Coronavirus live | Omicron is in 38 countries, no deaths reported: WHO

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 126 crore on Friday, the Union Health Ministry said

Any decision on COVID-19 vaccine booster dose or vaccines for children would be strictly based on the recommendations made by the expert committee looking into the matter. This decision could not be hurried or politicised. It should be based on pure science and knowledge, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday.

The Government has received more than 5,000 applications for its scheme under the PM CARES Fund for COVID-19 orphans, it told Parliament on Friday.

Watch | Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | Has the world jumped the gun regarding Omicron?

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to boost healthcare capacity and vaccinate their people to fight a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant, saying that travel curbs could buy time but alone were not the answer.

The government on Friday said that after putting on hold Covid vaccine export to cater to domestic demand, India now has supplied jabs in the last few weeks to several countries, including Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Iran, Paraguay and Indonesia.

You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.

Here are the latest developments:

Omicron is in 38 countries, no deaths reported: WHO

Omicron has been detected in 38 countries but there are no reported deaths so far from the new Covid-19 variant, the World Health Organization said Friday.

A WHO spokesman told reporters that the UN health agency had "not seen reports of Omicron-related deaths yet".

And Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, said Omicron had been reported in 38 countries, with the variant now spread across all six WHO regions. -AFP

Online booking for rapid test at airport to be open to all

All passengers will soon be allowed to undergo RT-PCR and the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) testing for SARS CoV-2 at Chennai airport. Passengers can pay for the test and get the results before boarding a flight or exiting the airport.

Authorities are working on rectifying a glitch on the portal for online booking of slots for the Rapid Antigen Test for outbound passengers.

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WHO says no evidence to support tailoring COVID-19 vaccines to Omicron

The World Health Organization’s emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said on Friday there was no evidence to support a change in COVID-19 vaccines to tailor them to the Omicron variant.

Ryan, speaking at a social media event, said that if needed, however, the work was already underway in case Omicron-specific vaccines were needed. -AP

Merck to supply up to 1 million courses of COVID-19 pill to Canada

Merck & Co said on Friday it would supply the Canada with up to 1 million courses of molnupiravir, its experimental oral antiviral medicine for the treatment of COVID-19.

The government of Canada has secured access to 500,000 courses in 2022, with options for up to 500,000 more, pending Health Canada’s approval, the company said. -Reuters

Mexico, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Cook Islands report first cases of Omicron

The first case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed in Mexico, the deputy health minister said on Friday, sparking concerns a new spike in infections could follow.

Tunisia recorded its first confirmed case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in a Congolese man who arrived from Istanbul, the health minister said Friday.

Sri Lanka announced Friday it has confirmed its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in an unvaccinated person who returned from Nigeria.

The Cook Islands on Saturday recorded its first case of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, as the South Pacific country edges toward reopening its borders to tourists. -Reuters, AFP, AP

Parliamentary panel recommends evaluation of vaccines in view of new Covid strain

Amid growing concerns over the new Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, a parliamentary committee has recommended that the efficacy of Covid vaccines must be evaluated and concerns with regards to the new strain developing immunoescape mechanism critically addressed.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, which presented its report on Friday, also recommended that the government should conduct more research and examine the need of administering booster doses of vaccines to contain the new strain of the virus. -PTI

W.B. govt orders 7-days isolation, RTPCR to continue

West Bengal government on Friday directed that travellers from countries affected by Omicron to the state will be required to stay in isolation for seven days, a senior official said.

Travellers flying in from other parts of the country will have to furnish their reports of RTPCR tests as the threat of Omicron, the COVID variant, looms across the world, he said. -PTI

BCCI set to clear Indian team’s travel to South Africa

Indian cricketers will travel to South Africa later this month despite the threat of new COVID-19 mutant Omicron as the BCCI is convinced that the bio-bubble being created by the CSA will be safe and secure for the players.

The tour comprises three Tests, three ODIs and four T20 Internationals and is scheduled to start on December 17 at the Johannesburg.

The players will remain in a water-tight environment during the near seven-week tour. -PTI

All schools will resume for classes I to VIII from Monday

Puducherry Education Minister A Namassivayam announced on Friday that all schools in Puducherry and Karaikal regions would resume holding classes for students of standards one to eight on Monday.

He told reporters that the schools should have reopened for the classes one to eight on November 8, but heavy rains then necessitated a postponement. -PTI

Tasmac shops to follow pre-COVID-19 timings

The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (Tasmac) on Friday said its shops would revert to pre-COVID-19 timings — noon to 10 p.m. — with immediate effect. Prior to the announcement, the outlets were operating from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In a circular sent to all senior regional managers and district managers, L. Subramanian, managing director, Tasmac, said COVID-19 protocols should be followed.

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Omicron: State Health Dept. on high alert

In the wake of India’s first two Omicron cases being detected in Karnataka, the State Health Department is on high alert. All medical colleges in the districts have been directed to gear up and be prepared to deal with a possible third wave.

Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar, who on Friday met the deans and heads of various departments in the 21 medical colleges, directed them to train 18,000 nursing students, ramp up paediatric ICUs, and keep other required infrastructure ready.

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‘Doctor, contacts have only mild fever’

The 46-year-old anaesthetist from a government hospital in Bengaluru, infected with the Omicron variant, and all his five contacts are largely asymptomatic, said doctors at the State-run Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute, where they have been admitted.

Following recommendations by the State’s COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), a 60-bed dedicated ‘Omicron’ treatment facility has been set up at the hospital.

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BBMP yet to complete contact tracing

A day after five persons — all contacts of the 46-year-old Bengaluru resident who contracted the Omicron strain of the coronavirus — tested positive for COVID-19, the civic up has stepped up its contact tracing efforts.

According to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike health officials, so far, they have been able to identify 23 primary contacts and 207 secondary contacts of the five people. Contact tracing of four people has been completed, while that of the fifth person is still under way and is likely to be completed soon. All contacts will be isolated and tested, said civic officials.

Responding to rumours that among the international returnees, 10 persons are yet to be traced, BBMP chief commissioner Gaurav Gupta said that these persons from at-risk countries had arrived in the city in early November, when the new variant of COVID-19 and at-risk countries were yet to be identified,” he said.

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BIAL to bear test costs for those from non-risk countries

International passengers from non-risk countries who are randomly selected for testing for COVID-19 will not have to pay for RT-PCR. BIAL on Friday announced that it will bear testing costs for 2% of international passengers who will be randomly chosen at Kempegowda airport. As per protocol, passengers from non-risk countries are randomly asked to undergo COVID-19 tests after their arrival.

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