Coronavirus News Highlights: Maharashtra's daily Covid-19 cases cross 40,000-mark

Sparking huge concerns, Mumbai's super-congested slum of Dharavi logged 150 Covid-19 cases on Friday, the highest since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, health officials said here.

Since Thursday, the slum pocket has entered the 3-digit figures of infections - 107 on Thursday and 150 today with 588 active cases.

Dharavi, falling in G/North Ward of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has logged in a total 7,776 cases in the past 22 months of the pandemic.

With special attention devoted to Dharavi by the BMC, the area reported a peak of 94 cases on May 3, 2020 in the first wave and 99 infections on April 8, 2021 during the second tide.

. The Delhi health department has asked all city government-run hospitals to cancel leaves, barring maternity and medical leaves, granted to their staff in view of a steep spike in coronavirus infections.

"In view of recent surge in Covid-19 cases and for efficient management of Covid-19 pandemic in NCT of Delhi, all MDs/MSs/Directors of all hospitals of Government of NCT of Delhi are directed not to grant leaves of any type except maternity leaves and other medical leaves to any medical and non-medical staff with immediate effect and cancel all such leaves, if already granted," read an order issued by the health department.

. There is no immediate need for imposing lockdown or additional restrictions in Mumbai as the bed occupancy rate, oxygen requirement and number of Covid-19 deaths are low, municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal said on Friday.

During the first and second wave the decision to impose lockdown was taken on the basis of case positivity rate, but this criterion cannot be applied for the third wave which started from December 21, 2021, Chahal told a Marathi news channel.

. Goa on Friday reported 1,432 Covid-19 cases, with the positivity rate (cases per 100 tests) reaching 21.72 per cent, up from 20.46 per cent a day earlier, a health department official said.

. Credit: AFP Photo

. Kerala recorded 5,296 new positive cases and 189 Covid-19-related deaths on Friday, taking the total count to 52,64,235 and the death toll to 49,305. Of the deaths, 35 were recorded over the last few days and 154 designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.

. Ahead of the weekend curfew, which will come into effect from Friday at 8 pm to Monday 5 am, Karnataka Excise Minister K Gopalaiah said there will be no sale of liquor for two days starting from tonight across the state.

"It has been decided that there will not be any sale of liquor during the weekend curfew. I have directed the officials to issue an order to this effect," Gopalaiah told reporters.

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was to inaugurate the National youth festival at Puducherry on January 12, has cancelled his visit due to a surge in Covid cases in the Union Territory (UT) and Tamil Nadu.

. Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Friday said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been admitted to a private hospital.

"I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am healthy. Those who were in contact with me may please get themselves tested," the minister tweeted. Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan, state Mines and Geology Minister Halappa Achar and Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan wished him a speedy recovery.

. In light of the sudden rise in Covid-19 cases, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a high-level meeting on Friday to review the administration's preparedness to deal with the situation.

Municipal Commissioners of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Gandhinagar cities along with collectors and district development officers of Anand, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad and Kutch attended the meeting through video-conference, a government release said.

. Night curfew timings in Assam changed to 10 pm to 6 am. Only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to enter hotels, restaurants, government offices, shopping malls, multiplexes, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

All schools up to Class VIII in Kamrup-Metropolitan district and up to Class V in all other districts will remain closed from Jan 8. No physical classes are allowed till 30th January,he added

. The Bombay High Court on Friday extended till February 5, the date of surrender for poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad- Maoist links case who is currently on medical bail, before Taloja prison authorities in Maharashtra. A bench of Justices SS Shinde and NR Borkar dismissed the National Investigating Agency's (NIA) request for extending such date of surrender only by a week.

. The advice was issued in response to growing concerns that some immunisation centres are advising children to take three paracetamol 500 mg tablets after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. Taking paracetamol tablets without consulting a doctor can harm children, health experts warned.

. In view of rising cases of Covid-19, the AIIMS on Friday suspended routine inpatient non-emergency admissions and all routine procedures or non essential surgeries with immediate effect while initiating the process to convert the Trauma Centre into a dedicated Covid facility.

. A high alert has been sounded in Mandya district of Karnataka as 84 devotees, who returned from Tamil Nadu after pilgrimage to Om Shakti temple, have tested positive for Covid-19, district authorities said on Friday.

Another batch of more than 800 pilgrims is arriving in the district and authorities have made arrangements to test them for Covid-19

. Scores of hoteliers, restaurant owners, and tourism and hospitality players in Agra lamented the trail of destructionCovid-19 left on their businesses.

Rajeev Saxena, vice president, Tourism Guild of Agra said the industry took a massive hit due to the pandemic, resulting in cancellation of tours booked for this year.

. Israel is set to lift the travel ban to eight countries as theCovid-19 positivity rate among the arrivals from these nations has dipped, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The eight countries are the United Arab Emirates, the US, Ethiopia, Britain, Tanzania, Mexico, Switzerland and Turkey, re

. This takes the total tally in the state to 333.

. Music composer-singer Vishal Dadlani and actor Kubbra Sait on Friday revealed their coronavirus diagnosis on their respective social media handles.

. As the weekend curfew in Delhi will kick in tonight from 10 pmto 5 amMonday to curb further spread of Covid-19, let us have a look at what will remain shut and what will function as usual, to prepare well.

. Odisha Health Minister Naba Kisore Das on Friday said that he has tested positive forCovid-19.

Das said that he tested positive for the infection on Thursday and is currently in home isolation.

. The number of activeCovid-19 cases in Arunachal Pradesh rose to 103 after 29 more people, including five returnees from Goa, tested positive for the infection and only one patient recuperated from the disease in the last 24 hours, a health department official said on Friday.

. The scion of a real-estate mogul who tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has allegedly escaped from a private hospital where he had been admitted, police say.

. The distressing case of a pregnant Chinese woman miscarrying after a strict lockdown delayed her access to medical treatment has reignited debate over the limits of China's zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19.

. State genomic surveillance committee chairman and virologist Dr V Ravi and a team of 12 R&D personnel from Tata MD developed OmiSure, India's first indigenously developed Omicron testing kit.

. The third 100 million have come even faster, in barely five months, as large segments of countries, rich and poor alike, remain unvaccinated and a wily new variant has proved able to infect even those who are.

. Actor-comedian James Corden has revealed that he has tested positive for a case of breakthrough coronavirus.

In a post on Instagram on Thursday, the 43-year-old actor said his CBS talk show "The Late Late Show" will be going "off the air for the next few days".

. Haunted by the spectre of last year's crisis, India is bracing for a deluge of Covid-19 cases, with authorities of various megacities bringing in restrictions in a bid to keep infections in check.

. This is the biggest single-day hike in the state in 6 months.

. While thenumber of persons recovered is 1,199, it added.

. India recorded a total of 1,17,100 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally of active cases to 3,71,363. A total of 30,836 recoveries and 302 deaths were also recorded on Thursday, taking the daily positivity rate to 7.74 per cent

. A record 9.5 million new Covid-19 cases were reported around the world during the week December 27-January 2, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday, with its chief warning that the “tsunami of cases” caused by the new Omicron variant wasoverwhelming health systems around the world.

. Sample testing of people staying at the minister's residence has been done, said the State Home Minister's Office

. Low Covid-19 tests in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab have emerged as a matter of concern to the Union Health Ministry, which on Thursday wrote to these states along with six others asking them to augment their daily testing level.

. A total of 338 resident doctors from various hospitals have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last four days in Maharashtra, saidPresident of Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), Dr Avinash Dahiphale

. A record 9.5 million new Covid-19 cases were reported around the world during the week December 27-January 2, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday, with its chief warning that the “tsunami of cases” caused by the new Omicron variant was overwhelming health systems around the world.

Coronavirus News Highlights: Maharashtra's daily Covid-19 cases cross 40,000-mark

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