Noting the world is witnessing a fourth surge in Covid cases, the government on Friday cautioned people against lowering the guard, particularly during year-end festivities, even as it underlined that infection due to Omicron does not necessarily lead to severe symptomatic disease.
Addressing a joint press conference, ICMR Director-General Dr. Balram Bhargava said Delta continues to be the predominant strain in India, including in the recently identified clusters.
"Therefore, we need to continue with the same strategy of following Covid-appropriate behaviour and ramping up vaccination," he said.
Amid the Omicron scare, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana have reimposed night curfew from December 25 midnight.
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 updates:
Third Covid wave in India may peak in early Feb: IIT-Kanpur study
The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India may peak by February 3, 2022, claims a modelling study by researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
However, the forecast is based on the assumption that India will follow the trends of rise in cases seen in many countries globally driven by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on December 21, used a statistical tool named the Gaussian Mixture model to forecast the third wave.
In their study, the researchers used data from countries such as the US, UK, Germany, and Russia that are already facing the third COVID-19 wave.
They modelled the daily data of cases in these countries to predict the impact and timeline for the third wave in India.
The study also used the data from the first and second waves in India, considering the number of cases with respect to time.
The model forecasts India's third wave of COVID-19 to peak in the beginning of February 2022. - PTI
Rahul demands compensation to families of COVID-19 deceased
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded compensation to the families of those who died of COVID-19 and said it will be the first step towards justice to the victims.
Sharing a news report on bodies being dumped in the Ganga during the second wave of COVID-19, Mr. Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, "The truth of the pain of Covid deceased is flowing in the waves of the Ganga, which is not possible to hide. Compensating the families of the victims would be the first step towards justice."
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also demanded the grant of compensation to the victims' families and said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should apologise to the people of the state for hiding the truth about the dead bodies found along the river Ganga.
"During the second wave of coronavirus, the people of UP were in unbearable pain and the government was busy removing dead bodies buried on the banks of the Ganga and hiding the truth of the floating bodies," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
"Yogi Adityanath ji should apologise to the state and immediately give compensation to the families of the victims," she said.
She also quoted a report quoting the chief of the Namami Gange project where he admitted to the bodies being flown in the river during the second wave. - PTI
Uttar Pradesh to impose coronavirus night curfew from December 25
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday issued orders to initiate strict measures, including a statewide night curfew from December 25, in view of a rise in Covid cases in several states.
The coronavirus night curfew will be applicable from 11 pm to 5 am, a senior official said here.
Chairing a high-level meeting, the chief minister also instructed officials to cap the number of people attending events like marriages to 200. These events have to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, and organisers will be required to inform the local authorities about these, the official said.
Uttar Pradesh to impose coronavirus night curfew from December 25
India's Omicron tally rises to 358
India recorded 122 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in a span of 24 hours, the highest so far, pushing its tally in the country to 358, 114 of which have recovered or migrated, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on December 24.
The 358 Omicron Covid variant cases have been detected across 17 States and Union Territories so far, it showed.
Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of 88 cases of the Omicron variant, followed by Delhi with 67, Telangana 38, Tamil Nadu 34, Karnataka 31 and Gujarat 30. - PTI
India's Omicron tally rises to 358
₹19,675 cr spent on COVID-19 vaccine procurement: Govt data
The Centre has spent ₹19,675 crore to procure COVID-19 vaccines for free of cost supply to states and Union territories, according to government data.
The government had earmarked ₹35,000 crore in the Union Budget 2021-2022 for COVID-19 vaccination.
"It is informed that an expenditure of ₹19,675.46 crore has been incurred for procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for free of cost supplies to states and Union territories by December 20," read a reply to an RTI application filed by social activist Amit Gupta. - PTI
Over 140.24 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far, says government
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India crossed 140.24 crore on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said.
Over 51 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Thursday till 7 pm, it said.
The ministry said the daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night. - PTI
White House says it is 'grateful' Trump got, promoted COVID-19 booster shot
The White House is grateful that former U.S. President Donald Trump received and promoted getting the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday.
The Republican former president recently said in an interview that he received a booster shot, and called the COVID-19 vaccines "one of the greatest achievements of mankind."
"The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take the vaccine," Trump said in an interview with conservative commentator Candace Owens. "If you take the vaccine, you're protected." - Reuters
U.K. study makes case for AstraZeneca booster shot
A third dose of both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines significantly increased the immune response to the Omicron variant, according to a new study by University of Oxford researchers.
The laboratory study, which has not been peer reviewed yet, compared antibody levels in blood samples from people who received two doses of vaccine with samples from those who had received a third dose.
While two doses provided much less protection against Omicron than earlier variants, levels of neutralising antibodies rose sharply after a third dose, the study found. - PTI
U.K. study makes case for AstraZeneca booster shot
PM Modi calls for ‘high alert’ on Omicron
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a review meeting on Thursday, directed top officials coordinating India's COVId-19 response, to maintain a “high level of vigil and alertness at all levels”.
He directed the Centre to closely coordinate with States to support their efforts of public health measures of containment and management. Union Health Secretary, Rajesh Bhushan, had in a letter on Wednesday, directed States to impose stringent restrictions on people’s movement if test positivity and bed occupancy in their districts crossed certain thresholds.
Officials briefed the Prime Minister about the emerging global scenario driven by the new variant, Omicron with an overview of surge in cases in countries having high vaccination coverage and presence of the variant. India has so far reported 236 instances of the Omicron variant since December 4.
PM Modi calls for ‘high alert’ on Omicron
COVID-19 spreading within family, extended contacts in Chennai
The number of Chennai’s daily COVID-19 cases, which remains above 100, has been fluctuating for quite sometime now. However, a majority of the patients who have tested positive were family and extended contacts, say officials.
In the last one week, the number of daily cases ranged from 127 on December 17 to 132 on December 21, increasing to 145 on December 23.
“Nearly 30-40% of the total cases are index cases. A majority of our daily cases are family and extended contacts. The travel history and contact history of index cases are undertaken extensively like how we traced and tested all family and extended contacts of the person who first tested positive for Omicron variant. Another recent cluster occurred at a private laboratory where 12 staff tested positive for COVID-19 after a person living in Mumbai visited them,” an official said.
COVID-19 spreading within family, extended contacts in Chennai
Omicron worries may impact PV supply: FADA
Automobile dealers’ body FADA said passenger vehicle (PV) supplies may get affected further, if chip-making countries go under lockdown due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
FADA, however, noted on Thursday that it expects the semiconductor shortage situation to normalise by the second half of next year.
“We see year 2022 as a neutral year as the rise of Omicron has once again created fear globally,” Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President Vinkesh Gulati said. - PTI
Omicron worries may impact PV supply: FADA
Omicron threat | Ban rallies, put off U.P. polls, Allahabad High Court urges PM, Election Commission
The Allahabad High Court has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to immediately ban rallies and public meetings of political parties, and consider postponing the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election owing to rising cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The court requested the ECI to possibly postpone the U.P. election scheduled to be held in February by one or two months. Citing news reports of increasing COVID-19 cases and deaths, the HC said the third wave “is at our doorstep”.
Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, while hearing a bail petition on December 23, appealed to the ECI to bring an immediate end to the large rallies and public meetings being organised by political parties for the election. Justice Yadav appealed to the ECI to direct the parties to not campaign through rallies and public meetings but through newspapers and “doordarshan” or the television medium.
Omicron threat | Ban rallies, put off U.P. polls, Allahabad High Court urges PM, Election Commission
Merck's at-home antiviral COVID-19 pill gets U.S. authorisation
The U.S. on Thursday authorised Merck & Co's antiviral pill for COVID-19 for certain high-risk adult patients, a day after giving the go-ahead to a similar but more effective treatment from Pfizer Inc.
Merck's drug, molnupiravir, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was shown to reduce hospitalisations and deaths by around 30% in a clinical trial of high-risk individuals early in the course of the illness.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorised Merck's drug to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at risk for severe disease, and for whom alternative COVID-19 treatments are not accessible or clinically appropriate. - Reuters
Merck's at-home antiviral COVID-19 pill gets U.S. authorisation
Students returning from high-risk States to Dakshina Kannada should undergo tests: DC
Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra on Thursday said students from Kerala and Maharashtra should return with COVID-19 negative certificates to hostels/paying guest accommodations after spending Christmas and year-end holidays in their native places and undergo RT-PCR tests on arrival.
Dr. Rajendra told reporters here there were fluctuations in new COVID-19 cases in the last few days because of some clusters. The district has 164 active cases: 35 in hospitals and 129 under home isolation.
The case fatality ratio was at 1.17.
Students returning from high-risk States to Dakshina Kannada should undergo tests: DC
