West Bengal’s COVID-19 tally rose to 18,82,761 on Saturday as 19,064 more people tested positive for the infection, 3,581 less than the previous day, a health bulletin said. The state’s coronavirus death toll rose to 20,052 as 39 more patients succumbed to the infection, the highest single-day toll since the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, it said. West Bengal’s positivity rate slightly improved to 29.52 per cent from 31.14 per cent on the previous day, the bulletin said. Kolkata recorded 4,831 new cases, 2,036 less than the previous day, followed by 3,496 infections in neighbouring North 24 Parganas district, it said. The metropolis registered the highest number of fresh fatalities at 12, followed by 10 in North 24 Parganas, it said. PTI

Uttar Pradesh on Saturday reported 15,795 fresh coronavirus infections that pushed its active caseload to 95,148, while four more fatalities pushed the death toll to 22,953, an official statement issued here said. Lucknow reported the highest number of fresh cases at 2,769, followed by 1,873 from Gautam Budh Nagar, 1,371 from Ghaziabad and 1,135 from Meerut, among other districts, it said. With the new infections, Uttar Pradesh’s coronavirus tally stands at 18,16,974. The latest deaths were reported from Lucknow, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Mainpuri, the statement said. As many as 5,031 more coronavirus patients have recuperated from the viral infection, taking the total number of recoveries to 16,98,873, it said. So far, over 9.60 crore tests, including 2.58 lakh done the previous day, have been conducted for the detection of COVID-19 in the state, it said. PTI

The Chinese capital Beijing on Saturday reported its first locally transmitted infection of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant, according to state media, just weeks ahead of its staging of the Olympic Winter Games.State television reported on Saturday that the new infection had been identified as the Omicron strain.Lab testing found “mutations specific to the Omicron variant” in the person, Pang Xinghuo, an official at the city’s disease control authority, told a news briefing.Officials have sealed up the infected person’s residential compound and workplace, and collected 2,430 samples for testing from people linked to the two locations, a Haidian district official said.The detection of the Omicron variant Beijing came as cities across the country ratchet up viral vigilance ahead of the Winter Olympics, due to start Feb. 4.Authorities have also warned that Omicron adds to the increased risk of COVID-19 transmission as more people travel across the country and return to China from overseas for the Lunar New Year holiday starting at the end of the month. – Reuters

The Arignar Anna Zoological Park here, popularly known as the ‘Vandalur zoo’, would be closed to the public till January 31, a senior official said here on Saturday. To avoid rapid spread of Covid, the zoological park would be closed to public from January 17 to 31, an official release said. The AAZP is located in the southern suburb of Vandalur and it is among the key attractions of the metropolis. A press release from the office of the Director of the AAZP said that the situation would be reviewed on January 31 and an appropriate decision shall be taken. Like last Sunday, a shutdown would be enforced on January 16 too in Tamil Nadu and restrictions like night curew are already in place to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. PTI