Coronavirus Updates: Centre Reviews Health System in Poll-bound States, Advises Ramping Up Vaccination; K'taka Announces Night Curfew

Twelve more Omicron cases have been reported in Telangana, taking the total number of cases of the new coronavirus variant in the state to 55, the Health department said on Monday. Of the 12 cases, 10 were passengers who arrived at the international airport from countries other than those declared “at risk” by the Centre, while two were contacts of patients who tested positive for the variant earlier, it said in a bulletin.

The Centre on Monday reviewed the public health response measures and Covid-19 vaccination status in the five poll-bound states. The review meeting was chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in which the Centre advised the states to speed up vaccination of all the eligible population across districts. This apart, Bhushan urged the states to exponentially speed up Covid tests and strictly enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour. Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are due for polls next year. The terms of Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur legislative assemblies are ending on different dates in March next year while the Uttar Pradesh assembly’s term will end in May.

Chhattisgarh’s COVID-19 count reached 10,07,672 on Monday with an addition of 49 new cases, while the death toll rose to 13,598 after one more patient succumbed to the infection in the state, an official said. The recovery count increased to 9,93,729 after 10 people were discharged from hospitals and 23 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 345 active cases, he said.

India reported over 150 fresh Omicron infections with Goa and Manipur on Monday registering their first cases as the total tally of this latest variant of COVID-19 touched nearly 600. With the surge in cases, the Centre issued a fresh advisory to all states and union territories, asking them not to let the guard down.

Karnataka government imposes night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am in the state from Dec 28 until Jan 7, in view of the rising Omicron cases, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said.

Gujarat reported 24 new cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, raising the tally in this segment in the state to 73, an official said. Ahmedabad city led with 13 new cases, comprising nine with international travel history and four with no travel history, the state department official said. All the four cases reported in Gandhinagar city had international travel history, while the three people detected with the new variant in Rajkot city did not have any travel history, the department said in a release. One case each was reported in Amreli, Anand, Bharuch and Vadodara districts, it added.

Mumbai on Monday reported 809 COVID-19 cases and three deaths. taking the tally in the metropolis to 7,71,921 and the toll to 16,373, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said. The day’s addition was a fall from the 922 cases reported on Sunday, he pointed out. The recovery count increased to 7,48,199 after 335 people were discharged during the day, leaving Mumbai with 4,765 active cases, he said. With 43,383 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in the country’s financial capital went up to 1,34,92,241, BMC data showed.

The Union Health Ministry on Monday issued guidelines for Covid-19 vaccination of children aged between 15-18 years and precaution dose to healthcare and frontline workers, and those above the age of 60 with comorbidities. Here are some of the guidelines for the precaution dose: – The prioritization and sequencing would be based on the completion of 9 months (39 weeks) from the date of administration of second dose. – Those above 60, who have already received both the doses, will be given the third dose on doctor’s advice.

A48-year-old returnee from Tanzania on Monday tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Manipur, making him the first patient of the strain in the northeastern state, the Directorate of Health Services said. The resident of Imphal West district recently returned from the African country via Delhi, it said. The man tested positive for COVID-19 on the eighth day of his return to India, and his sample, which was sent to the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development in Imphal for whole-genome sequencing, was found to be infected with the Omicron strain, the directorate said. The patient has been placed under isolation at state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences here, and he has not exhibited any severe symptoms, it said, adding that his temperature, respiratory and pulse rates are being constantly monitored.

Night curfew has been imposed across Uttarakhand in view of the threat posed by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The night curfew which comes into effect on Monday night will remain in force from 11 pm to 5 am till further orders. However, essential services like health, movement of vehicles carrying health personnel, ambulances, postal services have been exempted from the ambit of the curfew.

The Odisha government on Monday said there is no need to impose restrictions such as night curfew and lockdown across the state as of now amid concerns over the detection of eight cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the coastal state. Night curfew is in force in all urban areas of the state from 10 pm to 5 am. State’s Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra told journalists here, Currently, the situation is not conducive for imposing the curbs. Lockdown or night curfew is clamped after considering factors such as the number of daily cases, test positivity rate, total active cases, and hospitalisation rate. Odisha has already banned public celebrations to ring in the New Year.

Delhi on Monday recorded 331 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise since June 9, and one death while the positivity rate mounted to 0.68 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi rose to 25,106. On Sunday, Delhi recorded 290 cases with a positivity rate of 0.55 per cent and one fatality, according to officials figures. On Saturday and Friday, the daily case counts had stood at 249 and 180 cases respectively. On Monday, it jumped to 331 cases with a positivity rate of 0.68 per cent, according to the latest health bulletin. This rise is the highest since June 9 when 337 cases were logged with a positivity rate of 0.46 per cent, while 36 deaths were also recorded on that day.

Delhi reports 331 positive cases, one death, and 144 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The active cases stands at 1,289.

Total positive cases 14,43,683 Total Deaths 25,106

Maharashtra is likely to see a spike in Covid-19 cases from mid-January. The prediction by experts was given to the government.

Britain’s early deployment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to protect against COVID-19 may be responsible for the country’s lower death rates compared to other European countries, a UK vaccines expert has said. Dr Clive Dix, former chairman of the UK’s Vaccine Task Force, told the Daily Telegraph’ that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured and administered in India as Covidshield may offer stronger long-term protection against severe COVID-19 and death. If you look across Europe, with the rise in cases, there’s also a corresponding lagged rise in deaths, but not in the UK, and we have to understand that, said Dr Dix. I personally believe that’s because most of our vulnerable people were given the AstraZeneca vaccine, he said. According to Our World in Data, a website run by the University of Oxford, the UK has 1.7 daily deaths from COVID per million people.

The Brihanmumbai Corporation (BMC) on Monday said that the curfews imposed earlier does not mean every shops will shut down after 9pm. “Curfew doesn’t mean we are shutting down everything post 9pm. We have only restricted crowding at public places such as beaches, parks, marine drive,” BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told CNBC-TV18. The civic body, on Friday, banned New Year celebration programmes and gatherings in any closed or open areas in the city. The Maharashtra government also prohibited gathering of more than five persons in public places between 9 pm and 6 am. “We have only restricted New Year parties, and it is applicable only for one night,” Chahal said and urged restaurants to maintain social distancing norms.

An Israeli hospital administered fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses on Monday to a test group, as the country considers approving the measure for vulnerable populations in a bid to outpace a surge in infections fuelled by the Omicron variant. The Sheba Medical Centre study in Ramat Gan outside Tel Aviv “will zero in on efficacy of the vaccine in producing antibodies, and safety, in order to ascertain if a fourth vaccine is needed in general,” a spokesman said. The 150 subjects are all medical staff. A Health Ministry expert panel last week recommended that Israel become the first country to offer a fourth vaccine dose – also known as a second booster – to those aged over 60, those suffering from compromised immune systems, and medical workers.

An eight-year old boy, who arrived in Goa from the United Kingdom, has been found infected with Omicron, making it the first case of the new coronavirus variant in the coastal state. State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told .

Amidst initial signs of surge in cases of COVID19 as well as increased detection of Omicron variant in different parts of the country, the Centre on Monday issued a fresh advisory to all States and UTs to deal with the pandemic situation. In the advisory, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said States and Union Territories may consider imposing need based, local curbs and restrictions, to control the crowd during the festive season.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands logged two new COVID-19 cases, one more than the previous day, pushing the tally in the union territory to 7,714, a health department official said on Monday. Two more persons recovered from COVID-19, taking the total number of recovered persons to 7,576 people, the official said. The COVID-19 death toll in the archipelago remained at 129 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, he said. The union territory now has nine 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.