Kerala Reports 2,802 New Covid-19 Cases, 78 Deaths

Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19, the second time he was getting infected, the earlier instance being in March last year. “On seeing the symptoms of corona infection, I got my COVID-19 test in Raipur this evening in which I was tested positive for the Coronavirus. Right now I am fine and I am taking treatment by staying in home isolation following the instructions of the doctors,” Singh Deo tweeted.

Those falling between the age of 15 and 18 will be administered coronavirus vaccine in Rajasthan from Monday, an official said. The Health Department has made all preparations for it and vaccination centres have been set up in 3,456 government medical institutions across the state. Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said coronavirus vaccine has proved to be the most effective solution for the pandemic. Principal Secretary (Health) Vaibhav Galriya said from January 3, vaccination of those aged 15 to 18 will start in the state. Galriya said from January 10, prevention dose will be given to health workers, frontline workers and people with serious diseases above 60 years of age.

Amid a spike in coronavirus cases, the Chandigarh Administration on Sunday ordered that marriage palaces, restaurants and other eateries will operate at half of their capacity. The directions will come into force with immediate effect, according to an order issued here. Any breach of the order shall invite action under the relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code. Restaurants, hotels, caf, coffee shops, eating places, marriage palaces and banquet halls etc. can remain open with 50 per cent capacity, subject to the condition of allowing only fully vaccinated adults or those whose second dose was not due as per health protocols, the order said.

COVID-19 continued to gallop across Bihar on Sunday as 352 fresh cases, 71 more than the previous day’s figure, were reported while Patna remained the worst affected district, with 17 doctors among the 142 who tested positive. According to the health department, active cases have shot past the four-digit mark and reached 1074. On Saturday and Friday, Bihar had registered 281 and 158 fresh cases respectively. However, no fatality due to the disease has been reported in the last four days and the death toll remained unchanged at 12,096.

The West Bengal government said that it would restrict flights from New Delhi and Mumbai, the two cities witnessing the largest surge in Covid-19 infections in recent weeks, to just twice a week in a measure to combat the spread of the pandemic in the state. Travel agents believe this will cause a spike in air fares besides placing many fliers’ travel plans in jeopardy. West Bengal chief secretary HK Dwivedi said that starting January 5 flights from these two metros will be allowed only on Mondays and Fridays till a decision is taken after reviewing the pandemic situation. The top state bureaucrat also said that from Monday the government has decided to temporarily suspend direct flights from the UK where Omicron variant of the coronavirus is creating new records infecting thousands, as a part of its restriction programmes.

87 doctors of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital have been tested Covid positive after their RT-PCR report came today. Patna District Magistrate said that PG hostel of the hospital will be the first containment zone in the city.

As Covid infections rose nearly 12-fold in just seven days, the West Bengal government brought back stricter curbs on Sunday shutting all educational institutions from Monday and restricting flights from the country’s capital Delhi and financial capital Mumbai besides asking all offices to operate with a half their workforce. At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi announced that only essential services will be permitted to operate between 10 pm and 5 am in the state till January 15 and flights from the Mumbai and New Delhi, which have both reported a large numbers of infections will ply only twice a week in view of the rising number of Covid cases.

Nearly 6.8 lakh teenagers between the age of 15-18 years register for vaccination starting tomorrow.

Restaurants including hotels, coffee shops, eating places, marriage palaces and banquet halls in Chandigarh will now open with 50% capacity. Only those who have taken both doses of vaccine will be allowed entry, reads an official order of SDMA, UT Chandigarh.

Lionel Messi has tested positive for Covid-19 and entered self-isolation, his club Paris Saint-Germain announced on Sunday. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was one of four PSG players to test positive for the virus ahead of a French Cup match against Vannes. Messi tested positive while on holiday in his hometown of Rosario in Argentina.

Kerala reported 45 new cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Sunday thereby taking the total number of infections in the State to 152, said the Health Department. State Health Minister Veena George said nine of the 45 patients came from high-risk countries while 32 reached the State from low-risk countries. Four persons contracted the new variant through their contacts.

Mumbai recorded a steep rise in the daily coronavirus cases with 8,063 infections on Sunday, 1,763 more than the figure added to the tally on Saturday, the civic body said. The city did not see any death during the day due to the infection and 89 per cent of the cases reported are asymptomatic, it added.

Continuing the rising trend of COVID-19 cases for the second day, Karnataka recorded 1,187 fresh infections and six deaths taking the cumulative cases and fatalities in the state to 30,09,557 and 38346 respectively, the health department said on Sunday. The department said in its bulletin that 275 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,60,890 while the total active cases stood at 10,292. The spike in cases was driven by Bengaluru Urban, which contributed 923 infections and three deaths. Other districts too registered fresh cases, including 63 in Dakshina Kannada, 54 in Udupi, 20 in Mysuru, 12 each in Belagavi, Tumakuru and Kodagu and 10 in Mandya.

One more person died from coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday as 76 fresh cases pushed the state’s infection count to 2,29,016, an official said. So far, the infection has claimed 3,861 lives in the state. A 75-year-old man in Kangra succumbed to the virus on Sunday, the official said. The number of active cases on Sunday rose to 526. Besides, 23 patients recovered from the infection, taking the state’s recovery count to 2,24,604, the health official added.

Mumbai reports 8,036 new cases, 578 recoveries today. Active cases 29,819. Mumbai had reported 6,347 infections yesterday.

Sikkim’s COVID-19 tally rose to 32,517 on Sunday as seven more people tested positive for the infection, a health department bulletin said . Of the new cases, East Sikkim logged five, while West Sikkim and North Sikkim reported one each. Sikkim now has 58 active COVID-19 cases, 342 patients have migrated to other states and 31,708 people have recovered from the infection. The death toll due to the virus stood at 409 in the Himalayan state, with no fatality reported in the last 24 hours.

Karnataka has recorded 1,187 new Covid cases today. 923 of these cases have been reported from Bengaluru Urban. The state’s positivity rate has crossed 1% after several months and it currently stands at 1.08% today.

Eighty-five students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Gangarkot in Nainital, Uttarakhand have been tested positive for Covid-19. The school has been declared micro containment zone, officials said.

Kerala reports 2,802 new cases, 12 deaths, and 2,606 recoveries today; Active cases in the state are at 19,180. The death tally is at 48,113. 66 deaths were added to the death tally as per the new guidelines of the Central government, says Kerala govt in an official statement.