Omicron Coronavirus India Highlights, Coronavirus Vaccination Statistics and Registration Highlights, Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in India Recent Updates, Covid Restrictions Feb 22 Highlights: India recorded 13,405 new Covid-19 cases, 235 deaths and 34,226 recoveries in the last 24 hours, as per the official data shared by the Union Ministry of Health on Tuesday morning. The country’s active case load currently stands at 1,81,075 and total death toll is logged at 5,12,344. The daily COVID-19 cases have remained below one lakh for 16 consecutive days now.
Given the consistent decline in Coronavirus infections, regular international flights are also likely to resume from March 15, government sources reportedly said on Monday. A decision on resuming scheduled international flights has almost been arrived at by the Civil Aviation Ministry following consultation with the Health Ministry, as per a PTI report. However, no official announcement has been made by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation so far.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has also granted final approval to Biological E’s Covid-19 vaccine, Corbevax, for children between the age group of 12-18. Corbevax vaccine is India’s first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) Protein sub-unit vaccine against covid-19. The Health Ministry had earlier stated that additional need for vaccination and inclusion of population for vaccination is being constantly examined by the states and Centre.
“The @CDSCO_INDIA_INF has granted emergency use authorisation to COVID-19 vaccine #CORBEVAX for 12-18 year age group. It is India’s 1st indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain Protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19.This will further strengthen our fight against COVID19,” Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya posted on twitter.
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Telangana on Tuesday recorded 374 new COVID-19 cases and one death; these pushed the tally to 7,87,437 and 4,110 respectively, said the Health Department.
A bulletin said 683 people recovered from the infection and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 7,78,850.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) reported the highest number of cases with 91 followed by the districts of Ranga Reddy (39) and Nalgonda (22).
The number of active cases was 4,477, the bulletin said.
The case fatality rate was 0.52 per cent and the recovery rate 98.91 per cent. (PTI)
Sikkim's COVID-19 caseload rose to 39,039 on Tuesday with nine fresh infections, while the death toll remained at 441 with no fatality reported in the last 24 hours, a health department bulletin said.
Three persons had tested positive for the infection on Monday.
East Sikkim logged six new cases, followed by two West Sikkim and one case in South Sikkim.
The state now has 109 active coronavirus cases, while 37,745 people have recovered from the disease so far.
Altogether 744 coronavirus patients have migrated to other states.
The Himalayan state has conducted 3,24,262 sample tests for COVID-19 thus far, including 263 in the last 24 hours.
Sikkim's COVID-19 daily positivity rate stood at 3.4 per cent, while the recovery ratio was 98.6 per cent. (PTI)
Nagaland on Tuesday reported nine new COVID-19 cases, three more than the previous day, with the tally rising to 35,372, a health department official said.
The death toll stood at 753 as no fresh fatality due to the infection was registered in the last 24 hours, he said.
At least 33 people recuperated from the disease during the period, taking the total number of recoveries to 32,937, the official said.
The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients in the state is currently at 93.11 per cent.
Altogether 1,476 coronavirus-positive patients have migrated to other states so far.
Nagaland now has 206 active cases, the official said.
Nearly 4.58 lakh samples for COVID-19 have been tested thus far. (PTI)
Delhi on Tuesday reported 498 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 0.96 per cent and one death due to the infection, according to data shared by the health department.
The number of tests conducted a day ago stood at 51,793, while 411 patients were discharged in a day, the bulletin said.
The national capital's case tally has risen to 18,57,015, and the death toll is at 26,106, it stated.
Delhi on Monday reported 360 cases with the positivity rate falling below one per cent for the first time since December 28.
On Sunday, the city logged 570 cases with a positivity rate of 1.04 per cent and four fatalities. The day before, it saw 635 COVID-19 cases and two deaths, while the positivity rate was at 1.13 per cent. (PTI)
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 176 crore on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said.
Over 30 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday till 7 pm.
The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night.
More than 1.93 crore precaution doses have been administered to healthcare and frontline workers and comorbid people aged 60 and above, the ministry said. (PTI)
Karnataka on Tuesday reported 767 fresh cases of coronavirus and 29 fatalities, taking the aggregate to 39,38,032 and the toll to 39,845.
There were 1,692 discharges, pushing the total number of recoveries to 38,87,744, a Health bulletin said.
Of the new cases, 552 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 916 people being discharged and 14 virus-related deaths.
The total number of active cases across the state is now 10,406.
While the positivity rate for the day stood at 1.31 per cent, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 3.78 per cent.
Of the 29 deaths, 14 were from Bengaluru Urban; Dakshina Kannada (3), Dharwad, Tumakuru and Udupi (2), followed by others.
After Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru recorded the second highest number of cases at 23, followed by Belagavi (22), Tumakuru (21), Dakshina Kannada (20) and others.
Bengaluru Urban district now has a total of 17,76,725 cases, Mysuru 2,29,157 and Tumakuru 1,59,663.
Cumulatively, a total of 6,41,40,430 samples have been tested, of which 58,459 were on Tuesday alone. (PTI)
Beijing, Feb 22 (PTI) China has promised to India to work for the “early return” of over 23,000 Indian students stranded at home for over two years due to Beijing's rigid COVID-19 visa ban and assured New Delhi that they will not be discriminated in any manner as their resumption of studies is not a “political issue”.
In its first positive communication on the vexed issue of stranded Indian students, mostly studying medicine in various Chinese colleges, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has informed the Indian Embassy here “they are cognizant of the welfare of all foreign students, including Indian students”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of China has assured the Embassy that they are cognizant of the welfare of all foreign students, including Indian students, and have also conveyed that they will work on their early return to China in a coordinated manner and will continue contact with the Embassy on this matter,” an Indian Embassy press release here said on Tuesday.
“Chinese MFA also conveyed that the return of Indian students was not a political issue and they will not be discriminated in any manner while deciding on the return of foreign students to China to resume their education,” it said.
The assurance followed the Embassy “continuously highlighting these issues with the relevant Chinese authorities in the last two years”, it said.
The MFA too has made vague assurances in the last two years whenever the Indian media here questioned the delay of the return of the students and the plight they suffered at home despite paying hefty fees.
The references to not to make the students return a political issue and assurance to not to discriminate against them followed China assuring leaders from Pakistan, Mongolia and Singapore that it will allow their early return.
It also aims to dispel an impression that Indian students may be discriminated against in view of the current political stalemate between the two countries due to the military standoff at eastern Ladakh.
China had promised during the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan early this month to “arrange” for the return of about 28,000 Pakistani students who are stuck back home for the past two years following visa curbs imposed by Beijing under its zero COVID-19 case policy.
China reportedly made similar assurances to leaders of Mongolia and Singapore whose leaders like Khan also visited Beijing to take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in early February.
Recently, the Sri Lankan government urged Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Colombo to permit its medical students studying in Chinese universities to return as their future was at stake.
While making these promises Beijing has not given any definite timelines to those countries to permit the students to return.
Since 2020, China has stopped issuing visas for Indians and currently, there were no flights in operation between the two countries.
The extension of China's strict zero case policy of COVID-19 to thousands of foreign students, mostly studying in Chinese medical colleges, has virtually ruined nearly two years of their education.
The online classes that their colleges claim to conduct made little difference to the medical students who were deprived of valuable laboratory classes.
Into the second month of this year, Beijing is yet to commit to a definite timeline for the return of the Indian students and their South Asian counterparts besides hundreds of Indian employees and businessmen who are either stuck at home or separated from their families.
The Indian Embassy press release said “it will continue to work with the Chinese side on the issue of movement of people between the two countries”.
“All Indian nationals who are intending to travel to China are advised to remain in touch with the Chinese Embassy in Delhi and Consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata for further information. Indian Embassy and Consulates will also immediately put out further information on this issue, when shared by the Chinese side, on their website and various social media handles,” it said.
Referring to Chinese official statements in the past about the educational institutions conducting online classes, the Embassy statement said, “for medical students, in particular, the issue of in-person education is of paramount importance as it is impossible to undertake such studies in a remote manner”.
In addition, the National Medical Council (NMC) of India has also clarified that students cannot appear for FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduation Exam) in India if the medical courses are conducted in an online mode.
“Accordingly, the notification of NMC (issued on February 8, 2022) has also been formally conveyed to the relevant Chinese authorities, so that they are mindful of the concerns of Indian students, who are enrolled with them or are planning to enroll at a later date,” it said. (PTI)
A two-year-old boy suffered multiple organ dysfunction days after recovering from Covid-19 and spent around 16 days on a ventilator as specialists at a private hospital here worked towards restoring his kidneys, heart and lungs to normal function.
After recovering from Covid-19, the kid developed a cough in December last year, which swiftly progressed to high fever and breathing problems.
His parents rushed him to a local hospital, but his condition worsened. When the child started choking, the family shifted him to Aakash Healthcare, Dwarka, where he suffered a cardiac arrest.
“Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, the child had a cardiac arrest. It is especially disturbing for me as a doctor because he is just two years old. Further examinations revealed that he had developed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare disorder in which his own body was killing multiple organs. As a result, the lungs, heart, brain and kidneys had suffered considerable damage,” said Dr. Sayed Mustafa Hasan, Senior Consultant and Head, Pediatrics and Neonatology, Aakash Healthcare.
“The baby was unable to pass urine, putting him in a severe condition. He was also experiencing speech difficulty and loss of eye contact with others as a result of the post-Covid effects. We immediately began Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) to remove all waste material from his body. The therapy continued non-stop for 60 hours. To eliminate infections, we employed the cytosorb dialysis filter. We also worked to normalize his blood pressure,” he said.
The boy spent around 16 days on a ventilator in the ICU ward. During this time, a team of specialists attempted to restore his kidneys, heart and lungs to normal function. Along with CRRT, he was also given hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis to remove the infection. His condition improved over time and he was eventually discharged from the hospital.
“It took a collaborative effort from several pediatric specialties across the hospital to save this little one's life. We used a variety of technologies to keep track of the health of various organs. It's a very rare case and less than one percent of the kids suffer from such severe infection and leading to multiple organ dysfunction. Finally, he is rid of all infections and he can resume his normal life,” said Dr. Neha Bhandari, Consultant, Pediatrics Nephrology.
Cardiac arrest is rare in children, but it can happen. Hence, all children need regular check-up visits with their doctor. These visits are a chance to get a complete physical exam and detailed health history to help identify risk factors that can develop into life-threatening situations.
Major hospitals in India have seen cases wherein children who had recovered from Covid-19 acquired post-Covid complications which might be deadly. It is therefore important that parents keep a check on developing symptoms after their child has recovered from Covid-19, said Dr. Sameer Punia, Consultant, Paediatric & Neonatology, Aakash Healthcare. (PTI)
Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting to be held on 25th February. Further relaxation in COVID restrictions in the national capital in wake of a drop in cases likely to be taken up. (ANI)
A day after reporting less than 100 COVID-19 cases, Mumbai on Tuesday added 135 patients to its tally and recorded two fresh fatalities due to the infection, a civic official said.
The caseload in the metropolis now stands at 10,55,792 and the COVID-19 death toll is 16,690.
With 233 being discharged after treatment, the count of recoveries went up to 10,34,914 in Mumbai, which was 98 per cent of the tally, he said.
Some 85 per cent, or 115 cases, of the 135 detected during the day were asymptomatic, with just 20 patients requiring hospital admission and eight needing oxygen support in the last 24 hours, he said.
The active tally in the city stood at 1,315 and just 781 of the 36,248 beds earmarked for COVID-19 treatment are currently occupied, the official said.
Tuesday was the third day in a row when the addition to the tally was less than 200, with Monday's 96 being the lowest since April, 2020, just a month after the pandemic began nationwide.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data showed 20,889 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, some 4,000 more than those conducted on the previous day, taking the overall number of tests here to 1,60,66,326.
It also showed the positivity rate was 0.64 per cent, and that there was no sealed building or containment zone currently in the country's financial capital.
The caseload doubling time stood 3,512 days, while the growth rate in cases stood at 0.02 per cent between February 15 and 21, civic data revealed.
Mumbai had reported a record 20,971 cases on January 7 this year amid the third wave of the pandemic. (PTI)
A day after reporting less than 100 COVID-19 cases, Mumbai on Tuesday added 135 patients to its tally and recorded two fresh fatalities due to the infection, a civic official said.
The caseload in the metropolis now stands at 10,55,792 and the COVID-19 death toll is 16,690.
With 233 being discharged after treatment, the count of recoveries went up to 10,34,914 in Mumbai, which was 98 per cent of the tally, he said.
Some 85 per cent, or 115 cases, of the 135 detected during the day were asymptomatic, with just 20 patients requiring hospital admission and eight needing oxygen support in the last 24 hours, he said.
The active tally in the city stood at 1,315 and just 781 of the 36,248 beds earmarked for COVID-19 treatment are currently occupied, the official said.
Tuesday was the third day in a row when the addition to the tally was less than 200, with Monday's 96 being the lowest since April, 2020, just a month after the pandemic began nationwide.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data showed 20,889 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, some 4,000 more than those conducted on the previous day, taking the overall number of tests here to 1,60,66,326.
It also showed the positivity rate was 0.64 per cent, and that there was no sealed building or containment zone currently in the country's financial capital.
The caseload doubling time stood 3,512 days, while the growth rate in cases stood at 0.02 per cent between February 15 and 21, civic data revealed.
Mumbai had reported a record 20,971 cases on January 7 this year amid the third wave of the pandemic. (PTI)
Kerala registers 5,691 new COVID-19 cases, 10 deaths, and 10,851 recoveries, today; 81 deaths which were not added due to lack of documentation & 39 deaths as per the new guidelines of central govt, have now been added.
Active cases stand at 53,597
Total deaths 64,403 (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh reported 244 fresh cases of Covid-19, 662 recoveries and two deaths in 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday. According to the latest bulletin, the total positives now rose to 23,16,711, recoveries to 22,96,430 and deaths 14,716. The number of active cases came down to 5,565, it said. All districts registered less than 50 fresh cases, with East Godavari topping with 47 and Vizianagaram at the bottom with just two. Chittoor and Krishna districts reported one fresh fatality each in a day. PTI
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said the Maharashtra government's orders of 2021 permitting only people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel in local trains were “illegal” and brazenly affected the fundamental rights of citizens. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik said the three orders signed by the government's then chief secretary Sitaram Kunte were in clear diversion from the prescribed procedure under the Disaster Management Rules. – PTI
HONG KONG LEADER CARRIE LAM SAYS THE COMING 1-3 MONTHS CRUCIAL IN VIRUS FIGHT (Reuters)
Uganda plans to impose fines on people who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who fail to pay could be sent to prison under a new public health law which lawmakers are scrutinising, parliament said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
A former senior official of Singapore's health ministry has been sentenced to 18 weeks in jail for leaking the country's daily numbers of COVID-19 cases on a chat group and playing the “guess the number” game with the 49 other members in that group, a media report said on Tuesday. Zhao Zheng, 37, a former deputy lead of the Data Management Unit set up by the Ministry of Health (MOH), pleaded to 12 charges, mostly for wrongful communication under the Official Secrets Act, Channel News Asia reported. (PTI)
Ladakh reported 32 fresh Covid cases that pushed the infection tally to 27,867, officials said on Tuesday. The number of active cases stands at 321 — 276 cases in Leh and 45 cases in Kargil district, they said. The Union Territory has recorded 228 Covid-related deaths — 168 in Leh and 60 in Kargil, they said, adding that no death was reported on Monday. (PTI)
Hong Kong reported 6,211 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, and another 9,369 cases who came up positive in preliminary tests, as the city battles to curb a coronavirus outbreak that has overwhelmed healthcare facilities in the global financial hub. (Reuters)
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 12,83,297 as 428 more people tested positive for the infection on Tuesday, while 10 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 9,036, the Health department said. The daily positivity rate was 0.81 per cent and 136 children were among the newly-infected, it said, adding that 52,672 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. Six out of the new fatalities were in Sundargarh district. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended and it is still necessary to wear mask and ramp up vaccination. After virtually inaugurating a hospital and medical college at Alibaug in Raigad district, the CM said vaccine reduces the severity of the coronavirus infection. It acts as “suraksha kawach” (protective shield), he noted. “The coronavirus pandemic has not ended yet. Question is being asked for how long we need to keep wearing masks. It is difficult to comment on it at this point. We need to use this time (when cases are declining) to ramp up vaccination,” Thackeray said. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended and it is still necessary to wear mask and ramp up vaccination. After virtually inaugurating a hospital and medical college at Alibaug in Raigad district, the CM said vaccine reduces the severity of the coronavirus infection. It acts as “suraksha kawach” (protective shield), he noted. “The coronavirus pandemic has not ended yet. Question is being asked for how long we need to keep wearing masks. It is difficult to comment on it at this point. We need to use this time (when cases are declining) to ramp up vaccination,” Thackeray said. (PTI)
Dubai's main airport said Tuesday it has retained its top place as the world's busiest for international travel with around 29 million passengers shuttling through the global gateway last year. The 2021 passenger figures are encouraging for the tourism-driven economy of Dubai, regarded as a critical link between East and West. The numbers are sign that international travel has picked up somewhat since the coronavirus pandemic spawned unprecedented global lockdowns and border closures in 2020. (AP)
Puducherry saw a marginal increase in daily coronavirus cases with 27 new infections being confirmed during the last twenty-four hours ending 10 a.m. on Tuesday. The overall caseload shot up to 1,65,646. On Monday, 22 fresh cases were detected. (PTI)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday said he would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with COVID-19 and free testing, drawing scepticism from some scientists and political opponents. (Reuters)
Hong Kong authorities said they found COVID-19 in samples taken from the packaging of imports of frozen beef from Brazil and frozen pork skin from Poland, vowing to step up inspections of imported food. Authorities said COVID-19 is predominantly transmitted through droplets and cannot multiply in food or food packaging, and that it is unlikely that it can be transmitted to humans via food consumption. Nevertheless, they recommend people handle raw food separately, observe hygiene rules and cook food thoroughly. (Reuters)
People infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75% less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, real world data released on Monday by South Korea's health authorities showed. A study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) of some 67,200 infections confirmed since December showed the Omicron variant's severity and death rates averaged 0.38% and 0.18%, respectively, compared with 1.4% and 0.7% for the Delta cases. The KDCA classed severe cases as people who were hospitalised in intensive care units. (Reuters)
China reported 138 new COVID-19 cases in the mainland for Monday, down from 144 cases a day earlier, the health authority said. Of the new infections, 59 were locally transmitted, according to a statement on Tuesday by the National Health Commission (NHC), down from 71 a day earlier. The other new cases were imported. (Reuters)
Arunachal Pradesh recorded more single-day COVID-19 recoveries than fresh cases as 69 people recuperated from the disease while 34 fresh infections pushed the tally to 64,313, a senior health department official said here on Tuesday.
A total of 63,750 people have recovered from COVID-19 so far, he said.
The COVID-19 death toll in the frontier state remained at 296, as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. (PTI)
CDL Kasauli clears almost 6.5 crore doses of Corbevax: Sources (ANI)
The European Commission and the German government said on Monday they expect deliveries of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid to begin over the course of this week. Novavax's recombinant protein vaccine uses a more established technology than mRNA, the novel method behind the two most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines in Germany made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. (Reuters)
England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty warned on Monday there will be new COVID-19 variants and said some of them could be more resistant to vaccines. Earlier, Britain said it would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with COVID-19 and free testing, drawing scepticism from some scientists and political opponents. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday free mass COVID-19 testing would end in England from April 1 but would still be available for the most vulnerable and could be paid for by others who need the tests. “From April 1, when winter is over and the virus will spread less easily, we will end free symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public,” Johnson told parliament. (Reuters)
➡️ India's Active Caseload currently at 1,81,075.
➡️ Active Cases presently constitute 0.42% of Total Cases. pic.twitter.com/6B187xLqKM
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 22, 2022
Thane has added 51 new cases of coronavirus, raising the infection tally in the Maharashtra district to 7,07,973, while one death pushed the toll to 11,863, an official said on Tuesday. These new cases and death were reported on Monday, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in the district was 1.67 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,63,311, while the death toll stands at 3,391, another official said. (PTI)
➡️ More than 172.61 Cr vaccine doses provided to States/UTs.
➡️ More than 11.17 Cr doses still available with States/UTs to be administered.https://t.co/pVIC1d6KLTpic.twitter.com/OV55iXR8l4
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 22, 2022
Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported three new COVID-19 cases, one less than the previous day, pushing the tally to 10,008, a health department official said on Tuesday. The union territory now has 29 active COVID-19 cases. (PTI)
British Prime Minister Boris on Monday said he would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with COVID-19 and free testing, drawing scepticism from some scientists and political opponents. Johnson's “living with COVID” plan has sparked alarm that it is premature and will leave the country vulnerable to new viral variants, but the government says it has provided more testing than most other countries, and must now curb the cost. (Reuters)
