The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has declined to 88,993. (File)
India reported 6,984 new coronavirus cases today. The number of active cases in the country declined to 87,562, according to the Union health ministry.
The number of active coronavirus cases in the country now account for 0.25 per cent of the total caseload, lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.38 per cent, the highest since March 2020, said the ministry.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has warned that the new Omicron variant of coronavirus was spreading at an unprecedented rate and urged countries to act as drug maker Pfizer said its coronavirus pill was effective against the variant.
Four more cases of Omicron were reported in Delhi on Tuesday, said state health minister Satyendar Jain, adding that all of them had foreign travel history. Besides, eight Omicron cases were reported from Maharashtra, including seven from Mumbai. Currently, there are 57 Omicron cases in India.
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus cases in India:
Kerala reports 4 new cases of Omicron COVID variant, state's tally climbs to 5Kerala on Wednesday reported four new cases of Omicron COVID-19 variant, taking the overall tally of the state to five, informed State Health Minister Veena George.
"Among the total four cases reported, two are the people who have come into contact with the first positive case which was reported in Kochi. The third person is from Ernakulam who had come from Congo and the fourth case has been reported from Thiruvananthapuram, who had returned from the UK," said Kerala Health Minister.
She further said that all the patients are stable.
Meanwhile, Kerala recorded 4,006 new cases of COVID-19 during the last 24 hours, said the state government on Wednesday.
Health Department begins mega sampling drive in UP's Moradabad amid Omicron scare
Health Department in the Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh is conducting a Mega Focus Sampling Drive in view of rising cases of COVID-19 new variant Omicron, informed health official.
"We are conducting a Coronavirus focus sampling drive which will go on for the next 10 days beginning from December 15. On the first day of the drive we are taking samples of tempo, bus, taxi and truck drivers," says Dr MC Garg, Chief Medical Officer, Moradabad.
The drive will focus on hospital staff, government officials, school students and teachers in the coming days.
"Twenty teams have been deployed by the health department, the same teams will organise corona testing points at the bus stand and railway station like earlier," says Garg.
"We are running this drive so that we can figure beforehand if cases of Coronavirus are increasing," he added.
One case each of COVID-19 variant Omicron has been reported in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal on Wednesday.
Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Gujarat have also reported cases of the new variant.
Punjab adds 37 COVID-19 cases, one death
Punjab on Wednesday reported 37 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its tally to 6,03,814, while one more fatality pushed the deaths to 16,623, according to a medical bulletin.
Of the fresh cases, seven were reported from Kapurthala and six from Hoshiarpur.
There are 323 active COVID-19 cases in Punjab, the bulletin stated.
Fifty-three more people recovered from the viral disease, taking the number of recoveries to 5,86,868, it said.
Chandigarh's COVID-19 caseload increased to 65,659 as eight more people tested positive for the disease, while the deaths remained unchanged at 1,076, the bulletin said.
Covid News: 317 New Cases, 2 Related Deaths In Karnataka
Karnataka reported 317 new cases and two related deaths, taking the total number of infections to 30,01,251 and the death count to 38,277, the Health Department said today, reported news agency PTI. 301 people were discharged in the day, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 29,55,766.
Coronavirus News: 163 Fresh Cases In 24 Hours, 3 Related Deaths In Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh reported 163 fresh cases, 162 recoveries and three related deaths in the last 24 hours ending 9 am today, reported news agency PTI. The state's Covid chart now shows 20,75,271 total positives, 20,58,979 recoveries and 14,471 deaths so far.
The number of active cases now stands at 1,821, the latest bulletin said.
Coronavirus News: Kerala Logs 4,006 Cases, 282 Deaths In 24 Hours
Kerala today reported 4,006 new infections and 282 deaths, taking the caseload to 51,92,593 and the death count to 43,626, reported news agency PTI. Of the 282 deaths, 125 were recorded over the last few days and 157 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on Centre's new guidelines and the directions of the Supreme Court, a state government release said.
Covid News: "Why Can't You Give Ads Like Other States?" Top Court Questions UP On CompensationThe Supreme Court pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government over less publicity of its Covid compensation scheme. When the court asked UP about the initiatives taken for publicity, it said that numbers of Tehsildars were provided.
"Why can't you give ads like other states? Must give ads in local newspapers with complete address," Justice MR Shah, who was hearing the case, said. "Why no ad about grievance redressal portal? You will see you will receive 50,000 applications in three days," Justice Shah added.
Covid News: Supreme Court Raps Maharashtra Over Delay In Compensation Payout
Supreme Court raps Maharashtra for the delay in the disbursal of Covid compensation. "It is unfortunate that only 1,658 have been paid compensation despite Maharashtra receiving 85,279 applications," the top court said, directing the Maharashtra government to pay compensation (after approval) to all those who have already submitted their applications.
Coronavirus News: Centre Reviews Commission, Installation, Funtional Status Of Oxygen Supply Equipment Given To States, UTs
The Centre today reviewed the commissioning, installation and functional status of oxygen supply equipment provided by it to the states and Union Territories. Medical oxygen is an essential Public Health Commodity and its uninterrupted supply is of critical importance, the Centre said in an official release.
The Centre asked states and Union Territories to ensure there is no gap between equipment/systems supplied, installed, and made fully functional at the health facility level, it said.
It also asked states to conduct mock drills to ensure full functionality of all oxygen equipment
Coronavirus News: Mumbai Covid Restrictions To Remain Till December 31
Covid restrictions in Mumbai will remain in place till December 31, officials said today. Gatherings in public places and rallies will continue to be prohibited. Shops, establishment and malls will be manned by fully vaccinated people and all visitors to these places must be fully vaccinated as well.
Omicron Can Become Dominant Variant In Europe In 1 Month, EU Chief Warns EU chief Urusula von der Leyen on Wednesday warned the Omicron variant of Covid-19 could become dominant in Europe next month, but insisted her 27-nation bloc had ample vaccines to fight the virus.
"If you look at the time it takes for new cases to double in number, it seems to be doubling every two or three days. And that's massive. We're told that by mid-January, we should expect Omicron to be the new dominant variant in Europe," von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Exceeds 134.61 Crore
With the administration of nearly 67 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the cumulative vaccination coverage of India has exceeded 133.88 crore, the Union Health Ministry informed on Tuesday. As per the ministry's press release, 66,98,601 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours. "India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 133.88 crore (1,33,88,12,577) as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 1,40,27,706 sessions," the ministry said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Puducherry Logs 13 New Covid Cases
Puducherry recorded 13 new coronavirus cases during last 24 hours on Wednesday taking the total number of those affected by the disease to 1,29,261. The new cases identified at the end of 2,206 samples were spread over Puducherry 11 and Karaikal and Mahe one case each. The active cases were 173 which included 39 patients in hospitals and remaining 134 patients were in home isolation.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Mizoram Reports 234 Fresh COVID-19 Cases, 2 More Fatalities
Mizoram's COVID-19 tally mounted to 1,38,847 as 234 more people tested positive for the virus, while two fresh fatalities raised the count to 525 on Wednesday. The northeastern state now has 2,678 active cases, and 1,35,644 patients have thus far recovered from the disease, including 412 since Tuesday. Mizoram's Covid recovery rate stood at 97.69 per cent and the death rate at 0.37 per cent.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Arunachal Pradesh Reports Single COVID-19 Case
Arunachal Pradesh reported one fresh case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the tally to 55,314. The death count remained at 280 as no new fatality due to the contagion was reported in the past 24 hours.The frontier state now has 34 active cases, while 55,000 people have recovered from the disease so far.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 55 New COVID-19 Cases In Maharashtra's Thane, 2 Related Deaths
With the addition of 55 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has risen to 5,70,675, while two more fatalities pushed the death count to 11,595 on Wednesday.The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane is 2.03 per cent.
Omicron Probably In Most Countries, Spreading At Unprecedented Rate: World Health OrganisationThe World Health Organization on Tuesday warned Omicron was spreading at an unprecedented rate and urged countries to act as drug maker Pfizer said its coronavirus pill was effective against the variant.
Dutch primary schools will close early as Europe battles a fresh wave of infections and hospital admissions, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a major parliamentary test seeking to impose fresh Covid curbs.
Omicron, first detected by South Africa and reported to the WHO on November 24, has a large number of mutations, setting alarm bells ringing since its discovery.
Covid Task Force Chief Dr VK Paul Pitches For Quickly Adaptable Vaccine PlatformsAmid concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Covid Task Force chief Dr VK Paul on Tuesday said India should have vaccine platforms that are "adaptable quickly" with changing nature of the variants.
Dr Paul said he hopes that coronavirus in India is possibly moving in the direction of endemicity where there is a low or moderate level of transmission going on.
"There is a potential scenario that our vaccines may become ineffective in emerging situations. In the wake of the last three weeks of living with Omicron, we have seen how such doubts have come up. Some of them may be genuine. We still do not have the final picture," he said.
COVID-19 News Update: US Crosses 800,000 Covid DeathsThe US, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, crossed 800,000 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University showed, according to news agency AFP. The figure is greater than the entire population of several states, including North Dakota and Alaska. Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who lead the House of Representatives and Senate respectively, as well as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and other members of Congress held a moment of silence on the steps of the Capitol building Tuesday evening.