Two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the Union government said on Thursday while asking people not to panic but follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay.
22 cases of the Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus have been detected in India, with 16 of them being reported from Maharashtra and the remaining from Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, the government said.
In view of a new contagious variant of COVID-19 being found in South Africa, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Saturday said that all the passengers coming to the city from that country will be quarantined.
All these people have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments, the ministry had said earlier.
Nine members of a family here tested positive for COVID-19, days after four of them returned from South Africa, putting the Health Department on alert amid concerns over the 'Omicron' variant of the infection.
He also said that genome sequencing for Omicron detection is underway for such passengers.
With the Maharashtra government on Thursday amending its air travel rules in view of global concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation cancelled its previous guidelines issued to the city airport authorities and asked them to follow the revised ones as issued by the state.
In accordance with ''Level-1'' alert under the graded response action plan (GRAP), private offices will function with physical attendance of 50 per cent of the staff, barring essential categories.
The government on Thursday took a series of measures in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in several parts of the world, including China.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said upcoming festivals and mass congregations in different parts of the country may potentially facilitate transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
Senior virologist Shahid Jameel on Sunday resigned as the chairman of scientific advisory group of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, a forum set up by union government in December last year for laboratory and epidemiological surveillance of circulating strains of COVID-19 in India.
A day after two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus was detected in the state, the Karnataka government on Friday ordered a probe into test reports of the 66-year-old South African national, that allowed him to leave the country.
A 29-year-old NRI who recently came to Vadodara in Gujarat from South Africa has been found infected with the BA.5 sub-variant of the highly-transmittable Omicron variant of coronavirus, a health official said on Tuesday.
In a letter to states and Union Territories, Union health secretary Sudhansh Pant underlined that "due to consistent and collaborative actions between the Centre and state governments, we have been able to sustain the (COVID-19) trajectory at sustainable low rates".
The sources said that of the 124 positive samples, genome sequencing results of 40 were received of which XBB, including XBB.1, was found in 14 samples and BF 7.4.1 in one sample.
Experts said the strain has not propelled a surge in cases like Omicron, but advised strict adherence to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
Genome sequencing has confirmed that the nine people have been infected with the new variant, Health Secretary Vaibhav Galriya said.
Modi stressed on the need for constant genome sequencing to monitor emergence of mutants and also to ensure increased oxygen availability, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.
Two Covid-19 related deaths and 20 fresh cases were reported in Karnataka, according to a Health bulletin issued on Wednesday.
A multinational cow genome project has been launched that is expected to benefit both \n\nhumans and agriculture
The presence of the new UK variant of the coronavirus has been reported by several countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.
SII has so far provided more than 170 crore doses of Covishield to the government for the national immunisation programme.
The minister emphasised the need for people to take precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the world, especially in China.
The WHO said that studies have highlighted that the spread of the second wave has been much faster than the first in India.
'The Union government has discouraged state and local governments from imposing restrictions on their own.' 'That advice should be withdrawn,' asserts Mihir S Sharma.
'In the earlier waves, doubling of cases was happening at an interval of 4-6 days.' 'But in the case of omicron the doubling time we are seeing is in the range of 2-4 days.'
New strains of coronavirus found in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have not been detected in Amravati, Yavatmal and Satara districts of Maharashtra where cases have spiked recently, the state government said on Friday.
'Vaccination of all remaining unvaccinated at-risk people and consideration of a booster dose for those 40 years of age and over, first targeting the most high-risk / high-exposure may be considered,' the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG) said in its weekly bulletin dated November 29.
The ministry said 151 out of the 578 people who contracted the infection have recovered or migrated.
Voluntary use of masks must be promoted in the country in view of Covid-19's new XE variant, healthcare experts said, calling it the single-most effective intervention against all variants of the coronavirus.
All these persons have been kept in single-room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments.
With the Omicron variant of coronavirus slowly spreading its tentacles in the country, a number of states enhanced surveillance to trace, track and quarantine contacts of COVID-19 positive persons while Delhi began genome sequencing of samples of all infected people and has prohibited Christmas and New Year gatherings.
However, scientists peering into the DNA of people from Asia, Africa and Europe found that large segments of their DNA varied greatly. Scientists now believe that people may differ by 10-12 percent genetically.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium is closely tracking the new variant of COVID-19 called B.1.1.529 and its presence has not been detected in the country yet, officials said on Friday.
The next wave is likely to be far smaller than the second wave that peaked at a record 400,000-plus daily cases on May 7 and declined sharply thereafter.
A toothache or jaw pain can be a warning sign of an impending heart disease warns cardiologist Dr Ajit Menon.
Celebrations on New Year's Day should last only till 1 am, Health Minister K Sudhakar said.
The government also decided to make face masks mandatory in closed spaces and airconditioned rooms.
The Centre and the states need to continue working in collaborative spirit as was done during the previous surges for COVID-19 prevention and management, Mandaviya said.
Most Indians have acquired hybrid immunity which means immunity developed through vaccines and also natural infection protecting them from different COVID-19 variants.
