145, a government release said. Of the deaths, 9 were reported in the last 24 hours, 39 were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 44 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said. (PTI)
Registering a steady decline, Andhra Pradesh added 335 fresh cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday. Also, 936 infected people got cured and three more succumbed in the state, according to the latest bulletin. The number of active cases fell to 6,754, it said. The total positives now climbed to 23,16,285, recoveries to 22,94,818 and deaths 14,713. West Godavari district reported 84 and East Godavari 52 fresh cases in 24 hours. (PTI)
Queen Elizabeth, 95, has tested positive for COVID and is experiencing mild symptoms but expects to continue light duties this week, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday. “The queen has today tested positive for COVID,” the Palace said. “Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week.” (Reuters)
Odisha's COVID-19 caseload rose to 12,82,481 on Sunday as 492 more people, 42 less than the previous day's figure, tested positive for the virus, the health department said in a bulletin. The death toll due to coronavirus mounted to 9,011, with 17 more patients succumbing to the infection, it said. The state had logged 534 new COVID-19 cases and 18 fresh fatalities on Saturday. Odisha now has 6,308 active cases, while the 12,67,109 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 1,266 in the last 24 hours, a bulletin said. (PTI)
Stringent anti-virus controls that ban public gatherings in Hong Kong of more than two people might be tightened to stop a surge in infections, the territory's top health official said Sunday, as 14 deaths and more than 6,000 new cases were reported. Health Secretary Sophia Chan, speaking on a radio program, gave no details of possible new restrictions and called on the public to stay at home. Hong Kong already is operating under its strictest curbs on travel, business and public activity since the pandemic began. In place since Feb. 10, they also prohibit gatherings of more than two households. Restaurants, hair salons and religious sites were ordered closed. The territory had 6,067 confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours. That was close to Thursday's 6,116 cases, its highest daily total yet. (AP)
Australia will welcome international tourists on Monday after nearly two years of sealing its borders, relying on high COVID-19 vaccination rates to live with the pandemic as infections decline.”The wait is over,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a Sunday briefing at the Melbourne International Airport.Australia's opening to tourists is the clearest example yet of the government's shift from a strict zero-COVID approach to living with the virus and vaccinating the public to minimise deaths and severe illness.Most of the country's 2.7 million coronavirus infections have occurred since the Omicron variant emerged in late November. – Reuters
Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur, have come up with a decision framework for educational institutions called “Campus RAKSHAK” that integrates various applications and tools into one to prevent possible spread of COVID-19 and ensure smooth reopening of campuses. IIT Jodhpur has collaborated with IISc Bangalore, IIT Kharagpur, IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, Algorithmic Biologics Pvt Ltd, HeathBadge Private Limited and Prthvi.AI to build, integrate and test to ensure safety on campuses through this initiative. – PTI
The British government confirmed Saturday that people with COVID-19 won't be legally required to self-isolate starting next week, as part of a plan for ’living with COVID’ that is also likely to see testing for the coronavirus scaled back. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ending all of the legal restrictions brought in to curb the spread of the virus will let people in the UK ‘protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.’ But some of the government's scientific advisers said it was a risky move that could bring a surge in infections and weaken the country's defenses against more virulent future strains. AP
Puducherry registered 33 new coronavirus cases on Sunday taking the overall tally in the Union Territory to 1,65,597. In a press release, Director of Health G Sriramulu said the 33 fresh cases identified at the end of examination of 1,672 samples in the last 24 hours were spread over Puducherry (17), Karaikal (9), Yanam (4) and Mahe (3). He said there were 419 active cases with 20 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals and the remaining 399 staying in home quarantine. One more person hailing from Puducherry succumbed to the infection raising the total death toll in the UT to 1,960. – PTI
Hong Kong is in “all-out combat” to contain a surge in coronavirus cases, the city's number two official said on Sunday, with the ramping up of community isolation and treatment units helped by mainland Chinese construction teams.With a reported 6,063 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the government said in a statement that the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal would be turned into a dedicated COVID facility with 1,000 beds to mitigate overburdened public hospitals.Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam, who attended a ground-breaking ceremony at a construction site for nearly 10,000 COVID units at Penny's Bay close to the city's Disneyland resort, said the initiatives would enhance the city's anti-epidemic capacity “within a very short period of time”. Reuters
The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded only a single new COVID-19 case, pushing the tally to 10,001, a health department official said on Sunday. Twenty-three more people recovered from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 9,833, the official said. The archipelago now has 39 active COVID-19 cases, he said. The COVID-19 death toll remained at 129 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, the official said. Andaman and Nicobar Islands had reported six new cases and 28 recoveries on Saturday. – PTI
Ladakh's COVID-19 caseload increased to 27,801 on Sunday as 55 more people tested positive for the viral disease, officials said. There are 398 active cases in the Union Territory, of which 325 are in Leh district and 60 in Kargil district, the officials said. According to the officials, the COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 228 with 168 fatalities in Leh and 60 in Kargil. Of the new cases, 50 were detected in Leh and five in Kargil, while 62 patients– 45 in Leh and 17 in Kargil were discharged after undergoing successful treatment, the officials said. They said the total number of recoveries has increased to 27,175. PTI
With the addition of 71 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 7,07,788, while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 11,862, an official said on Sunday. These new cases and death were reported on Saturday, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 1.67 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,63,291 and the death toll has reached 3,391, another official said. PTI
Chhattisgarh reported 504 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 11,49,197 on Saturday, while the death toll remained unchanged at 14,021, an official said. The positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, stood at 2.02 per cent, he said. The number of recoveries reached 11,31,637 after 56 people were discharged from hospitals and 765 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 3,539, he said. (PTI)
Telangana on Saturday recorded 401 new COVID-19 cases and one death. These pushed the tally till date to 7,86,422 and 4,109. A bulletin said 865 people recovered from the infectious disease and the cumulative number of recoveries was 7,76,667. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) reported the highest number of cases with 124 followed by districts of Medchal Malkajgiri (26) and Khammam (25). The number of active cases was 5,646, the bulletin said. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Saturday recorded 1,051 coronavirus cases and seven deaths thereby taking the count to 34,43,980 and 37,977 respectively. Recoveries continued to rise and they included 3,561 patients getting discharged today. The cumulative recoveries increased to 33,87,839. The total active cases, including isolation, were 18,164, according to a bulletin. Chennai accounted for 238 fresh infections, Coimbatore 157, Chengalpattu 96 and Erode 55. Nearly 21 districts saw cases below 50 while 13 other districts had new infections in single digit with Mayiladuthurai reporting one case. (PTI)
Mizoram has eased certain COVID-19 curbs following a gradual decline in daily cases of the pandemic and the union home ministry's directive to all states to ease restrictions due to significant improvement in the situation across the country, an official on Saturday. Night curfew, which has been imposed for nearly two years in the state capital Aizawl has been lifted, he said. All shops and marketplaces will now remain open daily across the state strictly adhering to COVID appropriate behaviour to ensure seamless economic activities. According to the new guidelines issued on Friday all places of worship will now reopen across the state during the day and evening hours with 50 seating capacity. Earlier, places of worship were closed in red zone areas which have a substantial number of COVID-19 cases. Picnic spots, theatres, beauty parlours and spas, gymnasium will be allowed to open and trekking, hiking, leisure activities or outing and adventure sports, which were earlier banned are now permitted in all parts of the state. Sporting competition or tournament is also now allowed without any audience, the guidelines said. Hotels, homestays, tourist lodges, guest houses, restaurants will also now remain open with 50 per cent capacity, it said. (PTI)
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 175.33 crore on Saturday, the Union health ministry said. More than 27 lakh (27,47,926) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm. The ministry also said that over 1.89 crore (1,89,07,829) 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 the final reports for the day by late night. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh has recorded 1,013 new cases of COVID-19 and two more casualties in the last 24 hours that raised the tally of infections to 10,33,490 and toll to 10,713, an official from the state health department said on Saturday. As many as 2,353 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 10,14,413, the official said. The state is now left with 8,364 active cases and the positivity rate stands at 1.4 per cent, he said. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Saturday recorded 1,635 fresh COVID-19 cases and 29 fatalities, taking the tally of infections to 78,56,994 and the toll to 1,43,576, the state health department said. On Friday, the state had recorded 2,068 cases and 15 fatalities due to COVID-19. With 4,394 patients discharged in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours after treatment, the number of recoveries rose to 76,91,064 so far, leaving the state with 18,368 active cases. Maharashtra's case recovery rate now stands at 97.89 per cent. Mumbai recorded 201 fresh cases and one COVID-19 fatality while Pune city added 278 infections and one fatality. (PTI)
COVID19 | Karnataka reports 1,137 new cases and 20 deaths today; Active cases tally at 13,431 (ANI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday recorded 166 fresh Covid cases, which took the tally to 4,52,155, while no death due to the virus was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 103 were reported from the Jammu division and 63 from the Kashmir division of the Union Territory, they said. The officials said Jammu district recorded the highest of 51 cases followed by 23 cases in Doda district. (PTI)
Goa on Saturday reported 70 fresh COVID-19 cases and one fatality, taking the count of infections to 2,44,673 and the toll to 3,789, the state health department said. With 199 COVID-19 patients being discharged during the day after treatment, the number of recoveries in Goa went up to 2,40,207, a health official said. With 2,121 new tests, the total number of tests conducted in Goa so far has gone up to 18,65,563, he added. (PTI)
Nagaland's COVID-19 tally rose to 35,355 on Saturday as 15 people tested positive for the infection, three more than the previous day, a health official said. The coronavirus death toll stood at 753 for the fourth consecutive day as no fresh fatality was recorded, he said. Nagaland now has 295 active cases, while 32,831 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 36 in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate has improved to 92.86 per cent. A total of 1,476 patients have migrated to other states to date. (PTI)
Three more people died from coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday as 253 fresh cases pushed the state's infection count to 2,81,971, a health official said. So far, 4,075 people have died from the infection in the state. A man and two women, aged between 75 and 81, died on Saturday, the official added. Two of them died in Hamirpur district and one in Sirmaur district, he said. (PTI)
Maharashtra's Nashik district on Saturday recorded 88 new cases of COVID-19, raising the tally of infections to 4,75,298, an official said. As many as 229 patients were discharged from hospitals, while one died of the infection during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 4,65,566 and toll to 8,886, the official said. With this, the district is now left with 846 active cases, he said. (PTI)
Multiple Chinese cities have announced cash rewards for tip-offs about people illegally crossing into the mainland from Hong Kong which is experiencing a massive fifth COVID-19 wave, overwhelming the local health system, state media reported on Saturday. Zhuhai, Huizhou and Dongguan in China's south Guangdong province close to Hong Kong have announced cash rewards for people who report suspected illegal crossings from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) amid reports of people fleeing to mainland by road and sea to escape the spread of the contagion, state-run Global Times reported on Saturday. Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, reported 6,063 infections in addition to 7,400 preliminary-positive cases on Saturday, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper reported. (PTI)
Delhi records 635 fresh Covid cases and two deaths; positivity rate 1.12 per cent: Authorities. PTI
Kerala registers 6,757 new Covid19 cases, 16 deaths and 17,086 recoveries today; Active cases stand at 75,017, death toll 64,053
Andhra Pradesh witnessed 425 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Saturday and took the total till date to 23,15,950. According to the latest bulletin, the total recoveries touched 22,93,882 after 1,486 infected persons got cured in 24 hours ending 9 AM today. The overall death toll increased to 14,710 with two fatalities, the bulletin said. The number of active cases remained at 7,358. (PTI)
Drug firm Hetero on Saturday announced positive results of Phase III trials of Movfor (Molnupiravir), an investigational oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine. The results, presented as an Oral Abstract at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) held virtually February 12–16, 2022, demonstrated that Molnupiravir along with standard of care (SOC) reduced the risk of hospitalisation by over 65 per cent compared to SOC alone. Early viral clearance (negative RT-PCR) and significant clinical improvement were observed within five days of administering the antiviral drug, the Hyderabad-based drug maker said in a statement. (PTI)
Eighty per cent of India's adult population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 175 crore, according to official data. (PTI)
➡️ Over 75.81 Cr COVID Tests conducted so far.
➡️ Weekly Positivity Rate currently at 2.50%.
➡️ Daily Positivity Rate stands at 1.80%. pic.twitter.com/vF53jSkIHF
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 19, 2022
Tokyo recorded 13,516 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, up 1,751 from a week earlier, national broadcaster NHK reported. It is the first daily rise from week-earlier levels since Feb. 8, NHK said, adding that the Japanese capital recorded 27 deaths, the highest this year. A Japanese health panel on Friday approved a plan for more targeted COVID curbs across much of the nation. (Reuters)
Mainland China reported 137 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Feb. 18, the country's national health authority said on Saturday, up from 87 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 80 were locally transmitted, the National Health Commission said, compared with 40 a day earlier. These included 46 cases in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. (Reuters)
China is giving COVID-19 booster vaccines using technologies different from the initial injections, in an effort to improve immunisation strategies amid concerns that its most-used jabs appeared to be weaker against variants such as Omicron. Boosting population immunity could be crucial to preparing China to eventually reopen its borders and pivot from its “dynamic zero” strategy, which involves travel curbs and mass testing following dozens of local infections. (Reuters)
via NaMo App pic.twitter.com/gfca41vpll
— Office of Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@OfficeOf_MM) February 19, 2022
Hong Kong health authorities on Saturday reported 6,063 new COVID-19 cases and 15 new deaths as the city grapples to contain an outbreak of coronavirus that has overwhelmed its healthcare system. Authorities reported about 7,400 additional preliminary positive cases. (Reuters)
Eighteen coronavirus patients, including a teenager, have died in Odisha and 534 people tested positive for the pathogen, the Health Department said on Saturday. The daily positivity rate was 1.1 per cent and 147 children were among those newly infected. The infections are the lowest since 424 cases on January 3. The state had logged 671 COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths on Friday. (PTI)
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) February 19, 2022
➡️ India's Active Caseload currently at 2,53,739.
➡️ Active Cases presently constitute 0.59% of Total Cases. pic.twitter.com/OsQS7p8bX2
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 19, 2022
Carnival Cruise Line plans to make masks optional for its guests from March 1 after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eased its warnings for cruise ships, the company said in a statement late on Friday. The company said masks would be recommended but not required. (Reuters)
Hong Kong until recently had an enviable record battling COVID-19, but as an Omicron wave now overwhelms the city, the steps that saved lives are making life unbearable for many of its 7.4 million people. Like an immune system overreacting and harming the person it is meant to protect, the “dynamic zero-COVID” policies that had crushed the virus in Hong Kong have contributed to current woes, experts say. Patients lie in beds in cold, wet parking lots outside overflowing hospitals, isolation facilities are filling up and thousands queue for hours outside testing venues. (Reuters)
The World Health Organization said on Friday six African countries – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia – would be the first on the continent to receive the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines. The technology transfer project, launched last year in Cape Town, aims to help low- and middle-income countries manufacture mRNA vaccines at scale and according to international standards. (Reuters)
