Coronavirus News Highlights: Karnataka logs 42,470 Covid-19 cases

India reported on Saturday 3,37,704 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, and a daily positivity rate of 17.22%, a government statement said. Over the period 488 people died, bringing India's Covid-19 death toll to 4,88,884. Stay tuned on DH for latest updates.

Covid-19 care centre to be set up on JNU campus

Chhattisgarh sees 5,661 Covid-19 cases, 11 deaths; positivity rate now 11.76%

Italy reports 171,263 coronavirus cases on Saturday, 333 deaths

Italy reported 171,263Covid-19 related cases on Saturday, against 179,106 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 333 from 373.

Italy has registered 143,296 deaths linked toCovid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world. The country has reported 9.8 million cases to date.

Covid numbers dip sharply to 17k in Bengaluru today

Maharashtra records 46,393 new coronavirus cases and 48 deaths

Karnataka logs 42,470 new Covid-19 cases

Kerala logs 45,136 new Covid-19 cases

Kerala continued to record steep rise inCovid-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.

The health department said the state had tested 1,00735 samples in the last 24 hours and there are 2,47,227 activeCovid-19 cases in Kerala.

Meanwhile, 21,324 persons recuperated from the disease on Saturday, taking the total cured to 52,97,971. Kerala registered 132 deaths today, taking the death toll to 51,739.

Among today's fatalities, 70 were recorded over the last few days while 62 were designated asCovid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.

"Of the total active cases, only three per cent of the patients are admitted to hospitals," the health department said in a release.

Gujarat: Police all set to enforce night curfew in 17 new areas, says DGP

Night curfew is all set to begin in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday in 17 towns of Gujarat amid theCovid-19 outbreak and police have been asked to implement it with "officer-oriented policing with human approach", a top official said.

The night curfew, which will be in force from 10pm to 6am, was announced in these towns for the first time by the state government recently, while such curbs are already in place in 10 major cities of the state. "Police officers, including SPs and Range IGs, have been informed through video conferencing about strict implementation of night curfew in 17 additional towns.

India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 161.81 crore

Covid: Record 6,568 new cases; 7 deaths in J&K

Andhra Pradesh adds 12,926 cases to its Covid-19 tally

Active cases increased to 73,143 but there was a slight dip in fresh infections as Andhra Pradesh recorded 12,926 newCovid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, taking the caseload to 21,66,194.

The state had reported 13,212 fresh cases on Friday. According to the latest bulletin, there were 3,913 recoveries and six deaths during the period. The total recoveries now is at 20,78,513 and deaths 14,538, it said. East Godavari became the first district in the state to register over three lakh coronavirus infections since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. With 756 fresh cases, the gross cases in East Godavari reached 3,00,743 on Saturday. In 24 hours, Visakhapatnam district reported 1,959, Chittoor 1,566, Anantapuramu 1,379, Guntur 1,212 and Prakasam 1,001 new cases.

The remaining seven districts added less than 1,000 new cases each. Visakhapatnam reported three, SPS Nellore two and East Godavari oneCovid-19 death in a day.

Former PM Deve Gowda tests Covid positive

Election Commission of India extends the ban on physical rallies and roadshows till January 31

Omicron 'sub-variant' throws up new virus questions

Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently-discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of theCovid-19 virus to determine how its emergence could effect future pandemic spread.

The initial Omicron variant has become the dominant virus strain in recent months but British health authorities have notably identified hundreds of cases of the latest version, dubbed BA.2, while international data suggest it could spread relatively quickly.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) identified more than 400 cases in Britain in the first ten days of this month and has indicated the latest variant has been detected in some 40 other countries, accounting for a majority of most recent cases in some nations including India, Denmark and Sweden.

The UKHSA indicated Friday it had designated the BA.2 sub-lineage as a variant under investigation (VUI) as cases of it were on the increase even if, in Britain, the BA.1 lineage currently remains dominant.

The authority underlined that "there is still uncertainty around the significance of the changes to the viral genome," which required surveillance as, in parallel, cases in recent days showed a sharp rise in BA.2 incidence notably in India and Demark.

60% Covid deaths in 'third wave' among partially or completely unvaccinated: Study

A study by a private hospital has said that 60 per cent of the patients who died during the current wave ofCovid-19 pandemic were either partially or fully unvaccinated.

The study by Max Healthcare said the deaths reported were largely among those aged over 70 and those suffering from multiple co-morbidities such as kidney diseases, heart diseases, diabetes, cancers etc.

"In our hospitals, out of 82 deaths so far, 60 per cent was seen in the partially or unvaccinated population," it said in a statement.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has also been stressing that the fatalities are occurring among those patients who are immunocompromised and have co-morbidities.

The comparative study of the three waves of the pandemic also said that only 23.4 per cent of the patients required oxygen support during the third wave of the pandemic, as against 74 per cent during the second wave and 63 per cent during the first wave.

Cloth masks are useless, say US health experts

rominent public health officials in the US have increasingly highlighted the limitations of cloth face masks, pushing for more effective respirator masks such as N95s as the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading across the country, a shift in messaging from earlier in the pandemic, the Washington Examiner reported.

Officials encouraged the use of cloth masks in the spring of 2020 as a desperate measure to slow the spread ofCovid-19 after previously recommending against masks and continued to boost them in the months after. Now, though, more experts are saying that the masks are not helpful, the report said.

No decision on resumption of offline classes at Pune schools yet: Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said no decision has been taken regarding resumption of physical classes at schools in Pune district asCovid-19 cases are on the rise. After attending a meeting to review theCovid-19 situation in the district, Pawar said swimming pools and grounds will be open to sportspersons and people who have taken both doses of theCovid-19 vaccine.

CPI-M defers Alappuzha party meeting as Covid cases surge

Under fire for conducting meetings despite a surge inCovid-19 cases, the CPI(M) on Saturday announced to postpone its three-day Alappuzha district committee meeting scheduled to start on January 28.

RNazar, Alappuzha district secretary of the CPI-M told the media that the decision has been taken after speaking to all concerned.

Singapore reports first Omicron-related death

Singapore on Saturday reported its first Omicron-related death, a 92-year-old unvaccinated woman who caught the virus from a family member, according to a media report.

The woman, who had no known medical history, died on Jan 20, about 10 days after catching the virus from a family member, the Channel News Asia reported.

Covid virus linked with headaches, altered mental status in hospitalised kids

Of hospitalised children who tested or were presumed positive for SARS-CoV-2, 44 per cent developed neurological symptoms, and these kids were more likely to require intensive care than their peers who didn't experience such symptoms, a new study suggests.

The findings, published in the journal Pediatric Neurology, indicated that the most common neurologic symptoms were headache and altered mental status, known as an acute encephalopathy.

PM Modi asks DMs to take it up as a mission to make their respective districts visible on global stage

Govt has identified 142 districts in 22 states lagging on just one or two parameters; they should take it as challenge to address that: PM Modi

Karnataka to decide on reopening schools next week

Australia's Queensland state says peak of Omicron two weeks away

Former Prime Minister and JD(S) president H D Deve Gowda tested positive for Covid-19. He has no symptoms and his health is stable

(ANI)

Assam govt issued a new SOP for Republic Day celebration in the state

A total of 1,000 people will be allowed to attend the programme at state level & 500 at the district level. Pre & post-Republic Day celebration to be avoided, reads the SOP issued in view of Covid-19.

(ANI)

The Additional Secretary & Mission Director NHM writes a letter to states and UT's that if a beneficiary tests positive then all vaccination including precaution dose to be deferred by 3 months after recovery.

(ANI)

India logs over 3.37 lakh new Covid-19 cases, 488 deaths

India on Saturday reported 3,37,704 new Covid-19 cases — 9,550 fewer than a day before — and 488 deaths, government data showed.

Read more

Rio, Sao Paulo postpone carnival parades due to pandemic

Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are postponing the glittering parades that are the highlight of carnival festivities due to a surge in the pandemic, the Brazilian cities said Friday.

Read more

OPINION | Don’t slack off on Covid testing now

There are mixed signals on the Covid front in the last few days. The country reported about 3.5 lakh new Covid cases on Friday, 12% higher than the previous day’s daily cases. There is a view that the pandemic is flattening in some areas, especially in Delhi and Mumbai. After the third wave started, there were occasional dips at the national level on some days. But the positivity rate has continued to rise, except in some pockets.

Read more

Covid-19 related data of thousands of Indians leaked online

Personal data of thousands of people in India has been leaked from a government server which includes their name, mobile number, address and Covid test result, and these information can be accessed through online search.

Read more

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) health worker collects swab samples of an outstation passenger for Covid-19 test, at Dadar Station, in Mumbai, Friday, January 21, 2022.

(PTI Photo)

Mizoram's Covid tally rises to 1,57,253 with 1,199 fresh cases

Mizoram on Friday reported 1,199 newCovid-19 cases, 215 more than the previous day, with the tally mounting to 1,57,253, a health department official said. The single-day positivity rate stood at 22.36 per cent as the fresh infections were detected from 5,362 sample tests, he said. (PTI)

Ireland says it will not change Covid-19 travel rules

Ireland will leave in place a requirement for visitors to have either proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test despite announcing the scrapping of most of its other pandemic restrictions, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said.

Visitors will also still be required to submit a pandemic passenger locator form with their address and recent travel history, Martin told a news conference.(Reuters)

Over 161 crore jabs administered so far, 74L precaution doses given, says govt

The cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 161.05 crore on Friday, the Union Health Ministry said.

More than 58 lakh (58,37,209) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Friday. At least 74 lakh (74,27,700) precaution doses for the identified categories of beneficiaries have been administered so far, it said. (PTI)