Telangana, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have reported their first cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Wednesday, while four more persons tested positive in Maharashtra.
Congress and Trinamool Congress members in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday raised concerns over the looming threat posed by the Omicron variant of COVID-19, asking the government what it planned to do with regard to the variant, whether booster doses of the vaccines were to be given and when vaccination of children and adolescents could be expected.
South Africa's sudden spike in Covid infections reported on Sunday was due to a technical glitch and the actual number of cases was less than half the reported figure of over 37,000, the country's top body for communicable diseases has confirmed.
Delhi has reported four more cases of Omicron while eight more persons have tested positive for the COVID-19 variant in Maharashtra on Tuesday, taking the tally in the country to 61.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest developments:
Tamil Nadu reports its first Omicron case
The sample of a 47-year-old man, who travelled from Nigeria to Chennai, has tested positive for Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, State Health Minister Ma. Subramanian has said. Genomic analysis of seven of his contacts — six family members and a co-passenger — awaited.
Child from Abu Dhabi first Omicron case detected in West Bengal
A seven-year-old child who returned from Abu Dhabi last week has tested positive for Omicron. This is the first reported case of the variant of COVID-19 in West Bengal. The parents of the child had returned from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad on December 10 and then taken a flight from Hyderabad to Kolkata.
“The child has tested positive for Omicron but the parents have not. We are following all protocols. If required we will admit the child in hospital,” Sandip Sanyal, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Murshidabd, told The Hindu.
Dr. Sanyal said though the family is based out of Farakka, the parents and the child are at present residing at a relative’s place in Kaliachak in Malda district.
Child from Abu Dhabi first Omricron case detected in West Bengal
Two foreigners detected with Omicron in Hyderabad
Omicron is detected among two people in Telangana. A 24-year-old woman from Kenya and 23-year-old from Somalia who came to Hyderabad in December have been detected with the Omicron variant.
The State's Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said on Wednesday that the woman was sent to Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS), Gachibowli. The man is being traced. Their genome sequencing results were received on Tuesday night. -Telangana Bureau
Active cases in country decline to 87,562
India logged 6,984 coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,47,10,628 while the active cases declined to 87,562, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll climbed to 4,76,135 with 247 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 48 days now.
The active cases comprise 0.25% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.38%, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. -PTI
Pfizer confirms COVID-19 pill's results, potency versus omicron
Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental pill to treat COVID-19 appears effective against the omicron variant.
The company also said full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill's promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89% among high-risk adults when taken shortly after initial COVID-19 symptoms. -AP
U.S. COVID-19 death toll hits 800,000, a year into vaccine drive
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring.
The number of deaths, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Atlanta and St. Louis combined, or Minneapolis and Cleveland put together. It is roughly equivalent to how many Americans die each year from heart disease or stroke. -AP
Australia reopens borders to non-citizens despite Omicron worries
Australia on Wednesday reopened borders to vaccinated skilled migrants and foreign students after a near two-year ban on their entry, in a bid to boost an economy hit by stop-start COVID-19 lockdowns and restart international travel.
The emergence of the new Omicron variant forced officials to delay the reopening by two weeks after health officials sought a temporary pause to get more information about the strain, which so far appears to show milder symptoms than other COVID-19 variants. -Reuters
Italy requires quarantines for unvaccinated EU visitors
Italy's health minister signed an ordinance on Tuesday requiring any unvaccinated visitor from another EU country to quarantine for five days after arriving in a bid to block spread of the Omicron variant.
Under the new requirement taking effect from Wednesday, vaccinated visitors from EU countries must get a negative test within 24 hours of arrival to circulate freely in Italy. Non-EU citizens who are not vaccinated must quarantine for 10 days.
Italy requires quarantines for unvaccinated EU visitors
S-gene dropout test proposed for international travellers
With a rise in the number of international travellers testing RT-PCR positive on arrival at the airport, the State’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has recommended that the State should start using S-gene target failure (SGTF) test kits at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute for probable diagnosis of Omicron.
TAC members, who deliberated on the SGTF screening at the committee’s 139th meeting held on Monday, recommended that the TaqPath ‘S’ gene COVID-19 diagnostic kit by Thermo Fisher should be procured in Bowring Hospital that has been designated as a dedicated Omicron facility. The Thermo Fisher TaqPath assay can be used as a proxy test for detecting the new variant, pending confirmation by genome sequencing, stated the TAC’s report.
S-gene dropout test proposed for international travellers
Omicron spreading at unprecedented rate: WHO
The World Health Organization warned Tuesday that the new coronavirus variant Omicron was spreading at an unprecedented rate and was likely already present in most countries around the world.
Since the new, heavily-mutated variant was first detected in southern Africa last month, it has been reported in 77 countries, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. -AFP
U.K. to remove all countries from COVID-19 travel red list on Wednesday
The British government will remove all 11 countries from its COVID-19 travel red list from Wednesday because there is now community transmission of Omicron in Britain, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told parliament.
The new Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong. The British government added 11 African countries to its red list from late November, meaning that entry for flights from those nations was restricted to UK citizens or residents who then had to quarantine in a hotel. -Reuters
Dutch extend COVID lockdown; school holidays to start early
The Dutch government on Tuesday ordered elementary schools to close a week early for Christmas holidays as authorities battle to rein in coronavirus infections amid concerns about the swift spread of the new omicron variant.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte also extended the country's existing lockdown until Jan 14, saying the government has to be alert for the new variant. -PTI
BMC to reopen schools for classes 1 to 7 from today
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday announced its decision to reopen schools for Classes 1 to 7 from Wednesday. Earlier, it had announced postponing of the reopening of schools in Mumbai by 15 days.
Classes for Standards 8 to 12 have already begun in the city from October 4.
