COVID BF.7 variant: Delhi logs 13 new positive cases amid mock drills across India

No coronavirus-positive case or death was reported from Chhattisgarh on Wednesday and the state recorded a "clean slate" day on this front for the 23rd time so far this year, an official said. The tally and the toll in the state remain unchanged at 11,77,749 and 14,146, respectively, while the recovery reached to 11,63,597 after two people recuperated during the day, he said. The active caseload in Chhattisgarh is six, the official said. So far, 1,88,35,587 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the state, including 1,557 during the day, a government release said.

Delhi logged 13 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday with a positivity rate of 0.33 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. No Covid-related death was reported, it said. The national capital had reported 16 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 0.44 per cent. Delhi reported seven cases on Monday with a positivity rate of 0.39 per cent.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) will provide two crore doses of Covishield vaccine to Central govt free of cost amid rise in COVID-19 cases in some countries, said official sources. SII has so far provided more than 170 crore doses of Covishield to the government for the national immunisation programme. Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in some countries, including China and South Korea, the government has sounded an alert and asked states and Union territories to prepare for any eventuality. India has stepped its surveillance and genome sequencing of Covid positive samples.

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Several countries are administering a third and even fourth Covid booster shot but India, where many fully vaccinated individuals have not taken even one, is not there yet, say experts while stressing on the need for a structured and systematic response. As Covid gets back on the radar with a surge in China and people worry about another wave in India and whether the government should now allow a second booster shot to add to the two-jab protection, some scientists call for a reality check. A fourth shot of a Covid preventive is unwarranted at the moment as most people in the country are yet to receive a third dose and there is no data available on the utility of a second booster for the currently used vaccines, they said. Besides, the situation in India where a large number of people have been exposed to the virus and also been vaccinated is quite different.

The next 40 days are going to be crucial as India may see a surge in COVID-19 cases in January, official sources said on Wednesday citing the pattern of previous outbreaks. "Previously, it has been noticed that a new wave of COVID-19 hits India around 30-35 days after it hits East Asia. This has been a trend," an official said. The Health Ministry sources, however, said the severity of the infection is less. Even if there is a wave, deaths and hospitalisation will be very low, they said.

Eleven tourists from Myanmar, isolated at the Safdarjung Hospital earlier this week after one of them tested Covid positive at the IGI Airport here, have turned out to be negative and are being discharged, officials said on Wednesday. "A group of 11 tourists from Maynmar was brought to the hospital from the airport on Sunday. They were kept in the isolation ward. Now, all of them have tested negative and are being discharged," a senior doctor said.

Two major vaccine makers from Hyderabad, Biological E Ltd and Bharat Biotech, together are holding about 250 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines ready to dispatch as and when orders are received. According to respective company sources, Biological E is holding 200 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax while Bharat Biotech is sitting on a stockpile of 50 million doses of Covaxin. Dr Vikram Paradkar, Executive Vice President (Manufacturing), Biological E, said the firm produced about 30 crore doses of Corbevax in total, abiding by the vaccine manufacturing commitment to the Central government. In March ’22, Biological E successfully supplied 10 crore doses to the government.

Two passengers who arrived from Dubai tested positive at the Chennai airport on Thursday. Both passengers hail from Pudukottai district's Alangudi. Their test samples have been sent to State Public Health Laboratory.

India recorded 188 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry today (December 28), the total recovery rate reached at around 98.80 per cent and total recoveries data reached to 4,41,43,483.

Bihar has witnessed a more than ten-fold rise in active COVID-19 cases, since last weekend, according to figures released by the state health department. The state, which had zero active case till Sunday, now has 14, with Gaya accounting for 12 of these. Notably, Gaya is witnessing an influx of pilgrims from abroad who are heading for Bodh Gaya, less than 20 km away, to attend the discourses of the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader is in Bihar after a gap of two years. On Monday, the international Buddhist pilgrimage centre had reported five COVID-19 cases, all of them foreign nationals.

Delhi logged 16 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 0. 44 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. No new fatality due to the viral disease has been reported. Delhi reported seven cases on Monday with a positivity rate of 0. 39 per cent.

No Covid-19 case or fatality was reported in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, an official said. This was the 22nd occasion that the state had a clean slate on the number of infections and fatalities. The overall tally of cases, recoveries and the death toll remained unchanged at 11,77,749, 11,63,595 and 14,146, respectively, the official added. The state is left with eight active cases.

Punjab and Haryana health ministers on Tuesday monitored the Covid mock drills in various government hospitals of their states, conducted as part of a nationwide exercise to check preparedness to deal with any surge in cases. Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra took stock of the mock drill held at district hospital, Mohali, where he visited the 120-bed special Covid Isolation Ward in the hospital and inquired about the availability of oxygen, ventilators, health staff, and essential medicines, among other facilities.

"We have 6 oxygen plants with a capacity of 5,600 litres per minute and 1,700 oxygen cylinders. We have enough drug supplies. Today during the mock drill we checked the pressure & purity of the oxygen plant here in the hospital," said Dr Muzaffar, SMHS Hospital, Srinagar.