Coronavirus News Highlights: 64% Covid deaths in Delhi seen among unvaccinated, comorbid people

Early indications of Covid infections plateauing have been reported in some places but the trend needs to be observed, the Union government said on Thursday whilst noting that 400 districts have logged weekly Covid positivity of over 10%. However, a decrease in Covid cases and positivity rate have been observed in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Odisha, Haryana and West Bengal, the government stated. Meanwhile, India saw 2.86 lakh new Covid-19 cases, 573 fatalities. Stay tuned to DH for live updates.

Covid curbs extended till Feb 28 as positivity rate in 407 districts still above 10%, says MHA

With 407 districts in 34 states and Union Territories reporting a Covid-19 positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, the government on Thursday asked authorities across the country to exercise caution and vigilance even as it extended guidelines on the pandemic till February 28.

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Karnataka reports 38,083 fresh Covid cases, 67,236 recoveries

Early signs of Covid cases plateauing reported but need to be observed: Centre

Early indications of Covid infections plateauing have been reported in some places but the trend needs to be observed, the Union government said on Thursday whilst noting that 400 districts have logged weekly Covid positivity of over 10 per cent.

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112 fresh Covid-19 cases take Sikkim's tally to 37,651, two more fatalities push death toll to 427: Health department bulletin

Delhi reports 4,291 new Covid cases

Delhi reports 4,291 Covid cases, 9,397 recoveries, and 34 deaths in the last 24 hours Active cases: 33,175 Today's positivity rate: 9.56%

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar tests Covid-19 positive

Union Home Secy writes to states/UTs to issue directions to authorities concerned with Covid management

In wake of rising Covid cases, Union Home Secretary writes to chief secretaries all States/UTs, asking to issues necessary directions to authorities concerned for effective management of the disease "All States/UTs must observe all precautions & not let the guard down," he writes.

Marriage related gatherings are to be allowed to be held with 50% capacity of the venue subject to a maximum of 200 persons: Delhi L-G

Delhi L-G agrees to revoke weekend curfew in the view of declining Covid positive cases

Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan recording high number of Covid cases: Govt

Active Covid-19 cases, corresponding deaths much lower during present wave compared to earlier surges: Govt

Centre mulling to revisit precaution dose policy

The Centre is mulling over the relevance of the precaution dose which is currently being administered to the frontline and healthcare workers along with 60 plus population as some experts are sceptical about the benefits of the third dose.

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Top 10 states in terms of active Covid cases contributing to over 77 per cent of total active infections in country: Govt

Omicron sub-variant BA.2 is more prevalent in India now: NCDC Director on Covid-19 situation in India

Omicron not result of recombination between previous variants: Study

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 diverged from the previous SARS-CoV-2 variants as a result of adaptive evolution, in which beneficial mutations are passed onto future generations through natural selection, rather than through recombination between previous variants, according to a study.

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Covishield, Covaxin get conditional market approval for use in adult population

India's drug regulator on Thursday granted regular market approval for Covid-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin for use in the adult population subject to certain conditions, official sources said.

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Polish defence minister tests positive for Covid

Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak tweeted on Thursday that he has tested positive for coronavirus, as the Omicron variant takes hold across the country and tensions mount between Poland's neighbours Ukraine and Russia.

"I feel well, I will carry out my duties under isolation," said Blaszczak, who is 52.

Australian leaders warn of back-to-school Covid spike

Australians have been warned to brace for a spike inCovid-19 infections when schools return from the summer holidays.

The Premiers and Chief Ministers on Thursday held a National Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison to discuss Australia's outbreak of the Omicron wave ofCovid.

Active Covid-19 cases in Ladakh climbs to 1,308

Odisha logs 5,901 fresh Covid-19 cases, 8 fatalities

New Covid guidelines in Delhi

Weekend curfew,odd-even for shops to go. Night curfew to continue.S chools' opening to be taken up in next DDMA meet. Weddings to be held with max 200 people or 50% capacity.

50% capacity for bars, restaurants&cinema halls. Govt offices to operate with 50% capacity

Delhi to report less than 5,000 Covid cases today, positivity rate to come below 10%: Satyendar Jain

Jharkhand records 1,009 new Covid-19 cases, five more fatalities

UNICEF launches campaign to boost Covid vaccines in Africa

he UN children's fund (UNICEF) has kicked off an eight-week campaign to help boostCovid-19 vaccinations across Africa.

UNICEF on Wednesday said the first ever U-Report Challenge which comes a week after COVAX delivered its billionth dose in Rwanda, calls on all 13.3 million U-Reporters in Africa to help get vaccines to the unvaccinated, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Through improving access and confidence inCovidvaccines, the #GiveItAShot challenge aims to activate young people in motivating those eligible in their community to get vaccinated," it said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Czech Republic reports record daily tally of Covid cases for third day

South Korea's Covid cases surpass 14,000 amid rapid Omicron spread

Malaysia reports 4,744 new Covid-19 infections, 12 more deaths

Thane district sees 1,496 new Covi-19 cases; death toll up by seven

No exit from zero-Covid: China struggles to find policy off-ramp

China's "zero-Covid" stance has put it at odds with the rest of the world and is exacting a mounting economic toll, but an exit strategy remains elusive as authorities worry about the ability of the healthcare system to cope and adapt to new strains.

Chinese medical experts believed last year that higher vaccination rates would eventually allow China to relax tough rules on movement and testing as infection rates slow elsewhere.

Maharashtra Covid vaccination figures

Beijing 2022 says 23 new Covid cases found among Games-related personnel on Jan 26

Twenty-three new cases ofCovid-19 were detected among Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games-related personnel on Jan. 26 organisers said on Thursday.

Of the 23 cases 15 were detected amongst new arrivals at the airport. The other eight were found amongst those already in the organisers' closed loopCovid-19 management bubble.

Australia reports fewer Covid-19 deaths, hospitalisations steady

Australia reported fewerCovid-19 deaths on Thursday, a day after recording a pandemic high, while hospital cases remained steady, raising hopes the country's worst outbreak may have peaked.

Officials reported a total of 59 deaths, down from a pandemic peak of 87 on Wednesday, with just two states still to report figures.

Hospitalisations have remained steady at around 5,000 for the last few days, peaking at just under 5,400 on Tuesday, with admissions falling for the second straight day in New South Wales, the worst-affected state.

UP schools shut till Feb 15, online classes to continue

Schools in Uttar Pradesh will remain closed till February 15 though online classes will continue.

This decision has been taken in view of increasingCovidcases.

According to an order issued by additional chief secretary home, Avanish Awasthi, the date of school closure has been extended from the earlier January 30 to February 15.

Global Covid caseload tops 361.8 mn

Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has topped 361.8 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.62 million and vaccinations to over 9.87 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 361,819,327 and 5,625,717, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9,873,273,690.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 72,906,511 and 876,052, according to the CSSE.

The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (40,085,116 infections and 491,127 deaths), followed by Brazil (24,560,093 infections and 624,717 deaths).

The other countries with over 5 million cases are France (17,848,291), the UK (16,260,768), Turkey (11,167,927), Russia (11,129,318), Italy (10,383,561), Spain (9,529,320), Germany (9,145,836), Argentina (8,130,023), Iran (6,279,410) and Colombia (5,798,799), the CSSE figures showed.

The nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are Russia (321,484), Mexico (303,776), Peru (204,587), the UK (155,221), Indonesia (144,254), Italy (144,770), Colombia (133,019), Iran (132,303), France (130,739), Argentina (120,019), Germany (117,166), Ukraine (106,205) and Poland (104,373).

India reports 2.86 lakh new Covid-19 cases, 573 fatalities

India on Thursday reported2,86,384 new coronavirus infections, according to the Union Health Ministry. India's infections have remained below 3 lakh for nearly a week now and Thursday's cases mark a marginal increase from the previous day's 2.85 lakh infections.

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Key meeting on easing Covid-19 restrictions in Delhi today

People in Kanpur get vaccinated amid the surge in Covid-19 cases

Despite Covid hurdles, US orchestras find the joy in music

At the start of 2020, the National Symphony Orchestra was planning its first international tour with conductor Gianandrea Noseda, and an epic Beethoven cycle to mark the 250th anniversary of the legendary composer's birth.

Instead, the coronavirus pandemic forced the ensemble out of the Kennedy Center in the US capital for 18 months, and the Beethoven symphonic series has been rescheduled, starting this month and wrapping up in... 2023.

England lifts Omicron restrictions

England on Thursday lifted coronavirus restrictions imposed to tackle the Omicron variant, with masks no longer required in enclosed places and vaccine passports shelved.

The number of positiveCovid-19 cases has fallen sharply over the past two weeks, and although still at high levels, have plateaued in recent days.

The UK government introduced the so-called "Plan B" restrictions on December 8, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of a looming "tidal wave" of Omicron.

Moderna begins trial of Omicron-specific vaccine booster

US biotech company Moderna announced on Wednesday that it has begun clinical trials of a booster dose of vaccine designed specifically to combat the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The trials will involve a total of 600 adults – half of whom have already received two doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine at least six months ago, and half of whom have received two doses plus the previously authorized booster dose.