Coronavirus News highlights: Karnataka reports 34,047 Covid-19 cases, 13 deaths

India marked the first anniversary of the nationwide vaccination drive against Covid-19, with over 156.76 cr doses administered to date.

What the dip in Covid cases in Delhi, Mumbai means

With the daily Covid-19 count showing a decline in Delhi and Mumbai, medical experts on Sunday said they were cautiously optimistic that the two metropolises may have reached the peak of the Omicron driven third wave as the test positivity rate remained stable for Delhi and nosedived in Mumbai.

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Italy reports 149,512 coronavirus cases on Sunday, 248 deaths

Italy reported 149,512 Covid-19 related cases on Sunday, after 180,426 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 248 from 308.

Italy has registered 141,104 deaths linked to Covid-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 8.71 million cases to date. - Reuters.

63 police personnel tested positive for Covid and one died in the last 24 hours. Total 127 personnel died so far; Active cases 1,333: Mumbai Police

8,900 fresh Covid cases reported in Haryana

Haryana on Sunday reported 8,900 Covid-19 cases and six fatalities, with some of the state's districts, which fall in the National Capital Region, being the worst-affected.

The active cases in the state climbed to 51,253 from 46,720 reported a day earlier.

With two fatalities reported from Panchkula district and a death each from Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala and Jind, the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 10,104, according to the health department's daily bulletin. - PTI.

UK considers scrapping all Covid tests for vaccinated travellers

The UK government is reportedly planning to do away with the requirement of mandatory Covid-19 tests post-arrival into the country for fully vaccinated travellers, including from India, as part of preparations of having to live with coronavirus in the future.

According to ‘The Sunday Times’, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is understood to be in favour of ending the testing regime for all those who have had both vaccine doses, in time for school holidays in the UK in February. - PTI.

34,047 Covid-19 cases, 13 deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka on Sunday added 34,047 fresh infections and 13 deaths to its Covid-19 tally, the Health Department said. The number of new cases so far is 32,20,087 and the death toll 38,431.

A bulletin said 5,902 people were discharged and took the total number of recoveries to 29,83,645. Active cases stood at 1,97,982.

Bengaluru urban district saw most of the cases with 21,071 infections and five deaths. - PTI.

Kerala clocks 18,123 new coronavirus cases

The number of daily Covid-19 cases continued to rise unabated in Kerala with the state reporting 18,123 fresh infections on Sunday taking the total positives to 53,69,706. The toll in the state touched 50,832 with 158 related deaths, the health department said. - PTI.

Delhi weekend curfew: Over 1,300 booked for Covid violation

Delhi Police have booked as many as 1,320 people in the national capital for violating Covid norms on the first day of the second weekend curfew in the national capital, an official said on Sunday.

"A total of 1,320 Covid challan were issued on Saturday, January 15," the official said.

To curb further spread of Covid-19, the national capital currently remains under a stringent curfew from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

Apart from Covid violation, the official said, FIRs were registered against 479 people under section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. - IANS.

Malta sees biggest protest yet against Covid measures

Malta saw its biggest protest yet against Covid rules on Sunday, with hundreds of people marching in the capital Valletta against new measures requiring production of a Covid certificate for entry to most venues including restaurants, gyms and bars.

Malta has seen one of the biggest take-ups of Covid vaccination jabs in the European Union, and almost three-quarters of adults would have taken the additional booster jab by Sunday, according to Health Ministry data.

But Health Minister Chris Fearne has defended the new rules, which come into force on Monday, saying they are needed to defend against the Omicron variant of the virus, now accounting for well over 90% of new cases. - Reuters.

Passengers from UAE exempt from testing, quarantine in Maharashtra

UK expands Covid booster vaccine rollout to teenagers

Around 40,000 teenagers in England will be eligible for a top-up booster dose to protect against Covid-19 as Britain's National Health Service (NHS) expands the booking service to 16 and 17 year olds from Monday.

Previously, third doses were only recommended by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to 18 and over and for clinically vulnerable teenagers most at risk from Covid-19. - PTI.

Andhra Pradesh reports 4,570 Covid-19 cases; active cases stand at 26,770

Authorities step up efforts to vaccinate staff, shopkeepers against Covid at markets across Delhi

Amid a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, authorities in Delhi have stepped up efforts to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of the staff and the shopkeepers at markets across the national capital.

In several districts, the market associations have been asked to ensure that the shopkeepers and the other staff have received both doses of a Covid vaccine and to submit the certificates of the same at the respective district administration offices.

Two city markets -- Sarojini Nagar and the Janpath market -- have already been declared as fully-vaccinated markets by the district administration. - PTI.

Thailand reports first death from Omicron

Thailand has reported its first death from the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, a health official said on Sunday.

The death, a 86-year-old woman from the southern province of Songkhla, came after Thailand detected its first Omicron case last month that led to the reinstatement of its mandatory Covid-19 quarantine for foreign visitors.

"The woman is a bed-ridden, Alzheimer patient," health ministry spokesman Rungrueng Kitphati told Reuters.

Over 1.47 lakh children lost their parents due to Covid and other reasons since April 2020: NCPCR to SC

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has informed the Supreme Court that a total of 1,47,492 children since April 1, 2020, have lost either their mother or father or both parents due to Covid-19 and other reasons.

Giving the details in a suo motu matter on children in need of care and protection due to loss of parents during the Covid-19 pandemic, the NCPCR said its figures are based on data uploaded by states and Union Territories on its 'Baal Swaraj Portal-Covid care' up to January 11.

World Bank Director says cost of school closure much higher than risks due to Covid

Schools have been declared shut in Tamil Nadu for all classes, due to an increase in the number of Covid-19cases in the state. The exams which were supposed to be held on January 19 are now postponed: Tamil Nadu government

City streets wear a deserted look during full lockdown imposed by the Tamil Nadu government to curb the spread ofCovid-19, near Marina beach in Chennai. (PTI Photo)

Mass vaccination program against the coronavirus diseasefor children aged 6-11 in Jakarta. (Reuters Photo)

Restrictions by Delhi govt impacted spread of Covid-19, will monitor situation for three to four day before reviewing curbs: Satyendar Jain (PTI)

CBSE set to conduct Class 10, 12 phase-2 board exams amid Covid surge

As exams across the country have been scrapped in view of the surgingCovid-19 cases, the CBSE Board and the Union Ministry of Education are all set to conduct Term 2 of the 10th and 12th board examinations, the first phase of which were held in November-December, 2021 and the second phase is scheduled to be conducted in March-April. (IANS)

Odisha logs 11,177 new Covid-19 cases, 3 more fatalities

Odisha on Sunday recorded 11,177 newCovid-19 cases, 321 more than the previous day, with the tally rising to 11,33,912, a health department bulletin said. The daily infections crossed the 11,000-mark for the first time since May 26 last year as 11,623 cases were registered on that day. The death toll mounted to 8,481 as three more persons from Sundargarh, Ganjam and Nayagarh districts succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Beijing reports first local omicron case ahead of Olympics

Beijing has reported its first local omicron infection, according to state media, weeks before the Winter Olympic Games are due to start.

The infected person lives and works in the city's northwestern district of Haidian and had no travel history outside of Beijing for the past two weeks. The individual experienced symptoms on Thursday and was tested on Friday for Covid-19, officials said in a news conference Saturday during which they confirmed the infection. (AP)

Uttar Pradesh schools and colleges to remain closed till January 23 amid Covid surge

A cabinet meeting will be held on January 17at 2 pm in Pragathi Bhavan underTelangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, to discuss Covid situation in the state. (ANI)

India's Covid vaccination drive completes 1 year, over 156.76 cr doses administered so far

The countrywide vaccination drive againstCovid-19 on Sunday completed one year, during which over 156.76 crore vaccine doses were administered.

According to health ministry officials, over 92 per cent of the adult population have received at least one dose while over 68 per cent have been fully vaccinated. (PTI)

Puducherry reports 1,160 new cases, 1 death, and 142 recoveries today; Active cases stand at 7,602. Test positivity at 43.66 per cent.

India reports 2.71 lakh new Covid-19 cases, 314 deaths; Omicron tally rises to 7,743

Continuing its daily surge of Covid-19 cases, India reported 2,71,202fresh infections on Sunday, with 314 more succumbing to the virus, government data showed.

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Mizoram reported 875 new cases and 2 deaths. Active cases 8921.

Global vaccine-sharing programme reaches milestone of 1 billion doses

The COVAX global vaccine-sharing programme has delivered 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses, one of the organisations which manages it said on Saturday.

Supplies to poorer nations have long been very limited because of lack of vaccines, as wealthier states secured most of the doses initially available from December 2020.

India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage crosses 156 crore

India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 156 crore with more than 57 lakh vaccine doses administered on Saturday, the Union health ministry said.

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Over 60% of Omicron-infected people in Delhi without travel history: Study

More than 60 per cent of the people infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the national capital did not have any travel history or contact with international travellers, suggesting that its community transmission had happened quite fast, according to a study by the Delhi government-run Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.

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