Covid LIVE: TN extends curbs till Jan 31; Karnataka CM tests positive

People in Tamil Nadu not to be allowed in all places of worship between January 14 and January 18

11:18 PM

232 cops in Pune, 22 in Nagpur test positive for Covid

Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, 232 police personnel have tested positive for the infection in Pune since January 3, while 22 cops contracted the disease in Nagpur city in the last four days, officials said on Monday. Only two of the infected Pune police personnel are currently admitted in hospital, while the remaining are in home isolation, an official said.

"Out of these 232 coronavirus positive personnel, over 30 are officers," he said. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Pune in March 2020, a total of 2,670 police personnel have tested positive for the infection, he said. In Nagpur city, 22 police personnel, including officers - all of them vaccinated - have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last four days, a senior official said.

These personnel, including three inspectors, are in home isolation as all are asymptomatic, he said. All the 22 infected personnel were vaccinated against coronavirus, the official said. The Nagpur police is starting booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines for its personnel from Tuesday.

10:30 PM

Maharashtra reports 33,470 new Covid cases

Maharashtra on Monday recorded 33,470 new coronavirus cases, 10,918 less than the previous day, taking its tally to 69,53,514, while eight fresh deaths linked to the infection pushed the toll to 1,41,647, the state health department said. An official said Maharashtra also reported 31 new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, raising their count to 1,247.

Of the 31 new cases of the highly contagious variant, 28 were reported from Pune city, two are from Pune rural and one from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial township. With addition of new cases and deaths, the state's COVID-19 tally jumped to 69,53,514, while the toll rose to 1,41,647, the department said.

10:04 PM

Delhi announces new curbs but no full lockdown as 17 more die and 1 in 4 test positive

Delhi logged 17 more deaths due to Covid and around 19,000 infections on Monday, with one in every four persons undergoing testing turning out to be positive, as authorities announced new curbs but decided against imposing a full lockdown.

 

The Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which formulates Covid management policies for the capital, however, suspended the dine-in facility at restaurants and closed bars in view of the rising cases in the city.

 

According to government data, 70 Covid patients have died in the capital in the first 10 days of January. It reported 17 fatalities each on Sunday and Monday.

 

It recorded 54 fatalities in the last five months -- nine in December, seven in November, four in October, five in September and 29 in August. In July, the virus had claimed 76 lives in the capital.

9:38 PM

More than 9 lakh 'precaution doses' of Covid vaccine administered on first day

More than 9 lakh healthcare and frontline workers, and 60-plus citizens with comorbidities received their third Covid jab on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said, as the country began administering a "precautionary" dose against the infection.

 

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 152.78 crore (1,52,78,35,951) with over 82 lakh (82,76,158) doses being administered on Monday (till 7 pm).

 

Over 82 lakh doses includes 21,49,200 given to the beneficiaries in the 15-18 years age group. The total doses administered to this category of beneficiaries is 2,59,87,741 so far, the ministry said.

 

The precaution doses are being rolled out as the country witnesses a massive spike in Covid cases.

9:25 PM

Oil prices steady as supply concerns offset Omicron fears

Oil prices were little changed on Monday as concerns over oil supply from Kazakhstan and Libya were offset by demand fears stoked by the rapid global rise in Omicron coronavirus infections.

 

Brent crude fell 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $81.64 a barrel at 1442 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 13 cents, or 0.1%, at $78.77.

 

Both contracts had risen by about 50 cents earlier in the session.

 

Oil prices gained 5% last week after protests in Kazakhstan disrupted train lines and hit production at the country's Tengiz oilfield while pipeline maintenance in Libya lowered production to 729,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a high of 1.3 million bpd last year.

 

9:15 PM

706 new cases, 4 fatalities in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir on Monday recorded 706 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the infected number of persons to 3,45,358 while four fresh deaths due to the virus were reported from the union territory in the past 24 hours, officials said.

 

Out of the fresh cases, 345 were from the Jammu division and 361 from the Kashmir division of the union territory, the officials said. They said Jammu district recorded the highest of 233 cases followed by 172 cases in Srinagar district.

9:00 PM

Tamil Nadu Govt extends lockdown restrictions till Jan 31

8:53 PM

Mumbai reports 13,648 COVID cases

8:45 PM

AIIMS Director takes 'precautionary dose'

8:42 PM

Over 900,000 precaution does administered on Day 1

8:36 PM

A total of 67 students have tested Covid positive in IIM-A

8:29 PM

Gujarat reported 6,097 fresh Covid cases

8:08 PM

'Only high-risk contacts of Covid patients need to be tested'

7:52 PM

Karnataka CM tests Covid positive

7:45 PM

West Bengal reports 19,286 new Covid cases

7:29 PM

Delhi reports 19,166 new Covid cases

7:04 PM

Delhi restaurants closed for dine-in, takeaways allowed

6:35 PM

Amarinder's Punjab Lok Congress party gets hockey stick and ball as the election symbol

6:09 PM

Kerala reports 5,797 new Covid cases

5:27 PM

146 new Omicron cases in Karnataka

5:24 PM

Haryana Govt shuts down all schools and colleges till January 26

5:12 PM

Kerala's Omicron case tally reaches 345

4:27 PM

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tests positive for Covid

4:05 PM

5%-10% of active cases needed hospitalisation so far, says govt

3:03 PM

Andhra Pradesh CM announces night curfew

2:14 PM

Around 1,000 Delhi Police personnel test positive for Covid

2:03 PM

Dining at Delhi restaurants may be discontinued, says report

1:55 PM

University exams in Tamil Nadu postponed indefinitely

University semester exams in Tamil Nadu slated for later this month have been deferred indefinitely due to the Covid-19 situation in the state, the government said on Monday.

 

Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi said the decision has been taken in consultation with Chief Minister M K Stalin who was keen about students' welfare.

 

"All university exams are being deferred indefinitely due to the surging covid numbers. The revised schedule will be announce later," he told reporters here.

1:51 PM

Sports Authority of India decides to close 67 training centres

1:11 PM

UK not yet in a position to live with Covid-19: Minister

There is still pressure on British hospitals and the country is not yet in a position to say it can live with COVID-19, senior minister Michael Gove said on Monday. Asked how long rapid tests would be provided for free, Gove, who is housing minister, said that they were a vital tool in curbing a pandemic that was not yet over.