Coronavirus Highlights: There were 1,072 Covid-related deaths on Friday.
Delhi on Saturday reported 1,604 COVID-19 cases and 17 fatalities, while the positivity rate declined to 2.87 per cent, according to data shared by the health department. On Friday, the national capital had reported 2,272 fresh COVID-19 cases and 20 deaths, while the positivity rate was at 3.85 per cent.
With Saturday's cases, the national capital's case count increased to 18,42,523 and the deaths climbed to 25,969 the latest health bulletin stated.
The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic. It took just 10 days for daily cases to drop below the 10,000-mark.
The surge in cases in Delhi during the third wave of the pandemic was due to the Omicron variant of the virus which is highly transmissible.
Here are the Highlights on coronavirus cases in India:
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12,009 New COVID-19 Cases In Karnataka
Karnataka on Saturday registered a further decline in daily coronavirus infections, as the state reported 12,009 new cases and 50 fatalities, taking the tally to 38,87,733 and deaths to 39,300.
The state on Friday had reported 14,950 fresh infections.
There were 25,854 discharges today, taking the total number of recoveries to 37,39,197, a health bulletin said.
Of the new cases, 4,532 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 10,420 people being discharged and 15 virus-related deaths.
The total number of active cases across the state is now 1,09,203.
While the positivity rate for the day stood at 9.04 per cent, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 0.41 per cent.
Assam Reports 446 New Coronavirus Cases
Assam on Saturday registered nearly 40 per cent decline in fresh COVID-19 cases with 446 more people testing positive for the infection, while 16 more people died due to the virus, the National Health Mission (NHM) said.
The state's overall Covid infection count rose to 7,21,124 while the deaths went up to 7,896, including 1,347 people with co-morbidities, it said.
Assam had recorded 739 cases and 2.67 per cent positivity rate against the testing of 27,729 samples on Friday.
The state's positivity rate decreased to 2.11 per cent as 21,152 samples were tested for COVID-19 during the day.
Kamrup Metropolitan district, which primarily comprises Guwahati city, reported 109 fresh cases against 165 infections on the previous day, a fall of almost 34 per cent. It has recorded a total of 1,56,053 infections so far.
The NHM said that the number of recoveries decreased by over 30 per cent to 1,791 people on Saturday from 2,568 people a day before.
In Assam, 7,02,647 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered.
Tamil Nadu Inoculated 90.78% Of Population With First Dose Against Covid-19
Tamil Nadu has inoculated 90.78 per cent of people above the age of 18 with the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 by administering the vaccine to 1,86,785 people.
At the 21st mega vaccination camp held on Saturday, the State Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian said as much as 70.02 per cent received the second dose with 5,77,397 people getting the jab.
He inspected the vaccination at the Government Omandurar Medical College and Hospital in the city.
During the camp, precautionary booster dose was administered to 27,707 people totalling 7,91,889 beneficiaries who included those who received the first and second dose, said a press release.
The vaccination drive was conducted in government hospitals, primary health care centres, anganwadi centres, schools and other locations.
In the 20 mega vaccination camp, 3.57 crore people benefitted from it, the release said.
The Health Department commenced the mass programme every Sunday beginning September 12, 2021 and has since been conducting it every week.
COVID-19 Curve Begins To Dip; Mumbai Sees 643 Cases
Mumbai on Saturday reported 643 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the metropolis to 10,50,837, while four deaths increased the number to 16,658, a civic official said.
It is the third consecutive day when new cases remained below 1,000, with Friday and Thursday seeing 846 and 827 infections, respectively, he said.
He also said 553, or 86 per cent, of the 645 cases detected were asymptomatic, with 92 required hospitalisation in the last 24 hours, of who 18 needed oxygen support.
Only 1,558 of the 37,192 beds earmarked for COVID-19 treatment are currently occupied in Mumbai, the civic official added.
So far, 10,24,991 people, or 97 per cent of the overall caseload, have been discharged post-recovery, including 1,402 during the day, leaving the city with an active tally of 6,367, he said.
With 43,925 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in Mumbai went up to 1,55,11,336, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation data showed.
It also revealed that the caseload doubling time was 666 days, while three buildings are sealed.
Mumbai had reported a record 20,971 cases on January 7 this year amid the third wave of the pandemic
Maharashtra COVID-19 Cases Drop To 11,394
Maharashtra on Saturday recorded 11,394 new coronavirus positive cases, a drop of 2,446 from the day before, and 68 fatalities, including 28 in the Pune circle, due to COVID-19 related complications, the state health department said.
On Friday, the daily number of cases had dropped by 1,412 from Thursday's count of 15,252 when 75 people died due to COVID-19 infection, the health department said.
With the latest additions, the tally of COVIID-19 cases in Maharashtra rose to 77,94,034. The latest deaths stand at 1,43,008, the department said in a report.
A total of 21,677 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours in Maharashtra, taking the tally of recoveries to 75,13,436, leaving the state with 1,33,655 active cases.
No fresh infection of the Omicron variant was reported in Maharashtra on Saturday, the department added.
India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Exceeds 169 Crore
With the administration of more than 40 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 7 pm on Saturday, India's cumulative vaccination coverage has exceeded the mark of 169 crore doses, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
"India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has reached close to 169 Crore (1,69,40,55,710) today. More than 40 lakh (40,57,946) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight," read the release from the ministry.
Out of 40,57,946 vaccine doses administered today, 10,03,095 people have been administered their first dose while 27,61,167 people have received the second dose of the vaccine.
To date, out of 169,40,55,710 vaccine doses that have been administered, 94,88,88,081 people have received their first dose while 73,04,69,318 people have received their second dose of the vaccine.
Nashik Reports 667 COVID-19 Cases
The COVID-19 tally in Nashik reached 4,71,724 on Saturday with the addition of 667 cases, while five deaths took the deaths to 8,841, an official said.
So far, 4,57,732 people have been discharged post recovery, including 2,350 during the day, leaving the district with an active tally of 5,151, he said.
Six Covid deaths, 650 New Cases In Himachal Pradesh
Six people died due to COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, pushing the deaths to 4,015, while the state recorded 650 fresh cases of the infection that took its tally to 2,76,146, a health official said.
The highest number of 168 new cases were found in Kangra, followed by 107 in Mandi, 93 in Hamirpur, 64 in Solan, 56 in Bilaspur, 41 in Chamba, 39 in Sirmaur, 32 in Shimla, 25 in Una, 18 in Kullu, four in Kinnaur and three in Lahaul-Spiti, he added.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 6,637, down from 7,539 on Friday, the official said.
Besides, 1,546 more patients recovered from the viral disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,65,475, he said.
82% Adolescents In Delhi Vaccinated With First COVID-19 Dose
With schools gearing up to reopen for Classes 9-12 from Monday, authorities have inoculated 82 per cent adolescents in Delhi with the first dose since the exercise to vaccinate them against coronavirus commenced from January 3.
According to official data, 8.33 lakh adolescents have received the first dose and 0.39 lakh have been jabbed with the second dose. Delhi has around 10.14 lakh beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group.
According to officials, 95 per cent of government school students have been vaccinated, while 73 per cent students of aided school students have received at least one dose. Sixty-two per cent private school students have been inoculated with at least one dose.
The maximum number of adolescents have been inoculated with the first dose in southwest district at 1,12,521 followed by northwest at 10,87,99 and west at 84,958.
COVID-19: Teachers Welcome Reopening Of Schools In Delhi
Following a decline in COVID-19 cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday decided to reopen schools and colleges in a phased manner from February 7, and several teachers welcomed the step.
Schools will reopen only for Classes 9, 10, 12. The rest of the classes will be open from February 14. This decision came after a COVID-19 review meeting of the DDMA.
RC Jain, President of the Delhi State Public School's Management Association said, "For a very long time, our association had been demanding that schools should be opened because schools were opened in almost all of the states of the country. Even schools outside the country had opened. The World Health Organization (WHO) had also said that now there is no justification for closing the school. So, now schools will be opened, I welcome it and that too in phases. But, the way they have talked about running schools both online and offline, it would've been better if they would've done it all offline just like they did for colleges. Students were waiting eagerly."
The DDMA in it s order directed all higher educational institutions, colleges, ITIs, polytechnic and skill institutes to only take offline classes from Monday.
Meghalaya Logs 123 COVID-19 Cases, 4 Deaths
Meghalaya on Saturday recorded 123 new COVID-19 cases, 88 cases less than the previous day, which pushed the tally to 92,144, a senior official said.
Four more fatalities raised the number to 1,542, Health Services director Dr Aman War said.
Of the 123 new cases detected, 54 were reported from East Khasi Hills, 27 from West Garo Hills, and 13 cases from Ri Bhoi.
Meghalaya currently has 1,645 active cases, Dr War stated.
Altogether 88,957 people have recuperated from the disease - 313 of them in the last 24 hours.
Over 13.39 lakh sample tests have been conducted in the state till date, War said.
Delhi Reports 1,604 New Covid Cases In Last 24 Hours, Positivity Rate At 2.87%
Delhi on Saturday reported 1,604 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was recorded at 2.87 per cent.
Kerala Records 33,538 New COVID-19 Cases
Kerala continued to witness a dip in the daily COVID-19 infection rate for the third consecutive day, with the state reporting 33,538 new positive cases on Saturday taking the caseload to 62,44,654.
The health department said 46,813 persons recuperated from the disease today, taking the number of recoveries to 58,33,762.
"Currently, there are 3,52,399 active COVID-19 cases in the state of which only three per cent of the patients are admitted to hospitals," it said.
Kerala had recorded 38,684 fresh infections yesterday and 42,677 COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
The state reported 444 COVID-19-related deaths on Saturday, taking the deaths to 57,740.
Tripura Reports 52 New Covid Cases
Tripura logged 52 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, 10 less than the previous day's figure, taking the tally to 1,00,637, a health department official said.
One more coronavirus patient succumbed to the disease in the past 24 hours raising the deaths to 913.
Altogether 594 patients recovered from Covid-19 on Saturday. The total number of people who have been cured of the disease till now is 98,472.
The North-eastern state currently has 1,184 active cases and 68 patients have migrated out.
A total of 3,412 samples were taken up for tests in the last 24 hours and 52 of them came out positive. The positivity rate now is 1.55 per cent, the official said.
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb praised the health department workers as 50 lakh eligible people have been vaccinated against coronavirus so far.
India Dealt With COVID-19 Better Than US: Rajnath Singh
Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that India handled the COVID-19 pandemic better than developed nations, including the United States of America.
"The way India dealt with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is unmatched even by developed nations like the US. No other nation has vaccinated its citizens with the speed that India could do in a short span of time," said Mr Singh.
Kerala Covid updates: International travelers will undergo symptom surveillance
Subdued Saraswati Puja Celebrations In Bengal Amid COVID Restrictions
Saraswati Puja was celebrated in households and educational institutions across West Bengal in a subdued manner on Saturday with strict adherence to COVID-19 norms.
As weather conditions improved in the morning after incessant rain on the previous day, campuses of colleges and universities came to life as students turned up in large numbers to offer 'pushpanjali' to the goddess of learning.
Students were overjoyed as Saraswati Puja was celebrated in many schools after two years.
Many educational institutions, where the festival was celebrated with participants wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, had reopened a couple of days back. Children offered prayers to the goddess of learning at household and community pujas in Kolkata and other parts of the state.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greeted people on the occasion, tweeting in Bengali, "Goddess Saraswati, give us knowledge, impart a cultured way of thinking among us, light up our minds with the flame of Spring. Happy Saraswati Puja on Basant Panchami to everyone." The festival also brought smiles to the faces of clay-modellers of Kumartuli as many of them made decent sales.
Mixed Response To Delhi Disaster Management Authority Exempting Solo Car Drivers From Wearing Face Masks In Delhi
Car owners in the national capital have welcomed the recent Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) decision to exempt solo drivers from being penalised for not wearing face masks.
The DDMA on Friday announced that people driving solo in cars will not have to give penalty for not donning a face mask.
The decision was taken after the DDMA noted a positive rate of COVID-19 infection had significantly dropped in the metropolis.
Sanjay Agarwal, a local said that the DDMA took the right decision pointing out that the earlier policy led to policemen taking money from people. "Civils take bribes from people who do not sport masks while driving solo. So ultimately, these civils are the ones who end up benefitting from such a policy."
Another local resident Tushar Sharma also welcomed the move. He pointed out that the rule mandating masks for drivers was "unhealthy" as people "would have to inhale their own carbon dioxide."
On April 7, last year, the Delhi High court had ruled that wearing a mask or face cover in a vehicle occupied by either a single person or multiple persons is compulsory in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
Active Covid cases in Pune down by 50%: Maharashtra Deputy Chief MinisterMaharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said though the active coronavirus cases in Pune have come down by nearly 50 per cent, the administration will adopt a wait and watch policy. Mr Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune, said this after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the district.
"As far as COVID-19 cases are concerned worldwide, there has been a decline in new infections, but there is a marginal increase in daily casualties. It has been observed at the district, state, national and global levels," the minister said.
Active cases have come down by 30 per cent in the country, while in state, they have declined by 42 per cent, he said.
Singapore reports record 13,208 COVID-19 infectionsSingapore has detected a record 13,208 COVID-19 infections and six new deaths, taking the total number of cases to 379,681 with 866 fatalities recorded in the country, the health ministry has said.
The number of locally transmitted COVID-19 infections tripled to 13,046 on Friday from 4,087 cases reported on Thursday. The cases reported on Friday included 162 people arriving here through the vaccinated travel lanes.
Odisha reports 2,603 new COVID-19 cases, 22 fresh fatalitiesOdisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 12,64,705 as 2,603 more people tested positive for the infection, while 22 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death count to 8,711, a health bulletin said. It is the lowest single-day spike since January 6. The daily cases plunged by 46 per cent from 4,842 a week ago. The state had registered 2,697 cases and 23 fatalities on Friday.
The daily positivity rate slightly dipped to 4.13 per cent from 4.44 per cent on the previous day as 63,045 samples were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
Austria Covid-19 'gargle' tests in expansion driveThroughout the day, vans loaded with bags full of Covid PCR test kits arrive at a Vienna laboratory, currently analysing an average of 370,000 tests per day.
With more than 144 million tests carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, the Alpine nation of nine million is a leader in Covid testing.
But with the latest Omicron wave sending cases spiralling, health experts and policymakers are asking if widespread testing -- paid by taxpayers' money -- is necessary and efficient.
The Lifebrain laboratory, which accounts for a major part of the country's testing, has been expanding rapidly since it began work just over a year ago on the sprawling ground of a public hospital on Vienna's outskirts.
Over 11.02 crore unutilized COVID-19 vaccine doses available with States: CentreThe Central Government said that over 11.02 crore balance and unutilized COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the States and Union Territories (UTs). According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, "More than 166.17 crore (1,66,17,16,335) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category."
"More than 11.02 Cr (11,02,64,356) balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered," the Ministry said.
16 new COVID-19 cases in Andamans, tally rises to 9,883The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 9,883 as 16 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. One new patient has travel history, while 15 infections were detected during contact tracing, it said.
The Union territory now has 211 active cases, while 9,543 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 53 in the last 24 hours.
India records 1,27,952 new Covid cases
India reported 1,27,952 new Covid cases today, 14% lower than yesterday. The positivity rate fell to 7.9%.The active cases constitute 3.16 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate decreased to 95.64 per cent.
US death count from Covid-19 surpasses 900,000: trackerThe US death count from the Covid-19 pandemic surpassed 900,000 on Friday, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
The count had hit 800,000 in mid-December, just a month and a half ago.
New cases linked to the Omicron variant are falling, but daily deaths are still rising, with an average of 2,400 now, according to government figures.
"Hospitalizations remain high, stretching our healthcare capacity and workforce to its limits in some areas of the country," said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Compulsory vaccination rules come into force in AustriaIt's official: From Saturday, Austrians over the age of 18 must be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face the possibility of a heavy fine, an unprecedented measure in the European Union.
The new measure, adopted on January 20 by Parliament, was signed into law by President Alexander Van der Bellen on Friday, the culmination of a process that began in November in the face of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
The government decided to pursue its new tougher approach despite criticism within the country.
"No other country in Europe is following us on compulsory vaccines," said Manuel Krautgartner, who has campaigned against the new approach.