Omicron: Maharashtra logs 50 fresh cases of new variant, vaccines for kids aged 15-18 to begin tomorrow

Three more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Punjab on Sunday, while 417 fresh cases of the disease pushed the state's infection tally to 6,05,509, according to a medical bulletin.

The fatalities were reported in Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Mohali, and with this, the death toll reached 16,648, it showed. Punjab is witnessing a consistent rise in the number of infections for the past few days.

The state reported 100 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, 167 on Thursday, 221 on Friday and 332 on Saturday as daily Covid testing hovered around 15,000 to 16,000. The number of active cases now stands at 1,369, up from 1,041 a day back.

Of the fresh cases, Patiala reported 133, followed by Pathankot with 78, Mohali 55 and Jalandhar 45. Fifty-two more people have recovered from the infection in the state, taking the number of recoveries to 5,87,492, the bulletin showed.

The level of vigilance and alertness maintained during the first and the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic needs to be followed now as well in view of the possibility of a third wave, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Sunday.

Till now, the state has managed its fight against the coronavirus excellently with cooperation from all quarters, and all possible steps will be taken to protect against the disease, he said.

Gehlot was interacting with religious leaders, public representatives, political leaders, social activists and NGOs via video-conferencing from his official residence.

The whole world faced a horrific situation due to the Delta variant of the virus during the second wave, he said, adding people had to deal with shortage of oxygen, hospital beds and life-saving medicines.

Even at this adverse time, Rajasthan saved many lives. Medicines were flown in, and the situation was monitored at a high-level, he said.

Tamil Nadu has inoculated 86.95 per cent of its population with first dose of vaccination against Covid-19 with 4,20,098 people getting covered during the 17th mega vaccination camp held on Sunday, State Minister Ma Subramanian said.

As much as 60.71 per cent were covered with second dose with 10,96,706 people receiving the vaccines during the mass exercise, the Minister for Medical and Family Welfare said.

In total, 15,16,804 people were covered during the drive today, he told reporters. "Today, 15.16 lakh people have been vaccinated. Till date 86.95 per cent people have received first dose and 60.71 per cent the second," Subramanian said. Subramanian inspected the vaccination drive conducted in primary health centres, government hospitals and schools.

Assam on Sunday registered 156 new Covid-19 cases, six more than the previous day's count, pushing the overall tally so far to 6,21,071, a National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said. No COVID-19 deaths were reported in Assam on Sunday. One person had died due to the disease on January 1.
Among the fresh infections, 78 were from Kamrup Metropolitan district, 25 from Hojai and 16 from Kamrup (Rural). Altogether 19,712 COVID-19 tests were conducted during the day in the state.

The death toll and rate remained unchanged at 6,165 and 0.99 per cent respectively, while the number of COVID-19 positive patients dying due to other reasons stood at 1,347. Altogether 100 recovered patients were discharged from different hospitals and Covid Care Centres in the state on Sunday, taking the total number of cured people to 6,12,585. The recovery rate is 98.63 per cent.

The number of active cases is now 974, up from 918 active cases on Saturday. The NHM said a total of 3,76,79,340 doses of vaccines have been administered. This includes 2,17,36,325 first doses and 1,59,43,015 second doses.

Five more Omicron cases have been recorded in Telangana, taking the total number of cases of the new coronavirus variant in the state to 84, the state health department said on Sunday. All five cases were passengers who arrived at the international airport here from countries other than those declared "at risk" by the Centre, it said in a bulletin.

The bulletin said 32 Omicron-infected people have cumulatively recovered from the new variant, leaving the number of active cases at 52. It said 30 samples are awaited with regard to their Omicron status.

Meanwhile, Telangana on Sunday reported 274 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,82,489, while the death toll rose to 4,030 with one more fatality.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most cases with 212, followed by Ranga Reddy (18) district, the bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 pm on Sunday.

It said 227 people recovered from the infection on Sunday. The cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6,74,680. The number of active cases was 3,779, the bulletin said.

No fresh fatality due to COVID-19 was recorded in Meghalaya on Sunday, while eight new cases raised the infection count to 84,847, a top health official said. The north-eastern state had recorded eight new cases and zero death due to the infection on Saturday. Health Services director Dr. Aman War said that the new cases have increased the number of active coronavirus cases to 75 while the death toll from the pandemic remained unchanged at 1,484.

All the new cases were detected in the East Khasi Hills district. Seven people recuperated from the disease during the day, taking the total number of recovered people to 83,288, War said. The state has tested over 12.53 lakh samples for COVID-19, he said.

Altogether 20.29 lakh people were inoculated till Saturday, with 8,42,275 of them having received both doses of the vaccinee, War said. Meanwhile, the state health department is rolling out the vaccination drive for children between the age group 15-18 from Monday, the Health Services Director said.

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 11,877 fresh COVID-19 cases, 2,707 more than the day before, and 50 Omicron infections, the state health department said in a bulletin. The state also reported nine deaths. Of the 11,877 cases, 7,792 are from Mumbai, the bulletin said. However, as per the Mumbai civic body, the number of new cases is 8,063. On Saturday, Maharashtra had reported 9,170 COVID-19 cases.

Gujarat on Sunday reported 968 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections to 8,33,769, the state health department said.
With one fatality in the Valsad district, the COVID-19 death toll rose to 10,120. A total of 141 patients were discharged during the day. The number of recoveries in Gujarat now stands at 8,18,896, it said.

The number of active cases crossed the 4,000-mark and reached 4,753 in the state, the department said. On Saturday, Gujarat had reported 1,069 cases, the highest in the last seven months. Ahmedabad city reported 396 fresh cases.
On Sunday, Ahmedabad district saw 404 cases, Surat 223, Vadodara 69 and Rajkot 60, the department said.
No new case of the Omicron variant was reported in Gujarat on Sunday. The Omicron tally so far stood at 136, the health department said.
At the same time, 20 patients infected with the Omicron variant were discharged, which took the total number of such recoveries in Gujarat to 85.
On Saturday, 23 new cases of the Omicron variant were reported along with 11 recoveries.

Ahmedabad has so far reported the highest number of 50 Omicron cases, Vadodara 23, Surat 16 and Anand 13. Gujarat has so far administered 8.96 crore COVID-19 vaccination doses, with 1.01 lakh people inoculated on Sunday. The UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu reported five new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 10,672. A total of 10,659 patients have recovered so far and four have died, leaving the UT with nine active cases, officials said.

Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 8,33,769, new cases 968, death toll 10,120, discharged 8,18,896 active cases 4,753, people tested so far - figures not released.

Rajasthan recorded 355 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 224 from Jaipur alone, raising the state's infection count to 9,56,883, officials said.

No death linked to the virus was recorded in Rajasthan in the last 24 hours, a Medical and Health Department official said, adding that 1,572 Covid patients are under treatment in the state.

Thirty more people recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, pushing the recovery count to 9,46,347 in the state, the department data showed.
At 224, state capital Jaipur accounted for the maximum number of new cases, followed by 34 in Jodhpur, 24 in Ajmer, 12 in Pratapgarh, 11 each in Alwar and Kota, six each in Bhilwara and Udaipur.
According to the department, so far 8,964 people have died in the state due to the disease.

Uttarakhand on Sunday reported 259 Covid cases, the highest single-day spike since June 17 last year, when 264 cases were reported, according to official data. Of the fresh cases, Nainital district reported the maximum 91 cases, Dehradun 77, Udham Singh Nagar 34, Pauri 28, Haridwar 15, Pithoragarh 8, Tehri 5 and Almora one, the Covid control room here said.

There are 506 active Covid cases in the state at present, it said. Covid trajectory has been showing a steady upward trend of late in the state which reported 38 positive cases on December 29; 59 on December 30; 88 on December 31 and 118 on January 1. 

Restaurants including hotels, coffee shops, eating places, marriage palaces and banquet halls in Chandigarh will now open with 50% capacity. Only those who have taken both doses of vaccine will be allowed entry, reads an official order of SDMA, UT Chandigarh

The CoWIN platform has till Sunday evening recorded over six lakh registrations in the age group of 15 to 18 years whose Covid vaccination is set to begin from January 3. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya advised states and Union Territories to provide separate vaccination centres, session sites, queue and different vaccination teams for the 15-18 year age group to avoid the mixing-up of vaccines.

The vaccine option for this age group would only be Covaxin, according to guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry on December 27.
The Drugs Controller General of India granted emergency use authorisation to indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children above 12 years with certain conditions on December 24.

Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 32,517 on Sunday as seven more people tested positive for the infection, a health department bulletin said .
Of the new cases, East Sikkim logged five, while West Sikkim and North Sikkim reported one each. Sikkim now has 58 active COVID-19 cases, 342 patients have migrated to other states and 31,708 people have recovered from the infection. The death toll due to the virus stood at 409 in the Himalayan state, with no fatality reported in the last 24 hours.

Kerala reports 45 new cases of Omicron, total tally reaches 152, says the State Govt

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 165 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the number of those infected with the virus to 3,41,624, even as no death due to the disease was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said.

Sixty-six of the fresh cases were from the Jammu division and 99 from the Kashmir division, the officials said. They said Srinagar district recorded a maximum of 41 new cases followed by Jammu district that registered 31 such infections. There are 1,429 active cases in the Union Territory, while the number of recoveries has reached 3,35,665, the officials said. The death toll from the pandemic remained unchanged at 4,530 in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 165 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the number of those infected with the virus to 3,41,624, even as no death due to the disease was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said.

Sixty-six of the fresh cases were from the Jammu division and 99 from the Kashmir division, the officials said. They said Srinagar district recorded a maximum of 41 new cases followed by Jammu district that registered 31 such infections. There are 1,429 active cases in the Union Territory, while the number of recoveries has reached 3,35,665, the officials said. The death toll from the pandemic remained unchanged at 4,530 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Amid rising number of Covid-19 cases, fuelled by its Omicron variant, the Central Armed Police Forces are stocking required medicines like Remdesivir, as well oxygen supplies and reactivating the dedicated Covid care centres, including the world's largest makeshift Covid hospital in south Delhi.

The move came as the alarm bell rang among the various paramilitary forces after 19 coronavirus cases were detected in them.

Andhra Pradesh reported 165 fresh Covid-19 cases, 130 recoveries and two deaths in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday.

The state Covid-19 chart now showed 20,77,486 total positives, 20,61,729 recoveries and 14,497 deaths, the latest bulletin said.

The active coronavirus cases in the state rose to 1,260, it said.

Visakhapatnam district reported 35, Chittoor 27, Krishna 21, East Godavari and Guntur 19 each, Kadapa and Anantapuramu 10 each in 24 hours.
The remaining six districts added less than 10 new cases each.

Krishna and SPS Nellore districts reported one fresh Covid-19 fatality each in a day.

The Chinese city of Xian, which has been under lockdown for the past ten days, continued to reel under a major COVID-19 outbreak in the New Year, with cases breaching the 1,500-mark, while 200 fresh cases were reported in other parts of the country, local authorities said on Sunday.

Xian, a popular tourist destination, and home of the famous terracotta warrior museum, reported 122 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Saturday, authorities said. The capital city of north-western Shaanxi province, has so far registered a total of 1,573 local cases since December 9, amid the latest resurgence of the virus, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Eighty-five students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Nainital’s Gangarkot tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the administration to declare the school a micro containment zone

Unvaccinated people travelling from the United States will have to self-isolate in France for 10 days under supervision from local authorities in line with new government restrictions that come into force on Sunday.

All passengers from the U.S. have to provide a negative COVID-19 test - a PCR or an antigen test - no older than 48 hours in addition to proof of vaccination before boarding a flight to France.

Unvaccinated travellers from the U.S. previously were required to self-quarantine without supervision for seven days.

New COVID-19 cases in France have surpassed 200,000 for four consecutive days, fuelled by the highly contagious omicron variant. French authorities also are stepping up pressure on unvaccinated residents. The government is pushing parliament to pass a law in the next two weeks that would allow only vaccinated residents to enter restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports arenas.

Kerala reports 2,802 new Covid cases, 12 deaths, and 2,606 recoveries today; Active cases at 19,180. Death tally at 48,113  66 deaths were added to the death tally as per the new guidelines of the Central government, says Kerala govt in an official statement

Increasing Covid infection is likely to push more people to intensive care units in Australia's Queensland in the next 24 hours, the state's chief health officer has warned.

The accelerating rate of Covid-19 cases after the borders reopened meant it was inevitable that more people would wind up in ICUs, Dr John Gerrard was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday.

Although only one man was in intensive care on Saturday, Gerrard noted that the state's doctors warned him that the intensive care situation would quickly change.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, Sonipat, and Ambala districts have been seeing spike in Covid-19 cases.

"These districts have been kept in Group A as the risk of spread is high in such districts," he said while reviewing the pandemic situation.

The Chief Minister asked the Deputy Commissioners to review the Covid cases on a daily basis.

He said the bus stands, mini secretariats, malls, gyms, and other public places should be kept under surveillance and entry of people without vaccination certificates should be strictly restricted.

Although the Omicron variant of Covid has been shown to evade vaccines, two new studies led by the UK health agency showed that a third booster dose increases vaccines' effectiveness by 88 per cent.

The studies, led by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), found a substantial reduction in risk of hospitalisation for Omicron cases after three doses of vaccine compared to those who are unvaccinated.

The first study showed that the risk of hospitalisation is 81 per cent lower after three doses compared to unvaccinated Omicron cases.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/delhi-covid19-cases-update-omicron-cases-death-toll-latest-coronavirus-new-variant-update-752399

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Odisha Sunday registered 23 more omicron cases, raising the tally of the of the new variant of COVID-19 in the state to 37, a senior health department official said. While 13 of them returned from Finland, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Syria, 10 are local-contact cases, he said.

On Thursday, the coastal state had logged five omicron infections, and the first such case on December 21. Odisha’s coronavirus tally on Sunday mounted to 10,55,556 with 424 fresh cases. The death toll stood at 8,463. 

 Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting with COVID-19 Task Force and other senior officers to review the pandemic situation in the Union Territory, officials said.

The coronavirus case count in Jammu and Kashmir reached 3,41,459 on Saturday after the detection of 169 fresh cases, while two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,530.

The officials said Sinha chaired the meeting at the Raj Bhawan here and passed several directions including audit of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and oxygen-supported beds in all the hospitals in preparations of a possible third wave.

In a series of tweets, the Lt Governor said he reviewed the COVID-19 status, Omicron variant, vaccination for 15-18 age group and preparedness of health infrastructure during the meeting, which was among others attended by the deputy commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police of all the districts.

"In view of the new variant and rise in the cases across the country, functioning of oxygen plants, availability of requisite medicines, audit of ICU and oxygen supported beds across all UT's hospitals to be ensured.

"DCs & Health officials to ensure infrastructure beginning from the Panchayat Level are strengthened &optimally utilized. Health teams in the districts to focus on prompt contact tracing, audit of oxygen cylinders & concentrators as well as availability &functioning of ventilators," Sinha tweeted after the meeting. 

 The Tamil Nadu government has planned to offer virtual treatment via home isolation to COVID-19 patients who have received both doses of vaccination and have been affected by the Omicron variant, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Sunday.

The virtual treatment would include the Omicron-affected individuals who have not received the vaccination but are 'asymptomatic'. They would be under constant monitoring by a medical team, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare said here.

Subramanian was talking to reporters after inspecting a medical camp in Chennai as part of the 17th Mega Vaccination Camp being held through 50,000 vaccination camps across the state.

"When there is an increase in Omicron-affected cases (in Tamil Nadu), the vaccinated patients affected by Omicron will be offered treatment under home isolation and those who have not been vaccinated and asymptomatic will be placed under constant monitoring by a team. Virtual treatment will be commenced soon in the state", he said.

Only those who require hospitalisation would be admitted to a hospital for treatment, he said.

 No new COVID-19 case was reported on Sunday in Arunachal Pradesh with the tally remaining unchanged at 55,343, a senior health official said.
The death toll climbed to 282 after two more persons, one from Lohit and the other from West Kameng, succumbed to the infection, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

As many as 55,043 people have recuperated from the disease, the official said. The recovery rate in the frontier state stood at 99.46 per cent
Arunachal Pradesh currently has 18 active cases. Capital Complex – comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas -- has the highest number of active cases at 14, followed by Tawang at two, West Kameng and Lohit at one case each.

As many as 12,05,238 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state, including 47 on Saturday, Jampa said. According to State Immunisation Officer Dr Dimong Padung, over 14.62 lakh people have been inoculated with anti-COVID vaccine thus far. 

The West Bengal government brought back COVID-related restrictions amid a steep rise in cases, shutting all educational institutions from Monday and allowing offices to operate with 50 per cent workforce. |  READ MORE HERE

No new COVID-19 case was reported on Sunday in Arunachal Pradesh with the tally remaining unchanged at 55,343, a senior health official said.
The death toll climbed to 282 after two more persons, one from Lohit and the other from West Kameng, succumbed to the infection, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. As many as 55,043 people have recuperated from the disease, the official said.

The recovery rate in the frontier state stood at 99.46 per cent. Arunachal Pradesh currently has 18 active cases. Capital Complex – comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas -- has the highest number of active cases at 14, followed by Tawang at two, West Kameng and Lohit at one case each.

As many as 12,05,238 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state, including 47 on Saturday, Jampa said. According to State Immunisation Officer Dr Dimong Padung, over 14.62 lakh people have been inoculated with anti-COVID vaccine thus far. 

Mizoram on Sunday reported 84 new COVID-19 cases, 181 less than the previous day, with the tally increasing to 1,41,749, a health department official said. The death toll rose to 546 as two more persons succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, he said.

At least 102 people recuperated from the disease during the period, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,39,488. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients stood at 98.40 per cent. Aizawl district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 35, followed by Serchhip at 22 and Mamit at 14, the official said.

The single-day positivity rate dipped to 16.47 per cent from 19.62 per cent on the previous day, he said. The northeastern state now has 1,715 active cases. Mizoram has so far tested 1,50,8,818 samples for COVID-19, including 510 on Saturday.

Over 7.30 lakh people have been inoculated with 5.89 lakh of them having received both doses of vaccines, state immunisation officer Dr Lalzawmi said.

Omicron is less severe than the previous Covid-19 variants because it does not cause as much damage in the lungs, a spate of studies have suggested.

A study by a consortium of US and Japanese scientists on hamsters and mice found those infected with Omicron had less lung damage, lost less weight and were less likely to die than those who had other variants, the Daily Mail reported.

Preparations begin for Covid-19 vaccinations for children aged between 15-18 years at Star Imaging & Path Lab, Tilak Nagar. The observation room has books and musical items. There'll also be a return gift after their COVAXIN vaccination, Centre in-charge, Dr Sameer said.

This time, the registration can be walk-in or done online. Our slot for January 3 & 4 is full. Pricing of the vaccines is the same as for adults, Dr Sameer said.

COVID19 cases are increasing rapidly in Delhi, but there is no need to panic. Currently, the active cases in the city are 6,360. Today, 3100 new cases expected to be reported today. Only 246 hospital beds were occupied yesterday. All cases are mild & asymptomatic, said Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

As of now, only 82 oxygen beds in hospitals are occupied. Delhi government is prepared with 37,000 beds. I just want to tell you that all new cases are with mild symptoms, asymptomatic, so there is no need to panic, he added.

On March 27, 2021, active COVID19 cases in Delhi were around 6600 and 145 patients were on ventilators, as compared to 5 now, he informed.

COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly in Delhi, but there is no need to panic. Currently, the active cases in the city are 6360. Today, 3100 new cases are expected to be reported today. Only 246 hospital beds were occupied on Saturday. All cases are mild & asymptomatic, said Delhi CM Kejriwal

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85 school children test Covid-19 positive in Uttarakhand's Nainital

A 26-year-old woman, who returned to Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district recently from the Netherlands, has been found infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, an official said on Sunday. This is the first Omicron case outside Indore in MP. Earlier, nine cases of the new variant were found in Indore, the state's industrial hub. With the latest case, the Omicron infection tally in the state has gone up to 10. “The woman's sample was collected for COVID-19 examination on her arrival in New Delhi from the Netherlands on December 26. After she reached Chhindwara, the district administration asked her to isolate at home,” sub-divisional magistrate Atul Singh said. The district administration on Friday received information that she had tested positive for the Omicron variant, he said. “After receiving the information, three of her family members were also isolated and tested,” the official said.

"Over Rs 99 lakhs collected in fines and 66 FIRs registered on January 1, 2022, for violation of COVID19 protocols, following the enforcement of 'Yellow alert' restrictions in Delhi," said Delhi govt

In districts with high daily cases, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala, Panchkula & Sonipat, malls & markets to close by 5pm. Only fully vaccinated allowed to enter public transport, hotels, restaurants, malls, grain markets. Teams formed for enforcement of law, said Haryana health minister Anil Vij

The program organised to mark the occasion of Students' Week at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata on January 3 has been postponed by the State government, in view of the current Covid-19 situation.

India recorded 27,553 new cases of the novel coronavirus, along with 284 deaths due to the infection in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry on Sunday, the country saw a total of 9,249 discharges in the last 24 hours, taking the total recovery rate at around 98.32 per cent which is the highest since March 2020 and total recoveries data reached 3,42,84,561.

A total of 1,525 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected across 23 states and Union Territories so far, out of which 560 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Sunday. Maharashtra recorded a maximum of 460 cases, followed by Delhi at 351, Gujarat 136, Tamil Nadu 117 and Kerala 109.

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Kakryal (Katra) campus closed after 13 students test positive for COVID19, said District Magistrate Reasi

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to address the media today on the Covid-19 situation in the city

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement, the country is preparing to begin the COVID-19 vaccination drive for 15-18-year-old children from Monday. CoWIN registration for the age group began on Sturday. As per Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, the national capital has the capacity to vaccinate 3 lakh children falling in the age group of 15 to 18 years every day. While Kerala's Health Minister Veena George informed that separate teams have been set up in the state for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to children. 

With the administration of more than 22 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 7 pm on Saturday, India's vaccination coverage crossed 145.40 crores, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

"India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 145.40 crore (145,40,51,828) today. More than 22 lakh (22,56,362) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today," read the ministry's official press release.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday that as of now, the Covid situation in the national capital is under control. "Delhi government is ready to fight any variant of Covid with full force. We have the appropriate infrastructure to treat patients and stop the spread of Coronavirus," Jain said.

The Health Minister said that according to the experts, the Omicron variant is less dangerous than the Delta variant, and hence the patients need not be admitted to the hospital, adding that at present, no Omicron patient is in need of oxygen. "Prevention is better than cure and people need to keep themselves safe at all times," he said.

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Rajasthan recorded 52 fresh Omicron cases on Saturday, which took the tally of cases of the new variant of the coronavirus to 121 in the state, an official said. Of the new Omicron cases, 38 were reported from Jaipur, three each form Pratapgarh, Sirohi and Bikaner, two from Jodhpur and one each from Ajmer, Sikar and Bhilwara, according to a health department spokesperson.

Nine of these infected persons have returned from abroad, four persons came in contact with foreign travellers while 12 persons have returned from travel to other states, the spokesperson said, adding that two have been traced through contact history. Omicron patients are being isolated at a special ward at the RUHS Hospital.

Till date, 121 people have been found infected with Omicron variant and of them, 61 have recovered, the spokesperson said.

In the last 1 month, 138 Omicron cases here - 95 returned home after recovering. 3 kids also tested Omicron positive- 2 discharged, the remaining kid who's still admitted is stable; vaccinated group has less symptoms than the unvaccinated one, says Dr Suresh Kumar, LNJP MD, Delhi , reports ANI

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday sought people’s cooperation to entirely eliminate the pandemic and informed that his government will soon roll-out a COVID-19 vaccination drive targetting the 15 - 18 years age group. Utilising the New Year’s day to make a fervent appeal to the people of the State to resort to COVID appropriate behaviour and strictly adhere to the government instructions besides follow SOPs on preventing Coronavirus and its variants, the Chief Minister said his government’s efforts were all oriented towards ensuring a safe and healthy life for the people.

“It is the expectation of all of us that this year 2022 be very good and in order to be good we should not forget past lessons,” Stalin said in a video message to the people. “We have recovered from the first and second wave of Coronavirus infection and in fact I took up the reins as Chief Minister and also the responsibility for your well-being when the pandemic was at its peak during the second wave,” the Chief Minister said.

In view of the current COVID-19 situation in the country, the Telangana government on Saturday imposed fresh COVID curbs in the state as a precautionary measure against the spread of the virus. Certain measures were put in place to control the spread of COVID-l9 due to the emergence of Omicron Variant of Concern (VoC) in different parts of the country. The orders shall come into force with immediate effect and continue to remain in force till January 10, 2022.

UAE has announced a travel ban on citizens unvaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines from January 10 with a requirement to obtain the booster dose for the fully vaccinated. "Ban on Travel on UAE citizens unvaccinated with #Covid19 vaccine, starting Jan 10, 2022, with a requirement to obtain the booster dose for the fully vaccinated," the country's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) said in a tweet on Saturday. However, the authority has said that it would not be applicable for those medically exempted from taking the vaccine, humanitarian and treatment cases.

Maharashtra reported 9,170 new coronavirus cases, 1,103 more than the day before, and seven deaths on Saturday, the health department said. The state, which witnessed a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases in the last 11 days of 2021, also recorded six new Omicron variant infections  – all from Pune. The state has so far recorded 460 cases of Omicron, marked as a 'variant of concern' by the WHO.

The Central government on Saturday asked states and union territories to set up makeshift hospitals and form 'special' teams to monitor patients, in light of the spike in Covid cases across the country. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to chief secretaries of all states/UTs on measures to deal with a possible surge in COVID cases. The development comes as cases of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 cross the 1400-mark. 

“To address a potential surge in cases, with a view to ensure preparedness states are advised to initiate creation of field/makeshift hospitals to augment availability of health infrastructure. This can be done with coordination with DRDO & CSIR as well as the private sector, corporations, NGOs etc. This will aid the process of rapid creation of field hospitals or temporary hospital set-ups,” Bhushan wrote in his letter.

“States may also consider leveraging hotel rooms and other accommodations’ linked with the COVID dedicated hospitals in Government and private sector to cater to patients having mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19, as was done in some states during the earlier surge in cases,” he added.

The Union Health Secretary said it is particularly important that all states should monitor their home isolation protocol and its actual implementation at the field level.

“Special teams be constituted to monitor all home isolation cases, call centres/control rooms must aid outbound calling for monitoring such patients and ensuring that all such cases can be shifted to an appropriate health facility through dedicated ambulances,” he added.

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Uttarakhand reported four new cases of Omicron in last 24 hours taking the number of people infected with the latest variant of Covid-19 in the state so far to eight, officials said here on Saturday. The four people earlier infected with Omicron have recovered. One Omicron case was reported from the state on December 11 and three more on December 27. Of the four new cases, three cases are from Dehradun and one from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Director General Health Tripti Bahuguna said.

Gujarat reported 23 new cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Saturday, taking the tally of such infections in the state to 136, the health department said. The day before the state had reported 16 such cases. Ahmedabad city alone accounted for 11 new Omicron cases, Surat four, Vadodara, Anand and Kutch two cases each, and Kheda and Rajkot one case each. Only 12 of these patients had recent international travel history. As many as 65 Omicron patients have recovered in the state so far, including 11 who were discharged from hospitals on Saturday. Ahmedabad city has reported the highest 50 Omicron cases till now, followed by Vadodara with 23, Surat 16 and Anand 13 cases.