New Delhi: Here are the latest updates on the new coronavirus variant:
India currently has 200 cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday. Cases of the new variant have been reported from 12 states and Union Territories. Maharashtra and Delhi currently have the highest number of Omicron cases (54), followed by Telangana (20) and Karnataka (19). A total of 77 persons infected with the variant have recovered or have been discharged across the country till now.
Out of the 54 patients found infected with the Omicron variant in Maharashtra, 31 have been discharged from hospitals, PTI quoted the health department as saying. The official added that no new case of the Omicron variant was reported from Maharashtra on Monday.
Biotechnology company Bharat Biotech has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India for permission to conduct Phase 3 trials of a booster dose of its intranasal Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters reported. A spokesperson for the company said that a booster dose in the form of an intranasal vaccine will be easier to administer during mass vaccination campaigns.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the Rajya Sabha on Monday that a report on the effectiveness of available vaccines in the country against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will be available in a week, The Hindu reported. He added that 161 cases of the new variant have been reported in India till now.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has now become the dominant strain of the virus in the United States, AFP reported. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the new strain accounts for 73.2% of the new cases in the past week.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus on Monday urged people to cancel some of their holiday plans in order to safeguard public health amid the spread of the Omicron variant, BBC reported. “An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled,” he remarked.
India reported 5,326 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total caseload in the country to 3,47,52,164. The country also reported 453 additional deaths due to the disease, significantly higher than the 132 fatalities reported on Monday.
Most people who tested positive for the Omicron variant in Delhi have a travel history to the United Arab Emirates, The Indian Express reported. The Capital has recorded 24 cases of the variant till now. The newspaper quoted data shared by an official on 22 cases as showing that 19 patients had returned from abroad. Out of these, 10 had travelled to the UAE, four to the United Kingdom, two to South Africa, two to Tanzania and one to Zimbabwe.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday requested the Centre to permit the administration of booster doses to those who have been fully vaccinated. He added that the Capital has infrastructure to administer booster doses is permission is given. Scroll. In
