Coronavirus News Highlights: Karnataka reports 330 new cases and four deaths; Kerala reports first Omicron case

India reports 7,774 new Covid-19 cases, 306 deaths Sunday, according to Health Ministry data. Meanwhile, India has reported 37 cases of the Omicron strain so far. Track the latest Covid-19 updates on DH. Come back tomorrow for continued updates throughout the day.

Goa adds 35 cases, active tally reaches 411

Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 35 to reach 179,454 on Sunday, while the death toll remained unchanged, at 3,482, on Sunday, a health department official said

Delhi records 56 new cases

Delhi on Sunday recorded 56 new Covid-19 cases, while the deaths were at zero. The national capital had a positivity rate of 0.19 per cent, according to the health bulletin.

J&K reports 126 new cases, four deaths

Jammu and Kashmir Sunday recorded 126 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of infected people to 338,871, while four more deaths were also reported from the union territory.

German states offer Covid-19 vaccine to 5-11 age group

Children aged 5 to 11 years will be eligible to receiveCovid-19 vaccines this week in Berlin, health officials said Sunday, joining other German states in opening up appointments to younger children. Children will be able to get a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot in Berlin's mass vaccination centres in schools, doctors' offices and at the city's Natural History Museum.

Chhattisgarh records 25 cases, active tally at 379

Chhattisgarh'sCovid-19 case count reached 1,007,212 on Sunday as 25 cases were detected, while the death toll remained unchanged at 13,594, an official said.

Manipur records 19 new cases

Manipur reported 19 new Covid-19 cases and one related death in the past 24 hours. The cumulative number of deaths stands at 1,990.

Mumbai reports 187 new cases, two deaths

Mumbai's coronavirus caseload grew to 765,297 as 187 persons tested positive for the infection on Sunday, while its toll increased to 16,357, according to the civic authority.

330 new cases, four deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka on Sunday logged 330 new Covid-19 cases and four deaths, taking the cumulative infections and deaths to 3,000,435 and 38,257, respectively. As many as 304 people were also discharged on the day.

21 new cases in Madhya Pradesh

TheCovid-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 793,358 on Sunday, with the addition of 21 cases, a health official said. The death toll remained unchanged at 10,529, with no death reported on the day.

Telangana adds 146 new cases to its Covid-19 case tally

Telangana on Sunday recorded 146 new coronavirus cases, taking the total infection count to 678,288 while the toll climbed to 4,007, with two more deaths. The number of active cases in the state stood at 3,846.

Maharashtra records 704 Covid-19 cases, 16 deaths

Maharashtra reported 704 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking its infection tally to 6,643,883, while the death of 16 patients pushed the toll to 141,259, the state health department said. A total of 669 patients were discharged during the day.

Family members of Kerala Omicron patient test positive

The wife and mother of a Kerala man, who was diagnosed with the Covid-19 Omicron variant, also tested positive for Covid-19. All of them shifted to an isolation ward, officials said.

Haryana reports 30 new cases

Haryana reported 30 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total case count to 772,019, officials said. No deaths were reported, with the death toll remaining at 10,055.

Kerala reports first Omicron case

Kerala reported the first case of Omicron Covid-19 variant from Kochi. The patient is a UK returnee, who arrived in Kerala on December 6. He had tested positive for Covid-19 on December 8, Kerala's Health Minister Veena George said.

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Kerala reports 3,777 Covid-19 cases

Kerala reported 3,777 new Covid-19 cases, 3,856 recoveries and 34 deaths today. With this, the active cases stood at 38,361 and the toll at 42,967.

First Omicron case reported in Andhra Pradesh

A 34-year-old man who returned from Ireland via the Mumbai airport has become the first case of Omicron variant in Andhra Pradesh. With this addition, the number of Covid-19 positive cases of Omicron strain went up to 37 in the country.

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UK allows boosters for 30+ age group from Monday

Britain's health authorities said Sunday that bookings for theCovid-19booster vaccines for people aged 30 and over in England will be open from Monday, as one of the key actions aimed at tackling the rapid spread of the Omicron variant ofCovid-19.

Puducherry adds 15 fresh Covid-19 cases, overall tally rises to 1,29,217

The Union Territory of Puducherry reported 15 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, pushing the overall tally to 1,29,217, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Sunday. No fresh fatalities were reported.

Madurai temple does away with mandatory vaccination

Madurai's Meenakshi Amman Temple administration withdrew its order stating that only fully vaccinated persons would be allowed to enter the temple from December 13.

Compulsory vaccination against coronavirus comes into effect in Pondicherry

Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan said compulsory vaccination againstCovid-19 became mandatory from Sunday and asked the people to carry with them the certificates of vaccination, as there would be checks by the health authorities.

Nagpur reports first case of Omicron variant

Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B said that a 40-year-old man who tested positive for Covid-19 was found to have the Omicron variant.

UK's Boris Johnson in soup over breaching Covid-19 protocols

Boris Johnson on Sunday faced fresh questions about alleged government breaches of coronavirus restrictions after a photo emerged of him at a Christmas event last year. The British prime minister has faced a barrage of criticism and calls to quit over claims of an illegal Downing Street party on December 18, 2020.

Booster increases antibodies, improves protection against Omicron: Scientists

A booster dose againstCovid-19 raises the amount of circulating antibodies and is shown to increase protection from symptomatic infection with Omicron, scientists have said, underlining that boosters can be the simplest step forward, especially for the immunosuppressed.

Reacting to the statement of UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that booster dose of Covishield vaccine is effective against Omicron and a third booster dose ofCovid-19 vaccine provides 70-75 per cent protection against symptomatic infection from the Omicron variant, the virologists and epidemiologists underlined that booster doses of any vaccine (except live attenuated like oral polio vaccine or OPV, measles) exponentially raises antibody level.

Eminent virologist Dr Shahid Jameel said a booster shot after two doses increases the amount of circulating antibodies and is shown to increase protection against symptomatic infection with Omicron.

Bangladesh confirms presence of Omicron variant in two women cricketers

Third case of Omicron detected in Karnataka

ICMR develops testing kit to detect Omicron in 2 hours

Generally, it takes three to four days to detect the Omicron variant in infected people.

First case of Omicron variant of coronavirus detected in Andhra Pradesh

(ANI)

A 20-year-old man from Italy, who landed in India on Nov 22 has tested positive for the Omicron variant

Arunachal logs one new Covid case, tally at 55,305

Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday registered one newCovid-19 case, four less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 55,305, a health department official said.

The death toll remained at 280 as no fresh fatality due to the infection was reported in the past 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

At least 54,997 people, including five since Saturday, have recuperated from the disease, he said.

The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state remained at 99.44 per cent.

Twelve fresh Covid-19 cases recorded in Ladakh

Australia shortens wait time for Covid-19 booster doses as Omicron cases rise

Australia said on Sunday it will shorten the wait time for people to receive a Covid-19 booster following a rise in cases of the Omicron variant.

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India reports 7,774 new Covid-19 cases, 306 deaths: Health Ministry

Mexico reports 235 more deaths from Covid-19

Assam registers no Covid death for second time this week

Assam reported no death due toCovid-19 for the second time this week while 112 new positive cases were detected on Saturday, taking the total number of cases to 6,18,441, according to the bulletin issued by the National Health Mission here.

J&K admin directs machine-manpower audit amid concern over uneven trend in COVID-19 cases

Concerned over uneven trend inCOVID-19 cases, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary A K Mehta on Saturday called for machine-manpower audit, infrastructure augmentation and better enforcement ofCovidappropriate behaviour in the Union territory.

He also talked about the vulnerability of children to the infection and urged the department concerned to roll out suitable training modules for medical and paramedical staff to optimally manage pediatric wards and ICUs.