Covid-19 4th Wave in India Live Updates: If media reports are to be believed, India has detected its first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.4 in Hyderabad. The sample has reportedly been sent to Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) for double check. INSACOG is yet to make an official confirmation regarding the same. BA.4 along with BA.5 are the two variants of Omicron. The two variants are responsible for a fresh wave of coronavirus infections in South Africa and has now been reported in several other countries including the US and the UK.
Meanwhile, India recorded 2,259 new Covid-19 cases and 20 deaths in last 24 hours, according to the data updated by Union Ministry of Health on Friday morning. The active cases declined to 15,044. A decrease of 375 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.50 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.53 per cent, according to the health ministry.
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(With Agency Inputs)
Coronavirus (Covid-19) 4th Wave India Live Updates:
Mumbai on Friday reported 213 COVID-19 cases, a slight dip from the 223 witnessed a day earlier, taking the tally to 10,62,476, while the death toll remained unchanged at 19,566, a civic official said. – PTI
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 10,42,124 on Friday after the detection of 55 cases, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,735, an official said. – PTI
Telangana on Friday recorded 45 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally in the state to 7,92,802, a health department bulletin said. The death toll continued to be 4,111, it said. Hyderabad recorded the highest number of 33 cases. – PTI
Delhi reported 530 new COVID-19 cases and zero fatality due to the disease on Friday, while the positivity rate stood at 2.17 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. With the new infections, Delhi's COVID-19 caseload increases to 19,02,710, while the death toll stands at 26,199. – PTI
Ladakh recorded one fresh Covid case that took the infection tally to 28,258, officials said on Friday. Of the total caseload, 22,977 infections have been reported from Leh and 5,281 from Kargil, they said. The death toll remained unchanged at 228. Of these, 168 fatalities were reported from Leh and 60 from Kargil, officials said. The number of active cases in Ladakh stands at five — four from Leh and one from Kargil, they said. So far, 28,025 COVID-19 patients have recovered, officials added. PTI
The union territory of Puducherry added three new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours raising the overall caseload to 1,65,825, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Friday. There were no fresh fatalities from any of the four regions and the death toll remained at 1,962, The Health department evaluated 1,278 samples in the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Friday which saw three fresh infections surface, Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release. PTI
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 12,88,349 on Friday as 10 more people, including four children, tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. The coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 9,126 as no fresh fatality was recorded. Odisha had logged 12 infections and zero deaths on Thursday. The state now has 118 active cases, while 12,79,052 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 12 in the last 24 hours, it said. The daily positivity rate stood at 0.07 per cent as 14,528 samples were tested for COVID-19. Fifty-three coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities so far. (PTI)
A COVID-19 booster dose will provide strong and broad antibody protection against Omicron sublineage variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, two new studies using serum from human blood samples suggest. Researchers from the Ohio State University in the US tested neutralising antibody levels against the BA.2 and BA.3 Omicron variants and Deltacron, a recombinant variant created by the exchange of genetic material between Delta and Omicron. (PTI)
The European health regulator on Thursday endorsed the use of AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine, Vaxzevria, as a booster. The recommendation, made by a committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), encompasses adults who have either been previously vaccinated by Vaxzevria or an mRNA vaccine, such as the ones made by Pfizer and BioNTech or Moderna. (Reuters)
An advisory panel to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday voted to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for children ages 5 to 11, at least five months after completing their primary vaccination course. The advisers considered data from the CDC that showed protection from the initial two shots starts to wane over time, and that boosters in older age groups improved efficacy against severe COVID and hospitalizations. The Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for the age group on Tuesday as COVID cases are on the rise again in the United States. (Reuters)
Shanghai reported new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas for the first time after five days of no infections, prompting stricter curbs in a district, but plans to end a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1 appeared to remain on track. The commercial hub of 25 million found three new cases outside quarantined areas in one district on May 19. Infections also rose inside strictly controlled areas. All three, from the same family, had taken three vaccine doses, and their infection was discovered during regular testing in Qingpu district, authorities said. They have not left Xujing Town in the district for the past 14 days, but recently visited at least four places, including a supermarket, all of which are now closed off to the public and undergoing disinfection, authorities added. (Reuters)
Shanghai announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday, triggering stricter curbs and mass testing in one district but plans to end a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1 appeared on track. The commercial hub of 25 million found three new cases in the same family in Qingpu district. All had taken three doses of vaccine and their infections were discovered during regular testing, authorities said. The three had not left their district town over the past 14 days but had visited at least four places, including a supermarket, all of which were sealed off and were being disinfected, authorities said. The area's more than 200,000 people had been re-tested and all results were negative. (Reuters)
The U.S. health agency has recommended children aged 5 to 11 take the COVID-19 vaccine booster at least five months after completing their primary vaccination course. (Reuters)
China’s commercial hub of Shanghai reported on Friday a broad decline in its economy last month when a city-wide COVID lockdown shut factories and kept residents at home, sparking concerns among foreign firms over their presence in the country. Output of Shanghai’s industries, located at the heart of manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta, shrank 61.5% in April from a year earlier, the local statistics bureau said. (Reuters)
➡️ Over 84.58 Cr COVID Tests conducted so far.➡️ Weekly Positivity Rate currently at 0.53%.➡️ Daily Positivity Rate stands at 0.50%. pic.twitter.com/dFdwYklsev— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) May 20, 2022
➡️ Over 3.24 Cr 1st dose vaccines administered for age group 12-14 years.https://t.co/dLmTmIwRWI pic.twitter.com/Fmnmyn2eZ7— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) May 20, 2022
China's capital Beijing reported 50 new symptomatic coronavirus cases for May 19, same as a day earlier, state media reported on Friday. The city also reported 12 asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 for May 19, up from five a day earlier. (Reuters)
The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was 98.75 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 375 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.50 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.53 per cent, according to the health ministry. (PTI)
Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, advisers to the US government said Thursday. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention quickly adopted the panel's recommendation, opening a third COVID-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids — just like what is already recommended for everybody 12 and older. The hope is that an extra shot will shore up protection for kids ages 5 to 11 as infections once again are on the rise. “Vaccination with a primary series among this age group has lagged behind other age groups leaving them vulnerable to serious illness,” said CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky, in a statement. (AP)
With the addition of 26 coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra has increased to 7,09,467, an official said on Friday. These cases were recorded on Thursday. As the virus did not claim any life during the day, the death toll in the district remained unchanged at 11,895, he said, adding that the mortality rate is 1.67 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the caseload stood at 1,63,612, while the death toll is 3,407, another official said. (PTI)
The Chinese financial hub of Shanghai reported three new cases of COVID-19 outside quarantined areas for May 19, snapping five days of no such cases, the city's health authority said on Friday. All three cases were found in the city's Qingpu district. Shanghai reported 770 new local asymptomatic coronavirus cases for May 19, up from 637 a day earlier, while confirmed symptomatic cases also rose to 88 from 82 the previous day. (Reuters)
North Korea said on Friday it was achieving “good results” in the fight against the country's first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, as the number of people with fever symptoms surpassed 2 million. The isolated nation reported 263,370 more people with fever symptoms, and two more deaths, taking the total fever caseload to 2.24 million as of Thursday evening, including 65 deaths, according to state media KCNA. It did not report how many of those cases had tested positive for the coronavirus. Despite the caseload, the North said farming continues, factories are working, and it was planning a state funeral for a former general. (Reuters)
