Omicron variant LIVE Updates: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar tests Covid positive

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday extended the lockdown in the state till January 31 as it announced other fresh Covid restrictions. The development comes after the state recorded 13,990 positive cases, 11 deaths in the last 24 hours. No new Omicron case was detected across Tamil Nadu on Monday.

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Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi on Monday said that the state government has decided to postpone all semester examinations in the universities given the surge in Covid-19 cases.

The exams were scheduled to commence on January 20 and the minister said that the revised dates would be announced later after the number of cases comes down. The state government had earlier announced of physical conduct of examinations after January 20 and colleges were directed to provide study leave to the students.

After nearly two weeks of rising, Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra suddenly plummeted by 10,000, and Omicron cases also dropped below 50, on the day when the state implemented night curfew, health officials said here on Monday.

After a stupendous 44,388 Covid infectees on Sunday, the state recorded 33,470 and fatalities also dropped from 12 to 8 on Monday, with the mortality rate falling from 2.04 per cent to 2.03 per cent.

Tamil Nadu recorded 13,990 positive cases and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours. On Sunday, the state had recorded 12,895 new coronavirus cases in a single day. Nine passengers who came from Bangladesh and two each from Sri Lanka and UAE were infected by the virus besides those from the states of West Bengal with 8, Assam with 3, Kerala with 2, Andhra Pradesh with 2; Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Bihar and Jharkhand with one each among the fresh cases, the state health department bulletin stated.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday held a review meeting to take stock of the prevailing Covid situation in the country. He got in touch with health ministers, officials from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Maharashtra at 3:30 pm today to discuss COVID-situation in these states.

AIIMS Director Randeep Singh Guleria takes 'precautionary dose' as part of the nationwide drive for frontline workers, healthcare workers and senior citizens above 60 years of age with co-morbidities, that kickstarted today

West Bengal reported 19,286 new COVID cases today, along with 8,187 recoveries, and 16 deaths. Active cases in the stand stood at 89,194 and total recoveries are 16,65,221. State's positivty rate has crossed 37%.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Monday suspended dine-in facility at restaurants and closed bars in view of the rising Covid cases in the city, but decided against imposing a full lockdown yet. A DDMA meeting, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also discussed ways to strictly enforce existing restrictions to check the rising cases of the coronavirus and its Omicron variant.

While back pain has been a common symptom of viral diseases, doctors are witnessing an increase in the case of severe back pain among Omicron patients, even after recovery. The four most common symptoms of the Omicron variant are cough, fatigue, congestion and runny nose, according to US CDC analysis. Recently, the UK-based Zoe Covid app study added new symptoms such as nausea and loss of appetite.

Delhi reported 19,166 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday and 17 deaths, according to an official bulletin released by the health department. The Test Positivity Rate in the national capital was recorded at 25 percent. 

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Monday said 146 more cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in the state. This takes the state's tally of Omicron cases to 476. "146 new cases of Omicron have been confirmed in Bengaluru today, taking the overall tally in Karnataka to 479," Sudhakar said in a tweet. The country’s first two Omicron cases were detected in the state on December 2.

Multiple time world snooker and billiards champion Pankaj Advani has tested positive for COVID-19. The ace cueist confirmed it to PTI on Monday. "I was following all the COVID restrictions but still got infected. We all have to be extra careful in this third wave of COVID.

With questions being raised on the safety of Molnupiravir - an oral antiviral pill approved for treating Covid-19, Indian health experts have pointed out that the benefits of the drug outweigh the potential risks it may have in the case of high-risk patients.

Developed by US-based drug company Merck, Molnupiravir is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration against Covid-19. It is approved by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults with a high risk of progression to severe disease, mainly those with pre-existing (comorbid) conditions.

The Uttar Pradesh government has brought in additional restrictions with immediate effect to check the spread of Covid. According to the official spokesman, all government and private offices will function with 50 per cent strength at a time.

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar today announced that all schools in the state will be shut down for physical classes till January 26. Online classes will continue.

With 17 fresh cases of Omicron in the state, Kerala's Omicron tally has reached 345. On Sunday, fresh COVID-19 cases continued to rise in Kerala with the state on Sunday logging 6,238 new infections and 44 deaths which raised the caseload to 52,76,417 and the fatalities to 49,591.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday informed that he has tested positive for Covid 19.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Monday said that restrictions will be tightened further in the national capital amidst the spike in Covid-19 cases, but there will be no lockdown for now. It was decided in a meeting held on Monday afternoon to review the Covid-19 situation in Delhi. "The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting has been scheduled on Monday at noon in view of the rising cases. Further restrictions could be decided as the cases are fast rising," official sources had said earlier.

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced a night curfew from 11pm to 5am in the State, in view of rising COVID19 cases, said the Chief Minister's Office on Monday.

As per reports, all of them have undergone home isolation and none of them are showing severe symptoms. The Covid infection has been found from constables to top-level officers. 

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As COVID-19 cases continue to rise rapidly across the country, the Jharkhand government, much like other states, on Monday began administering the third shot or the precautionary dose to its frontline workers and senior citizens with comorbidities. The state has around 6.5 lakh people who are above 60 years of age and have comorbid conditions, the additional chief secretary of the health department, Arun Kumar Singh, said.

Karnataka Home minister Araga Jnanendra on Monday informed that an FIR has been registered against 30 people for violating COVID-19 protocols during Congress' Mekedatu padayatra amid the COVID-19 restrictions in the state. "FIR has been registered against 30 people for violating COVID-19 protocols. Ramanagara district administration has taken action as per the law. We will not spare anybody who violates the law," Araga Jnanendra told ANI.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to meet health ministers, officials from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Maharashtra at 3:30 pm today to discuss COVID-situation in these states.

Fifty-five companies of paramilitary personnel will be deployed in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh for peaceful conduct of assembly polls to be held on February 10, an official said. District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said the district has six assembly constituencies and 20,20,826 voters, including 9,37,688 women.

Forty-six inmates and 43 staffers of three jails in Delhi have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Monday. "All the infected inmates as well as staffers have been under isolation and are recovering," said a senior jail official. According to data shared by the jail authorities, 46 inmates tested positive till Sunday -- 29 inmates in Tihar and the remaining 17 in Mandoli jail. Among the 43 infected staffers, 25 are from Tihar, 12 from Rohini jail and six from Mandoli jail.

Maharashtra-1,216

Rajasthan-529

Delhi-513

Karnataka-441

Kerala-333

Gujarat-236

Tamil Nadu-185

Haryana-123

Telangana-123

Uttar Pradesh-113

Odisha-74

Andhra Pradesh-28

Punjab-27

West Bengal-27

Goa-19

Madhya Pradesh-10

Assam-9

Uttarakhand-8

Meghalaya-4

Andaman & Nicobar Islands-3

Chandigarh-3

Jammu and Kashmir (UT)-3

Puducherry-2

Chhattisgarh-1

Himachal Pradesh-1

Ladakh-1

Manipur-1

Total   - 4,033

Discharged/Recovered - 1,552

(Ministry of Health Data)

As the surge in COVID cases grips the national capital, over 300 Delhi Police personnel, including the Public Relations Officer (PRO) and Additional Commissioner Chinmoy Biswal have tested positive for the virus. A large number of police personnel in all units and at all police stations, including the police headquarters have been hit by the COVID. Meanwhile, Delhi has reported 22,751 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, the highest since May 1 last year, said the state health department on Sunday.

Nearly 80-85 per cent of the COVID-19 cases reported in Tamil Nadu were people who had 'S' gene drop in their samples, indicating contraction of Omicron variant of coronavirus while the remaining 15-20 per cent was Delta variant, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Sunday. Appealing people to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the virus, the minister said it was satisfying to know that there were no fatalities among those who were detected with 'S' gene drop indicating they would have contracted the Omicron variant. Amid the full lockdown put in place on Sunday by the Tamil Nadu government following the spurt in new cases, Subramanian said nearly 90 per cent of those affected by Omicron have received both doses of vaccination and were asymptomatic. "Every one should receive double dose of vaccination against COVID-19. People should adhere to COVID-19 protocol like wearing a face mask among others," he told reporters.

 No Omicron case was reported in Gujarat on Sunday, keeping the tally of those infected with the new coronavirus variant unchanged at 236, while the day also saw 19 recoveries from it, an official said.

The number of people who have recovered from the infection caused by the Omicron variant rose to 186, with the people discharged during the day comprising nine from Vadodara, six from Rajkot, three from Anand and one from Ahmedabad, he pointed out.

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 207 new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, taking the state's overall tally of such patients to 1,216. Sangli reported 57 cases of the Omicron variant, followed by 40 in Mumbai, 22 in Pune city, 21 in Nagpur, 15 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 12 in Thane city, 8 in Kolhapur, 6 in Amravati, and 5 in Osmanabad. Of the 207 new cases of the Omicron variant, 155 have been reported by the BJ medical college and 52 by the National Institute of Virology. Of the total 1,216 cases so far, 454 have been discharged after the negative test report. Mumbai has a total of 606 Omicron cases as of now, while 223 were reported so far in Pune city.