Omicron variant: Don't let your guard down thinking variant is mild, warns AIIMS expert

Global number of new COVID-19 cases increased sharply by 71% during week December 27- January 2: WHO

ASI says centrally protected monuments under its Delhi circle will remain closed from Jan 6-20 due to sudden surge in Covid cases. 

COVID-19 | Tamil Nadu reports 6,983 new cases, 721 recoveries and 11 deaths. Active cases 22,828

With plans to relax COVID restrictions at places with less positivity rate, the Karnataka government is likely to review the containment measures announced by it effective across the state, next week, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said on Thursday.

At the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today, some Ministers expressed reservation about enforcing restrictions across the state, especially in places where the positivity rate is low.

"We have issued the COVID protocol to be followed till January 19. In today's cabinet meeting some Ministers questioned the need for it to be implemented across the state, especially in places where there are less infection and low positivity rate," Madhuswamy said.

The Aam Aadmi Party has decided to cancel its rallies in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh in view of spurt in coronavirus cases, senior party leader Sanjay Singh said on Thursday.

The party will instead hold virtual rallies in the state, he said.

"All rallies of AAP in Uttar Pradesh have been cancelled. I will talk to you at the 'Kejriwal Guarantee' public meeting to be held in Varanasi on January 8 through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube," the AAP MP tweeted in Hindi.

Singh, who is the party in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, said accordingly yatras scheduled to start from Sahibabad on January 9 and from western part of the state on January 10 have been put off. The party had announced that it would contest all 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Supreme Court decides to hear from January 7 all matters in virtual mode only and all judges to work from their residential offices. Supreme Court through a circular says that only extremely urgent mentioned matters, fresh matters, bail matters involving stay, detention and fixed date matters will be listed before the Court from January 10

 Kerala on Thursday logged 4,649 fresh COVID-19 cases and 221 deaths which raised the caseload to 52,58,939 and the fatalities to 49,116.

Of the deaths, 17 were recorded over the last few days and 204 designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.

With 2,180 more people recovering from the virus since Wednesday, the total recoveries reached 51,93,093 and the active cases 25,157, the release said.

As many as 68,325 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

 The ship crew change, which was taking place periodically at Chennai port, has got struck following the stringent Covid standard protocol that is in place at Chennai port.

RT-PCR negative tests are mandatory for a crew change in vessels and this has led to inordinate delay in effecting the changes with new crew replacing old ones. In a ship, an officer serves for four to six months while sailors work for around nine to ten months.

The crew change exercise, according to senior Chennai port officials is getting delayed due to the stringent Covid standard protocol in place.

Shipping companies are strict that negative RT-PCR certificate and two doses of vaccine are mandatorily required for a sailor or an officer to get back into a ship are crew change. If the RT-PCR test is positive, the concerned employee has to undertake mandatory quarantine.

With crew changes getting delayed, shipping companies are forcing the officers to serve for up to ten months while the sailors are working for as much time as they can.

Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya meets doctors and health workers who have tested positive for COVID19 at AIIMS Delhi Many of our doctors, health workers have been affected with COVID19 while serving patients, I pray for their good health, the minister says.

The no. of cases are growing but hospitalisations have not increased. Also, the number of casualties hasn't increased, medical oxygen demand hasn't gone up. In the coming days, we'll conduct a serosurvey: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope

50 more cases of Omicron confirmed in Kerala - 45 from low risk countries and 5 from high risk countries. No cases reported through contact (tracing). Total Omicron cases 280 now: Kerala Health department

Don't let your guard down thinking Omicron is mild infection, warns AIIMS expert

Odisha's Covid-19 graph saw an upward tick with the state recording 1,897 fresh cases on Thursday.

From 228 cases reported on December 31, the number of infections mounted to 424 each on January 2&3, 680 on January 4 and 1,216 on January 5.

Out of the 1,897 fresh cases including 258 of 0-18 years, 1,106 cases were reported from the quarantine centres and 791 as local contact cases. The Covid-19 infection has now spread to all 30 districts of Odisha, according to the Information and Public Relations (I&PR) department.

As many as 125 passengers that have arrived in Amritsar on a chartered Italy-Amritsar flight have tested positive for Covid-19, said airport authorities on Thursday. 

There were 179 passengers on the Italy-Amritsar flight, said VK Seth, Airport Director.

Read full story HERE 

China's popular tourist city of Xi'an has suspended international passenger flights following a major COVID-19 outbreak, the airport authority said on Thursday, even as officials rejected fears of a virus resurgence.

The city had already suspended domestic flights and has been in a lockdown since early December.
The foreign flight suspension was enforced starting Wednesday, the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport said.

More than 70 per cent of Covid-19 cases being detected in Telangana may be cases of Omicron as the new variant has already spread in the community, a top health official said on Thursday.

"Omicron is already in the community. Our estimates are that more than 70 per cent are Omicron cases. We cannot do genome sequencing for all," said director of public health and family welfare Dr G. Srinivasa Rao.

The official warned that a bigger surge in cases in Telangana is likely after the Sankranti festival this month.

The official said the number of cases increased with New Year and maximum number of infections are being reported from Greater Hyderabad.

The state has witnessed a four-fold jump in the number of cases during the last five days. On Wednesday, the state reported 1,520 new infections.

Telangana had reported 1,052 new cases on Tuesday. This was after a gap of more than six months the state's Covid tally had crossed 1,000. The positivity rate is more than three per cent.

The director of public health said in case of any symptoms people should approach the doctor instead of self medication. Reiterating that the department is geared up to tackle the third wave, he said two crore Covid testing kits and more than a crore home isolation kits were ready.

As part of the measures to tackle the third wave, the department has canceled leaves of all healthcare workers. The staff will not be granted leave for next four weeks.

Srinivasa Rao said despite the state logging hundreds of cases every day, the impact was not severe. No significant increase in hospital admissions was noted. Even those found infected by the new variant are recovering in five days.

The genome sequencing test is being conducted only for those samples collected from Covid positive among air passengers from at-risk countries and about two per cent random samples taken from the travelers coming from non-risk countries.

The state has so far reported 94 Omicron cases. Of them 43 have recovered while the remaining are currently under treatment.

Stating that the treatment protocol is not different for Omicron, the officials said there was no need to differentiate between Omicron and other variants.

Srinivasa Rao said the coming four weeks will be critical as a bigger surge is likely this month. He, however, hoped that the surge may subside in the middle of February.

He appealed to all to abide by the guidelines issued by the government to check the spread of Covid. Stating that protection from virus is in the hands of people, he said they should always wear masks, maintain social distance, frequently wash hands and take vaccines.

The health department has set the target of 100 per cent vaccination of the second dose by January 26. The state has already administered doses to 10 per cent of the children in the age group of 15-18. The department has now decided to reach out to children to give the vaccine.

South Korea plans to provide around 40 trillion won ($33.4 billion) in funds to pandemic-hit self-employed people and small firms in a bid to ease their financial troubles ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said on Thursday. The government said the funds will be fresh support, separate from the budget of 35.8 trillion won, in the form of low-interest loans for small merchants, according to Hong. The move is part of a set of measures to stabilise the livelihoods of ordinary people in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday scheduled for January 31-February 2, reports Yonhap News Agency. Small merchants have suffered business losses as health authorities on Monday extended tougher virus curbs for two weeks until mid-January to curb the spike in Covid-19 cases.

Vaccination, masking to be actively followed to avoid the spread. Even if 1% of population requires hospitalisation, it would be a huge number. So it's our responsibility to not let our guards down thinking it's a mild infection. We have to protect our healthcare workers. They have to take full precautions, because they are the frontline soldiers. In my unit almost 50% residents are sick, they have mild symptoms, but they have not been able to work. We cannot afford doctors falling sick. Don't increase the burden causing hospital beds being clogged like what happened in 2nd wave. Say we have 25 million (people) in Delhi, even if 1% hospitalised, Delhi NCR cannot handle it, and we cannot have a double jeopardy of health care workers also collapsing: Dr P Sarat Chandra, Professor, Neurosurgery, AIIMS. 

California is struggling to staff hospitals and classrooms as an astonishing spike in coronavirus infections sweeps through the state. The fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 is sidelining exposed or infected health care workers even as hospital beds fill with patients and “some facilities are going to be strapped," Health and Human Services Secretary Dr Mark Ghaly said Wednesday. Some 40% of hospitals are expecting to face critical staff shortages and some are reporting as much as one quarter of their staff out for virus-related reasons, said Kiyomi Burchill of the California Hospital Association. In Fresno County, more than 300 workers at area hospitals were either isolating because of exposure or recovering, said Dan Lynch, the county's emergency medical services director.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai tests positive for COVID-19. 

At present, we don't think that cinema halls or malls need to be closed. But if something is to be done in the larger public interest, State Cabinet will discuss these things and the CM will take a final call: Maharashtra Minister Amit Deshmukh. 

A day after it breached the 10,000-mark, the national capital is likely to report 14,000 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said. "Coronavirus cases in Delhi have seen a spike in the past few days. Today it is going to be near 14,000," Jain said.

READ MORE HERE: 14,000 COVID cases likely in Delhi today; no need for lockdown as of now: Satyendar Jain

Delhi is likely to witness 14,000 fresh COVID cases today and the daily positivity rate may rise to around 14%. No person has died of Omicron variant in the national capital so far. As of now, it appears lockdown is not needed: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

No consideration of lockdown as of now. Maharashtra government will consider a lockdown or lockdown-like restrictions after medical oxygen demand for the state goes beyond 800 metric tonnes/ day or more than 40% of Covid beds in hospitals are occupied. This current surge (in COVID cases) may peak in mid-February and may subside by mid-March: Maharashtra Health Department.

Omicron: Gujarat Govt postpones 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit to be held from January 10 to January 12. 

71 Mumbai Police personnel tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking active cases in the force to 265: Police.

Maharashtra Health Department says it has stopped genome sequencing of COVID samples after 55% of the samples in last genome sequencing were confirmed for Omicron variant. Order for fresh sero survey is expected this week. 

Delhi: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reaches Election Commission office to brief EC officials on COVID-19 situation in the country. 

Last date for filing applications for admission in nursery/entry-level classes in private schools of Delhi is being extended for further two weeks, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia. 

Madhya Pradesh reported 1033 COVID cases in the last 24 hours, around double the number recorded the day before which is a matter of concern. But we should not panic. We must observe all COVID-appropriate behaviour. Daily positive cases are rising rapidly. We imposed some more restrictions yesterday, including a cap of 250 people at wedding gatherings. Only 50 people are allowed to attend final rites. I instructed officials to increase beds in hospitals: State Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang. 

Assam: IIT, Guwahati declared as containment zone after 60 COVID cases detected on its campus.

Chhattisgarh Government postpones 'Swachhta Rally' to held in Raipur on January 8 and other public events till further orders, in view of rising cases of COVID-19.

The number of Omicron variant cases rises to 2,630 today. 

India reports 90,928 fresh COVID cases, 19,206 recoveries, and 325 deaths in the last 24 hours. 

READ MORE HERE:  India logs over 90,000 new COVID cases, 325 fatalities in last 24 hours

West Bengal BJP Mahila Morcha president and MLA, Agnimitra Paul tests positive for COVID-19.

Omicron: Six more districts of Haryana- Karnal, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Rohtak and Jhajjar- included in Group 'A', to see closure of cinema halls, sports complexes, swimming pools, and entertainment parks. Government and private offices to function with 50% staff attendance.

Union MoS for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar tested positive for Covid-19. 

30 more resident doctors tested Covid positive in Sion Hospital, Mumbai. A total of 260 resident doctors in the state have been tested positive till now: Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors.

Sri Lanka will unveil its vaccination drive to children aged between 12 and 15, from January 7, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said here on Wednesday. In a statement, the minister said that starting from Friday, the Covid-19 vaccines will be available for the children in the age group, Xinhua news agency reported. Health officials said the children will be administered the Pfizer doses. According to official figures from the health ministry, nearly 70 per cent of Sri Lanka's total population have been fully vaccinated with China's Sinopharm, followed by AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Sputnik V.

Hundreds of passengers who embarked on an 11-day cruise from Miami were returned to port Wednesday after less than two days at sea because several dozen crew members got infected with COVID-19. The pandemic also prompted a last-minute cancellation of another cruise that was scheduled to depart Wednesday. Norwegian Cruise Line said it was cancelling sailings on eight of its ships in the US and abroad to protect the health and safety of guests, crew members and communities. Cheryl Rogers, of Starke, Florida, was among the passengers that were returned to Miami on the Norwegian Pearl, which had only left port Monday. Rogers says travellers were told crew members fell ill with the coronavirus.

Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has topped 297 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.46 million and vaccinations to over 9.27 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 297,504,250 and 5,464,532, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9,279,347,173. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 57,649,131 and 832,061, according to the CSSE. The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (35,018,358 infections and 482,551 deaths), followed by Brazil (22,328,252 infections and 619,654 deaths).

Following a break over the holiday season, European countries are witnessing skyrocketing new Covid-19 infections as the Omicron variant continues its onslaught across the continent. France, Greece and Croatia have broken new Covid-19 case records while the two neighbouring countries of the Netherlands and Belgium have seen infection rates hiking significantly by 35 per cent and 79 per cent respectively, Xinhua news agency reported. In Greece, despite a tightening of measures during the holiday season, cases have skyrocketed. The National Public Health Organization (EODY) confirmed on Tuesday 50,126 infections within 24 hours, an all-time high. Greek experts expect the number to continue rising this month, with daily cases possibly reaching 80,000 in the coming days.

Forty-two students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. 

No Covid-related death was reported in the district on Wednesday, and the count of fatalities here stands at 308.

The number of total confirmed cases in the district has risen to 18,170, and the count of recoveries as at 17,762.

Amid an ongoing surge in new COVID-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday stressed on strict compliance of new guidelines, including closure of all schools up to Class 10 till January 16.

As many as 2,038 fresh Covid cases were detected in the state on Wednesday, up from 992 on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a high-level meeting to review the situation and directed the officials to declare holiday in all schools up to Class 10 till January 16, an official spokesperson said.

West Bengal’s COVID-19 tally on Wednesday climbed to 16,78,323 with 14,022 fresh cases, 4,949 more than the previous day, the health department said. The positivity rate rose to 23.17 per cent from Tuesday's 18.96 per cent, it said.

The metropolis accounted for 6,170 new infections, followed by North 24 Parganas at 2,540 and Howrah at 1,280.

With 17 fresh fatalities, the death toll mounted to 19,827, a bulletin issued by the health department said.

Odisha recorded its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases in nearly five months as 1,216 more people, including 187 children, tested positive for the disease on Wednesday, the health department said. The toll mounted to 8,466 as two patients succumbed to the virus in Bhubaneswar.

Fifty-three other coronavirus patients in the state have died due to comorbidities, according to data.

Four more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Punjab on Wednesday, while 1,811 more cases took the state's infection tally to 6,08,723, according to a medical bulletin.

Punjab has been witnessing a surge in the number of infections for the past few days. The state reported 1,027 cases of the infection on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 positivity rate in the state also rose to 7.95 per cent from 6.49 per cent a day before. The four new Covid-related fatalities pushed the toll to 16,657.

The Indian Medical Association has requested the Centre and states to ensure that Covid duty of resident doctors do not exceed eight hours a day and after a week there should be a quarantine 10 to 14 day quarantine period in accommodation prescribed by the hospital.

In the event of a Covid duty doctor falling ill, they should be hospitalised at the earliest. 

In a statement, the doctors' body said in case of untimely death, the status of Covid martyr and compensation as well as case-wise assistance should be arranged.

There should also be a provision for taking care of the mental health of doctors, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said.

France is allowing health care workers who are infected with the coronavirus but have few or no symptoms to keep treating patients rather than self-isolate, an extraordinary stopgap measure aimed at easing staff shortages at hospitals and other facilities caused by an unprecedented explosion in cases.

The special exemption to France's quarantine rules being rolled out to hospitals, elderly care homes, doctors' offices and other essential health services testifies to the growing strain on the French medical system by the fast-spreading omicron variant.

It is a calculated risk, with the possibility that health care workers with COVID-19 could infect colleagues and patients being weighed against what the government says is a need to keep essential services running.

Hospitals across the US are feeling the wrath of the omicron variant and getting thrown into disarray that is different from earlier COVID-19 surges. This time, they are dealing with serious staff shortages because so many health care workers are getting sick with the fast-spreading variant. People are showing up at emergency rooms in large numbers in hopes of getting tested for COVID-19, putting more strain on the system.

And a surprising share of patients — two-thirds in some places — are testing positive while in the hospital for other reasons.

At the same time, hospitals say the patients aren't as sick as those who came in during the last surge. Intensive care units aren't as full, and ventilators aren't needed as much as they were before.

The Grammy Awards have been postponed weeks before the planned Los Angeles ceremony over what organisers called “too many risks” from the omicron variant, signalling what could be the start of another year of pandemic upheaval for awards season.

The attempt at a back-to-normal show had been scheduled for January 31 at the newly renamed Crypto.com Arena with a live audience and performances, but no new date is on the books.

The Recording Academy said it made the decision to postpone the ceremony “after careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son and Congress leader, Vaibhav Gehlot, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Vaibhav Gehlot informed that he is asymptomatic and as per the doctor's advice, taking rest at home adopting all COVID protocols.

In view of rising COVID-19 cases, the National Zoological Park in Delhi has shut down temporarily. 

Delhi reported over 10,000 cases in the last 24 hours pushing the positivity rate to 11.88 per cent, as per the state health bulletin on Wednesday.

In view of rising COVID-19 cases, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's two public meetings that were to take place in Uttarakhand have been postponed.

Chhattisgarh reports 1,615 new COVID cases; active caseload at 4,562, positivity rate at 4.32%

Haryana reported 35 more cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 yesterday, says Health department

In view of the rising COVID-19 cases, the Delhi government has ordered to escalate the COVID beds capacity in nine government hospitals of the national capital. As per an order dated January 4, 2021, the government has directed to increase COVID beds capacity in its nine hospitals from the existing 3,316 to 4,350.

Mumbai: 6 more employees of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) test positive for COVID-19

60 employees had tested positive on Wednesday. 

Maharashtra: A total of 230 resident doctors from various hospitals in Mumbai have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 3 days, says Ganesh Solunke, president of JJ Hospital, Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors