COVID-19 Cases in India: The country’s total Omicron tally has now crossed 250 cases.
New Delhi:
India reported 6,650 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With this, the country’s caseload reached 3,47,72,626. India’s active caseload currently stands at 77,516.
The country also reported 374 new Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total death count to 4,79,133.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the active cases in the country account for less than one per cent of total cases, currently at 0.22 per cent which is the lowest since March last year.
The number of cases of Covid’s fast-spreading strain Omicron has crossed the 200-mark in India, the Union Health Ministry said, with Omicron cases in India currently standing at 358.
With 88 cases, Maharashtra has reported the highest incidence of the new strain. It is followed by Delhi with 64 cases, Telangana with 24, Rajasthan 21, Karnataka 19, Kerala 15 and Gujarat 14 cases.
The Centre has said the Omicron variant is at least thrice more transmissible than the Delta and asked the states and Union Territories to “activate” war rooms, analyse even small trends and surges and take prompt containment action.
Here are the LIVE Updates on Coronavirus cases in India:
The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India may peak by February 3, 2022, claims a modelling study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
However, the forecast is based on the assumption that India will follow the trends of rise in cases seen in many countries globally driven by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on December 21, used a statistical tool named the Gaussian Mixture model to forecast the third wave.
The world is witnessing the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic and India has to be on guard and cannot afford to slacken, said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday.
While addressing a weekly press briefing, the Union Health Secretary issued a fresh warning against the COVID-19 pandemic in the wake of the rise in Omicron cases and said, “The world is witnessing the fourth surge and the overall positivity is 6.1 per cent. Therefore, we have to be on guard and can’t afford to slacken.”
The government will conduct a medical study – on 3,000 fully vaccinated individuals – to assess the efficacy of a Covid vaccine booster against the Omicron variant, Health Ministry sources said Friday.
To be carried out by the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute in Haryana’s Faridabad, news of the study comes amid increasing global worry over the Omicron strain, which the World Health Organization has said is more transmissible than Delta and reduces vaccine efficacy.
Keeping in view the detection of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the state, Odisha government Friday imposed new restrictions on celebration of Christmas, New Years Day and other such activities.
The new restriction will be in force from December 25 to January 2, the government said in an order.
Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra in an order said that in view of protecting the health of the people and preventing the spread of the new variant, the government has restricted Christmas celebration. A maximum of 50 participants can join the Christmas mass by strictly following COVID-19 protocol and specific conditions imposed by district magistrates, municipal commissioners and local authorities while giving permission for it.
‘Zero Night’ celebrations and New Year eve celebrations in hotels, clubs, restaurants, parks, convention halls, kalyan mandaps and other such venues are completely banned across the state.
The order also said that no celebrations other than weddings will be allowed in the state. Reception and ancillary functions connected to weddings too will not be allowed.
The Maharashtra government has decided to impose fresh restrictions in the state to avoid crowding in view of the rising cases of COVID-19, and it will issue guidelines regarding these curbs, an official said on Friday.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement late last night that the guidelines will be issued today.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held talks with the members of the state COVID-19 task force. They discussed the ways to avoid crowding during the Christmas and New Year celebrations, weddings and parties at hotels and restaurants, it said.
Dozens of officials have been punished over a virus outbreak in the locked-down city of Xi’an, China’s disciplinary body said Friday – the latest state reprimands under Beijing’s strict zero-Covid approach.
China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is on high alert for new infections as it prepares to hold the Winter Olympics in February in the capital Beijing.
The world’s most populous nation has reduced cases to a minimum thanks to a zero-Covid strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns.
Union Territory of Ladakh reported 24 new positive cases of coronavirus. On Friday, 19 patients were cured and discharged from hospital. Covid-19 active cases in Ladakh stand at 201, including 154 cases in Leh and 47 cases in Kargil district, reported news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, the advisor of Ladakh, Umang Narula, reviewed measures with senior officers to tackle the rising Covid cases. He has directed strict enforcement of the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) and immediate additional procurement of medical supplies.
Merck & Co.’s Covid-19 pill was cleared by US regulators Thursday, giving high-risk patients a second at-home treatment just as the Omicron variant is causing cases to surge around the country.
The drug, Molnupiravir, received emergency authorisation on the heels of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid pill being cleared Wednesday. The FDA said Merck’s drug is not recommended for use in pregnant people.
The two treatments hold the potential to keep a sharp rise in infections from overwhelming U.S. hospitals. Molnupiravir, developed by Merck with partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, is intended to be used at home to treat Covid in people 18 and older at risk of developing severe illness. A study showed it reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death among adults with mild to moderate disease by 30%.
Molnupiravir works by introducing errors in genetic material to ultimately stop the virus’s replication, but it may affect growing human cells. Merck has established a pregnancy surveillance programme for the drug and said men and women should use contraception while taking Molnupiravir, if they’re having sex that might result in pregnancy.
The US has cleared its first two Covid-19 treatment pills, and now comes another hurdle — deciding who should get which one.
Merck & Co.’s molnupiravir was authorised Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration for use in adults at high risk of severe cases who have no other treatment option, though it is not recommended for pregnant women. Still, the US will soon have 3 million courses available.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid — authorised earlier this week –showed stronger clinical trial data with President Joe Biden hailing the pill as “a promising new treatment”. It will be available in limited quantities at first as Pfizer grinds through a months-long manufacturing process.
Regulators are signaling they prefer Pfizer’s pill, which they’ve bought more of, but the US will have a lot more early on of Merck’s pill, which regulators say is better than no treatment. The coming weeks will see states and physicians hash out who gets what.
Amid rising Covid cases in the national capital, the Delhi Police has sealed a restaurant in Mehrauli for allegedly violating Delhi Disaster Management Authority or DDMA’s guidelines, officials said today.
As part of a series of inspections conducted in view of latest DDMA orders for prohibiting large gatherings, a flying squad team went for a surprise inspection at Diablo restaurant in Mehrauli, District Magistrate Sonalika Jivani said.
There were around 600 people at the restaurant around 10:45 pm on Thursday. The restaurant had organised an event in complete violation of prevalent Covid protocols, she said.
A night curfew has been announced in Uttar Pradesh – from 11 pm to 5 am, starting tomorrow (Saturday) – amid growing concern over the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
In addition, UP has also announced additional restrictions – only 200 people will be permitted to attend marriages and social functions, at which all necessary Covid-safety protocols to be followed.
Poll-bound UP becomes the second state, after Madhya Pradesh, to impose night-time restrictions.