Omicron Updates: Karnataka's Mandya district on high alert after 84 devotees test Covid positive

Odisha | Lord Jagannath Temple to remain closed for devotees from January 10 (Monday), in view of the COVID19 situation: Puri Collector Samarth Verma

Jharkhand reports 3,825 new cases, 8 deaths, and 866 recoveries in the last 24 hours  Total active cases 17,206

The Reasi district of J&K will see a complete restriction of non-essential movement between 9 pm and 6 am. All dhabas/restaurants in Katra and Ransoo will function between 6am-11pm and no movement restrictions for yatris to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine/Shiv Khori Shrine, said Reasi DM &DDMA Chairman Charandeep Singh

Following the huge surge in Covid cases day by day, the Gujarat government on Friday increased the night curfew timings in all the 8 Municipal Corporation areas and the towns of Anand and Nadiad by two hours. The curfew will start at 10 p.m. and continue till 6 a.m. from January 8.

The existing night curfew hours in these areas are 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Now commercial units can be opened only till 10 p.m. in these cities

As many as 21 prisoners in Delhi jails have tested positive for Covid-19, a top official said on Friday. Director General (Prisons), Sandeeep Goyal, told IANS that apart from 21 inmates, 28 staff members have also contracted the virus in different jails under Delhi Prisons.

Delhi Prisons has three prison complexes, one at Tihar, which is one of the largest prison complexes in the world comprising nine central prisons, the second is the Central Prison at Rohini prison complex, and the third one is Mandoli prison complex having six central jails.

 The Delhi Police took to social media to answer various queries of the people regarding the weekend lockdown that is set to kick-in from Friday night.

To curb further spread of Covid-19, the national capital will remain under a stringent curfew from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

People posted several questions on Delhi Police's official Twitter handle regarding the night curfew. Though the police responded to few of them, many queries went unanswered.

Responding to one of the questions posed by a Twitter user, the Delhi Police said that industries with on-site labour will run as usual, following all Covid appropriate behaviour.

The police further requested the residents of the national capital to adhere to the weekend curfew guidelines and follow all the Covid protocols.

Triggered by the new Coronavirus variant, Omicron, the Covid situation in Delhi is deteriorating on a daily basis.

Delhi on Thursday reported 15,097 fresh Covid cases, a significant rise of 41 per cent from the previous day. It was the highest single-day rise after May 8 when the tally was at 17,364. The new cases have pushed the overall infection tally to 14,89,463 in the city.

"The police are leaving no stones unturned to strictly implement the DDMA guidelines. And the weekend lockdown will also be imposed with the same dedication," said an official.

542 new positive cases reported in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 24 hours; Active cases at 2,492

Kerala's Omicron case tally reaches 305 with 25 fresh cases reported in the state today.

Himachal Pradesh | 22 people including tourists, SDM Manali test positive for COVID19 at Manali, all infected advised home quarantine: Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg

Goa reports 1432 new cases, 112 recoveries and 2 deaths in last 24 hours. Active cases 5931

COVID-19 | Kerala reports 5,296 new cases, 35 deaths, & 2,404 recoveries today; Active cases at 27,859. Death tally at 49,305   154 deaths were added to the death tally as per the new guidelines of the Central government, says Kerala govt in an official statement

As the Covid-19 pandemic situation worsens, the Bangladeshi government has decided not to allow students aged between 12 and 17 without vaccination to return to school.

Bangladeshi Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam made the announcement, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said steps are underway to bring all children under the coverage of vaccination in the country.

Bangladesh started inoculating children aged between 12 and 17 last year.

If the pandemic situation worsens, the senior official said the government may also limit public transport to half capacity.

Bangladesh is currently witnessing a surge of fresh Covid-19 cases.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in the country reported 4,920 infections in the last seven days till Thursday morning.

The country reported 1,140 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths on Thursday, taking the total tally to 15,89,947 and the death toll to 28,097.

Bangladesh recorded the highest daily new cases of 16,230 on July 28 last year and the highest number of 264 deaths twice on August 5 and August 10, respectively, last year.

 Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will place three prefectures under a quasi-state of emergency on Friday amid a spike in Covid-19 cases stemming from American military personnel based in the prefectures spreading the virus.

Okinawa prefecture, host to the vast majority of US bases in Japan, is expected to be fully put under a quasi-state of emergency, following a record 981 new daily Covid-19 cases being reported on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The prefectures of Yamaguchi and Hiroshima, meanwhile, will likely see the mandate only applied to certain towns and cities there, with the tougher measures coming into effect from Sunday through January 31.

Under the quasi-state of emergency, prefectural officials are empowered to further enhance antiviral measures, including asking eateries to close earlier and bars and restaurants to refrain from serving alcoholic beverages.

Caps on the number of people attending large-scale public events can also be imposed by the local governments, under the quasi-state of emergency.

Following consultations with health experts by relevant government personnel, Parliament will convene on Friday to hear why the more stringent antiviral measures are necessary.

The quasi-state of emergency will almost certainly be green-lit by Parliament as the three prefectures were hard hit and the nation in general are grappling to further limit the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant stemming from US bases into mainstream society, which is experiencing surging numbers of community transmissions.

The Prime Minister, if the quasi-state of emergency is approved by Parliament, will formally declare it so for the three prefectures later Friday, sources said.

Mumbai Police: 93 policemen test positive for COVID  in the last 24 hours. Total 9657 positive so far.

All colleges, Universities, Technical Institutions (other than Medical/ Nursing Colleges and institutions under H& FW,Odisha) shall remain closed till 5 am of 1st Feb, 2022 wef: 10th Jan, 2022. All hostels of concerned institutions shall also remain closed.

A high alert has been sounded in Mandya district of Karnataka as 84 devotees, who returned from Tamil Nadu after pilgrimage to Om Shakti temple, have tested positive for Covid-19, district authorities said on Friday.

Another batch of more than 800 pilgrims is arriving in the district and authorities have made arrangements to test them for Covid-19.

Thousands of people across the district make annual pilgrimage to Om Shakti temple in Tamil Nadu. As many of the devotees who came back from the pilgrimage tested positive, the district authorities have gathered information and tracked about 3,600 devotees belonging to different villages of the district who returned from Tamil Nadu after the pilgrimage.

All of them were tested, of which 84 have tested positive so far. The health department and district authorities have jointly taken up exercise to manage the situation.

Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Friday said that 107 new Omicron cases have been detected, taking the overall tally in the state to 333.

"No severity is found among Omicron patients so far. But for those who have not taken Covid-19 vaccination, it could be more and even death is possible. I appeal to the people to get vaccinated to avoid hospitalisation," he added.

He said that Omicron and Covid-19 cases in the third wave of the infection are spreading more as per predicted reports. The state has 3.95 per cent infection positivity rate.

The infection rate is higher but people need not panic about it. The infections tend to go up and then settle down, the minister added.

Kerala on Friday decided to impose a week's compulsory home quarantine on all those arriving from abroad in view of the surge in coronavirus and Omicron cases, Health Minister Veena George said.

George said so far 280 Omicron cases have been registered in the state and the maximum number of cases was reported from those who arrived from low-risk countries.

On Thursday, 4,649 new Covid cases were registered, which was a recent high figure.

In tune with the national guidelines, George said from now on all passengers arriving from abroad have to undergo mandatory quarantine for a week at their homes.

"On the 8th day, they will undergo a RT-PCR test and if negative, they will continue in isolation for a week. The positive samples will be sent for genome sequencing," said George.

20 staff members of Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil tested positive for COVID19, said State Home Minister's Office.

20 staff members of Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil tested positive for #COVID19: State Home Minister's Office.

A number of cafes and restaurants in Seoul's commercial districts have defiantly remained open past midnight in a collective action protesting against the government's 9:00 pm anti-Covid business curfew. Small bistros lining the Baekhack traditional marketplace in central Seoul, and restaurants and food vendors on a food street near Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul were among the participants in the so-called lighting protest, launched in resistance to the business curfew, Yonhap news Agency reported on Friday. Under the current social distancing rules, cafes and restaurants are allowed to operate until 9 p.m., while private gatherings at those places are limited to four people. Amid the resurgence of Covid-19 and the fast spread of the Omicron variant, the government extended those measures for two more weeks through mid-January. Protesting business owners did not accept customers after the 9 p.m. curfew but left their empty stores and neon signs ablaze well past midnight.

Karnataka on Friday reported 107 new cases of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus taking the total count to 333 in the state, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said. "107 new Omicron cases have been confirmed in Karnataka on Jan 6th taking the overall tally to 333," Sudhakar tweeted. Health officials said the infected persons have been isolated. It is not known whether the infected persons were symptomatic or asymptomatic.

Karnataka reported 107 Omicron variant of COVID-19 cases on Thursday taking the tally in the state to 333, informed state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar.

Any patient who is in home isolation can be discharged after 7 days of testing positive if he does not have any symptoms for 3 days in a row. There is no need to re-test the patient in this. There were 15,000 cases yesterday. According to me, there is a possibility of 17,000 new cases coming today. Positivity rate likely to be 1-2% higher than yesterday. Yesterday it was around 15%, today it is likely to be 17-18%: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain. 

Odisha on Friday reported 2,703 fresh Covid-19 cases, which is 42 per cent more than the infections reported the previous day. The state had registered 1,897 cases on Thursday. According to the state health department bulletin, 2,703 Covid cases including 409 children in the up to 18 years age group have been reported. Khordha district, which includes Bhubaneswar city, logged the highest 926 cases, followed by Sundergarh (454), Cuttack (191), Sambalpur (179) and Jharsuguda (106). All other districts reported less than 100 cases. The daily test positivity rate (TPR) has been increased to 3.92 per cent in the State on Friday from 2.62 per cent. Odisha now has 8,237 active cases. With the confirmation of another death due to Covid, the death toll in the state mounted to 8,468. Meanwhile, Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kisore Das has been tested positive for Covid-19. Taking to Twitter, Das said, "I was tested asymptomatic Covid positive yesterday and now in home isolation. I request all those who have come in physical contact with me in the last 3 days to get themselves tested". 

Delhi expected to add nearly 17,000 Covid cases on Friday with a positivity rate of around 17 per cent: Health Minister Satyendar Jain. 

In view of surge in number of COVID-19 cases, especially of Omicron variant in Delhi-NCR, Union Home Secretary chaired a meeting yesterday to review preparedness in Delhi NCR, which includes Delhi and nine bordering districts in the States of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla emphasized that it is necessary for all concerned authorities in Delhi and the NCR Region to come together to tackle the virus. He reiterated on the need to have a unified strategy in the Delhi-NCR Region to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic: MHA

Amid the recent surge in Covid cases, especially the Omicron variant, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has reviewed the situation and preparedness in Delhi-NCR and stressed the need for a unified fight to control the spread. The meeting called on Thursday evening reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the Delhi-NCR region, which includes the national capital and nine bordering districts in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the home secretary emphasised that it is necessary for all the concerned authorities in Delhi and the NCR region to come together to tackle the virus. He reiterated the need to have a unified strategy in the Delhi-NCR Region to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Odisha on Thursday reported its first and the country's second Omicron-related death.The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday had confirmed the first death due to the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 in Rajasthan.The first Omicron death in Odisha was confirmed by CDMO, Balangir, Dr Snehalata Sahu. The deceased, a 50 year old woman, was suffering from a brain stroke. She was admitted to Burla Medical College where she tested COVID positive. She died on December 27, 2021. Her sample was sent for genome sequencing. The report of the test, which came after her death, was Omicron positive.  Dr Sahu further informed that after the detection of Omicron death, the district administration and the health department rushed to her native village Agalpur for contact tracing. Further testing of the contacts is underway.

Chhattisgarh: In view of rising Covid-19 cases, Surajpur district health department has made functional about 600 oxygen beds, 60 ventilator beds. 20,000 medical kits for adults and 5,000 for kids in stock. These are ready to be used when required: Gaurav Singh, District Collector. 

A total of 3,007 Omicron cases were reported in 27 States/UTs of India so far. The number of persons recovered is 1,199: Union Health Ministry.

India reports 1,17,100 fresh COVID cases, 30,836 recoveries, and 302 deaths in the last 24 hours.

READ MORE HERE: Over 1 lakh new COVID cases, 302 fatalities in last 24 hours; active cases rise to 3,71,363

The new Covid-19 variant called B.1.640, which was detected by French researchers and is probably of Cameroonian origin, is not "circulating widely at the moment" and has so far been identified in less than 1 per cent of the samples sequenced in France, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. The strain is also known as the 'IHU' variant because it was first identified by academics at the IHU Mediterranee Infection institute in Marseille, France, reports Xinhua news agency. At a press briefing on THursday, Maria van Kerkhove, technical lead for the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, said that the variant was first detected in September 2021 in a number of countries. Following internal discussions, the WHO classified it as a "variant under monitoring" (VUM) in November 2021. According to the WHO's definition, a VUM is SARS-CoV-2 variant with genetic changes that are suspected to affect virus characteristics, which may pose a future risk, but evidence of phenotypic or epidemiological impact is currently unclear, thus requiring enhanced monitoring and repeat assessment pending new evidence.

Odisha: 50-year-old woman, a resident of Agalpur in Bolangir district who had tested positive for Omicron variant of COVID-19, had died on December 27 last year in a Sambalpur hospital and her genome sequencing report was made available on Wednesday: Bolangir CDMO Snehalata Sahoo. 

Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has topped 299.9 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.47 million and vaccinations to over 9.33 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Friday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 299,981,503 and 5,471,816, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9,336,594,753. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 58,446,019 and 833,952, according to the CSSE. The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (35,109,286 infections and 482,876 deaths), followed by Brazil (22,328,252 infections and 619,654 deaths).

"Offices of advocates/lawyers/law firms are permitted to function with 50% of their strength during weekends, strictly adhering to COVID appropriate behaviour. Movement of advocates, lawyers & staff permitted on producing valid ID cards," says Karnataka Government in an official letter.

Argentina saw a record number of daily cases of Covid-19, registering 109,608 infections in 24 hours, for a total caseload of 6,025,303, the Health Ministry has said on Thursday. It was the second record-setting day in a row, after 95,159 daily cases were reported on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported. The ministry also reported 40 more Covid-19 deaths, bringing the pandemic death toll to 117,386. Argentina is facing its third wave of Covid-19 cases due to the spread of the Delta and Omicron variants. "We are in a wave and we don't know where it will plateau. This new variant (Omicron) has a level of transmission rarely seen, so the numbers will surely continue to rise," presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti said at a press conference Thursday.

Maharashtra: A total of 338 resident doctors from various hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last four days, said President of Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), Dr Avinash Dahiphale.

Forty-seven more people, including six who recently returned from abroad, have tested positive for coronavirus in Mathura district, officials said on Thursday. The fresh cases pushed the tally of those who tested positive for the infection from December 1 to 151, they said. Dr Bhudeo Singh, in-charge of Rapid Response team, said 16 of the new cases are from Vrindavan. Thirty-four people were found infected with coronavirus in random sampling from different areas including rural areas of Mathura district, the officials said.

An online registration system will be reintroduced shortly for those planning to visit the famous Bankey Bihari temple in Vrindavan in view of the rising cases of coronavirus, an office bearer of the temple said on Thursday. "A 12-point order in this regard was released by Civil Judge (Junior Division) Archana Singh on Thursday", Munish Sharma, Manager of the Banke Bihari temple said. He said the devotees are required to strictly adhere to COVID-19 norms while visiting the temple and they would not be allowed to stay inside the temple after paying obeisance to the deity. The devotees can register for the 'darshan' by visiting "https://darshan.yatradham.org and the new system would come into force in the next two-three days, the temple manager said.

Afternoons with Grammy. Birthday parties. Meeting other toddlers at the park. Parents of children too young to be vaccinated are facing difficult choices as an omicron variant-fuelled surge in COVID-19 cases makes every encounter seem risky. For Maine business owner Erin Connolly, the most wrenching decision involves Madeleine, her 3-year-old daughter, and Connolly's mother, who cares for the girl on the one day a week she isn't in preschool. It's a treasured time of making cookies, going to the library, or just hanging out. But the spirited little girl resists wearing a mask, and with the highly contagious variant spreading at a furious pace, Connolly says she's wondering how long that can continue "and when does it feel too unsafe". Connolly, of West Bath, said she worries less about Madeleine and her 6-year-old vaccinated son getting the virus than about the impact illness and separation would have on the grandparents.

Omicron variant of coronavirus is highly transmissible but milder variant than Delta, said an expert from Kolkata Hospital.Speaking to ANI, Dr Rupali Basu, MD and CEO, Woodlands Hospital, Kolkata said, "The third wave of COVID has come. There will be an upward curve of the number of cases and then it will gradually go down. The severity of the disease when compared to the second wave, it is clinically less severe. So far we can see, patients recover in five-six days.""The symptoms are just like flu such as fever and weakness. Loss of smell and taste might have in some patients. There will be less hospitalization. Omicron is highly transmissible but a mild variant. It is not as problematic as the Delta variant but we still need to be careful. We do not need to panic but take precautions and follow COVID-appropriate behaviour," added Dr Basu.

Brazil has reported the first death from the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the city of Aparecida de Goiania of Goias state, according to Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.According to the municipality, the victim was a 68-year-old man with high blood pressure suffering from "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," who was admitted to a local hospital, the news agency reported.

In view of rising COVID-19 cases, government and sub-ordinate offices in the state will function with 50% staff attendance from January 7 to 31: Odisha Government.