Coronavirus India Live News: New Omicron Variant Symptoms and Cases in India, Coronavirus Vaccine Registration Latest Update, Covid-19 India Latest News Updates: Union Ministry of Health has on humanitarian grounds allowed various exemptions for Indians being evacuated from Ukraine. Indian nationals have been exempted from mandatory requirements like negative RTPCR test before boarding and vaccination certificate. They also don’t need to upload documents before departure on Air-Suvidha Portal.
Meanwhile, the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in India has been extended “till further orders”, the DGCA said in a circular, on Monday. The suspension was extended till February 28, on January 19. This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA & flights under bubble arrangement, the circular said.
India’s single-day rise in Covid-19 cases fell below 10,000 after two months, with 8,013 cases taking India’s total tally to 4,29,24,130, while active cases have declined to 1,02,601, according to the official data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Monday.
With 119 deaths, the death toll has climbed to 5,13,843. The daily infections have been recorded at less than one lakh for 22 consecutive days. According to the data, India’s active cases comprise 0.24% of the total infections, while the national recovery rate has further improved to 98.56%.
With the ongoing pandemic, India saw many small business owners, restaurateurs, and traders, taking the hit of severe losses when lockdown guidelines were announced. The state governments renewed and released new Covid curbs over time but the small businesses have yet not been able to take off. However, according to a recent PTI report, several market associations in Delhi are now hopeful that their business will finally see a boost, after the DDMA decided to withdraw all curbs, including night curfew. On Friday, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, decided to withdraw all curbs from today and reduced the fine for not wearing masks from Rs 2,000 to Rs 500. While schools will resume offline classes from April 1, passengers in the Delhi Metro can now travel without any restrictions, which means, they can travel both standing and sitting manner. This might result in more footfall at the restaurants which are now allowed to be operational at full capacity.
ALSO READ: Is there a risk of infection with Omicron BA.2 after being infected with BA.1?
Ashok Randhawa, president of the Sarojini Nagar mini-market traders’ association, spoke to PTI and said that the lifting of the night curfew comes as the “biggest” relief. “We welcome this move by the Delhi government, the lieutenant governor and the DDMA. With the lifting of the night curfew, we will get more time to do business. During weekdays, most of the customers come to the market for shopping after their office hours. As the restrictions were in place and the market used to close by 8 pm, many of them returned home without shopping,” Randhawa said. “The wedding season is in place and many customers are visiting the market. There is Holi next month and the cases are also reducing. We are hoping that no other variant of the coronavirus comes in the future,” he further added.
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Omicron Coronavirus India Live News: New Omicron Virus Cases in India Latest Updates, Coronavirus Vaccination Statistics and Registration Live News, Covid-19 Cases and Deaths India Live Count
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which cause COVID-19, originated in animals and spread to humans in late 2019 at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, two new studies suggest. The first study used spatial analysis to show that the earliest known COVID-19 cases, diagnosed in December 2019, were centered on the Wuhan market. The researchers found that environmental samples that tested positive for the virus were strongly associated with the vendors selling live animals. – PTI
Ladakh reported 11 fresh COVID-19 cases – all in Leh – taking the overall caseload in the union territory to 28,003, while the active cases reduced to 166, officials said on Monday. Ladakh has recorded 228 COVID-related deaths – 168 in Leh and 60 in Kargil. No fresh death was reported, they said. Fifty two patients recovered – 44 in Leh and eight in Kargil – and were discharged from hospitals. With these, the total number of recoveries went up to 27,609, they said. A total of 675 sample reports in Ladakh were tested negative, they said. Of the 166 active cases, 159 cases were reported in Leh and the remaining in Kargil, they said. – PTI
Hong Kong reported a record-high 34,466 new infections Monday as deaths continued to climb, with health authorities saying that a lockdown has not been ruled out even though the city's leader last week said that a citywide lockdown was unrealistic. Hong Kong is currently grappling with the fifth wave of the coronavirus, driven primarily by the omicron variant. Monday's more than 34,000 cases have more than quadrupled from a week ago, when the city reported over 7,500 infections. (AP)
A yet-to-be peer-reviewed study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur suggests that the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India may start around June 22 and peak from mid to late August, reported PTI. The study which was recently posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv, found that the possible new wave will last for four months.
Health Ministry revises int'l travel advisory; provides various exemptions for Indians being evacuated from Ukraine Mandatory pre-boarding negative RTPCR test & vaccination certificate exempted for Indians; uploading documents before departure on Air-Suvidha Portal exempted (ANI)
HONG KONG HEALTH AUTHORITIES REPORT 87 COVID-19 DEATHS IN PAST 24 HOURS (Reuters)
A rapid spread in COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong has put the plight of domestic helpers in the global financial hub in the spotlight after some were fired or made homeless by their employers when they tested positive for coronavirus. Hong Kong has around 340,000 domestic helpers, most hailing from either the Philippines or Indonesia. Many families in the city depend on live-in helpers for housekeeping and to look after the elderly and children, with the minimum wage set at HK$4,630 ($593) per month. Under Hong Kong law, migrant domestic workers must live with their employers, often residing in tiny rooms or sharing the bedrooms of the children they care for. (Reuters)
China has spent over a year developing Pfizer-type COVID-19 vaccines that may even help it pivot from stringent “zero-COVID” restrictions, but a changed market and the Omicron variant have muddied prospects before efficacy data has even been published. Still, China is unlikely to join the majority of countries in approving foreign-made vaccines based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology before making its own, experts said, though a slowing vaccination drive at home and in some other nations and improved supply of approved vaccines have raised questions of viability. “If they (China) use mRNA vaccines, they will produce them themselves rather than take it from outside. It is a matter of national pride and also vaccine diplomacy,” said Jaya Dantas, professor of international health at the Curtis School of Population Health in Australia. (Reuters)
Puducherry witnessed a steep fall in number of daily cases of coronavirus with only nine people testing positive for the disease on Monday, taking the aggregate to 1,65,720. All the new cases identified at the end of examination of 871 samples were confined to Puducherry region while the other three regions-Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam-reported no fresh case. The active cases were 118 with 12 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals and the remaining 106 patients in home quarantine. (PTI)
South Korea will no longer require people to show proof of vaccination or negative tests to enter any indoor space starting Tuesday, removing a key preventive measure during a fast-developing omicron surge that's elevating hospitalizations and deaths. The Health Ministry's announcement on Monday came as the country set another one-day record in COVID-19 deaths with 114, breaking the previous high of 112 set on Saturday. More than 710 COVID-19 patients were in critical or serious conditions, up from 200-300 in mid-February, while nearly half of the country's intensive care units designated for COVID-19 were occupied. (AP)
Bhubaneswar | Schools reopen almost after two years for classes 1 to 7 in Odisha We are very excited to have children back to school almost after two years. To avoid crowding, the arrival time in two slots: Ramshi Pandey, Principal of Primary kids, SIA International School (ANI)
New Zealand is ending a requirement that incoming travellers isolate themselves as it continues to remove coronavirus border protections in the face of a growing domestic outbreak. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said the requirement that vaccinated travellers isolate for a week after arriving would end on Wednesday. Initially the changes will apply only to returning New Zealanders, as tourists are still not allowed to visit. Travellers will still need to test negative for the virus before leaving and after arriving. (AP)
The suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country has been extended “till further orders”, aviation regulator DGCA said on Monday. On January 19, the suspension was extended till February 28. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, following the outbreak of the coronavirus. However, special passenger flights have been operating between India and around 45 countries since July 2020 under air bubble arrangements formed with them. (PTI)
South Korea will no longer require people to show proof of vaccination or negative tests to enter any indoor space starting Tuesday, removing a key preventive measure during a fast-developing omicron surge that's elevating hospitalisations and deaths.
The Health Ministry's announcement on Monday came as the country set another one-day record in COVID-19 deaths with 114, breaking the previous high of 112 set on Saturday. More than 710 COVID-19 patients were in critical or serious conditions, up from 200-300 in mid-February, while nearly half of the country's intensive care units designated for COVID-19 were occupied. (AP)
Italy reported 38,375 COVID-19 related cases on Saturday, against 40,948 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths rose to 210 from 193. Italy has registered 154,416 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 12.7 million cases to date. (Reuters)
Japan this week will ease tough coronavirus border controls that have been criticized as xenophobic and damaging to the economy. The new rules, however, provide only a slight improvement: 5,000 new entrants per day, instead of the current 3,500, and nowhere near the estimated 64,000 a day that were entering for long-term visits before the pandemic. The 5,000 daily arrivals also includes Japanese nationals returning to the country, which means hundreds of thousands of foreigners will still struggle to enter. (AP)
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2022
Hong Kong reported a record 26,026 daily COVID-19 infections on Sunday and 83 deaths, as an outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variant overwhelms healthcare facilities and proves hard to control. The global financial hub has imposed some of the most stringent COVID restrictions in the world to cope with the coronavirus spike, leading some executives to leave and frustrating some residents.
The United Arab Emirates, the Middle East tourism and commercial hub, over the weekend ended a requirement to wear face masks outdoors and obligatory quarantine for COVID-19 contact cases. Fully-vaccinated passengers arriving in the country will no longer require PCR tests, said the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority in updated guidance that went into effect on Saturday.
GERMANY REPORTS 14,745,107 CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS CASES (+62,349), 122,702 CORONAVIRUS DEATHS (+24) – ROBERT KOCH INSTITUTE (Reuters)
Facilities for storing dead bodies at hospitals and public mortuaries in Hong Kong are struggling to keep pace with a record number of COVID-19 infections and deaths, eclipsing authorities attempts to control a deepening outbreak.
Dozens of bodies are waiting in hospital accident and emergency rooms across the global financial hub to be transported to mortuaries, said Tony Ling, head of the city's Public Doctors Association. (Reuters)
➡️ More than 175.86 Cr vaccine doses provided to States/UTs.
➡️ More than 12.89 Cr doses still available with States/UTs to be administered.https://t.co/Fa6o3VzHK0pic.twitter.com/rlumMbWmbZ
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 28, 2022
Active case: 1,02,601 (0.24%)
Daily positivity rate: 1.11%
Total recoveries: 4,23,07,686
Death toll: 5,13,843
Total vaccination: 1,77,50,86,335 pic.twitter.com/Gl5wTCt1r6
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2022
One more person tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking the Union territory's caseload to 10,017 on Monday, a health bulletin said. There are now 10 active cases in the archipelago, while 9,878 people have recovered from the disease so far, including three in the last 24 hours, and 129 patients have succumbed to the infection to date, it said. The administration has thus far tested over 6.99 lakh samples for COVID-19, and fully vaccinated 3.02 lakh people. (PTI)
Thane has reported 43 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 7,08,280, while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 11,875, an official said on Monday. These new cases and death were reported on Sunday, 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 1,63,382, while the death toll stands at 3,392, another official said. (PTI)
Kerala government issues more relaxations in #covid19 guidelines as cases decrease in the state; 100% seating capacity allowed in hotels, bars, restaurants, & theatres. A maximum of 1,500 people, with one person in a 25 sq ft area, allowed for public functions: CMO (ANI)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that a dramatic drop in coronavirus infections could lead to the lifting of vaccine mandates on restaurants, bars and theatres as soon as March 7. His announcement came shortly after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her own plans on Sunday to lift the state's mask mandate on schools, effective Wednesday. (AP)
Assam logged 11 new COVID-19 cases and zero death on Sunday, a National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said. The 11 new cases pushed the COVID-19 caseload 7,24,110. The new cases were detected from 1,788 sample tests conducted during the day. The positivity rate at 0.62 per cent. Kamrup Metropolitan district, which primarily comprises Guwahati city, logged eight fresh infections against four the previous day. With no death reported during the day, the death toll in the state remained at 6,638 with the death rate at 0.92 per cent. The number of COVID-19 positive patients dying due to other reasons also stood at 1,347. (PTI)
As the number of COVID-19 cases has declined in the State, the Kerala government lifted certain restrictions and decided to allow 100 per cent occupancy in theatres. In an order on Sunday, the government allowed the bars, hotels, clubs, restaurants and eateries to also function with full occupancy. The order said the government, semi-governmental offices can hold meetings or training off-line, if required. The restrictions at the district-level on the basis of the number of people hospitalised are also lifted. The government had authorised the State Disaster Management Authority to divide the districts into three groups – A, B and C – based on the number of people admitted to hospitals and imposed restrictions accordingly. As the cases showed a dip, the State administration opened schools, college and creches. (PTI)
Goa on Sunday reported 20 COVID-19 cases and one death, taking the tally to 2,45,001 and death to 3,801, an official said. So far, 2,40,899 people have recovered from the infection, including 40 during the day, leaving the state with an active caseload of 301, he said. With 1,046 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in Goa went up to 18,81,025, he added. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Sunday added 439 fresh infections to its cumulative COVID-19 tally, which rose to 34,49,007, while the toll reached 38,003 with one more fatality. Recoveries outnumbered new cases with 1,209 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 34,04,611, leaving 6,393 active infections, a medical bulletin said. Chennai accounted for the majority of new infections with 119, followed by Coimbatore 66, Chengalpet 51 while the remaining cases were spread across other districts. Ariyalur, Kallakurichi, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, Theni and Thirupathur recorded nil cases in the last 24 hours. (PTI)
West Bengal's COVID-19 death toll rose to 21,175 as three more persons succumbed to the disease on Sunday, while 215 new infections pushed the total caseload to 20,15,018, a health department bulletin said. Of the three deaths, one each was reported from Kolkata, Jhargram and Birbhum, it said. North 24 Parganas district recorded the highest number of new cases with 43 followed by 39 in Kolkata, according to the data. The positivity rate was 0.78 per cent while the COVID-19 recovery rate is 98.85 per cent, it said. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 10,38,588 on Sunday with the detection of 392 cases, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,727, an official said. The positivity rate, or cases per 100 tests, reduced to 0.5 per cent from 0.7 per cent the previous day, he pointed out. So far, 10,24,010 people have been discharged post recovery, including 869 during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 3,851, the official said. Bhopal and Indore, the two worst coronavirus-hit cities of Madhya Pradesh, registered 52 and 23 cases, respectively, during the past 24 hours, he said. With 65,593 samples examined during the day, the number of tests in MP went up to 2,78,31,295, the official added. (PTI)
Gujarat reported 162 fresh COVID-19 cases and two deaths due to the infection on Sunday, increasing its tally to 12,22,511 and the toll to 10,928, a state health department official said. With 386 patients getting discharged during the day, the recovery count rose to 12,09,534, leaving Gujarat with 2,049 active cases, including 23 patients on ventilator support, he said. Ahmedabad reported the maximum 79 cases, followed by 35 in Vadodara, nine in Surat, seven in Rajkot, among other districts. The two COVID-19 fatalities occurred in Vadodara, he said. A state government release said 28,118 people received their COVID-19 vaccination jabs during the day, increasing the total number of doses administered so far in Gujarat to 10.29 crore. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Sunday reported 782 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 78,65,298 while two deaths, in Navi Mumbai and Solapur, pushed the toll to 1,43,697, an official said. So far, 77,10,376 people have been discharged post recovery, including 1,361 during the day, leaving Maharashtra with an active tally of 7,228 cases, he said. With 80,275 samples being examined on Sunday, the total number of tests in the state went up to 7,78,24,854, the official added. He said the Omicron tally in Maharashtra stood at 4,629, with 4,456 people already having been discharged post recovery. (PTI)
Karnataka on Sunday registered 366 fresh coronavirus cases and 17 virus-related fatalities, taking the aggregate to 39,40,795 and the toll to 39,936. There were 801 discharges, pushing the total number of recoveries in the state to 38,94,333, a health bulletin said. Of the new cases, 224 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 326 people being discharged and 11 virus-related deaths. The total number of active cases across the state is now 6,488. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.69 per cent, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 4.64 per cent. Of the 17 deaths, 11 were from Bengaluru Urban, one each from Bidar, Chamarajanagara, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Raichur and Udupi. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday recorded 54 new COVID-19 cases, taking its infection tally to 4,52,955, officials said. Of the fresh cases, 38 were detected in Jammu division and 16 in Kashmir division, they said. The officials said Jammu district recorded the highest number of 30 new cases. There are 788 active cases of the disease in the union territory, while the number of recoveries stands at 4,47,419, they said. (PTI)
A private school in north Delhi decided to switch to online classes after a first grade student developed mild Covid-like symptoms following which all students and parents were advised to take precautionary measures, the school administration said on Sunday. The student had on Thursday attended the school at Model Town, but his parents informed the administration on Saturday that he had developed Covid-like symptoms like headache and pain, it said. As a precautionary measure, the school administration decided not to conduct offline classes for students from nursery to class 5 on Monday. “The affected student attended school on Thursday and was absent the next day. After his parents told us about the situation on Saturday, we informed rest of the parents and asked them to take precautionary measures and also inform the school administration in such cases. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Nashik reached 4,75,690 on Sunday with the addition of 29 cases, while one death took the toll to 8,894, an official said. So far, 4,66,475 people have been discharged post recovery, including 66 during the day, leaving the district with an active tally of 321, he said. (PTI)
Mumbai on Sunday reported 103 COVID-19 cases, taking the city's tally to 10,56,399, while the toll remained unchanged at 16,691, a civic official said. A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation statement said 87 out of the 103 new cases were asymptomatic. The recovery count increased by 165 during the day to reach 10,35,991, leaving the city with an active caseload of 838, the official said. He said 18,367 samples were examined in the last 24 hours, which took the number of tests conducted to 1,61,71,892. (PTI)
Two more Covid deaths were reported in Haryana on Sunday as 360 fresh cases surfaced, pushing the state's infection count to 9,81,444, according to a Health Department bulletin. So far, 10,557 people have died from the infection in the state. Gurugram district reported 172 fresh cases while 33 infection cases were from Faridabad. The two fresh deaths were from Gurugram district, as per the bulletin. (PTI)
Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests the Biden administration recently made available to the public still have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test. Wild demand swings have been a subplot in the pandemic, from vaccines to hand sanitizer, along with tests. On the first day of the White House test giveaway in January, COVIDtests.gov received over 45 million orders. Now officials say fewer than 100,000 orders a day are coming in for the packages of four free rapid tests per household, delivered by the US Postal Service. Still, the White House sees the program as a step toward a deeper, yet more elastic, testing infrastructure that will accommodate demand surges and remain on standby when cases wane. (AP)
Nagaland on Sunday reported only one new COVID-19 case, five less than the previous day, taking the tally in the state to 35,402, a health department official said. The state's coronavirus death toll remained at 756 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, he said. Nagaland now has 119 active COVID-19 cases, while 33,050 people have recovered from the disease, including 10 in the last 24 hours, the official said. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state is 93.35 per cent. Nagaland had reported six new COVID-19 cases and one death on Saturday. The state has tested more than 4.59 lakh samples for COVID-19 so far. (PTI)
Kerala on Sunday recorded 2,524 fresh COVID-19 infections which raised the total caseload to 64,97,204 in the state. The southern state also reported 62 deaths which raised the total fatalities to 65,223, according to a government release. Of the deaths, 3 were reported in the last 24 hours, 13 were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 46 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. With 5,499 more people recovering from the virus since Saturday, the total recoveries in the state reached 64,01,236 and the active cases dropped to 29,943, the release said. As many as 34,680 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 393 cases, followed by Thiruvananthapuram 356 and Kottayam 241, the release said. (PTI)
The total coronavirus recoveries in Andhra Pradesh crossed 23 lakh on Sunday even as the state registered 136 fresh cases in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday. The latest bulletin said 803 more infected people got cured while another succumbed in the state. The state Covid-19 chart now showed a gross of 23,17,741 positives, 23,00,165 recoveries and 14,726 deaths till date. The number of active cases dropped below 3,000 to 2,850, the bulletin said. Chittoor district became the first in the state to log a total of 2,000 Covid-19 deaths as it reported one fresh fatality today. (PTI)
Sikkim reported two new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 39,064, a health department bulletin said on Sunday. The COVID-19 death toll rose to 443 as one more person succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, it said. The Himalayan state now has 59 active COVID-19 cases, while 37,817 people have recovered from the disease and 745 have migrated to other states, the bulletin said. Sikkim had reported two new COVID-19 cases on Saturday. (PTI)
Schools for classes 1 to 7 will open in Odisha on Monday after nearly two years with a week-long rapport building exercise. The government had announced earlier that the schools would open from February 14, but various district collectors sought additional time for undertaking cleaning, bush cutting and minor repairs. They cited the rural elections, due to which many schools would be used as polling stations. Most of the polling personnel consisted of teaching and non-teaching staff of the School and Mass Education (SME) Department. Therefore, the department announced the students would attend physical classes from February 28. Teachers had to come to school from February 14 to ensure proper cleaning and sanitization. (PTI)
Serum Institute of India has sought permission from India's drug regulator to conduct a phase-3 study of its COVID-19 vaccine Covovax as a booster dose in adults, official sources said on Sunday. The Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) had approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28. The vaccine is yet to be included in the country's inoculation programme. Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII had last week submitted an application to DCGI seeking nod for phase-3, observer-blind, randomised, controlled study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of Covovax as booster dose on those who have received primary vaccination either with Covishield or Covaxin at least three months ago, an official source said. Singh has stated that many countries are already administering booster doses to their citizens considering the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are sure that your approval for conducting this clinical trial will ensure an early availability of Covovax for booster dose use for people of our country as well as the world in line with our prime minister's vision of 'Making in India for the World',” Singh is learnt to have stated in the application. (PTI)
Though the curve of the third COVID-19 wave almost flattened, the decision regarding the face mask rule will be taken carefully, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Sunday. Tope's comments come a day after Maharashtra reported 893 COVID-19 cases and eight fatalities due to the infection. “The peak of the third wave had seen 48,000 cases per day in Maharashtra. Now the number of fresh cases is not even ten per cent (as compared with the peak). The number of active cases is around 9,000 now,” Tope told reporters in Jalna. – PTI
