Coronavirus Omicron India Highlights | At 356, Mumbai sees lowest cases after December 21

Nineteen more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Punjab on Monday while 652 fresh coronavirus cases took the state's infection tally to 7,52,635, according to a medical bulletin. So far, 17,469 people have died from the infection in he state.Deaths were reported from several districts, including Amritsar, Barnala, Gurdaspur and Kapurthala. The number of active cases was 8,750.Of the fresh cases, Jalandhar reported 109 cases, followed by 74 in Mohali and 70 in Hoshiarpur. A total of 610 patients are on oxygen support while 63 critical patients are on ventilator, as per the bulletin.

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 10,09,698 on Monday after the detection of 3,945 cases, while the toll increased to 10,664 with two more deaths reported in the last 24 hours, a health department official said. The positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, dipped to 5.5 per cent on Monday from 6.7 per cent on the previous day, he said.The recovery count stood at 9,58,443 after 8,130 people were discharged during the day, leaving the state with an active tally of 40,591, the official said. Bhopal and Indore, the two worst coronavirus-hit cities of Madhya Pradesh, registered 836 and 391 cases, respectively, during the past 24 hours, he said.

At 356, Mumbai sees lowest COVID-19 cases after December 21, 2021; five die: BMC

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Serum Institute of India's proposal to manufacture a vaccine against omicron variant of coronavirus for examination, test and analysis, official sources said on Monday.

"With reference to your application, please find herewith the permission to manufacture SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (COVID-19) recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccine (omicron variant) for examination, test and analysis under the provisions of New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 to manufacture the test batches of the drug/drugs mentioned therein," an approval order issued on February 4 stated.

Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at the SII, Prakash Kumar Singh had put in an application to the DCGI on January 6 stating the Pune-based firm, in collaboration with Novavax Inc, is working on the development of a vaccine against omicron, an official source said, adding that the SII has obtained permission and licence to manufacture SARS-CoV-2rS drug substance for examination, test and analysis.

"... the new coronavirus variant 'omicron' has already been reported in more than 60 countries and is spreading very fast worldwide and in our country also. Our CEO, Dr Adar C Poonawalla is very concerned about protection of citizens of our country and world at large against coronavirus and its new variants and we are relentlessly working on development of SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (COVID-19) Recombinant Spike Nanoparticle Vaccine (omicron variant).

"Development of this vaccine shall be another example of vaccine production strength of our country in line with the clarion call of our prime minister 'Making in India for the World' and shall further keep our country's flag flying high globally," Singh had stated in the application," the source said.

Sikkim on Monday reported 33 new COVID-19 cases, which pushed the tally to 38,709, the health department said in its bulletin. The toll rose to 436 as a patient succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours. West Sikkim logged 16 cases, followed by 14 in East Sikkim and three in South Sikkim. Himalayan state currently has 539 active cases, according to the bulletin.

Altogether 37,005 people have recovered from the disease, while 729 others have migrated out. The daily positivity rate stood at 3.6 per cent and the daily recovery rate at 97.4 per cent. As many as 3,16,647 samples have been tested in the state thus far, including 906 in the past 24 hours, the bulletin added.

Andhra Pradesh reported 1,597 fresh cases of Covid-19, 8,766 recoveries and eight deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Monday. The state Covid-19 chart now showed a total of 23,05,052 positives, 22,27,985 recoveries and 14,672 deaths, according to the latest bulletin.The active caseload decreased to 62,395 it said. On Sunday, the active cases were at 69,572.

East Godavari district reported the highest of 478 fresh cases and Srikakulam the lowest of 15. Five districts registered between 100 and 225 new cases while the remaining six added less than 100 each.Visakhapatnam reported two fresh fatalities in a day. Chittoor, Kurnool, SPS Nellore, Prakasam and East and West Godavari districts added one more coronavirus death each to their tally.

Daily COVID-19 cases in Kerala dropped further on Monday with the state recording 22,524 fresh infections which raised the caseload to 62,93,907. The southern state had reported 26,729 COVID-19 cases on Sunday. Kerala on Monday also reported 860 deaths which raised the total fatalities to 59,115, according to a government release.

Of the deaths, 14 were reported in the last 24 hours, 113 were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 733 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said. With 49,586 more people recovering from the virus since Sunday, the total recoveries reached 59,32,609.

As the number of recoveries were more than the new COVID-19 cases, the active cases in the state went down to 3,01,424, the release said. On Sunday, the number of active cases was 3,29,348. As many as 78,682 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. Among the 14 districts, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest number of cases with 3,493, followed by Ernakulam (3,490), Kottayam (2,786) and Kollam (2,469).

The remaining districts recorded less than 2,000 cases. Of the new cases, 170 were health workers, 114 from outside the State and 21,033 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 1,207, the release said. There are currently 4,74,949 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 4,65,565 are in home or institutional quarantine and 10,793 in hospitals, the release said.

| During the first wave of COVID-19, Congress gave free train tickets to migrant workers to leave Mumbai. At the same time, Delhi govt told migrant workers to leave the city and provided them buses. As a result, Covid spread rapidly in Punjab, UP & Uttarakhand: PM Modi

A strict bio-bubble for the players, two separate dedicated hotels for officials and linesmen, 600 tests over 10 days and a drastically reduced workforce, were key factors in successful hosting of Tata Open Maharashtra, the organisers said on Monday. Not a single main draw player got infection and no match was cancelled in the ATP 250 event, country's biggest tennis tournament.

The organisers say given the massive withdrawals witnessed at the India Open badminton tournament and the way Indian women football team was forced out of the Asian Cup, they certainly felt the pressure. "These incidents happened and we were under pressure to deliver. But we were determined to pull it off. Now we can boast about an incident-free and successful event for the world to see and prove critics, who demean India most of the time, wrong," Sunder Iyer, Secretary of Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), told PTI.

"The successful hosting of the event has given a positive message to the world about the reopening of the sports events. We don't need to cancel any sporting event, we just need to find a way to do it." "Not only this, the big message is that India can successfully host big tournaments," Iyer, who is also a AITA joint secretary, said.

India's Ramkumar Ramanathan and Rohan Bopanna won the men's doubles title while Portugal's Joao Sousa annexed the men's crown. Fans were also allowed in the stands during the last three days. The MSLTA cut down the number of people working for the tournament to about 100-130, including housekeeping, security and logistics team as compared to usual 300 in pre-Covid era. The volunteers were also less in numbers - from 55-60 to 18-19.

| There is a new world order post COVID19 pandemic. We are being recognized as a leader. India must take the global leadership role: PM Modi in Lok Sabha

Hong Kong residents crowded supermarkets and neighbourhood fresh food markets on Monday to stock up on vegetables, noodles and other necessities after a record number of COVID-19 infections in the city and transport disruptions at the border with mainland China. The city of 7.5 million people reported a record 614 coronavirus cases on Monday, in the biggest test yet for the Chinese territory's zero-COVID strategy.

Hong Kong imports 90% of its food supplies, with the mainland its most important source, especially for fresh food. Consumers have already seen a shortage of some foreign imported goods, including premium seafood, due to stringent flight restrictions. The government tried to assuage worries of a shortage of food from the mainland after some cross-border truck drivers tested positive for the coronavirus.

Several drivers have been forced to isolate but overall fresh food supplies 'remained stable', despite a drop in supply of vegetables to certain markets, it said on Sunday. At a fresh food market in Tin Shui Wai, in the city's northern New Territories, vendors said there would be no vegetables in coming days, prompting customers to buy up produce.

"Of course you have to buy. There will be no vegetables from tomorrow. The trucks can't come here...so the vegetables are very, very pricey," said a 50 year old woman surnamed Chow. John Chan, a vegetable vendor, said the disruptions had seen supply drop by 30%, including for products such as Chinese flowering cabbage. He cautioned that hundreds of kilograms of vegetables due to arrive on Tuesday may not be able to arrive.

"I still don't know if they can cross the border. If there is none, the prices will further increase or we have nothing to sell." Shelves stocking vegetables, tissues and cup noodles were bare at several supermarkets across the former British colony with customers stocking up over concerns that products would be even harder to get in the coming days. Chow Lai Sheng, a 60-year old janitor, said she bought four toilet rolls as well as instant noodles and canned food. "The COVID situation is severe. And there are no veggies, so I stockpile a bit," she said.

Japan’s prime minister on Monday pledged to double the number of COVID-19 booster shots being delivered on a daily basis across the country, as his government faces criticism for a delayed rollout of vaccines.Speaking before lawmakers, FumioKishidasaid authorities would aim to deliver around 1 million boosters a day by the end of February. The premier said the added doses are “key” to fighting the ongoing omicron surge of infections.Recent media polls show thatKishida’sratings fell for the first time since he took office in October, with disapproval for his virus measures rising and many respondents complaining about slow booster vaccinations.His predecessor,YoshihideSuga, was eventually forced to resign over a perceived mismanagement of pandemic measures.Less than 5% of the population has so far received a third jab of coronavirus vaccine. Japan launched its booster program in December, after having already fallen behind many other developed countries in distributing second doses of vaccines. About 80% of the population have completed two shots.