Coronavirus News Highlights: 9.36 lakh vulnerable individuals get 'precautionary' shots on day 1 of booster vaccinations

Karnataka's Omicron tally rose to 479 on Monday after 146 new cases of the variant were detected, Karnataka health Minister K Sudhakar announced. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms. He said in a tweet that he is currently under home quarantine. With over 1.79 lakh new Covid-19 cases on Monday, India continues to see a surge in cases. Maharashtra reported over 45,000 cases and Bengal logged over 24,000 cases on Sunday. Stay tuned for updates.

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Photos of PM Modi removed from vaccination certificates in poll-bound states

BJP president J P Nadda tests positive for Covid-19

9.36 lakh booster doses administered on Monday: Govt

TN extends Covid restrictions till Jan 31, permits entry to places of worship only on Jan 14, 18

Tamil Nadu Govt extends lockdown restrictions till January 31, people not to be allowed in all places of worship between January 14 and January 18, special inter-district buses for Pongal to run at 75% capacity (ANI)

Mumbai sees slight dip in cases with 13,648 new infections

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai Covid-positive with mild symptoms

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday tested positive for Covid-19. The CMmentioned in a tweet that he is facing mild symptoms of the viral infection.

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Contacts of positive patients who are not high-risk individuals need not be tested for Covid-19: ICMR

13,990 new cases in Tamil Nadu

Delhi sees 19,166 new cases, positivity rate at 25%

Nitish Kumar tests positive for Covid-19

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar tests positive for COVID-19 "On the advice of doctors, he has isolated himself at his residence," his office says (ANI)

5,797 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Kerala

Kerala on Monday saw a slight dip in the dailyCovid-19 cases, as compared to a day ago, with the state reporting 5,797 new infections which raised the caseload to 52,82,214.

The southern state had logged 6,238Covid-19 cases on Sunday. On Monday, Kerala also reported 166 deaths taking the fatalities to 49,757, a state government release said.

Bengaluru sees 9,221 new infections; active cases over 49,000

Karnataka sees 11,698 new cases; positivity rate rises to 7.7%

146 new Omicron cases detected in Bengaluru

17 fresh Omicron cases in Kerala pushes tally to 345 (ANI)

Haryana schools, colleges to remain shut till January 26: CM Khattar

#Omicron: Haryana Govt shuts down all schools and colleges till January 26, online classes to continue, says CM ML Khattar (ANI)

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tests positive for Covid-19

5-10% active cases needed hospitalisation so far: Govt

T-cells from common colds can provide protection against Covid-19: Study

High levels of T-cells from common cold coronaviruses can provide protection againstCovid-19, an Imperial College London study published on Monday has found, which could inform approaches for second-generation vaccines.

Immunity againstCovid-19 is a complex picture, and while there is evidence of waning antibody levels six months after vaccination, T-cells are also believed to play a vital role in providing protection.

The study, which began in September 2020, looked at levels of cross-reactive T-cells generated by previous common colds in 52 household contacts of positiveCovid-19 cases shortly after exposure, to see if they went on to develop infection.

Singapore expects Omicron wave to be ‘several times larger’ than Delta: Minister

Singapore can expect an infection wave due to Omicron “several times larger” than the one caused by Delta, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament on Monday as he cited the latest variant's higher transmissibility.

Responding to a query from a Member of Parliament, the minister said that cases are likely to double every two to three days.

Singapore can expect an infection wave “several times larger” than the one caused by Delta, said Ong, citing the Omicron variant's higher transmissibility.

BMC must ensure citizens are safe from Omicron variant, says Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Monday said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) must not leave any stone unturned in ensuring people of the metropolis remained safe from the rapidly rising number of cases caused by the new Omicron variant ofCovid-19. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik directed the BMC to implement precautionary measures as well as guidelines issued by the Maharashtra government to manageCovid-related healthcare resources such as oxygen supply, hospital beds, essential medicines etc.

'Deltacron' a lab contamination, not a new variant: UK virologist

After a scientist in Cyprus claimed that his team has identified a new Covid variant being dubbed as 'Deltacron', a UK-based virologist has termed it a "lab contamination" and not a new strain.

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Uttar Pradesh caps attendance in govt, private offices at 50 per cent in view of Covid surge

Amid rising cases ofCovid, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday restricted attendance of employees in government and private offices at 50 per cent.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed that if anyone from a private office tests positive for coronavirus, he or she should be given seven days leave with salary andCovidhelp desks should be established in all the offices and no one should be given entry without screening, an official spokesman said.

SAI to shut down training centres amid rise in Covid-19 cases

TheSportsAuthorityofIndia(SAI) on Monday said it has decided to close its 67 training centres across the country due to rising Covid-19 cases.

"In view of rising cases of Covid-19, theSportsAuthorityofIndiahas decided to close the 67 SAI Training centres across the country," the SAI said in a statement.

Don't become 'Corona agents', Thackeray warns reckless people

In an unusually tough statement, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday warned reckless people "not to become Corona agents" by flouting norms and risking the lives of others as the third wave of the pandemic has set in the state massively.

Thackeray said that in the ongoing wave, "the rate of infection is very high", and it is critical to arrest it on priority without discussing how dangerous it is or not, otherwise it could lead to a huge strain on the state's health infrastructure.

New 'Deltacron' Covid variant detected in Cyprus: All you need to know

Cyprus has detected a new variant dubbed as "Deltacron", that has a similar genetic background to the Delta variant, coupled with 10 mutations from Omicron.

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Over 300 Delhi Police personnel infected with Covid-19

Amid a surge in coronavirus infections in the national capital, more than 300 Delhi Police personnel, including the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), have tested positive for Covid-19, officials said on Monday.

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Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will meet health ministers, officials from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Maharashtra at 3:30 pm today to discuss Covid situation in these states.

4 lakh eligible for booster dose on Jan 10 in TN

The Tamil Nadu health department has announced that four lakh people are eligible for the booster vaccine dose on Monday.In a statement on Sunday, the state health department also said that 10.7 lakh people can avail the booster dose in the state in January. The beneficiaries include 2.7 lakh frontline workers, 2.7 lakh healthcare workers, and five lakh people above the age of 60.Tamil Nadu has 91 lakh doses of vaccine and as per the statistics and guidelines provided by the Government of India, 9.1 lakh beneficiaries will be provided with Covishield while 1.5 lakh would be administered Covaxin, the statement added.

4,033 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected across 27 states and union territories so far

India reports 1.79 lakh new Covid-19 cases, 146 deaths

India on Monday reported nearly 20,000 more daily cases than the previous day with 1,79,723 new coronavirus cases and 146 fatalities in the past 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data.

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46 inmates, 43 staffers of three jails in Delhi test positive for Covid

Forty-six inmates and 43 staffers of three jails in Delhi have tested positive for Covid-19, officials said on Monday.

"All the infected inmates as well as staffers have been under isolation and are recovering," said a senior jail official.

According to data shared by the jail authorities, 46 inmates tested positive till Sunday -- 29 inmates in Tihar and the remaining 17 in Mandoli jail.

Among the 43 infected staffers, 25 are from Tihar, 12 from Rohini jail and six from Mandoli jail.

Over 5k people fined in Delhi for not wearing masks

Amid an uptick in coronavirus cases, the Delhi government has taken action against 5,073 people for not wearing masks in public or work places.

According to official data, 61 FIRs were registered on Saturday against those not following Covid-appropriate behaviour and a fine of Rs.1.25 crores was collected from the violators.