Omicron Variant: India's tally rises to 83 as Karnataka, Telangana add 5,4 cases each

The European Union drug regulator issued advice on Thursday on the use of Pfizer's experimental pill to treat COVID-19 to countries where authorities may want to use it before it is officially authorized amid surging infection rates.

The European Medicines Agency said the medicine, which is not yet authorised for use in the 27-nation EU, “can be used to treat adults with COVID-19 who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of progressing to severe disease.”

It said the drug should be given as soon as possible after diagnosis of COVID-19 and within 5 days of the start of symptoms.

UK government reports another daily record of 88,376 new Covid cases

"Five more cases of Omicron have been detected in Karnataka today," tweets Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar

The case was found in a sample examined in Katowice. The ministry tweeted Thursday that the 30-year Lesotho citizen feels well but has been put in hospital isolation.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, confirmed that he has tested positive for Covid-19 and will comply with medical guidelines by self-isolation.

"I would like to inform you that, earlier today, as part of routine testing for work, I received a positive result on a Covid-19 PCR test. I am in close contact with the UN Medical Services and will isolate as per medical guidelines," Dujarric said in an email to UN reporters on Wednesday .

Dujarric said he had been fully vaccinated and received a booster shot. Despite experiencing "very mild" symptoms, he plans to continue working from home, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the spokesperson's office will operate virtually until the end of this week," he added.

Later in the afternoon, Dujarric sent another email to UN reporters, saying that the secretary-general will have a virtual press stakeout on Thursday afternoon.

Starting self-isolation one week ago after coming in contact with someone who tested positive, "the secretary-general has shown no symptoms and tested negative today," the spokesperson said.

Oravax Medical Inc, a subsidiary of US/Israeli pharmaceutical company Oramed, has started the first phase of clinical trial of its oral COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa.

South Africa has been struggling with its plans to achieve the herd immunity through vaccinations, with widespread vaccine hesitancy, largely fuelled by social media misinformation. There is also a strong anti-vaccination lobby, including some political parties.

Two doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are highly effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants, but protection against Delta infection decreases over time, according to a study conducted in the US.

At the time of the study, the omicron variant had not yet been detected in the Southern California region, the researchers said.

The research, published in The British Medical Journal on Wednesday, showed the vaccine was effective against COVID-19 hospitalisation associated with the Delta variant.

However, vaccine effectiveness against the variant moderately declined with increasing time after vaccination.

"This study confirmed effectiveness against all variants during the study period, although we did find a drop in effectiveness over time against Delta infection, from 94 per cent effectiveness in the first 2 months after vaccination to 80 per cent effectiveness after 6 months," said Katia Bruxvoort, from Kaiser Permanente, US.

A woman has been found COVID positive with Omicron variant in Gujarat's Mehsana. Till now, there are total five cases of 'Omicron variant' in the state of Gujarat. 

Indonesia has detected its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in a cleaning worker at a hospital in Jakarta, the country’s health minister said Thursday. The patient has no symptoms and is being quarantined at the Athlete’s Village emergency hospital, where the patient worked. The government created the facility in March 2020 to treat COVID-19 patients and as a quarantine venue for Indonesians returning from abroad. Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the case was found on Wednesday, and he urged people to continue following recommended health protocols, including wearing masks and maintaining physical distance. He also called for increased testing and to accelerate the country’s vaccination program. Indonesia, as of Wednesday, had recorded more than 4.2 million COVID-19 cases and more than 143,000 deaths. During the peak of the last surge in July, it hit 56,757 cases per day as hospitals became overwhelmed by sick patients and ran out of beds and oxygen supplies.

Delhi has total 10 cases of Omicron Variant so far. Out of these 10, one has been discharged and nine are still admitted at LNJP Hospital. None of them is a severe case: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

A rapid increase in the number of Omicron Covid-19 variant cases is imminent, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has warned. The European Union's (EU) health watchdog on Wednesday urged countries to rapidly intensify their vaccination efforts, and reintroduce and strengthen other measures to slow down the spread of the virus, Xinhua news agency reported. By Wednesday, 2,629 Omicron cases had been confirmed in 27 countries in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), 502 of these in the past 24 hours. This indicates that community transmission is already ongoing in the EU and EEA countries, the ECDC said. Based on modeling predictions, a further rapid increase is imminent, ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said. "We assess the probability of further spread of the Omicron variant in the EU or EEA as very high, and it is considered very likely to cause additional hospitalisations and fatalities, further to those already expected from previous forecasts that consider only the Delta variant," she added. Omicron, which the World Health Organization labeled a "variant of concern" on November 26, was first discovered in South Africa and prompted countries to introduce travel bans.

Amid the Omicron scare, security tightened after Section 144 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) imposed in Mumbai from today up to midnight on December 31 (New Year's eve). The prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144 will be imposed in the city from December 16 to December 31, a period covering Christmas and New Year eve, banning large gatherings as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Only people up to 50 per cent of the capacity at a venue will be allowed to attend any event and organizers of programmes should be fully vaccinated against coronavirus. An order imposing section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) within the Mumbai commissionerate limits from Thursday was issued by the deputy commissioner of police (operations) on Monday. The section prohibits the gathering of five or more persons at one spot and holding of public meetings, among other things.

As per Maharashtra's COVID bulletin, the case tally touched 32. Maximum Omicron cases have been reported from Mumbai with a total of 13 infections. Followed by 10 in Pimpri Chinchwad, two each in Pune Municipal Corporation, Osmanabad and one each in Kalyan Dombivali, Nagpur, Latur, Vasai Virar and Buldhana.Of these, 25 cases have been discharged after a negative RT PCR test, the Maharashtra health department said.

Maharashtra: Security tightened after section 144 CrPC imposed in Mumbai up to midnight on New Year's eve, in wake of Omicron cases in the state. "Will take action if Covid appropriate behaviour will not be followed by people," said MIDC police inspector Nasir Kulkarni.