Covid-19 Cases in India: The national recovery rate currently stands at 98.35%. (File)
India reported 8,954 new coronavirus cases and 267 related fatalities on Wednesday, pushing the overall case tally to 3,45,96,776 and the death count to 4,69,247, according to the Health Ministry bulletin.
During the same period, 10,207 recoveries were reported throughout the country. With this, the national recovery rate currently stands at 98.36 per cent, which is the highest since March 2020. The active cases in the country stood at 99,023 or 0.29% of the total cases.
New Covid variant, 'Omicron' which has been declared as a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised concerns across the globe. The variant was first detected in South Africa earlier this month. Since then, the new strain has already been detected in several European countries . 'Omicron' is said to be much more infectious than the Delta variant.
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus cases:
"For Caution": Minister Aaditya Thackeray On Revised Mumbai Airport RulesMaharashtra needs to be more careful than other states regarding the new Covid variant Omicron as it was "hit first and hit the hardest" last time, state minister Aaditya Thackeray told NDTV today amid friction with the Centre over the guidelines at airports. The state has revised its guidelines, which the Centre wanted in sync with the national rules. But Mr Thackeray, who is also the son of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, made it clear that Maharashtra's rules will still be different from the Centre's version as "People's safety is top priority".
Refusing to divulge details before the formal announcement, Mr Thackeray pointed out that Maharashtra has a big floating population.
"We have to do certain things in a stricter fashion because if you see the last time also --- we were hit first, we were hit the hardest and we were always accountable and transparent... so we need to be a little cautious about our state," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Low Vaccine Cover, Low Testing Rates "Toxic Mix", Says WHOThe World Health Organization Wednesday warned a "toxic mix" at the global level of low vaccination coverage and testing rates was creating fertile breeding ground for new Covid-19 variants.
"Globally, we have a toxic mix of low vaccine coverage and very low testing -- a recipe for breeding and amplifying variants," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.
6 Passengers From 'At-Risk' Countries Tested Covid Positive: Maharashtra
Six international passengers arriving from 'at risk' countries - which include those that have confirmed cases of the highly transmissible Omicron strain - have tested Covid positive, the Maharashtra Health Department said Wednesday morning.
All six are either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, the Health Department said. Contact tracing for all six passengers is underway. (Read full story
here)
Arrivals "Smooth", Says Delhi Airport As New Rules Over Omicron Begin
The Delhi airport tweeted this morning that operations for international arrivals from "at-risk" countries are running smooth as fresh travel guidelines for new Covid variant, Omicron, kicked in last night.
The variant, first detected in South Africa, poses a "very high" risk globally, the World Health Organization has warned, setting off alarm bells across the world.
8,954 fresh coronavirus cases in India, 28% higher than yesterday
India reported 8,954 new coronavirus cases and 267 related fatalities on Wednesday, pushing the overall case tally to 3,45,96,776 and the death count to 4,69,247, according to the Health Ministry bulletin.
During the same period, 10,207 recoveries were reported throughout the country. With this, the national recovery rate currently stands at 98.36 per cent, which is the highest since March 2020. The active cases in the country stood at 99,023 or 0.29% of the total cases.
Brazil reports first Latin American cases of Omicron variant
Brazilian health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday that two Brazilians had tested positive for the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the first reported cases of the new strain in Latin America, reports news agency Reuters.
Anvisa said a traveler arriving in Sao Paulo from South Africa and his wife, who had not traveled, both tested positive for the new variant, adding to concerns of global Omicron spread before recent travel bans went into effect.
The traveler landed at Sao Paulo's Guarulhos international airport on Nov 23 with a negative test for COVID-19.
Covid vaccination for children: Clinical trial data of Covaxin discussed by Subject Expert Committee The Interim Phase II, III clinical trial data of COVAXIN on Healthy Volunteers aged 2 to 18 years submitted by Bharat Biotech was deliberated in the meeting of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on August 28 and October 11, informed Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.