India reported 22,775 COVID-19 cases on January 1 when for the first time the number of daily cases had crossed the 20,000 mark since October.
In all, 1,431 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in the country. Maharashtra topped the list with 460 cases, Delhi 351, Tamil Nadu 121 and Gujarat 136 cases as of January 1.
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 :
India sends 500,000 doses of COVID19 vaccines to Afghanistan
India on Saturday sent 500,000 doses of COVID19 vaccines to Afghanistan. The consignment was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Children Hospital in Kabul. Half a million more doses will be supplied in coming weeks to the war torn country, said MEA- KallolBhattacherjee
MP: Over 90 villagers fulfil 'vow' by shaving their heads for no COVID-19 fatality in 2021
Over 90 residents of a village in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district got their heads tonsured and held a mass feast at a temple to thank the deity for ensuring "zero fatality" due to COVID-19 in their village in the year 2021.
The ritual was held on Friday to fulfil the vow taken by villagers at the Devnarayan temple when the pandemic was at its peak, a resident said.
Villagers, including women, took out a procession in Devri Khawasa village in the Neemuch district, around 400 km away from Bhopal. They danced to the tune of religious songs while holding religious flags in their hands.- PTI
China ends 2021 with worst COVID week since taming original epidemic
China ended its final week of 2021 with its biggest tally of local coronavirus cases for any seven-day period since subduing the country's first epidemic nearly two years ago, despite an arsenal of some of the world's toughest COVID-19 measures.
The National Health Commission reported on Saturday 175 new community infections with confirmed clinical symptoms for Dec. 31, bringing the total number of local symptomatic cases in mainland China in the past week to 1,151.
The surge has been driven mostly by an outbreak in the northwestern industrial and tech hub of Xian, a city of 13 million.
The deepening outbreak in Xian will likely firm authorities' resolve to curb transmissions quickly as and when cases emerge. The city, under lockdown for 10 days as of Saturday, has reported 1,451 local symptomatic cases since Dec. 9, the highest tally for any Chinese city in 2021.
While China's case count is tiny compared to many outbreaks elsewhere in the world, forestalling major flare-ups in 2022 will be important.- Reuters
If COVID-19 cases keep rising there will be strict restrictions, says Maha deputy CM
More than ten ministers and at least 20 MLAs in Maharashtra have tested positive for coronavirus so far, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Saturday and added that strict restrictions might be clamped if the new COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state.
Mr. Pawar's warning came a day after Maharashtra reported 8,067 fresh coronavirus positive cases, as much as 50 per cent more than Thursday.
"We cut short the Assembly session recently. So far, over 10 ministers and over 20 MLAs have tested positive for coronavirus. Everybody wants to be part of the celebrations of New Year, birthdays and other occasions. Keep in mind that the new variant (Omicron) spreads fast and hence caution is needed. PM Narendra Modi has appealed and some states have announced a night curfew. In Maharashtra, cases are increasing in Mumbai and Pune," he told reporters after visiting the Jaystambh military monument in Perne village on the occasion of the 204th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima.- PTI
Registration being started for immunisation of children in 15-18 age group against Covid: Mandaviya
Registration for vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group against COVID-19 is beginning on January 1 on the COWIN portal, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
Taking to Twitter, he requested people to register eligible children in their families for this.
Union Health Minister visits RT-PCR test centre at Ahmedabad international airport
Amid rising cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the RT-PCR screening centre at the Ahmedabad international airport in Gujarat and interacted with passengers and officials.
India has mandated additional measures, including testing, for the passengers arriving at airports from "at-risk" countries.
A facility has also been set up at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
As per the airport authorities, the facility with a waiting area sufficient for 220 passengers, 17 registration counters, eight sampling booths, including 120 RT-PCR machines, has been set up for such passengers.
In a video clip posted by Mr. Mandaviya, he is seen interacting with the waiting passengers and airport officials. "During my Gujarat visit, I took stock of the RT-PCR screening center at the Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel International Airport and interacted with the passengers," the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare tweeted on Friday night.- PTI
Omicron tally in India rises to 1,431
India has logged 161 fresh Omicron cases, taking their tally in the country to 1,431, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.
The 1,431 cases of the new variant of the coronavirus have been detected across 23 States and union territories so far, and 488 of these have either recovered or migrated.
Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of 454 cases, followed by Delhi with 351, Kerala 118 and Gujarat 115.
The daily rise in COVID-19 cases crossed the 16,000-mark in the country after around 65 days, taking the infection tally to 3,48,61,579, while the count of active cases increased to 1,04,781, according to the data updated at 8 am.
India saw 22,775 new infections being reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 4,81,080 with 220 daily fatalities, the data stated.
How Delhi judges judges helped save lives during corona
As we close another challenging year with a new variant of the Coronavirus rearing its head, it is time to express gratitude to some of our distinguished judges of the Delhi High Court whose timely intervention gave a push to the collective efforts to tide over the pandemic crisis during the year.
From lengthy court proceedings over weekends to urgent late-night hearings, the judges went beyond the call of duty to hear out the helpless public who turned to the judiciary when everything else failed.
Omicron surge stretches a Central genome lab
The surge in coronavirus cases appears to be stretching the organisational capacity of labs tasked with sequencing virus genomes.
The Delhi-based National Centres for Disease Control (NCDC), a Union Health Ministry laboratory and a key lab in India's genome sequencing network, has asked States to temporarily pause sending COIVD positive samples to it. For the past year, labs have been sending the NCDC samples to check for the presence of key variants of concern and since December Omicron.
Novavax to submit COVID-19 vaccine EUA request to U.S. FDA next month
Novavax Inc will submit a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine next month, further delaying the submission it had expected by the end of this year.
The company's announcement on Friday follows submission of final data related to the vaccine's manufacturing processes to the regulator, which is a prerequisite for the emergency use authorization application (EUA).
Novavax has had to delay its U.S. submission multiple times due to development and manufacturing setbacks. A report earlier this year said the methods Novavax used to test the efficacy of its vaccine had fallen short of regulators' standards.- Reuters
Amid spike, Centre urges more RATs
India saw the highest single-day rise of 309 cases of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, taking the country’s tally of such cases to 1,270, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. It also recorded 16,764 fresh COVID-19 cases and 220 more fatalities due to the viral disease.
Taking cognisance of the surge, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research Balram Bhargava jointly wrote a letter to the States to “increase testing” by employing rapid antigen tests (RAT). The gold standard test for confirming COVID-19 is the RT-PCR. However, the RAT, though less accurate, gives results much faster.
Over 145 crore COVID vaccine doses administered in India: Govt.
India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 145 crore on Friday with more than 52 lakh vaccine doses being administered in the day, the Union health ministry said.
The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight, it said.
In a tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, "Ending the year on a great note by crossing the milestone of 145 crore #COVID19 vaccinations. My gratitude to our doctors, scientists, healthcare & frontline workers for displaying immense grit, determination & resolve in the challenging 2021 year."- PTI
With rising COVID-19 cases, Kolkata to mark out fresh containment zones
With the number of fresh Covid-19 infections increasing, Kolkata Municipal Corporation will mark out 17 containment zones in different parts of the city, Mayor Firhad Hakim said Friday.
Mr. Hakim told reporters with over 1,000 people reporting Covid positive in the metropolis, the civic body will also make 'Safe Homes' set up during the first Coranavirus pandemic wave operational again for people who could not self-isolate themselves as they either lived alone with no care-giver or had too little living space.
He said 80% of the COVID positive cases were asymptomatic, 17% had mild symptoms while 3 % need hospitalisation according to an analysis of date done by KMC and health experts.- PTI
SII gets DCGI nod to manufacture drug substance, test it for developing jab against Omicron
India's drug regulator on Friday approved Serum Institute of India's proposal to manufacture a drug substance for new Covid vaccine against Omicron variant of coronavirus and carry out its testing and analysis, official sources said.
The move assumes significance in view of the country reporting a rise in daily new COVID-19 cases which include the Omicron variant.
Looking to undertake vaccine research against the Omicron variant, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, Prakash Kumar Singh, recently had submitted an application to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for grant of permission to manufacture Drug substance of SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (COVID-l9)Recombinant Spike Nanoparticle Vaccine (Omicron Variant) for examination test and analysis.- PTI
Will impose more curbs in Jaipur as COVID situation may turn explosive: Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said his government will impose more curbs to check the coronavirus spread in state capital Jaipur as the situation may turn explosive and can’t be taken lightly.
At a review meeting which was telecast live on social media platforms, he directed officials to increase testing in the capital.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh suggested closing of schools while close of religious places and curbs on gathering in weddings were also recommended.
Jaipur had reported 185 of 252 positive cases on Thursday. Of 773 active cases, 521 are in Jaipur.- PTI
