Covid LIVE: Maharashtra sees 46,723 new cases in a day; 27,561 in Delhi

Mumbai's positivity rate rises to 24.38%; Delhi's positivity rate at 26.22%

10:18 PM

India's vaccination coverage crosses 154.5 cr

India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 154.50 crore on Wednesday with more than 66 lakh vaccine doses being administered till 7 pm, the Union Health Ministry said.

 

More than 26,19,670 precaution doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities since January 10.

 

Also, 2,96,94,734 first doses have been given to beneficiaries in the 15-18 years age group so far.

 

As many as 66,77,685 doses were administered by 7 pm on Wednesday. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports by late night.

9:25 PM

No new Omicron case in Gujarat for 2nd day; tally unchanged at 264

Gujarat did not report any new case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 for the second day in a row on Wednesday, keeping its tally unchanged at 264, the state health department said.

 

At the same time, 13 more patients infected with the highly contagious strain were discharged, it said. With this, a total of 238 Omicron patients have been discharged so far, leaving only 26 such cases under treatment, said the department said in a release. Out of 13 new recoveries, nine were from Vadodara and four from Anand districts, said the release. Ahmedabad city has so far reported the highest number of 110 Omicron cases, out of which 102 have recovered. Vadodara has reported 44 cases and 41 recoveries, Anand 27 cases and as many recoveries, and Surat 20 cases and as many recoveries, it said. The active Omicron cases are currently in nine districts of Gujarat - Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Banaskantha, Rajkot, Amreli and Jamnagar, as per the release.

9:13 PM

Jammu and Kashmir sees highest single-day spike of 1,695 new Covid cases

Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday reported the highest single-day spike of 1,695 new Covid cases and one death during the last 24 hours. An official bulletin said that there were 812 new cases and one death in the Jammu division and 883 cases in the Kashmir division.

 

Meanwhile, another 262 patients recovered - 140 from the Jammu division and 122 from the Kashmir division.

 

So far, 348,201 people have been infected with coronavirus out of which 337,412 have recovered, while 4,547 have succumbed.

 

The number of active cases is 6,242 out of which 3,348 are from the Jammu division and 2,894 are from the Kashmir division.

 

During the last 24 hours 71,541 doses of vaccine were administered and 65,348 tests conducted in J&K.

9:07 PM

Maharashtra sees 46,723 new cases

8:23 PM

Bengal registers 22,155 fresh Covid cases

7:40 PM

27,561 new Covid cases in Delhi

7:25 PM

Mumbai sees 16,420 new cases in a day

7:01 PM

Karnataka sees over 21,000 new cases

5:45 PM

Covaxin booster neutralises both Omicron and Delta, says Bharat Biotech

5:25 PM

Omicron is not common cold: Paul

4:46 PM

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates 11 new government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu

4:45 PM

'All symptomatic cases including all risk contacts need to be tested'

4:34 PM

'Have revised our discharge policy,' says govt

4:06 PM

Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister quits

2:41 PM

'Nagaland killings being thoroughly investigated,' says Army chief

2:40 PM

Assam government relaxes night curfew timings ahead of Bhogali Bihu

2:31 PM

Will continue to deal with Chinese PLA in a firm and resolute manner: Army chief

1:47 PM

Shiv Sena will contest on 50-100 seats in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections: Raut

1:00 PM

Amarinder Singh tests positive for Covid

Former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh tests positive for Covid-19 'with mild symptoms' a month before elections in the state.

11:19 AM

Govt not interested in running Vodafone Idea: company executive

Vodafone Idea executive says the Indian government has told the telecom company it doesn't want to take over its operations, Reuters reports. The government has shown no Interest in appointing a board member at company, says the executive.

10:57 AM

SC names ex-judge to head panel investigating security lapse during PM visit

Retired judge Indu Malhotra will head a committee set up to investigate a security lapse during PM Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab on January 5.

10:45 AM

AAM to name Punjab CM candidate next week: Kejriwal

The Aam Aadmi Party will name its chief ministerial for Punjab elections next week, said Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday. The Delhi chief minister accused Congress Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi of failing to maintain peace in Punjab. “Justice will be delivered in old sacrilege incidents and culprits will be given the strictest punishment," said Kejriwal, according to PTI.

10:33 AM

Centre asks states to ensure medical oxygen supply

Central government asks states and union territories to take "immediate measures" for medical oxygen at health facilities. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan writes a two-page letter to civil servants listing what they should do.

10:16 AM

Omicron quickly overtaking Delta globally in terms of circulation: WHO

Omicron is quickly overtaking the Delta variant of COVID-19 and becoming dominant around the world, a senior WHO official has warned, with the global health agency cautioning that there is "increasing evidence" Omicron is able to evade immunity but has less disease severity as compared to other variants.

 

It could take some time for Omicron to overtake Delta in some countries, because it depends on the level of circulation of the Delta variant in those countries, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist and COVID-19 Technical Lead at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Maria Van Kerkhove said on Tuesday.

10:09 AM

Mizoram reports 880 new COVID-19 cases, positivity rate 20%

Mizoram reported 880 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which was 633 less than the previous day, a health official said.

 

On Tuesday, the state had reported 1,513 cases, the highest single-day rise in three months.

 

The death toll rose to 564 as two more persons died in the last 24 hours, the official said.

10:09 AM

Djokovic forced to issue clarification after 'misinformation' on COVID-19 test emerges in media

World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic has issued an exhaustive clarification on social media after reports emerged that he was part of a children's event on December 17 and also gave an interview to L'Equipe on December 18, knowing that he was infected with COVID-19.

Even since reports of Djokovic taking part in a children's function and giving an interview have emerged, questions are being raised about the validity of his positive test and the fact that he did not care he had tested positive.

10:07 AM

Will announce AAP's Punjab CM candidate next week: Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi CM and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that the party would announce its chief ministerial candidate for Punjab next week.

Kejriwal, who is in Chandigarh for a two-day visit, said, "We will announce AAP's CM candidate for Punjab next week."

The Punjab election is scheduled for February 14 and the result will be announced on March 10.

10:04 AM

Active COVID-19 cases in country highest in 211 days

India added 1,94,720 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,60,70,510 which includes 4,868 cases of Omicron variant, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The active cases increased to 9,55,319, the highest in 211 days, while the death toll climbed to 4,84,655 with 442 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

Of the total 4,868 cases of Omicron variant, 1,805 have have recovered or migrated so far.

9:59 AM

Indonesia starts COVID boosters for elderly, others at risk

Indonesia kicked off a COVID-19 booster campaign for the general public on Wednesday, prioritising third shots for the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.

The government hopes to provide 21 million booster shots in January to people who received their second jabs at least six months ago. Some 117 million people in Indonesia have already received two doses of the vaccine.

This effort is important to increase the immunity of society, considering the COVID-19 virus keeps mutating, President Joko Widodo said Tuesday.

9:35 AM

India Covid positivity rate above 11%

India reported 194,720 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, the most since late May, health ministry data showed. The positivity rate is above 11 per cent, referring to the percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that result in positive for the disease.