Coronavirus News highlights: Schools for Classes 1 to 9 to reopen from Monday in Gujarat

India on Saturday recorded 1,27,952 fresh coronavirus cases that took its infection tally to 4,20,80,664, while the number of active cases declined further to 13,31,648, according to Union health ministry data. Thank you for following DH's latest updates.

Chhattisgarh sees 1,764 Covid cases, 14 deaths; positivity rate now 5.24%

Chhattisgarh on Saturday reported 1,764 Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 11,38,199, while 14 deaths in the past 24 hours increased the toll to 13,928, an official said. The state's positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, was 5.24 per cent as on Saturday, he said. The number of recoveries reached 11,07,389 after 157 people were discharged from hospitals and 3,397 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 16,882, he said.

Mizoram reports 1,777 new Covid-19 cases, 3 more deaths

Mizoram on Saturday reported 1,777 newCovid-19 cases -- 179 less than the previous day -- pushing the tally to 1,83,473, a health department official said.

The toll rose to 621 as three more people succumbed to the infection, he said.

Schools for Classes 1 to 9 to reopen from Monday in Gujarat

With new coronavirus cases declining, the Gujarat government on Saturday announced the reopening of schools for classes 1 to 9 from February 7. A circular issued by the education department said that considering the Covid-19 situation, government, private and grant-in-aid schools can resume offline education for classes 1 to 9 from Monday. But online teaching will also continue and students can choose between the two systems, it added.

Covid-19: Total cases cross 23 lakh in AP, recoveries 22 lakh

The cumulativeCovid-19 count in Andhra Pradesh crossed 23 lakh on Saturday, with the last one-lakh cases coming in 11 days. Simultaneously, the gross recoveries also went past the 22 lakh mark. But the declining trend continued as the state registered 3,396 fresh cases in 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday.

Meghalaya logs 123 new Covid-19 cases, 4 more fatalities

Meghalaya on Saturday recorded 123 new Covid-19 cases, 88 cases less than the previous day, which pushed the tally to 92,144, a senior official said.

Third wave is clearly waning as cases continue to fall, says K Sudhakar

TN vaccinates 80% of children in 15-18 age group with single dose: Health Minister

Tamil Nadu has inoculated nearly 80 per cent of the people in the age group of 15-18 with single dose of vaccine against Covid-19, State Minister Ma Subramanian said on Saturday. The State commenced the exercise to administer the vaccine to adolescents and till date 4.88 lakh people have received the jab, the Minister for Medical and Family Welfare said.

Kerala records 33,538 new Covid-19 cases, 444 deaths

Kerala continued to witness a dip in the daily Covid-19 infection rate for the third consecutive day, with the state reporting 33,538 new positive cases on Saturday taking the caseload to 62,44,654. The health department said 46,813 persons recuperated from the disease today, taking the number of recoveries to 58,33,762.

Delhi reports 1,604 new cases

A total of 17 fatalities and 3,324 were also recorded in the last 24 hours. Active cases stand at 9,979

N95, KN95 masks provide best against Covid, says CDC

High-quality N95 and KN95 masks providing the best chance of preventing Covid infection, although wearing any kind of mask indoors can significantly protect from the infectious disease, according to a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Besides the N95/KN95 respirator, a surgical mask also offered significant protection, the agency wrote in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released on Friday.

Turkish President Erdogan says tests positive for Covid-19

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel tests positive for Covid

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has tested positive for Covid-19, the Premier League club announced on Saturday, hours before their FA Cup fourth round match against Plymouth Argyle.

New Covid infections in Hong Kong reach record high

Hong Kong's "zero-Covid" policy was on the ropes Saturday as authorities announced a record number of new infections, sending officials scrambling to ramp up testing capacity and warning that a tightening of virus-control measures could be needed.

Like mainland China and much of East Asia, Hong Kong has long followed a strategy of fighting the virus through contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and lengthy quarantines.

Spain to revoke outdoor mask mandate

The Spanish government will revoke the outdoor facemask wearing mandate from next week onwards, Health Minister Carolina Darias said.

A proposal for that will be approved in a cabinet meeting on February 8, the Minister told local radio station Cadena Ser, adding the measure will be published in the official State Gazette the following day and come into effect on February 10, reports Xinhua news agency.

Japan's daily coronavirus tally at record high

Japan hit a record single-day number of Covid-19 cases on Saturday, public broadcaster NHK said, as the Omicron variant continued to spread.

The country's daily virus cases exceeded 100,000 cases, marking a fresh high, NHK reported.

Most regions in Japan are now under infection control measures to try to blunt the spread of Omicron that has exploded among a population where less than 5 per cent have received vaccine booster shots.

Students participate in Saraswati Puja on the occasion of Sri Panchami, at a school in Bhubaneswar, Saturday, February 5, 2022. The Odisha government has allowed Saraswati Puja celebrations in school premises, in compliance with Covid-19 guidelines.

(PTI Photo)

Russia records its highest number of daily Covid-19 cases

Russia reported a record daily number of Covid-19 cases on Saturday as the Omicron coronavirus variant continued to spread, authorities said.

New daily cases jumped to 177,282, from 168,201 a day earlier. The government coronavirus task force also reported 714 deaths in the past 24 hours.

Odisha reports 2,603 new Covid-19 cases, 22 fresh fatalities

Odisha's Covid-19 tally rose to 12,64,705 on Saturday as 2,603 more people tested positive for the infection, while 22 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 8,711, a health bulletin said.

It is the lowest single-day spike since January 6. The daily cases plunged by 46 per cent from 4,842 a week ago. The state had registered 2,697 cases and 23 fatalities on Friday.

Increased Covid cases at Beijing Games no reason for concern, organisers say

A deserted warehouse during the Covid-induced restrictions in Jammu, Saturday, February 5, 2022.

(PTI Photo)

MP govt removes restriction on number of wedding guests

Claiming that the Covid-19 situation in Madhya Pradesh has come under control, state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced lifting of the restriction on the number of people attending wedding ceremonies from Saturday. Due to a spike in coronavirus positive cases, the state government had capped the number of people attending weddings at 250 starting January 15.

Bali resumes international flights for global tourists

The Indonesian resort island of Bali has officially resumed international direct flights carrying foreign tourists for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, but mandatory quarantine is still required.

The overseas travellers have to show Covid-19 vaccination certificates taken at least 14 days before departure and also provide negative results of RT-PCR tests from their countries of origin at a maximum of 48 hours before departure, reports Xinhua news agency.

India reports 1,27,952 new Covid-19 cases, 1,059 deaths

India reported 1,27,952 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday and 1,059 deaths, government data showed.

The daily positivity rate in India dropped from 9.2 per cent to 7.9 per cent. The death toll is now 5,01,114.

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No gender gap in administration of Covid-19 vaccines, says Govt

There is no gender gap in administration of Covid-19 vaccines, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

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Vaccine effectiveness of 99.3% seen in fully vaccinated: Mandaviya

Vaccine effectiveness of 99.3 per cent has been seen in individuals fully inoculated against Covid as per the data uploaded on India Covid-19 Tracker till January 2, the Parliament was told on Friday.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed the India Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker, by merging mainly three national databases -- CoWIN, National Covid-19 Testing database and Covid-19 India portal, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Chhattisgarh logs 2,113 Covid cases, achieves 100% vaccination with 1st dose for 18-plus

Chhattisgarh on Friday reported 2,113 new Covid-19 cases, down from 2,454 a day ago, taking the tally to 11,36,435, while 19 fresh deaths pushed up the toll to 13,914, an official said.

All eligible people above 18 years have been administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Chhattisgarh, health department data showed. The daily positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, was 5.32 per cent, down from 5.87 per cent on Thursday, he said.

The number of recoveries reached 11,03,835 after 127 people were discharged from hospitals and 3,362 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 18,686, the official said.

Nearly 169 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India: Govt

Nearly 169 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses have so far been administered in the country, the Union health ministry said on Friday.

Over 42 lakh (42,95,142) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Friday, it added.

More than 1.43 crore (1,43,64,484) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) and those aged 60 years and above, the ministry said.