Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Kerala Reports 2,748 New Covid-19 Cases, 233 Deaths

Maharashtra today reported 11 new Omicron variant cases. Of these, eight are from Mumbai and one each from Pimpri Chinchwad, Osmanabad, and Navi Mumbai.

Jammu and Kashmir has reported three Omicron variant cases.

There is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of coronavirus, though some of the mutations reported on spike gene may decrease the efficacy of existing vaccines, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. “There are limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron,” Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply.

As Christmas and New Year are just around the corner, the preparedness to keep a strict vigil on public parties in Maharashtra’s capital city Mumbai has been beefed up in view of the threat of Omicron, a new variant of Covid-19. Speaking on the same, the chairperson of the BMC health committee Rajul Patel on Tuesday lashed out at Bollywood celebrities for organising parties amid the coronavirus pandemic which “influences” other people too. Read More

Kerala today reported 2,748 new Covid-19 cases, 33 deaths and 3,202 recoveries, as per state health bulletin. The active coronavirus cases are at 28,035. The death tally has jumped to 45,155. The state government said 200 deaths were added to the death tally as per the new guidelines of the Central government.

Israel lawmakers have approved the US travel ban to curb Omicron spread, reports AFP.

Delhi has reported 102 new Covid cases, one death in the last 24 hours. The active caseload stands at 557, according to health bulletin.

The complete Covid-19 vaccination has crossed the 75 per cent mark in Kerala as over two crore people have received both the first and second doses of the jab, the state government said here on Tuesday. A total of 2,60,09,703 crore people- 97.38 per cent of the total population to be vaccinated, have taken the first dose of the jab while 2,00,32,229 people-75 per cent- received the second shot, state Health Minister Veena George said. Read More

The Odisha government has released Rs 350 crore for disbursement as Livelihood Assistance among the poor people during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation, official sources said. All the families covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) will be given Rs 1,000 each as livelihood assistance in all 30 districts.

The complete COVID vaccination has crossed the 75 per cent mark in Kerala as over two crore people have received both the first and second doses of the jab, the state government said here on Tuesday. A total of 2,60,09,703 crore people- 97.38 per cent of the total population to be vaccinated, have taken the first dose of the jab while 2,00,32,229 people-75 per cent- received the second shot, state Health Minister Veena George said here.

The most likely order of symptoms that patients with COVID-19 experience is different for different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a study. The researchers from the University of Southern California in the US wanted to know whether the order of COVID-19 symptoms varied in patients from different geographical regions or with various patient characteristics.

The Union Health Ministry said today that 200 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in India so far.

Thane has reported 77 new cases of coronavirus, pushing the infection tally in the Maharashtra district to 5,71,304, an official said on Tuesday. These new cases were recorded on Monday, he said.

No fresh COVID-19 case was registered in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the last 24 hours, a health department official said on Tuesday. The COVID-19 tally in the union territory remained at 7,702, he said. The archipelago now has only three active COVID-19 cases and all the patients are in the South Andaman district. The other two districts – North and Middle Andaman and Nicobar – are coronavirus free, the official said. So far a total of 7,570 people have recovered from COVID-19.

Australia reports 4,565 new coronavirus cases, the biggest one-day increase on record.

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh faced opposition fire over alleged underreporting of coronavirus cases, even as it registered a sound performance in Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls held in the state during the year. Blaming the state government for underreporting Covid-related deaths, former chief minister Kamal Nath claimed that over one lakh people died from the infection in March and April across the state.

About a month after it was first reported in the southern end of Africa, Omicron has spread to more than 90 countries amid speculation that it will eventually outpace Delta as the dominant variant across the globe. The UK has seen cases surge to their highest daily tally since the beginning of the pandemic, while a six-month high in new infections in Delhi has sparked suspicion that the newest WHO-designated Variant of Concern (VoC) may have played a role. READ MORE

One more person died from coronavirus in Punjab on Monday as the state reported 27 fresh cases, taking its infection tally to 6,03,986, according to a medical bulletin. So far, 16,630 people have died from the infection in the state.

Kerala has reported 14,802 backlog cases over the last 60 days. This is 33% of the total COVID-19 deaths reported by the state. Kerala on an average has been adding 247 backlog deaths daily to its tally