Full resumption of international flights stands postponed at least till January 31, 2022, according to an announcement by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday.
Read | Does the Omicron variant make a case for booster doses?
Top officials of Health Ministry on Thursday informed a parliamentary panel that there are 23 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 and authorities are closely monitoring the situation, government sources said.
Read | Children and schooling in the post-COVID-19 era
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 :
Karnataka guidelines for discharge of patients recovered from Omicron variant of COVID-19
The Health Department of Karnataka released guidelines on discharge of patients infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 on December 10. Patients can be discharged if they are symptom-free after 10 days of onset of symptoms and are negative in two RT-PCR tests 24 hours apart.
Patients with mild infection can be discharged after 10 days of onset of symptoms if they have no fever or any other symptom for the last three consecutive days before discharge (without antipyretics). The patient should maintain a saturation of above 95% for the last 4 consecutive days (without oxygen support).
Omicron patient's wife, brother-in-law also detected with new variant; tally 3 now
The wife and brother-in-law of an NRI man, who had been found infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 here in Gujarat a week back, were also detected with the new strain, officials of the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation (JMC) said on Friday.
With this, Gujarat now has three patients of Omicron, classified as a 'variant of concern' by the WHO after it was detected in Africa last month.
Genome sequencing of swab samples at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) in Gandhinagar has established that both the COVID-19 patients were also infected with the Omicron variant, the officials said.
They were shifted to a special Omicron Ward created in the state-run Guru Gobind Singh Government Hospital in the city, said a release by the JMC. -PTI
Romania enforces new travel measures over omicron concerns
Romania on Friday introduced new travel restrictions and isolation measures for people entering the country as officials seek to avert another health care crisis following the emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Romania, a European Union country of about 19 million, faced its deadliest period of the pandemic through October and November and has so far confirmed three cases of omicron, which is thought to be more contagious than the previous coronavirus variant.
All three of Romania’s omicron cases have been detected in people connected with a government repatriation flight from South Africa to Bucharest at the end of November. Several others who returned on that flight have since tested positive for COVID-19, and sequencing is being carried out, the health ministry said. -AP
South Africa to offer vaccine boosters as Omicron spreads
South Africa will offer booster doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines as the Omicron coronavirus variant drives daily infections towards record highs.
Pfizer boosters will be available to people six months after they receive their second dose, with the first people becoming eligible late this month, the South Africa health department's deputy-director general, Nicholas Crisp, told a news conference.
J&J boosters, already available to health workers in a research study, will be rolled out to the general population soon, he added. -Reuters
Centre allots five genome sequencing machines to Madhya Pradesh
The Centre has allotted five genome sequencing machines to Madhya Pradesh, where no case of Omicron, a new variant of coronavirus, has been detected so far, State minister Vishwas Sarang said on Friday.
The allotment has come a day after the state medical education minister met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Delhi.
“The five machines will be installed at Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa and Gwalior cities. At present, the samples collected in Madhya Pradesh are being sent to Delhi for genome sequencing, and it takes over 10 days to get reports," Mr. Sarang said. -PTI
Mandaviya says first COVID-19 vaccine dose given to 86% of adults
As many as 86 per cent of India's eligible population has received the first dose of COVID vaccine and the government wishes that 100 per cent vaccination is achieved at the earliest, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday.
During the question hour, to a query related to Omicron, he said that studies are going on and only after the studies are complete, it will be known which vaccine is how much effective against the new variant.
Currently, 23 cases of Omicron have been reported in the country while worldwide, a total of 59 countries have reported such cases.
There are 36 laboratories for genome sequencing in the country now. These laboratories can do 30,000 genome sequencing and the capacity is being increased with the help of private laboratories, Mr. Mandaviya said.
Two common drugs found effective against Covid in early testing
Two over-the-counter drugs have been found to inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in preliminary tests, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of Florida in the U.S. noted that the combination includes diphenhydramine, an antihistamine used for allergy symptoms.
When paired with lactoferrin, a protein found in cow and human milk, the compounds were found to hinder SARS-CoV-2 during tests in monkey cells and human lung cells, they said.
Lactoferrin is commonly used as a supplement to treat stomach and intestinal ulcers, among other uses, according to the researchers. -PTI
Contact of Omicron-infected person in Rajasthan tests positive for Covid in South Delhi
A woman contact of an Omicron case in Rajasthan has been found COVID-19 positive in Delhi and is being shifted to the Lok Nayak Hospital, officials said on Friday.
The woman tested Covid positive on Thursday. She did not travel to any foreign country. 17 members in her family have been also put under home quarantine. She is being taken to the LNJP Hospital and her sample has been sent for genome sequencing to the National Centre for Disease Control, while her contacts are being traced.
Delhi had reported its first case of Omicron on Sunday -- a 37-year-old fully vaccinated man who arrived in Delhi from Tanzania. - PTI
Goan-origin Briton tests positive for COVID-19 at airport, isolated
A 41-year-old British national of Goan-origin tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday on his arrival at the international airport near here from the U.K., the State government said.
State health authorities have isolated the man, whose test at the airport in Dabolim returned positive for COVID-19, at a government-run healthcare facility in Cansaulim as he has arrived from one of the 'at-risk' countries where cases of the newly discovered Omicron variant have been detected.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane tweeted, “A 41-year-old British national of Goan origin tested positive today morning at the airport. The patient has been isolated at PHC-Cansaulim.” Airport officials said the passenger was on-board the 98th Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flight that arrived at the Goa airport during the wee hours. -PTI
India records over 8,500 new Covid infections
India's coronavirus tally climbed to 3,46,74,744 with the addition of 8,503 infections in a day, while the number of active cases rose to 94,943, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The death toll mounted to 4,74,735 with the addition of 624 new 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 43 days now.
The number of active cases has increased to 94,943, comprising 0.27% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.36%, the highest since March 2020,the Health Ministry said. -PTI
Australia to offer COVID-19 shots to children aged 5-11 from January
Australia will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 from January 10, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, after the rollout cleared final regulatory hurdles.
"This will be welcome news for millions of families across the country who want the opportunity for their children to be vaccinated," Mr. Morrison said in a statement. -Reuters
All 9 Omicron positive patients in Rajasthan test negative, discharged from hospital
All the nine people in Rajasthan who were found infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus were discharged from a government hospital here on Thursday after they tested negative for the infection twice, Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said.
Their reports for blood, CT scan and all other tests are normal and they have been advised to remain in home quarantine for a week, he said. -PTI
BMC genome sequencing results show vaccination has controlled pandemic
Fifth round of Next Generation Genome Sequencing conducted by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on 221 Covid-19 patients has shown that vaccination has controlled the pandemic in Mumbai.
The results show that out of 221, around 11% patients were of Delta variant while 89% were of Delta derivative. Only two patients, as already reported, have found to be affected by Omicron variant. Not a single patient has died.
Russia to send virus specialists to South Africa
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia will dispatch virus specialists to South Africa to establish a COVID-19 lab there after the discovery of the new variant Omicron.
Russia's leader made the pledge during a telephone call with his counterpart from South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, who thanked Russia for its cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement.
"An agreement was reached to send a group of Russian virologists, epidemiologists, researchers and doctors, as well as a sanitary-epidemiological laboratory and other medical equipment to South Africa in the very near future," it read. -AFP
Most of those who arrived in Bihar from abroad are untraceable: official
Even as Bihar is on high alert for the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, it turns out that 322 of the 1,720 people who arrived in the State from abroad have switched off their mobile phones and samples of only 305 have been collected.
“We’ve managed to speak to only 429 people,” a senior official of the State Health Department told The Hindu , requesting that he not be quoted. “Out of them, samples of only 305 people have been collected and reports of 255 have been found to be negative. Reports of the others are still awaited”. When asked what about the others, he said, “they are traceless”.
South Africa's Omicron-linked COVID-19 wave hits record near 22,400 new cases
South Africa's fourth COVID-19 wave linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant produced a record 22,391 new cases, but only 22 deaths, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said in its daily update on Thursday.
The new cases brought the total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in South Africa to 3,093,452, and the total deaths over the same period to 90,060. -Reuters
CU to conduct semester exams in online mode due to new COVID-19 variant
With the Omicron variant of coronavirus surfacing in various states of the country, Calcutta University has decided to hold the examinations of the first, third and fifth semesters at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in online mode in January and February. Calcutta University Vice-Chancellor Sonali Chakrabarty Banerjee said Thursday, as a new variant of COVID-19 has emerged, the syndicate at a meeting decided to conduct the tests in digital mode at present.
Classes have already started at UG and PG levels, in over 150 affiliated colleges and on the university campus respectively on alternate dates, both in offline and online modes.
The VC said exams of the third and fifth semesters at UG-level and third semester at PG-level will be held in January. -PTI
FDA expands Pfizer COVID-19 booster, opens extra dose to age 16
The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, ruling that 16- and 17-year-olds can get a third dose of Pfizer's vaccine.
The U.S. and many other nations already were urging adults to get booster shots to pump up immunity that can wane months after vaccination, calls that intensified with the discovery of the worrisome new Omicron variant.
On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a third dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- if it's been six months since their last shot. -AP
U.K.’s Omicron COVID-19 variant cases nearly double in a day
The number of cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Britain has nearly doubled in one day after a further 249 cases were confirmed on Thursday, bringing the UK total to 817.
The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said if the growth rate and doubling time continue at the rate seen in the last two weeks, they expect to see at least 50 per cent of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases to be caused by Omicron variant in the next two to four weeks. -PTI
