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As the whole country is grappling again with the surge in the new variant of COVID-19 – Omicron, Karnataka has also reported a total surge of 4,246 fresh cases. On January 4, 2022, the Karnataka government had announced a weekend curfew and the extension of night curfew for two weeks in the entire state. Out of the total new cases, 3,605 were reported only from Bengaluru. The positivity rate in the state stands at 3.33 per cent. Earlier today, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that people need to be cautious for the next four to six weeks to control a possible third wave of COVID-19 and the spread of Omicron variant in the state. “New COVID guidelines have been released after a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. My appeal to the people is, four to six weeks is crucial. As we have observed worldwide, it is declining in five to six weeks. This wave will not be for too long, like in the first and second wave that was for three to four months,” Sudhakar was quoted as saying by PTI. According to the health department, the cumulative infections and fatalities have risen to 30,13,326 and 38,355 respectively. Source: The Indian Express

The highly transmissible variant ‘Omicron’ has been rapidly increasing and increased the threat in the country. Omicron cases have now also been detected in UT’s Andaman and Nicobar islands. Variant has seen drastic increase and now spread in 23 states so far including Andaman Nicobar, It has detected its first two cases of Omicron, along with Maharashtra and Delhi topping the charts. Maharashtra and Delhi have seen astronomical rise in Covid tally and new variant omicron. With that the overall tally in the country has now reached 1270 cases in the country. Maharashtra with a huge surge in omicron cases stands at 450, followed by Maharashtra, Delhi has also seen huge spike had reported 320 cases, Along with that 109 cases have been detected in Kerala, Distribution of cases across states which so far have detected two digit cases is as follows: 97 cases in Gujarat, 69 in Rajasthan, 62 in Telangana, 46 in Tamil Nadu, 34 in Karnataka, 16 in Andhra Pradesh, 14 in Haryana, 14 in Odisha, 11 in West Bengal. The states who have recorded comparatively lower cases are as follows: 9 in Madhya Pradesh, 4 in Uttarakhand, 3 in Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar and one each in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Manipur, Punjab and Goa. However, a maximum number of cases have been seen asymptomatic but are under observation to detect any severe symptoms. 125 in Maharashtra have now been discharged, 57 patients discharged in Delhi, 47 in Rajasthan have recovered, and 42 in Gujarat. The daily cases of Covid in India rose by 27%as the country has seen and surge and reported 16,764 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Health experts on Thursday stated that even though the variant has changed now but the treatment and preventive measure towards it will not change and Informed everyone that it is collective responsibility to have strict adherence towards Covid-Appropriate Behaviour and  follow all  the restrictive measures issued by the Union and State government.

The exponential rise of the highly transmissible COVID 19 variant Omicron has been seen in India. The total tally has reached 781. Variant has spread across 21 states of the country. As many as 238 Omicron cases including 57 recoveries were reported in Delhi and 167 in Maharashtra including 72 recoveries over the last 24 hours. The exponential spread of the SARS-CoV-2 is slipping slowly to the trouble zone with 9,195 new Covid-19 cases, the country’s active caseload rose to 77,002. Government is persistently expediting the inoculation drive of the country. States across the country continued to impose stricter covid regulations to curb the continuous spread of the Omicron variant. Delhi being the maximum contributor at 238 cases followed by Maharashtra. With this rise in the tally, the situation has worsened in the last 24 hours. In Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared a “yellow alert” on Tuesday. Schools, colleges, cinema halls and gyms will remain closed and restaurants, bars and metro trains have been allowed to operate at 50% capacity, Wedding and funeral congregations will be limited to only 20. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Manipur have witnessed only single digit cases so far. The alert has been issued by the health ministry to all the states to stay alert during the festive season. Maharashtra has banned the public gathering and celebratory gathering on the occasion of New Year. The risk posed by the Omicron variant is still “very high”, the World Health Organisation said today.

As the COVID-19 cases have started rising again in the country and the threat of Omicron is looming over, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Wednesday directed all district magistrates to ensure no Christmas and New Year gathering takes place in Delhi. DDMA has ordered the district magistrates to identify areas where the spread of COVID-19 can be extremely high ahead of Christmas and New Year. According to statistics on released on Wednesday, India detected 6,317 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours. The official data says that India has now 213 Omicron cases with most being reported from Delhi. While the total number of active cases remain at 78, 190, it is the COVID deaths that are increasingly concerning. As against 132 fatalities on Tuesday, India saw 317 people succumbing to coronavirus-related complications. Although the Centre had earlier said that Omicron is a mild variant it is changing it’s stance and is asking the states to activate war rooms. The local officials have been instructed to reinstate night curfews wherever necessary. Source: The news has been published by The Financial Express with a few edits by the ArdorComm News Network Team.

West Bengal: On Wednesday, West Bengal reported it’s first case of the new COVID-19 variant – Omicron.  A seven-year-old boy, resident of Murshidabad district, tested positive for the new coronavirus variant, news agency PTI reported citing a senior official of the health department. The boy, the official said, recently returned to Bengal from Abu Dhabi via Hyderabad. Also, in Telangana, two foreign nationals who arrived from abroad tested positive for the new COVID-19 variant – Omicron. However, according to reports, both are asymptomatic. Globally, Australia reopened borders to vaccinated skilled migrants and foreign students nearly after a two-year ban on their entry. This move was taken in a bid to boost an economy hit by the Covid-19 induced lockdowns, thereby restarting international travel. The move comes despite the warning issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that COVID-19 vaccines appear to have become slightly less effective in preventing severe disease and death but do provide “significant protection”. Source: The article has been published by the Indian Express with a few edits from the ArdorComm News Network team.

There is a total of 26 Omicron cases in India across five states, but all with mild symptoms, the health ministry said on Friday at its weekly briefing. Of the 25 Omicron cases, nine are in Rajasthan, three in Gujarat, 11 in Maharashtra, two in Karnataka, and one in Delhi. Joint secretary, health ministry, Lav Agarwal, also present at the briefing, said that there have been 83 Covid-positive cases in India among travellers who came from ‘at risk’ countries, and of those, 13 were found to be infected with Omicron variant. ICMR chief Balram Bhargava, meanwhile, advised caution against the new variant, saying that although Omicron hasn’t yet posed a high threat to public healthcare, “we still need to be vigilant”. Bhargava also said, “We are trying to grow Omicron in a laboratory. Once that’s done, we will be able to test the efficacy of vaccines.” “Regular meetings are being organised to keep a watch on the global scenario and Covid scene in India with a focus on Omicron. we need help to not spread panic. District level restrictions to be implemented where positivity over 5%,” he added. Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog, said that usage of masks is showing a decline in India causing worry. “Mask usage is declining in India. we have to remember that both vaccines and masks are important. As far as protection capability is concerned, we are now operating at a risky and unacceptable level. we should learn from the global situation,” he said. The ministry also added that there are no recommendations yet on vaccinations for kids from the National Technical Advisory group. On the brighter side, Agarwal said that over 131 crore total vaccine doses are administered across the country so far, and quite half of the adult population is now fully vaccinated. As on December 9, over 74.5 lakh doses were administered. Kerala still continues to report the greatest number of Covid cases in the county – as much as 52.8% of the overall cases in India were reported from the southern state last week. Mentioning the daily Covid figure, the health ministry said India continues to record below 10,000 cases for the 14th consecutive day on Friday. “While overall positivity across the country gives comfort, there are still a large number of districts reporting high case positivity,” Agarwal added. Source: News18

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) today urged the government to announce “additional” doses of Covid vaccine for healthcare, frontline workers, and immunocompromised individuals amid concerns over Omicron, 21 cases of which have been detected in India so far. It also demanded that the government expedite the proposal of vaccinating individuals aged 12 to 18 years. At a press conference, the doctors’ body said that cases of the latest variant of coronavirus were reported from a number of major states of India, and the tally, which is in double digits, is bound to increase. With scientific evidence available and the experience noted in countries of origin, it is evident that the Omicron variant will have high penetrability and will affect more people, the IMA claimed. “At a time when India is limping back to normalcy, this is a great setback. If we do not take adequate measures, we may have a massive third wave,” it warned. Noting that India has crossed 1.26 billion vaccinations, with over 50 percent of the adult population vaccinated at least with one dose, the IMA said vaccination has proved that it will prevent severe forms of the infection. Omicron has proved to be less potent in causing severe infections but definitely five to 10 times more contagious than the Delta variant. Hence, the government and all stakeholders should take proper steps to control the contagion by enhancing immunisation, the IMA stressed in a press release. “IMA does not support the imposition of a travel ban. However, we appeal to all to avoid unnecessary travel, especially pleasure tourism and social gatherings. All our public transport systems should strictly adhere to the code of Covid protocol.” Noting that in African countries where the Omicron variant has spread widely, there is a sudden increase in the number of children getting infected and admitted to ICUs, the IMA said, appealing to all schools and colleges to strictly adhere to Covid protocols and ensure all adults there are vaccinated. “IMA also demands the government should expedite the proposal for vaccination of children of 12 to 18 years at the earliest,” it said. Source: NDTV

The Union health ministry on Friday said the seriousness of the Covid illness (Covid-19) from the Omicron variant in India could be low due to the “fast pace” of vaccination and high openness to the Delta variant. The ministry said that the new variant of concern is probably going to spread to more nations including India however the scale and extent of the ascent in contaminations is as yet not satisfactory. “Given the fast pace of vaccination in India and high exposure to Delta variant as evidenced by high seropositivity, the severity of the disease is anticipated to be low,” the ministry said in a statement. “However, scientific evidence is still evolving.” The ministry featured that Omicron has been announced a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) in view of the noticed mutations, their predicted features of increased transmission and immune evasion, and preliminary evidence of detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology, such as increased reinfections. INSACOG says booster doses against Covid-19 for individuals over 40 ‘might be considered’ considering Omicron. It focused on the significance of getting immunized against Covid-19 with the accessible antibodies as they are relied upon to in any case offer assurance against serious illness. While the ministry said the authoritative proof for expanded abatement and safe avoidance is anticipated, a primer report by South African specialists recommends that the Omicron variant is related with a considerable capacity to dodge insusceptibility from earlier disease. As per the review, the VoC is three times bound to cause reinfections contrasted with the Beta or Delta variants. The paper is available on a medical preprint server and has not yet been peer-reviewed. India has reported 9,216 new Covid cases as of now as the active caseload remained under 1 lakh. In the meantime, the combined vaccination inclusion has surpassed the 125-crore mark, with 73.67 lakh doses administered on Friday. Source: Hindustan Times

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country surpassed the 120-crore mark on Thursday, the Union health ministry said. More than 74 lakh (74,59,819) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1. “With over 120 crore #COVID19 vaccine doses administered so far, PM @NarendraModi Ji’s #HarGharDastak campaign is further strengthening India’s fight against the pandemic,” tweeted Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. Source: PTI  

Pune: Maharashtra’s Health Minister Rajesh Tope conveyed to the public that the country might go through a mild third wave of COVID-19 in December. According to PTI, “The third wave is expected to be mild and medical oxygen and ICU beds will not be required.” According to Tope’s statement, it seems the pandemic’s third wave will not be as ghastly as the second wave. The shortage of oxygen and ICU beds will not arise during the new wave. Adding to this, Maharashtra Congress has written to CM of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray to request Rs 4 lakh as compensation for the kin who lost their families to the COVID-19 virus in the state. As the situations are going back to normal again with the mass of Indians being vaccinated, the third wave is expected to be mild. There has not been any talk of lockdowns till now. Source: India Today