Covid LIVE: Delhi's positivity rate falls to 12%; 1,857 new cases in Mumbai

Number of active cases in Mumbai are 21,142; Delhi sees 5,760 new cases

10:03 PM

Kerala records 26,514 new COVID-19 cases

After registering over 45,000 daily new COVID-19 cases for the past few days, Kerala on Monday recorded 26,514 fresh ones and took the total affected in the State to 56,46,665.

 

It reported 45,449 cases on Sunday while there were 45,136 new cases the next day. On January 20, there were 46,387 cases, the highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

 

The Health department said 55,557 samples were tested in the last 24 hours which apparently explains a low number of positive cases today. The State had a full lockdown on Sunday and the testings were limited. On Sunday, the State reported over 45,000 cases after testing 1,01,252 samples on Saturday.

9:41 PM

Maharashtra's COVID-19 cases sharply drop to 28,286

Maharashtra on Monday recorded 28,286 fresh coronavirus cases, 12,519 less than the previous day, and 36 fresh deaths linked to the infection, the state health department said.

 

Wit this, the overall tally of COVID-19 cases surged to 75,35,511 and the death toll jumped to 1,42,151, a department bulletin said. As per the bulletin, the number of recovered cases in Maharashtra increased to 70,89,936 after 21,941 patients were discharged during the day, leaving the state with 2,99,604 active cases. On Sunday, the state had recorded 40,805 new cases and 44 new cases.

Also, 86 new cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus came to light in the state during the day, raising the tally of such infections to 2,845, the department said. Out of these, 1,454 Omicron patients have already recovered, the bulletin added.

9:10 PM

Delhi's Covid cases falls to 5,760, deaths still high at 30

Delhi on Monday recorded a nearly 37 per cent decline in daily Covid cases at 5,760, as against 9,197 on Sunday, while there were 30 deaths too.

 

The fresh cases and fatalities have taken the tally to 17,97,471 and the death toll to 25,650.

 

Meanwhile, Delhi's positivity rate has come down to 11.79 per cent with active cases declining to 45,140 as per the Health Department bulletin.

8:56 PM

Karnataka reports 46,426 new Covid cases

8:52 PM

Kerala records 26,514 new Covid cases, 171 more deaths

After registering over 45,000 daily new COVID-19 cases for the past few days, Kerala on Monday recorded 26,514 fresh ones and took the total affected in the State to 56,46,665.

 

It reported 45,449 cases on Sunday while there were 45,136 new cases the next day. On January 20, there were 46,387 cases, the highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

 

The Health department said 55,557 samples were tested in the last 24 hours which apparently explains a low number of positive cases today. The State had a full lockdown on Sunday and the testings were limited.

 

On Sunday, the State reported over 45,000 cases after testing 1,01,252 samples on Saturday.

8:31 PM

Mumbai reports 1, 857 new Covid cases,

8:12 PM

Covid protocol will be implemented again in the Budget Session of the Parliament

7:20 PM

1,000 Made in India drones rehearse for Beating the Retreat ceremony

7:00 PM

Delhi reports 5,760 new Covid cases

6:06 PM

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal to chair DDMA meeting on Jan 27

5:54 PM

England to drop COVID travel test demand, says PM Johnson

People arriving in England from abroad will no longer have to take COVID-19 tests if they have been vaccinated, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, ahead of an expected announcement.

 

Johnson told reporters the rule change was designed to show that the country was open for business and travellers. He did not say when the requirement would change but further details are expected to be given later on Monday.

5:32 PM

WHO head says 'dangerous' to assume pandemic is nearing end

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday it would be dangerous to assume that the highly transmissable Omicron was the last variant to emerge and that the world was in the 'end game' of the pandemic.

 

However, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was possible this year to exit the acute phase of the pandemic where COVID-19 constitutes a global health emergency if strategies and tools such as testing and vaccines are used in a comprehensive way. Speaking at the opening of Executive Board meeting, Tedros said since Omicron was first identified a little over nine weeks ago, more than 80 million cases had been reported to the UN agency, more than were reported in the whole of 2020. "Conditions are ideal for more variants to emerge," he added.

4:39 PM

Dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant: WHO

3:56 PM

BJP to contest 65 seats in Punjab, ally Amarinder's party to contest 37

3:15 PM

Kejriwal trying to fake a perception: Navjot Singh Sidhu

3:03 PM

Congress releases a list of 30 star campaigners for the first phase of UP polls

2:11 PM

Covid cases in the country to decline by Feb 15, says report

1:56 PM

NCP President Sharad Pawar tests positive for Covid

1:39 PM

There's no rain predicted in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana till Feb 2 now: IMD

1:29 PM

Delhi HC lists for April 20 plea on Prime Minister's security

The Delhi High Court on Monday listed for April 30 a public interest litigation (PIL) on the Prime Minister’s security, considering the pendency of overlapping issues before the Supreme Court. A bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel initially said that it would ask the Centre to consider as representation the PIL, which seeks a declaration that all authorities, civil or military, shall act under the supervision of the Special Protection Group (SPG) in matters of security of the Prime Minister and his immediate family members, PTI reported.

1:07 PM

Arbitration dispute: SC asks DMRC, Reliance Infra unit to appear before HC

The Supreme Court Monday asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Reliance Infrastructure's subsidiary, Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL), to appear before the Delhi High Court on January 31 and request it to hear the dispute relating to execution of the over Rs 4,600 crore arbitral award to DAMEPL. The apex court on September 9, 2021 had upheld the 2017 arbitration award of around Rs 4,600 crore in favour of DAMEPL, enforceable against the DMRC, PTI reported.

12:42 PM

Boris Johnson orders inquiry into discrimination claim against Muslim lawmaker

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered an inquiry into claims by a lawmaker who said she was fired from a ministerial job in the government partly because her Muslim faith was making colleagues uncomfortable. "The Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Office to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made by Nusrat Ghani MP," Downing Street said, according to Reuters.

 

12:31 PM

Ola Electric raises $200 million in funding, valuation rises to $5 bn

Ola Electric on Monday said it has raised over $200 million (about Rs 1,490.5 crore) from Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss and others, valuing the electric vehicle maker at $5 billion.  Last September, Ola Electric had announced raising a similar amount in funding from Falcon Edge, Softbank and others that had valued the company at $3 billion.

12:13 PM

Beijing 2022 eases Covid measures for Games-related personnel

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has adjusted its Covid-19 countermeasures, a statement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Monday. The changes include the threshold for being classed as positive for Covid-19 being eased and the time period for which a person is deemed a close contact being reduced from 14 to 7 days, said Reuters.

12:03 PM

Delhi Police issue Covid guidelines for Republic Day parade

The Delhi Police on Monday issued guidelines for visitors to the Republic Day parade on January 26. A Twitter post by the police said that people attending the parade at Rajpath will have to wear masks and maintain social distance. Children below the age of 15 are not allowed.

11:11 AM

Indian shares hit three-week lows

Indian shares fell for a fifth straight session on Monday and plumbed three-week lows, weighed down by selling across the board with technology stocks extending losses to a sixth day. The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index slid 1.25% to 17,395.50 by 0508 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.11% to 58,379.52. Both indexes have declined more than 6% since scaling all-time highs in October, said Reuters.

11:07 AM

Punjab elections: AAP's Bhagwant Mann gets EC notice

Aam Aadmi Party gets Election Commission notice over chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann campaign in Sangrur district where he allegedly violated Covid safety rules, say reports.

10:52 AM

Vodafone Idea tumbles in opening trade

Shares of Vodafone Idea tumbled over 5 per cent in early trade on Monday after the company reported widening of its consolidated loss to Rs 7,230.9 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021. The telecom operator's stock tanked 5.46 per cent to Rs 11.25 on the BSE. At the NSE, it tumbled 5.06 per cent to Rs 11.25.

10:43 AM

Temasek to acquire Bridgepoint's UK-based testing firm: Report

Singapore's Temasek Holdings has agreed to buy Element Materials Technology for about $7 billion, as it sees an opportunity to boost growth at the testing and inspection services provider, Reuters reported quoting two sources. State investor Temasek, which acquired a significant minority stake in Element in 2019, is buying the company from London-listed buyout firm Bridgepoint Group and an announcement could be made as early as Monday.

 

9:48 AM

Europe could be headed for 'pandemic endgame': WHO official

The Omicron variant has moved the Covid-19 pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end in Europe, the WHO Europe director has said. "It's plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame," Hans Kluge told news agency AFP in an interview, adding that Omicron could infect 60 percent of Europeans by March.