Tope, however, stressed that there was no need to panic as the count of active cases in the state still stood below 1,000, while the number of cases per million in the state was far less than other states.
Images for Sunday's closing ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics.
Benfica's Primeira Liga match at Belenenses on Saturday was abandoned amid extraordinary scenes after their COVID-19-hit opponents were forced to name a team of nine players - including two goalkeepers.
Insufficient testing at the border and the impossibility of controlling people's movements mean that the Games could exacerbate the spread of the infectious Delta variant of the virus, a prominent public health expert said.
Tell us what you think about the events that convulsed India in 2021 by taking this poll.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) analysis showed that around three months after the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90 per cent.
Assembly elections are due in five states including Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Punjab for next year.
China on Wednesday reported cases of an Omicron subvariant surfacing in Beijing and Shaanxi province as the Chinese capital announced new measures, making it mandatory to show proof of vaccination for people entering public places.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has assured state units that the Board 'will do everything to restart the domestic season once the COVID-19 situation is under control'.
The Omicron lineages have been named BA.4 and BA.5.
Six Covid-19 cases were reported on Wednesday after screening 3,476 passengers of 11 flights that arrived in India from "at-risk" countries and the samples have been sent for genomic sequencing, the Health Ministry said amid concerns over the 'Omicron' variant of coronavirus.
Long queues were seen outside walk-in vaccination centres across the UK on Monday as people queued for their booster vaccine doses, even as the government's work from home guidance came in force as part of measures to tackle the "tidal wave" of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Scientists have identified and tested an antibody that limits the severity of infections from a variety of coronaviruses, including those that cause COVID-19 as well as the SARS illness.
'Scientific data has proven that masks can reduce COVID-91 transmission by 53 per cent...A booster dose of vaccine, even if it works, is just a temporary fix'
"As of now, there is no data from any country to suggest these new subvariants are more clinically severe," Chief scientist at WHO clarified.
The pandemic will be over but Covid will be here to stay, the scientists said as Covid numbers begin to ebb in several parts of the world, including India.
The Centre on Thursday advised states slated to hold assembly polls in the next few months to ramp up COVID vaccination exponentially to protect the vulnerable population given the steady rise in cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in India.
Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Jr have tested positive for COVID-19.
PHE estimates that the vaccination programme in England has prevented 22 million infections, around 52,600 hospitalisations and between 35,200 and 60,000 deaths.
There has been a 4.36 per cent increase in Omicron cases since Thursday, the ministry said.
The Union health ministry on Friday said while there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, some of the mutations reported may decrease the efficacy of the jabs.
The gap between second dose of COVID-19 vaccine and the third, which is being called a 'precaution dose,' is likely to be nine to 12 months, official sources said on Sunday.
4,033 cases of the Omicron variant reported across 27 states and union territories so far
Testing for influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections cases has been the pillars of COVID management for the government.
Israel and Bhutan, however small, illustrate what governments can do, and the mountains they can move, if they really care for their citizens.
2.75 million of the 3 million Covid-related health claims were settled.
Experts say herd immunity is said to have been developed in a population segment if at least 50-60 per cent of those are found to have the presence of antibodies in a sero-prevalence survey.
The active cases have increased to 21,13,365, the highest in 237 days, while the death toll has climbed to 4,88,884 with 488 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday said that in case there were no guidelines issued by the Centre, it expected the city government to expeditiously consider the issue of early re-testing of international travellers who test positive for COVID-19 on arrival.
He said that southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will see the current wave peak next week.
According to central and state officials, omicron cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories -- Maharashtra (54), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (20), Gujarat (9), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).
'Better to prevent than to wait for evidence. Protection delayed can also mean protection denied'
Less than 30,000 booster doses daily in December.
The threat of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has forced Santa to take cover.
'If there are any symptoms/variants of concern, states can prepare accordingly.'
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The next edition of the country's leading automobile show, the Auto Expo, will be held from January 13-18 next year, having been cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last edition of the biennial automobile show took place in February 2020 amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus across the world. It was supposed to take place in February this year at Greater Noida but was postponed due to the worsening COVID-19 situation.
'Between its natural immunity with Delta, in so many populations, and then getting on top of the vaccination (situation), I do not think India is going to have another bad wave.'
The current Covid situation in India is under control and there are no reasons to panic, said Dr N K Arora, the chairperson of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).
The COVID-19 patients at high risk of hospitalisation or those with severe disease should be given a combination of two antibody treatments, according to latest World Health Organization guidelines published in The BMJ on Friday.
