Omicron variant Live Updates I 3 new Omicron cases in Andhra; India's Omicron tally mounts to 36

Health Dept, Chandigarh: A 20 -year-old male resident of Italy who was reported positive for Omicron has now tested COVID negative. His 7 family contacts who had been quarantined & were negative earlier were retested for COVID- 5 tested positive & 1 negative; 1 report awaited

Austria ended lockdown restrictions for vaccinated people across most of the country on Sunday, three weeks after reimposing strict rules to combat a rising wave of coronavirus infections.

The rules, which vary by region within the country, largely allow for the reopening of theaters, museums and other cultural and entertainment venues on Sunday. Shops will follow on Monday.

Britain's health authorities said on Sunday that bookings for the COVID booster vaccines for everyone aged 30 and over in England will be open from Monday, as one of the key actions aimed at tackling the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country.

The union territory of Puducherry reported 15 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours pushing the overall tally to 1,29,217, a senior official of Department of Health said on Sunday. No fresh fatalities were reported from any of the four regions in the union territory and the death toll remained at 1,877.

Nagpur reported its first case of Omicron variant in a 40-year-old man, Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B said.

Odisha’s COVID-19 caseload on Sunday mounted to 10,51,574 after 160 more people including 20 children, tested positive for the infection while one fresh fatality pushed the death toll to 8,434, a health department official said. There has been a drop in the number of new infections as the state logged 173 cases on Saturday, 286 cases on Friday, 195 on Thursday, and 255 on Wednesday. Of the new infections, Khurda district of which Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the highest of 86 cases followed by 10 in Sundergarh. Ten districts did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. With 160 people testing positive out of 59,346 samples tested on Saturday, the daily test positivity rate (TPR) now is 0.26 per cent.

Two industrial units in the Daman Union Territory have been shut for allegedly flouting the official order of mandatory two-dose vaccination against COVID-19 for all the employees, officials said on Sunday. The managements of the industrial units have been directed to ensure that all their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, in the absence of which they will not be allowed to function, they said. "During an inspection, it was found that the two units operating at Dabhel in Daman district were operating even as all their employees were not fully vaccinated. The production at both these units has been closed from Saturday until the managements ensure all their employees are fully vaccinated," an official said.

Chandigarh reports its first case of Omicron

A 20-year-old man with a recent travel history abroad, who had come to meet his relatives, has tested positive for Omicron, becoming the first patient of the new COVID-19 variant in Chandigarh, health department officials here said on Sunday. "He was currently living in Italy. He had come to see some of his relatives here recently… His report for whole genomic sequencing has been received late night on December 11 and has been found positive for Omicron variant," Director, Health Services, Chandigarh, Dr Suman Singh told PTI over the phone. The youth, who is fully vaccinated, is currently in institutional quarantine.

Bangladesh has confirmed the presence of Omicron variant of the coronavirus in two players of the women's national cricket team, which recently returned from Zimbabwe. "Both the cricketers are in quarantine at a hotel. They are in good health," Health Minister Zahid Maleque told reporters here late Saturday evening. Doctors are expecting their recovery by the next two weeks, he said.

A 34-year-old returnee from South Africa has tested positive. He is isolated & being treated in a govt hospital. 5 primary and 15 secondary contacts traced and their samples sent for testing: Karnataka Health Minister Dr Sudhakar K

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed a testing kit which can detect the new Omicron Covid-19 variant within two hours. The kit has been designed by a team of ICMR scientists from the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) for the Northeast region led by scientist Dr Biswajyoti Borkakoty.

First case of Omicron variant of coronavirus detected in Andhra Pradesh

A 34-year old foreign traveller, who came from Ireland, tested positive for Covid-19 with the latest strain Omicron, the first such case detected in Andhra Pradesh, the state Health Department said here on Sunday. The person, who first landed in Mumbai, was tested and found negative for Covid-19.

He was then allowed to travel onward to Visakhapatnam on November 27. "On conducting a second RT-PCR test in Vizianagaram, he tested positive for Covid-19. His sample was then sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for genome sequencing and the result came out as Omicron positive," the Public Health Director said in a release.

The person, however, did not have any symptoms and a re-test on December 11 showed he was Covid-19 negative. "There are no other Omicron cases in the state," the Director said. So far, 15 foreign travellers who came to the state were found Covid-19 positive and all the samples were sent to CCMB for genome sequencing. "Of the 15, genome sequencing reports related to 10 cases were received and only one of them was confirmed Omicron positive," the Director added. The Public Health Director asked people not to worry but continue to follow Covid appropriate behaviour and take necessary precautions.

UP sees uptrend in Covid situation

Uttar Pradesh is witnessing an uptrend in its Covid situation with the number of active cases rising to 144 in the past 24 hours. Nineteen new cases were also registered in the same period. As per the official state Covid bulletin, the new cases were reported in Lucknow (5), Gautam Buddha Nagar (4), Ghaziabad (3), Mathura (2) and one each in Saharanpur, Kanpur Nagar, Gonda, Bulandshahr and Kaushambhi. Health officials said that as many as 15 patients have recovered from the infection in the same duration.

India reports 7,774 new cases, 306 deaths and 8,464 recoveries in the last 24 hours

India reports 7,774 new cases, 306 deaths and 8,464 recoveries in the last 24 hours; Active caseload at 92,281

86 new COVID-19 cases in Thane district, no death

With the addition of 86 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 5,70,460, an official said on Sunday. 
These new cases were reported on Saturday, he said. No new fatality was recorded, he said, adding that the death toll in the district remained unchanged at 11,593. The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.03 per cent, he said. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,38,794, while the death toll stands at 3,302, another official said.

UP action plan to deal with Omicron variant

The Uttar Pradesh government has prepared an action plan to effectively check the spread of the Omicron variant. As per the directives issued by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a special team of doctors and health experts formed during the second wave of Covid-19 has prepared an action plan to avoid the spread of the Omicron variant. According to the action plan, the special team of doctors from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) has discussed the precautions to be taken in the state regarding the spread of the new variant and its effects after vaccination.

India will be among only a few economies in the world to rebound strongly from COVID-19 induced economic contraction of 2020-21, a Finance Ministry report said assuaging that the Omicron variant's impact on the economy will be less severe due to rapid vaccination. Real GDP in Q2 of FY2021-22 has grown by 8.4 percent YoY, recovering more than 100 per cent of the pre-pandemic output in the corresponding quarter of FY2019-20, said the monthly Economic Review prepared by the Finance Ministry.

A Bangladesh returnee has tested positive for COVID-19 in West Bengal, following which his sample was sent for genome sequencing to ascertain whether he contracted the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, an official said on Saturday. The patient, a resident of Barasat in North 24 Parganas district, was found positive for the infection on Friday and admitted to state-run Beleghata ID and BG Hospital, he said. The person has been undergoing treatment at a special ward created to isolate corornavirus positive patients returning from abroad or other states to West Bengal, the official said. His sample was collected and sent for genome sequencing.