Omicron variant Updates: COVID-19 health emergency could be over this year, says WHO

The head of emergencies at the World Health Organisation said Tuesday that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic — deaths, hospitalisations and lockdowns — could be over this year if huge inequities in vaccinations and medicines are addressed quickly. Dr Michael Ryan, speaking during a panel discussion on vaccine equity hosted by the World Economic Forum, said “we may never end the virus” because such pandemic viruses “end up becoming part of the ecosystem.

The Haryana government on Tuesday extended Covid restrictions in the state till January 28, but allowed gyms and spas to operate with 50 per cent capacity while liquor vends can now open till 10 pm. Initially, various restrictions imposed by the January 5 order in "Group A" districts, which had witnessed a big spike in cases, were imposed in all districts, the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority (HSDMA) had said in an earlier order issued on January 13.

Over 80 doctors and paramedics have tested positive for COVID-19 in Government Medical College Srinagar in a single day, taking the total number of infected persons in the tertiary care institution to 546 in January so far, officials said on Tuesday. 

IIT Kharagpur authorities on Tuesday Imposed restrictions on movement within the campus, except for those on emergency services, in a bid to break the chain of COVID-19 spread. Registrar Tamal Nath told PTI barring maintenance and emergency services, all other physical activities on the academic campus area of the institute, including laboratory works, have been stopped from January 18 to 23.

Days after issuing a notice to the Samajwadi Party for violating COVID-19 norms at its office premises in Lucknow, the Election Commission on Tuesday advised it not to violate health guidelines and to be careful in future.

Considering that it is the first reported violation during the current round of elections on the part of the Samajwadi Party, the Commission advises it to be careful in future and to follow all the extant guidelines diligently, according to an order.

Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 count rose to 10,69,904 on Tuesday with an addition of 5,614 fresh cases, while the death toll rose to 13,673 after nine more patients succumbed to the infection in the state, an official said. The state's positivity rate was 11.17 per cent, he said.

The Kerala government on Tuesday decided to strictly implement the COVID-19 health protocols as there is a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the state which reported over 28,500 new infections. Kerala which had recorded 2,435 new positive cases on January 1 witnessed a steady rise in the number of cases. The daily cases increased to 5,296 on January 7. On January 12 the daily infection rate went up to 12,742 and the state reported 22,946 fresh infections on January 17.

Puducherry schools and colleges will remain closed for the students till January 31 amid rising COVID-19 cases, informed Education Minister A Namasviyam. Earlier on January 9, the Puducherry government had announced that the physical classes for students of classes 1 to 9 will remain closed. The Puducherry government resumed the physical classes for students of classes 1 to 9 on December 4 after the pandemic showed signs of improvement.

Uttar Pradesh reported 14,803 fresh coronavirus cases on Tuesday, pushing its tally of active infections to 1,01,114, while 12 more fatalities raised the death toll to 22,984, according to an official statement.

Among the new cases, the maximum (2,173) was reported from Lucknow, followed by 1,262 from Gautam Budh Nagar, 909 each from Meerut and Varanasi, among other districts, it said. One death each was reported from Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Mathura, Hardoi, Ghazipur, Deoria, Ambedkar Nagar, Jalaun and Kaushambi, the statement said. 

The national capital recorded 11,684 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate stood at 22.47%.

A fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibodies to higher levels than the third jab but provides only partial protection against the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to a preliminary study conducted in Israel.

The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study tested the efficacy and safety of vaccines and analysed whether the combination of vaccines from different manufacturers would affect the rate of increase of antibodies.

Flagging a decline in the number of COVID-19 tests in many states and union territories, the Centre has asked them to enhance testing so that an effective track of the spread of the pandemic can be kept and immediate citizen-centric action can be initiated.

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The Karntaka government  on Tuesday restricted medical practitioners from spreading incomplete, inaccurate, and unsubstantiated information about COVID-19 to the public on various media platforms.

In an official statement issued by the Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfares services, the state government said, "such misinformation leads to confusion in public at large on the prevailing COVID-19 scenario in the state and encourages them to deviate from well laid out guidelines issues by health and revenue authorities."

The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to peak much earlier than anticipated and may take a maximum of three more weeks, even though the share of rural districts in new caseloads has increased significantly since December, says a report.

The optimism comes from the massive decline in new caseloads in the top 15 districts which had the maximum infections, SBI Research said in a report on Tuesday.

One in ten people may still be infectious for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, after the 10 day quarantine period, according to a study. The research, published recently in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, used a newly adapted test which can detect whether the virus was potentially still active. The test was applied to samples from 176 people in Exeter, UK, who had tested positive on standard PCR tests.

Over 50 lakh healthcare, frontline workers and citizens aged 60 years and above have been administered the precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine since January 10, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. With the administration of nearly 80 lakh vaccine doses in a span of 24 hours, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 158.04 crore as per provisional reports till 7 am.

Kerala reported 63 more Omicron variant cases of coronavirus on Tuesday. These took the total affected by the new variant to 591. State Health Minister Veena George said of the 63, four belong to Tamil Nadu and have come to Kerala from various countries.

"Out of those infected today, 36 were from low-risk nations, nine from high-risk countries. Nine people reached the State from other States; and nine contracted the disease through their contacts," George said in a press release.

As many as 140 engineering students have tested positive for Covid-19 in Mandya district of Karnataka on Tuesday causing panic among the people.

Following the development, PES Engineering College of Mandya, considered as the reputed institute in the region, declared a holiday for five days.

According to district authorities, tests have been conducted on more than 350 students after few of them developed minor symptoms. Among those tested positive 70 are isolated in hostel rooms and those who are at homes have been advised to get quarantined in their places and consult doctors for the treatment.

The Philippines reported 28,471 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, raising the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,270,758.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases dipped to 284,458 from an all-time high of 290,938 recorded on Monday. The country's positivity rate dipped further to 43.4 percent from 46 percent for the previous day.

The DOH said 34 more people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the total coronavirus death toll to 52,962. Five laboratories failed to submit data on Tuesday.

Amid the unabated spread of COVID-19 cases across the country, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Tuesday warned that the next two to three weeks could be critical for the country.

This warning comes as Pakistan has detected 5,034 new COVID-19 cases, up 16 percent from Monday, marking the highest daily caseload since August 8, The News International newspaper reported.

An alarming rate of COVID-19 positivity rate in the city of Karachi has sent ripples through the medical fraternity in the country.

63 more Omicron cases were confirmed in Kerala today, taking the case tally to 591. Of 591 cases, 401 persons arrived from 'low-risk' countries,  101 persons from 'high-risk' countries, 70 persons were contacts of patients and 19  reached from other States: Kerala Health Minister's Office

The accelerating pace of digitalisation, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to a record-breaking year for cybercrime with ransomware attacks rising 151 per cent in 2021, and an average of 270 cyberattacks per organisation being faced, a new study showed on Tuesday.

The World Economic Forum's 'Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022', released during its online Davos Agenda summit, further said that each successful cyber breach cost a company USD 3.6 million (nearly Rs 27 crore) last year, while the average share price of the hacked company underperformed NASDAQ by nearly 3 per cent even six months after the event in case of the breach becoming public.

The WEF said the global digital economy surged on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, but so has cybercrime and nearly 80 per cent of cyber leaders now consider ransomware a 'danger' and 'threat' to public safety.

The Gujarat government has told the Supreme Court that it had so far sanctioned the compensation of Rs 50,000 each to 68,370 claims filed by the kin of patients who died due to coronavirus infection in the state.

This information about processing such claims was given in the affidavit filed by the state government in the apex court on January 14, an official said on Tuesday.

As per the state health department, the death toll due to COVID-19 in Gujarat stood at 10,164 as of Monday (January 17).

The state government had already clarified the discrepancy in the COVID-19 death toll, saying the number of fatalities went up after the apex court amended the definition of deaths due to coronavirus last year.

The number of people that would be allowed to attend the Republic Day parade this year would be curtailed by 70-80 per cent to approximately 5,000-8,000 due to the ongoing wave of COVID-19, senior officials of the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Approximately 25,000 people were allowed to attend the last year's parade. Moreover, the decision on whether chief guests will come or not for this year's parade is yet to be taken by the Ministry of External Affairs, the officials mentioned. There was no chief guest at the parade last year.

Over 50 lakh healthcare and frontline workers and citizens aged 60 years or above have received Precaution Dose, since 10th January. I request all those who are eligible to get their Precaution Dose at the earliest: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Puducherry reports 2,093 new cases & 3 deaths today; Active cases rise to 10,393. Test positivity at 34.72%

Report shows India registered dip in daily COVID-19 cases today

Odisha reported 11,086 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, 597 more than the previous day, while four more patients died, the Health Department said. The daily test positivity rate rose to 15.62 per cent from 14.96 as 70,990 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, a bulletin stated.

Khurda district, where Bhubaneswar is located, reported nearly one-third of the new cases at 3,469, followed by 1,416 cases in Sundargarh and 766 in Cuttack, it said.

As many as 1,061 children were among the new patients. The daily cases jumped by more than 56 per cent from 7,071 a week ago. The state had logged 10,489 cases on Monday.

The Bihar government has ordered an investigation after records showed that a Patna-based civil surgeon was administered five shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The civil surgeon, Dr Vibha Kumari Singh, however, said she had taken the jab thrice as per rules.

Singh also claimed that someone else managed to get vaccine shots using her PAN card details, and called for a probe.

According to the CoWIN portal, she received the first dose on January 28, 2021 and was fully vaccinated by March last year.

Government records showed Singh was also jabbed on February 6, 2021 using her PAN card information, and for the fourth time on June 17 that year. She then took a precautionary dose on January 13, 2022.

Japan's government is preparing social restrictions in Tokyo and other regions as the omicron variant of the coronavirus infects more people. Japan has never had a lockdown during the pandemic but has focused instead on asking restaurants and bars to close early. 

Crowds are back in many parts of Japan, with people packing stores and events, while COVID-19 cases jump.

The order will be finalised this week and is likely to take effect Friday for Tokyo and nine other regions, including Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi and Kumamoto, the government spokesman said Tuesday.

The Centre on Tuesday said that it has provided more than 158.16 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses to States and UTs for the ongoing nationwide vaccination drive. As per an official statement from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 1,58,16,75,635 vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through the central government's free of cost channel and through direct state procurement category.

Of these, the ministry said, over 13.25 crore (13,25,29,901) balance and unutilized COVID vaccine doses are still available with the States and UTs to be administered.

Australia reported a record high of COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, and its second-largest state declared an emergency in hospitals to cope with surging patient admissions and a staffing shortage due to the coronavirus.

The 74 deaths occurred in its three most populous states. New South Wales reported 36, Victoria reported 22 and Queensland 16. The previous daily record was 59 coronavirus-related deaths on Sept. 4, 2020.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said there were signs that New South Wales' infection rate was peaking and Victoria was near a plateau.

Ladakh reported 152 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the overall caseload in the Union Territory to 23,536 and active cases to 844, officials said on Tuesday.

The highest 132 positive samples were received from Leh district while 20 cases surfaced in Kargil district, the officials said.

According to the officials, the COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 222 with 164 fatalities in Leh and 58 in Kargil.

They said 120 patients were discharged from hospitals in Leh and eight in Kargil after undergoing successful treatment for COVID-19, taking the number of recovered cases in Ladakh to 22,470.

With the addition of 4,583 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the tally of infections in Thane district of Maharashtra rose to 6,73,659, an official said on Tuesday. These new cases were reported on Monday, he said.

As the virus claimed the life of six more persons, the death toll in the district has gone up to 11,664. The mortality rate is 1.73 per cent, he added.

In the neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,56,724 while the death toll is 3,342, a local official said.

Mizoram reported 1280 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, informed the Department of Information and Public relations on Tuesday. With this, the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 1,53,758.

India reports 2,38,018 COVID cases (20,071 less than yesterday), 310 deaths, and 1,57,421 recoveries in the last 24 hours

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India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage exceeds 158.04 crores, as nearly 80 lakh vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours: Union Health Ministry

With 2,38,018 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,76,18,271, which includes 8,891 cases of the Omicron variant, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The active cases have increased to 17,36,628, the highest in 230 days, while the death toll has climbed to 4,86,761 with 310 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

There has been an 8.31 per cent increase in Omicron cases since Monday, the ministry said.

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No decision yet by the union health ministry on vaccination for children of age group 12-14 years: Official sources

Former Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu has tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms.

Jharkhand recorded 2,499 fresh COVID cases, 4,266  recoveries, and 6 deaths on Monday

Active cases: 29,974

Assam reported 6,982 new COVID cases, 2,281 recoveries, and 11 deaths on Monday

Mumbai Police says 35 of its personnel tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the number of active cases in the force to 1,341

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says vaccination against COVID-19 is not mandatory but the unvaccinated can’t attend meetings, enter offices and restaurants. People not willing to get vaccinated can stay back at home. In Assam, one will have to show vaccination certificate if necessary

Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir has set up its first RT-PCR testing laboratory