Members of Congress and Trinamool Congress in Lok Sabha On Tuesday, it raised concerns over the threat posed by the Omicron variant of COVID-19, asking the government what it planned to do with respect to the variant, whether booster doses of vaccines are to be given and how children and adolescents are treated. When can vaccinations be expected?
South Africa’s sudden spike in reported Covid infections on Sunday was due to a technical snag and the actual number of cases was less than half of what was reported at more than 37,000, the country’s apex body for communicable diseases has confirmed.
Delhi has reported four more cases of Omicron, while eight more persons have tested positive for the COVID-19 variant in Maharashtra on Tuesday, taking the number to 61 in the country.
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Here are the latest developments,
Telangana
Two foreigners traced with Omicron in Hyderabad
Omicron has been found in two people in Telangana. The omicron variant has been detected in a 24-year-old woman from Kenya and a 23-year-old woman from Somalia who came to Hyderabad in December.
State Director of Public Health Dr G Srinivasa Rao said on Wednesday that the woman has been sent to Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS), Gachibowli. The man is being traced. The results of their genome sequencing were received on Tuesday night. -Telangana Bureau
National
Active cases in the country come down to 87,562
India recorded 6,984 coronavirus infections, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases to 3,47,10,628, while the active cases came down to 87,562, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday.
The death toll rose to 4,76,135 with 247 fresh deaths, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily increase in new coronavirus infections for the past 48 days has been recorded below 15,000.
The ministry said that active cases comprise 0.25% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.38%, the highest since March 2020. -PTI
International
Pfizer confirms results of COVID-19 pill, Power vs. Omron
Pfizer said on Tuesday that its experimental pill to treat COVID-19 appears to be effective against the Omicron variant.
The company also said that the full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill’s promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk adults by about 89%, when Taken immediately after initial COVID-19 symptoms. -ap
we
US COVID-19 death toll reaches 800,000, vaccine drives in a year
The US death toll from COVID-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly sad, given that many of those people died after the vaccine was practically available last spring. More than 200,000 people lost their lives.
The number of deaths, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is equal to the total population of Atlanta and St. Louis combined or Minneapolis and Cleveland. This is roughly equal to how many Americans die each year from heart disease or stroke. -ap
Australia
Australia reopens borders to non-citizens despite Omicron concerns
Australia on Wednesday reopened borders to vaccinate skilled migrants and foreign students, after a nearly two-year ban on their entry, to boost an economy hit by the COVID-19 lockdown and resume international travel. opened up.
The emergence of the new Omicron version forced officials to delay the reopening by two weeks after health officials demanded a temporary pause to learn more about the strain, which has far exceeded other COVID-19 outbreaks. Shows milder symptoms than the -19 variant. -Reuters
Italy
Italy requires quarantine for non-vaccinated EU visitors
Italy’s health minister signed an ordinance on Tuesday that requires any non-controversial visitor to another EU country for five days in a bid to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.
Under the new requirement, effective from Wednesday, vaccinated visitors from EU countries must receive a negative test within 24 hours of arrival in order to be freely transmitted in Italy. Non-EU citizens who have not been vaccinated will have to quarantine for 10 days.
Karnataka
Proposed S-Gene dropout test for international travelers
With the increase in the number of international passengers testing RT-PCR positive on arrival at the airport, the State Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has recommended that the State should use S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) test kits in Boring. should start. Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute for the Prospective Diagnosis of Omicrons.
TAC members, who discussed SGTF screening at the 139th committee meeting held on Monday, recommended that the TakPath ‘S’ gene COVID-19 diagnostic kit by Thermo Fisher be purchased at Boring Hospital, a dedicated Omron facility. designated as. TAC reports that the Thermo Fisher TakPath assay can be used as a proxy test for new variant detection, pending confirmation by genome sequencing.
International
Omicrons spreading at an unprecedented rate: WHO
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the new coronavirus variant omicron was spreading at an unprecedented rate and was likely already present in most countries around the world.
Since the new, heavily-mutated version was first detected in southern Africa last month, it has been reported in 77 countries, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. -afp
UK
UK to remove all countries from COVID-19 travel red list on Wednesday
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament that the British government will remove all 11 countries from its COVID-19 travel red list from Wednesday because there is now community transmission of Omicron in the UK.
The new Omicron variant was first discovered in southern Africa and Hong Kong. The British government added 11 African countries to its red list from the end of November, meaning entry for flights from those countries was restricted to UK citizens or residents who then had to be quarantined in a hotel. -Reuters
Netherlands
Dutch extends COVID lockdown; school holidays start early
The Dutch government on Tuesday ordered primary schools to close a week ahead of the Christmas holidays as authorities battle to rein in coronavirus infections amid concerns about the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant.
Acting Prime Minister Mark Root also extended the country’s current lockdown until January 14, saying the government would have to be alert to the new version. -PTI
Maharashtra
BMC to reopen classes 1 to 7 from today
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday announced its decision to reopen classes 1 to 7 schools from Wednesday. Earlier, it had announced the reopening of schools in Mumbai for 15 days.
Classes 8 to 12 have started in the city from October 4.
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