Omicron: 7 more Omicron cases push tally to 38 in Karnataka

Night curfew, closure of schools and colleges, and shops of non-essential items, and halved seating capacity in metro trains is feared to return in Delhi as its Covid positivity rate inched towards 0.5 per cent, the trigger point of yellow alert under the Graded Response Action Plan.

Delhi's Covid case positivity rate mounted to 0.43 per cent on Saturday as the city recorded 249 fresh cases, the highest single-day rise since June 13.

The positivity rate was also the highest since June 9 when it was 0.46 per cent.

Under the four-stage Graded response Action Plan (GRAP), the 'yellow' alert will kick in if the positivity rate settles at 0.5 per cent for two consecutive days, leading to a host of restrictions.

If this alert is sounded, most activities will come to a grinding halt just a few months after the phased reemergence from the April lockdown.

Kerala reports one more case of Omicron from the Kannur district, taking the total tally of the state to 38: Kerala Health Minister Veena George

Fresh lockdown will be imposed in Maharashtra only if the demand for medical oxygen touches 800 metric tons per day, public health minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday.

The day before, the state government banned assembly of more than five persons in public places between 9 pm to 6 am and restricted the number of people allowed at public functions in view of a spurt in coronavirus cases.

Omicron cases were increasing "rapidly", but in general such patients were not ending up in ICU nor did they need supplementary oxygen, Tope said, speaking to reporters in Jalna.

"There will be statewide lockdown only if the demand for medical oxygen rises to 800 metric tons (per day)," he added. The minister did not mention the current rate of consumption of medical oxygen in the state. “We do not want people to face more restrictions, therefore I am making an appeal to people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. Wearing mask is very important,” he said.

Night curfew to be in force from 11.30 PM to 6 AM, tomorrow onwards across Assam. This curfew, however, will not be applicable on December 31, 2021: Assam Govt

 Amid rising Covid-19 cases, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced that no night curfew is needed in Bihar as the situation in the state is much better than the rest of the country.

Addressing the media, he said: "The situation in Bihar is better than many states right now. There is no need to impose night curfew here."

The Chief Minister had arrived to garland the statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary, when he put an end to the possibilities of a night curfew.

So far, Bihar has not reported any case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

However, Health Minister Mangal Pandey said that all guidelines of the Centre are being fully followed in the state and the Nitish Kumar government is continuously urging people to follow Covid guidelines.

Sources in the Health Department have confirmed that even though night curfew will not be imposed at the moment, the Bihar government is planning to prepare Covid guidelines for everyone.

The Moroccan airport authority (ONDA) announced the extension of the international flight ban for one more month to January 31, 2022. The suspension of international passenger flights, and the closure of Morocco's air borders came into force on Novemver 29, in order to curb the spread of the new Covid-19 variant omicron. It has also stopped the repatriation flights of its nationals stranded abroad, launched between December 15 to 23 from Portugal, Turkey, and the UAE.

Haryana | 100% eligible population of Ambala has been vaccinated with both doses of COVID19. Also, 4 students of a school have tested COVID-positive. Students & teachers of the school have been tested; contact tracing has been done: Ambala Deputy Commissioner Vikram Yadav

Shops in Sarojini Nagar market opened on an odd-even basis on Saturday, with enforcement teams of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) removing encroachments in order to ensure there is no overcrowding in the market amid rising Covid cases in the city.

According to the Sarojini Nagar Market Traders' Association, the shops have opened on an odd-even basis but the crowd continued to swell up at the market due to weekend rush and Christmas.

Following the Delhi High Court's rap, the Delhi government on Friday ordered the shops at Sarojini Nagar market to operate on an odd-even basis over the weekend in view of the large footfalls seen at the place in the last few days, amid a spike in COVID-19 cases and the threat of Omicron variant.

The decision was taken at a meeting of stakeholders of the market. It was also decided that all shopkeepers in the market shall ensure 100 per cent vaccination of their staff in the vaccination camp set up in the market.

"The shops have opened on an odd-even basis but the crowd is as much as it was in previous week. 

Rs 1.5 Cr fine imposed in last the 2 days for violation of Covid protocols and 163 FIRs registered. 1,245 violations registered in East Delhi and 1446 in North Delhi. 7778 cases of not applying masks, not following physical distance and gathering crowd registered: Delhi Government.

"These teams shall be stationed in States allotted for 3 to 5 days & will work along with State Health Authorities," reads the Union Health Ministry's letter.

A decision has been taken to deploy multi-disciplinary Central teams to 10 identified States some of which are either reporting an increasing number of Omicron and COVID-19 cases or slow vaccination pace: Union Health Ministry said in an official statement. Multi-disciplinary Central teams to be deployed in Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Punjab.

A total of 415 Omicron cases were reported in 17 States/UTs of India so far. The number of persons recovered is 115: Union Health Ministry.

The Ahmednagar district administration issued a 'no vaccine, no entry' order covering various areas, including private establishments, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, auditoriums, marriage halls, agriculture markets as well as events.

Global trends show that number of Omicron cases is going to reach 1000 in 2-3 weeks and one million, maybe, in 2 months. We don't have more than a month before a major outbreak happens in India. We need to prevent this: Dr TS Anish, Member, COVID Expert Committee, Kerala. 

Maharashtra: A lab in Mumbai's Dadar (West) was sealed by BMC after 12 of its staff members tested positive for COVID-19, the municipal corporation says. 

Christmas: Maharashtra Government has asked churches to permit devotees only up to 50% of their capacity for the midnight mass. 

"We expect a surge in COVID numbers by January end because we are no different from the world. We will face what the world is facing. Hopefully, we will not have number of critically ill patients this time that we had earlier": Dr Sambit, Director (Medical), KIMS, Hyderabad.