Omicron Dominates Covid-19 Third Wave in Karnataka, Says Health Minister K Sudhakar
State Health Minister K Sudhakar clarified that both Omicron and the Delta strains have been reported in the third wave.
Omicron LIVE Updates: Hours after tweeting on Friday that the Delta variant dominated the COVID third wave in Karnataka, State Health Minister K Sudhakar clarified that it was both Omicron and the Delta strains. “Which strain is dominating which wave in Karnataka? As per the genome sequencing sample, the following are the dominant strains: Second wave: 90.7% Delta Third wave: 67.5% Omicron and 26% Delta,” the minister tweeted.
Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed public health preparedness to Covid-19 and national vaccination progress with 8 southern States/UTs. The Health Minister Read More
Key Events
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Haryana government allowed all cinemas/multiplexes to open with 50% seating capacity. Universities, colleges, schools for classes 10th to 12th; coaching/training institutes both government and private are allowed to open with effect from February 1.
Mandaviya Bats for Teleconsultation, Asks States/UTs to Avail It for Better Health Management
Highlighting the role that teleconsultation has played to serve the people in far-off places as well as Covid patients in home isolation, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday asked the states and the union territories to focus more on such services for better public health management. READ MORE
Karnataka Reports 31,198 new cases and 50 deaths
Karnataka reported 31,198 new cases and 50 deaths in the last 24 hours. Active cases are at 2,88,767 and positivity rate at 20.91%.
Chhattisgarh Reports 3,919 New Cases
Chhattisgarh reported 3,919 new cases, taking the total number of active cases to 26,123. Positivity rate rose to 8.24%.
Maharashtra Reports 24,948 New Cases, 103 Deaths
Maharashtra reported 24,948 fresh Covid-19 cases, 45,648 recoveries and 103 deaths in the last 24 hours and 110 tested positive for Omicron.
Trying to Bring Sputnik M Vaccine for Adolescents to India: Dr Reddy's
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories on Friday said it is in discussions with the Indian drug regulator to bring Russia’s Sputnik M, a COVID-19 vaccine for the 12 to18-year-old category, to India. Addressing a press conference after announcing the company’s Q3 results, a senior executive of the drug maker said Phase 3 clinical trial data of Russia’s single dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light has been submitted to the regulator and is awaiting approval. READ MORE
Night Curfew Extended in Gujarat Cities till Feb 4
Night curfew will continue till February 4 in 27 Gujarat cities including 8 metropolitan cities from 10 pm to 6 am, an official statement said. Hotel restaurants will be able to remain open for 24 hours.
Union Health Minister to Review Covid Situation in Five States Tomorrow
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to review the Covid-19 situation, public health preparedness, and response measures being taken in the view of Omicron variant in Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand. West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, via video conferencing at 3 pm tomorrow.
Delhi Reports 4,044 New Covid-19 Cases, 25 Deaths
Delhi reports 4,044 new Covid-19 cases, 25 deaths in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate is at 8.60% and 29,152 active cases.
Covid-19 Infection Rate is Decreasing: Kerala Health Minister
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said, “The rate of Covid-19 infection is decreasing in Kerala. In the fourth week of January, it has been reduced to 71%. Out of the total positive cases in Kerala, only 3.6% is hospitalised. ICU occupancy and oxygen bed requirement is not increasing.”
Kerala Records 54,537 New Covid-19 Cases, 13 Deaths
Kerala reported 54,537 fresh Covid-19 cases, 30,225 recoveries, and 13 deaths in the last 24 hours. The death toll rose to 52,786 after 81 deaths were added due to lack of documents and 258 fatalities added to as per Centre’s guidelines)
Mansukh Mandaviya Reviews Covid-19 Preparedness, Vaccination with 8 States/UTs
Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed public health preparedness to Covid-19 and national vaccination progress with 8 southern States/UTs. The Health Minister applauded synergy between Centre and States for Covid management and reiterated focus on the 5-fold strategy of Test, Track, Treat, Vaccinate and Adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour.
Goa Reports 20 Covid-19 Deaths in Last 24 Hours
Goa reports 20 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, making it the highest number of fatalities recorded in a day in the third wave of the pandemic.
Delhi Metro Services to Resume on Weekends
The DRMC said in a statement, in view of the latest guidelines issued by the Govt. for the containment of Covid-19 in NCT Delhi, Metro services on weekends (Sat/Sun) will be again resumed as per routine weekend time table on all Lines starting tomorrow i.e, 29th January 2022.
Thanks to All for the Good Wishes: Jaishankar A Day After Testing Positive
A day after testing positive for Covid-19, Externals affairs minister S Jaishankar said, “Grateful for the many expressions of concern on testing Covid positive. Thanks to all for the good wishes.”
Grateful for the many expressions of concern on testing Covid positive. Thanks to all for the good wishes.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 28, 2022
Calls Received on Covid Helpline Dropped in Jan 12-25 Period: Delhi Govt
The total number of calls received on the Covid helpline, enquiring about availability of beds, vaccination programme, e-passes and other details, fell from 2,041 on January 12 to 983 on January 25, according to official data.
COVID-19: Omicron Patients May Suffer From Back Pain Even After Recovery, Say Experts
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on November 26, 2021, designated the COVID-19 strain B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern and named it Omicron, on the advice of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE).This variant continues to sweep the world as many countries witnessed the peak in the cases, but the fatalities remain stable compared to the second wave that terribly hit the nation last year from March to June. READ MORE
Over 76 Per Cent Eligible Teenagers in Delhi Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Delhi has vaccinated more than 76 percent of the teenagers aged between 15 and 18 against COVID-19, with northwest district inoculating the maximum number of beneficiaries in this cohort. According to data from the Centre’s CoWIN dashboard, 7.74 lakh beneficiaries in this age group received their first dose of Covid vaccine by January 26. There are around 10.18 lakh teenagers aged between 15 and 18 in Delhi. The central government had rolled out vaccinations for adolescents on January 3.
Southwest Delhi has administered first dose to 1,03,921 adolescents. As many as 1,02,425 have taken jabs in northwest Delhi, 78,107 in northeast Delhi, 77,532 in west Delhi and 73,070 in Southeast Delhi. Authorities in east Delhi have inoculated 68,887 teenagers, while 66,228 have taken their first dose in north Delhi, 55,324 in Shahdara, 54,385 in South Delhi, 48,940 in Central Delhi and 45,646 in New Delhi.
Bharat Biotech Gets Approval for Intranasal Booster Dose Trials
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday gave its permission to Bharat Biotech for conducting trials of intranasal booster doses against Covid-19, reports said. According to news agency ANI, the trials will be held at nice different sites. The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company’s anti-Covid vaccine Covaxin was recently granted regular market approval for use in the adult population subject to certain conditions along with Serum Institute of India’s Covishield vaccine.
9,672 Omicron Samples Found in January in Genome Sequencing, Huge Rise from Dec: Govt
As many as 9,672 Omicron samples were found in January in genome sequencing constituting 75 per cent of the total sequenced samples of COVID-19, a huge rise from the December figure of 1,292, the government said on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, NCDC Director Dr S K Singh said sub-lineages of Omicron – BA.1 and BA.2 were found in sequenced samples while BA.3 has not been found yet. “We were getting more samples of BA.1 earlier mostly found in travellers but now we are seeing that BA.2 has become more prevalent in the community,” Singh said. READ MORE
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applauded synergy between Centre and States for Covid management and reiterated focus on the 5-fold strategy of Test, Track, Treat, Vaccinate and Adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour.The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) gave its permission to Bharat Biotech for conducting trials of intranasal booster doses against Covid-19, reports said. According to news agency ANI, the trials will be held at nice different sites. The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company’s anti-Covid vaccine Covaxin was recently granted regular market approval for use in the adult population subject to certain conditions along with Serum Institute of India’s Covishield vaccine.
The Omicron variant of coronavirus has been found in 79 per cent of the samples from Delhi sequenced between January 1 and January 23, according to government data. The Delta variant, which drove the ferocious second wave of COVID-19 infections in April and May last year, was found in 13.70 per cent of the 2,503 samples sequenced during the period. The data showed that of the 863 samples sequenced between December 25 and December 31, around 50 per cent (433) carried Omicron, while 34 per cent (293) had the Delta variant.
Across India, Omicron accounted for 75 per cent of the total samples sequenced in January, according to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Delhi had reported the first case of Omicron on December 5 — a 37-year-old fully vaccinated man who had arrived from Tanzania.
According to experts, mild symptoms, faster recovery and fewer fatalities typified the Omicron-driven third wave of the pandemic in the country and fewer patients needed medical care in hospitals. Also, unlike the Delta-driven second wave, Covid has not been the primary reason for most of the deaths this time.
Meanwhile, ninety five per cent of India’s eligible adult population has been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine while 74 per cent are fully inoculated, the Union health ministry said on Thursday as the total vaccine doses administered has crossed 164.35 crore. Till 7 pm, 49,69,805 vaccine doses have been administered. As many as 1,03,04,847 precaution doses have been administered to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities.
Also 44281254 adolescents in the 15-18 years age group have been given the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the nation for the remarkable achievement.
In a tweet, he said that India has achieved the record of administering the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to more than 95 per cent of its eligible population. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hard work of health workers and public participation, the country is continuously moving forward in this campaign, he said. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase.
India began administering precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers, frontline workers including personnel deployed for election duty and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10 amid the country witnessing a spike in coronavirus infections fuelled by Omicron variant of the virus.
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