New Delhi: Here are the latest updates on the new coronavirus variant:
Telangana on Wednesday reported three new cases of the Omicron variant after a Kenyan woman, a Somalian man and a seven-year-old child who travelled to West Bengal were found infected with the strain, reported The Times of India. This took India’s case count of the variant to 60. Apart from Telangana, Maharashtra has recorded 28 cases, Rajasthan has 13, Delhi has six, Gujarat has four, Karnataka three, and Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh have each reported one infection .
India’s Covid-19 task force chief Dr VK Paul on Tuesday said that there could be a “a potential scenario that our vaccines may become ineffective in emerging situations”, reported PTI. Paul, who is NITI Aayog member for health, stressed on the need to be ready to modify the vaccines as per requirement.
Serum Institute of India’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said that his company, which manufacturers Covishield, is planning to launch a Covid-19 vaccine for beneficiaries under the age of 18 to “all the way down to the age of three” in the next six months, reported The Indian Express.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that 55% of the country’s adult population has received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, reported The Hindu. The health ministry admitted that as of December 9, there were 2,410 Covid-19 shots that had an expiry date of this month. The ministry also said that the record of expiry dates of the vaccines at private hospitals had not been maintained by the Centre.
Opposition MPs in Parliament voiced concerns about the increase in cases of the Omicron variant and sought to know the government’s steps to vaccinate children and whether there were preparations for booster shots, reported The Indian Express. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the central government should review its stand on vaccinating minors. Trinamool Congress leader Sougata Ray appealed to the administration to start booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines immediately.
All four new patients infected with the Omicron variant in Delhi are asymptomatic, said authorities at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, where they are admitted. The hospital’s Managing Director Dr Suresh Kumar told ANI that of the four, two had travelled from the United Kingdom and the other two were close contacts of the passengers.
South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Boo-Kyum on Wednesday warned citizens that his administration might reimpose strict coronavirus norms, including a ban on gatherings and a curfew, reported Reuters. The country registered 7,850 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, it’s highest daily count as breakthrough infections among those completely inoculated continued to increase. The number of patients who were in a serious condition reached 964.
The Australian government opened its borders to completely vaccinated skilled migrants and foreign students after nearly a two-year ban on entries, reported Reuters. “We are going to live with virus, and we are not going to let it drag us back to where we’ve been,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told radio station 4BC.
The United Kingdom government will remove all 11 countries from its Covid-19 travel red list from Wednesday because of community transmission, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament, reported Reuters. Javid said that the restrictions were now “less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad”. The 11 countries are Angola, Botswana, Eswantini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said that the country has at least 250 patients admitted in hospitals after being infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, reported Reuters. AFP
