LIVE: Delhi logs 180 fresh Covid cases in a day, highest since June 16

Delhi has witnessed an uptick in Covid-19 infections in the last few days. Stay tuned for LIVE updates

10:20 PM

Of 183 Omicron cases analysed, 87 fully vaccinated with 3 having booster shots, says govt

Of the 358 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus reported in India so far, 183 were analysed and it was found that 87 of them were fully vaccinated with three having received booster doses while 70 per cent were asymptomatic, the government said on Friday.

 

Two were partially vaccinated, seven people were unvaccinated while 16 were ineligible to receive vaccine doses in the country's national vaccination programme. The vaccination status of 73 is still unknown, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press conference.

 

"Of the 183 Omicron cases analysed so far, 87 cases were fully vaccinated with three -- two in Delhi and one in Mumbai -- having received booster shots, 70 per cent were asymptomatic and 61 per cent were males," he said.

 

Bhushan said 121 cases had foreign travel history, while in 44 cases the infected had come in contact with foreign travellers and information about 18 people were still not available.

9:53 PM

LIVE: Delhi logs 180 fresh Covid cases in a day, highest since June 16

Delhi logs 180 fresh Covid cases in a day, highest since June 16

9:45 PM

Amid rising Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra govt announces fresh curbs

Amid rising Covid-19 cases, the Maharashtra government on Friday prohibited gathering of more than five persons in public places between 9 pm to 6 am.

 

The new guidelines, issued ahead of Christmas, will come into force from midnight, an official release said late Friday evening.

 

The state recorded 1,410 new coronavirus cases and 20 Omicron infections during the day. The daily COVID-19 cases went up by more than 200 compared to Thursday.

 

9:41 PM

IAF fighter plane crashes in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer: Police official

IAF fighter plane crashes in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer: Police official

9:33 PM

Gujarat reports 98 new COVID-19 cases, including 13 with Omicron variant

Gujarat reported 98 COVID-19 cases on Friday, including 13 with the new Omicron variant, increasing the tally in the state to 8,29,003, while three deaths took the toll to 10,111, a state health department official said.

 

The Omicron tally in the state now stands at 43, of which seven have been discharged, he informed.

 

So far, 8,18,198 people have been discharged, including 69 on Friday, which left the state with an active tally of 694, of which eight patients were critical, the official said.

9:18 PM

Restaurant in Delhi's Mehrauli sealed for violating COVID-19 guidelines

Amid the Omicron scare and a surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital, the Delhi Police has sealed a restaurant in Mehrauli for allegedly violating Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) guidelines and organizing a gathering of around 600 people, informed the police on Friday.

 

According to the police, as a part of a series of inspections conducted in view of the latest DDMA orders prohibiting large congregations and imposing a 50 per cent ceiling on total capacity in restaurants and bars, a flying squad team of District South went for a surprise inspection at one of the renowned restaurants in Mehrauli where a large gathering of around 600 persons was found.

 

Immediately, the crowd was dispersed by Tehsildar (Mehrauli) and the premises was sealed on spot for gross violation of DDMA guidelines, especially in wake of the emerging Omicron variant of COVID.

9:12 PM

Maharashtra's Omicron cases tally crosses the 100-mark

A day after notching the highest number of Omicron cases, Maharashtra on Friday reported 20 cases of the new Covid-19 variant and the state's tally zoomed above the 100 mark to touch 108, creating huge concerns in health circles. Of the 20 new cases, 12 are fully vaccinated, seven are not inoculated while one is a minor not eligible for the jab.

 

The new infectees comprise 15 with a recent history of international travel, one domestic trip, and 4 are their close contacts. One is aged below 18, and 6 are senior citizens above 60 years of age.

The new lot of Omicron patients include 11 from Mumbai, seven from Pune, two from Satara, and one from Ahmednagar and all are said to be asymptomatic. Intensive surveillance of passengers arriving at the three international airports - Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur - is currently underway since December 1.

9:08 PM

405 new cases, four deaths in Karnataka

With 405 fresh cases, Karnataka's COVID-19 tally reached 30,03,969, while four death took the cumulative fatalities to 38,305, the health department said on Friday. The department said in its bulletin that 267 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,58,384. Active cases stood at 7,251.

 

Bengaluru Urban remained the major contributor of COVID cases as the city reported 254 infections and two fatalities.

 

Other districts too had fresh cases including 32 in Uttara Kannada, 20 in Dakshina Kannada, 18 in Kolar, 16 in Tumakuru, 13 each in Mysuru and Udupi and 12 in Kodagu. Other than Bengaluru, one death each occurred in Mysuru and Belagavi due to COVID-19.

8:58 PM

Restaurants, gyms, spas, cinemas halls to operate at 50% capacity in Maharashtra

8:51 PM

Maharashtra govt announces fresh curbs

8:18 PM

13 fresh Omicron cases in Gujarat

8:08 PM

Maharashtra reports 1,410 new cases

7:54 PM

One more Omicron case in West Bengal

7:41 PM

Seven-day home quarantine in Mumbai for passengers arriving from Dubai

7:30 PM

Gathering of more than 200 people in public places: Haryana CMO

7:24 PM

Mumbai reports 683 new Covid infections

7:23 PM

Haryana govt considering night curfew

7:22 PM

Night curfew to be in force in 8 Gujarat cities

7:17 PM

Global airline carriers scrap more than 2,000 flights: Report

Global airline carriers have canceled more than 2,000 flights so far on Friday, the FlightAware website said, in an indication of how Covid-19 is affecting holiday travel. The website showed that as of 8:20 a.m. Eastern Time (1320 GMT, 1850 IST), 2,028 flights around the world had been scrapped, Reuters reported.

7:01 PM

People flowing like river in Delhi market, could lead to stampede: HC

Pictures of people "flowing like a river" in south Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar Market this week are "frightening", said the High Court on Friday, flagging its worries about Covid-19 infections or a stampede. It asked the Delhi Police and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to work out a movement plan for the public in the market. 

Crowded Sarojini Nagar market amid rising cases of Omicron variant of Covid, in New Delhi (Photo: PTI)

6:28 PM

US to lift travel curbs on eight African countries: Reuters

The US will lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries imposed last month over concerns about the fast-spreading Covid-19 Omicron variant, a senior Biden administration official told Reuters. Foreign nationals who are barred from the United States because they have been in one of the eight countries within the prior 14 days will again be allowed on US-bound flights leaving after 12.01 am ET on December 31, the official added.

6:02 PM

Delhi reports 180 new Covid-19 cases, highest in 6 months

Delhi reports 180 new cases of Covid-19 overnight: the highest number in six months, says daily state health department bulletin.

5:14 PM

India's decision on Covid booster shots will be based on science: Govt

India government’s decision on starting booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines will be guided by "science and scientific evidence", says Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan at media briefing in Delhi.

4:40 PM

121 Omicron cases in India had foreign travel history: Govt

Of the 358 cases of Omicron variant detected in India, 183 were analysed and 121 of them had foreign travel history: Government briefing in Delhi.

4:38 PM

Omicron variant has growth advantage over Delta: India

Omicron variant of the coronavirus has significant growth advantage over Delta; it is spreading fast through communities with doubling time of 1.5 to 3 days: Indian government quoting WHO. Predominant strain in India continues to be Delta, it says.

4:27 PM

Active cases high in 5 states: Central govt

Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka are the top five states in active Covid cases, says Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in Delhi.

4:23 PM

India has 358 Omicron cases

India has 358 Omicron cases in 17 states and union territories. As many as 114 people have recovered from Omicron, says Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in Delhi.

 

4:14 PM

India mulls anti-dumping duty on caustic soda from 4 nations

The commerce ministry's investigation arm has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on caustic soda, used in diverse industrial sectors, for five years from Japan, Iran, Qatar and Oman, to guard domestic players from cheap imports. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the duty after concluding in its probe that the product has been exported at dumped prices into India, which impacted the domestic industry, PTI reported.

4:10 PM

Odisha restricts public events from Dec 25 to Jan 2

Odisha has restricted public celebration of Christmas, New Year’s Day and other events from December 25 to January 2, citing the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the state. At most 50 participants can join Christmas mass by strictly following Covid-19 protocol and specific conditions imposed by the authorities, the government said on Friday.

3:50 PM

Bhutan starts giving Covid-19 booster doses

Bhutan started giving booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine to senior citizens and priority groups as the Himalayan kingdom counters the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Reuters reported quoting health ministry officials said on Friday. Those aged 65 and older, overseas travellers, health workers, sufferers from chronic medical woes, and all adults living in "high risk" areas were eligible.