India logged 8,954 new Covid cases, taking the country’s total tally of Covid-19 cases to 3,45,96,776, while the active cases have declined to 99,023, which is less than a lakh after 547 days, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Tuesday. Stay with TOI for all updates on Coronavirus from India and around the worldRead Less
Covid-19: Karnataka to seek booster shots for frontline, health workers
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday that he would speak to Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Delhi on Thursday about giving booster shots to healthcare workers and frontline workers in the state.
On holiday plans, domestic flyers wait and watch for now
Demand for domestic travel had peaked in the past two months during the festive season and the year was supposed to end with a bang, what with travellers making advance bookings for the year-end holiday. But the Maharashtra government directive that made RT-PCR reports mandatory for all inter-state arrivals has left many year-end travel plans in a limbo, say travel industry insiders.
Following detection of first case of Omicron in US, White House, in a statement, urges Americans to get Covid jabs and boosters
Testing of flyers from low-risk countries to be restricted to 2%
The government on Wednesday clarified that random sampling of travellers, excluding from those countries at risk, would be limited to 2% as per the latest health ministry guidelines. Travellers undergoing random sampling may be allowed to leave after the process is over.
West Bengal reports 668 Covid-19 cases, 12 fatalities. Infection tally rises to 16,16,751, death toll 19,498. The state now has 7,712 active cases of the disease.
First US Omicron case identified in California
Travel bans over new Covid strain ‘unfair,’ ‘ineffective,’ UN chief says
International Civil Aviation Organization urges measured, evidence-based approach to air transport restrictions over Omicron.
Six people who flew into Delhi from ‘at-risk’ countries, including the UK and the Netherlands, on Wednesday have been admitted to the Lok Nayak Hospital after four of them tested positive for Covid-19 and two “showed symptoms”, officials said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for “tailored” intervention by countries, including testing travelers before and after they arrive in a country, and advised against “blanket travel bans” that “place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods”.
Travel bans hurting global cooperation against Omicron strain: WHO
Travel bans by countries having an impact on global cooperation against Omicron variant by causing “challenges” to sharing of lab samples, said the WHO on Wednesday.
Mike Ryan, WHO’s emergency director, said there was no evidence yet that giving boosters to the whole population, including healthy people, will provide greater protection against the disease.
WHO advisory group will review data on Covid-19 booster shots next week
The announcement comes as wealthy countries administer booster shots to more of their population. The WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan did not give a specific date, but said in a briefing that the UN agency would give recommendations on the use of boosters after the review.
India was a country that imported vaccines, now it exports vaccines, all because of our scientists, doctors, workers, & manufacturers: MoS Health Bharti Pawar at World AIDS Day program at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi.
Jammu and Kashmir reports 234 new Covid cases
Karnataka reported 322 new Covid cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours. (ANI)
Mumbai – Three international travellers returning from Mauritius and London tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. A contact of another foreign traveller isolated on Tuesday was also found to be positive. The four new detections have taken the number of Omicron variant suspects in the city to five.
The emergence of the Omicron variant has understandably captured global attention. At least 23 countries from five of six WHO regions have now reported cases of Omicron, and we expect that number to grow: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu.
WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove says one of the possible scenarios is that the Omicron variant may become more transmissible than the Delta strain, “but we don’t know quite yet about severity’
WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan says existing Covid-19 vaccines will still protect against severe disease from Omicron variant.
