Covid-19 Cases India: The active cases now comprise 5.43 per cent of the total infections.
New Delhi: India's daily Covid curve showed marginal improvement today as the country reported 3.37 lakh cases, which is around 2.7 per cent lower than yesterday. The active cases now comprise 5.43 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 93.31 per cent. The daily positivity rate has dropped from 17.94% to 17.22% while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 16.65 per cent.
The overall count of the highly infectious Omicron variant reached 10,050 today with 29 states reporting cases of the new strain.
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country have crossed the 161-crore mark. 94 per cent of India's adults have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 72 per cent are fully vaccinated, according to the government.
Here are the Highlights on coronavirus cases in India:
Get NDTV UpdatesTurn on notifications to receive alerts as this story develops.
Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda tests positive for COVID-19
Senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday said he has tested positive for COVID-19.
He said he has isolated himself at home.
"After experiencing some Covid-like symptoms, I got myself tested and am Covid positive. On the advice of doctors, I have isolated myself at home. I would request everyone who came in contact with me over the last few days to take appropriate precautions and get themselves tested," Hooda, who is the Leader of Opposition in Haryana, tweeted.
Parkash Singh Badal, who tested positive for COVID-19, develops fever
Former Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal, who tested positive for COVID-19 a few days ago, developed fever on Saturday and remained under observation in the hospital.
Just in: Mumbai cases drop 28% over yesterday; positivity drops to 7% from 10%
Kerala reports 45,136 new COVID-19 casesKerala continued to record steep rise in COVID-19 cases with 45,136 new positive cases being reported on Saturday, taking the tally to 55,74,702.
Kerala had on Friday logged 41,668 fresh coronavirus cases, a day after registering 46,387 cases on Thursday, the highest single day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.
Madrasas classes suspended in LakshadweepIn view of the emerging COVID-19 situation, the Lakshadweep administration on Saturday decided to close madrasas up to Class 9 with immediate effect among other educational institutions and restrict the number of passengers in the ships to and fro the island to ensure social distancing norms.
All the passenger ships/HSC vessels under the Lakshadweep administration operating from islands to Kochi and for inter-island movement shall operate with 50 per cent passenger capacity to ensure proper social distancing until further orders, District Collector S Asker Ali said in an order.
Russia sees record virus cases second day runningThe Russian government on Saturday reported a record number of new coronavirus cases after the Kremlin warned of a looming surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant.
An online portal dedicated to the coronavirus outbreak registered 57,212 new daily cases, surging past the previous record set Friday of 49,513.
Following a strict but brief national lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, Russia has held back on curbs hoping instead to protect its struggling economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last week that the country needed to ready for an Omicron-driven surge, calling for more testing and vaccinations.
Tokyo daily COVID-19 cases hit record for 4th straight dayTokyo recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 infections for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday as the Omicron variant continued to spread rapidly.
The capital city had 11,227 new coronavirus cases, the local government said, a day after reinstatement of curbs on mobility and business activity that are set to run until Feb. 13.
The case count jumped nearly 2.5 times from 4,561 lodged a week before and was higher than 9,699 confirmed cases on Friday.
Puducherry records 2,446 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths
The union territory of Puducherry logged 2,446 fresh coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 1,50,316, a senior official of the Department of Health said. Three fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours as the death count rose to 1,901, Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release. The Puducherry region alone accounted for 1,870 of the 2,446 new infections while Karaikal logged 470 cases, followed by Yanam (83) and Mahe (23).
Australia's Queensland state says peak of Omicron two weeks awayAustralia reported 64 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, as the most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), said the Omicron COVID-19 variant would not delay the start of the school year.
NSW reported 30 deaths of patients with COVID-19, while Victoria state saw 20 deaths, and Queensland reported 10 deaths.
The national toll of 64 was down from its deadliest day since the start of the pandemic on Friday, when 86 people died.
The school year starts in just over a week for the two biggest states, NSW and Victoria, which are preparing plans for students to return to classrooms.
Taiwan on COVID alert as domestic Omicron cases spikeTaiwan's government ordered a tightening of controls on Saturday after a rare spike in domestic transmission of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, saying it needed to act now to prevent being overwhelmed even though overall numbers remain quite low.
After months of no or few community infections, Taiwan has seen a small rise in local COVID-19 cases since the start of the month, almost all Omicron, mainly linked to workers at the main international airport in the northern city of Taoyuan who were infected by arriving passengers.
The infections have gradually spread although numbers remain comparatively low with a dozen or so new cases a day, but on Friday evening the government announced 60 new cases at a factory near the airport after testing 1,000 workers.
Arunachal Pradesh records 532 new COVID-19 casesArunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 58,803 after 532 more people tested positive for the infection, the highest this month, a senior health department official said. The northeastern state on Friday had logged 449 new COVID-19 cases.
Of the 532 new cases, 181 were registered in the Capital Complex Region, 49 from Lower Dibang Valley, 45 from Tirap, Namsai (43), Changlang (36), Lohit (34) and Papumpare 26, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
Odisha records 8,845 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deathsOdisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 11,96,140 as 8,845 people, including 927 children, tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. The daily spike in cases is the lowest in the last 10 days, reducing by 18.5 per cent from 10,856 a week ago. The state had logged 9,833 cases and six deaths on Friday.
The state's coronavirus death count increased to 8,514 as seven more patients succumbed to the infection, it said.
Amid rising cases, Gujarat imposes night curfew in 17 more townsIn view of rising COVID-19 cases in the state, the Gujarat government has imposed a night curfew in 17 more towns and extended its implementation in eight metros and two cities till January 26, informed Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The cities where night curfew will be imposed are Surendranagar, Dhrangradhra, Morbi, Wankaner, Dhoraji, Gondal, Jetpur, Kalawad, Godhra, Vijalpore, Navsari, Navsari, Bilimora, Vyara, Vapi Valsad, Bharuch, Ankleshwar.
A review meeting was held by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday before announcing the reviewed guidelines.
Earlier on January 7, the government announced a night curfew between 10 pm and 6 am in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Anand, and Nadiad.
Former Prime Minister HD Devegowda tests positive for COVID-19Former Prime Minister HD Devegowda tested positive for COVID-19. He has no symptoms and his health is stable, informed his office.
Former Chief Minister of Karnataka BS Yediyurappa also confirmed the news and extended his best wishes for his speedy recovery.
In a tweet in Kannada today, he wrote, "I hope that senior leader and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will soon recover from Coronavirus."