COVID-19 Cases: India has so far conducted over 66.41 crore cumulative tests. (File)
India reported 6,563 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today, taking the total cases in the country since the beginning of the pandemic to 3,47,46,838. India's active caseload currently stands at 82,267, the lowest in 571 days.
The country also reported 132 new Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total death count to 4,77,554.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the active cases in the country account for less than one per cent of total cases, currently at 0.24 per cent which is the lowest since March last year.
Amid rising concerns surrounding the Omicron variant, India's total Omicron tally has crossed 150 cases.
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus cases in India:
No COVID-19 death in Mumbai for 4th time this month; 204 more test positiveFor the fourth time in December, Mumbai did not report any fresh fatality due to coronavirus on Monday, keeping the death toll unchanged at 16,365, while 204 new cases took the infection count to 7,67,331, civic officials said.
A day after Mumbai logged 336 COVID-19 cases, the number of daily cases came down to 204, while the daily fatalities slipped to zero in the last 24 hours from two on Sunday.
Equipped to handle higher number of samples for genome sequencing, say labs amid Omicron scareAuthorities at two genome sequencing laboratories in Delhi on Monday said they have the capacity to handle a higher number of samples for detection of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
Amid the Omicron scare and the growing number of coronavirus cases in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said all samples that test Covid positive will be sent for genome sequencing.
COVID-19 vaccines can be tweaked for protection against new variants: AIIMS director GuleriaThe COVID-19 vaccines can be "tweaked" to provide protection against new variants of the virus, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Director Dr Randeep Guleria has said.
His remarks have come in the wake of concerns over the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.
New Zealand Links 26-Year-Old Man's Death To Pfizer Covid VaccineNew Zealand authorities on Monday said they had linked a 26-year-old man's death to Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine after the person suffered myocarditis, a rare inflammation of the heart muscle, after taking his first dose.
The death is New Zealand's second linked to a known but rare side effect from the vaccine after health authorities in August reported a woman had died after taking her doses.
"With the current available information, the board has considered that the myocarditis was probably due to vaccination in this individual," a COVID-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board said in a statement.
The man, who died within two weeks of his first dose, had not sought medical advice or treatment for his symptoms. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can limit the organ's ability to pump blood and can cause changes in heartbeat rhythms.
No evidence Omicron has lower severity than Delta variant: UK study
There is "no evidence" that Omicron has a lower severity than the Delta strain, according to a study in the UK which also found that the new variant of coronavirus largely evades immunity from past infection or two vaccine doses. The study by researchers from Imperial College London in the UK estimates that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than that of the Delta variant.
Two more Omicron cases detected in Delhi, total tally now 24: Report
Two more cases of Omicron variant of Covid have been detected in Delhi, taking the total number of people testing positive for the latest variant of the coronavirus here to 24, PTI reported quoting sources. Out of these 24 patients, 12 have been discharged, they said.
Four more Omicron cases detected in Kerala, tally now 15Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 20 Four more new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected from Kerala on Monday, taking the overall tally to 15, the state health department said.
Two cases of the new variant were detected in patients aged 41 and 67. They are mother and grandmother of a 17-year-old patient in Thiruvananthapuram who came from the UK on December 9 along with his father, mother and sister.
Delhi Prepared For Omicron, Centre Should Start Boosters: Arvind KejriwalThe Delhi government is prepared to deal with the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today, as he urged people not to panic amid its spread in the city. The national capital has reported 24 cases of Omicron so far. Out of these 24 patients, 12 have been discharged, according to the government.
Two new Omicron cases reported in Delhi, case tally rises to 24Two new cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant have been reported in Delhi, increasing the case tally rises to 24, informed Delhi Health Department on Monday. "Out of these 24 patients, 12 have been discharged and 12 are under treatment," the Health Department added.
As Delhi yesterday recorded 107 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest in six months, a health expert said the spike could be due to the Omicron variant.
India's total Omicron cases cross 150India's Omicron caseload has surpassed 150, with Maharashtra logging the highest number of Omicron cases of any state.
With 6 new cases, Maharashtra's Omicron tally stands at 54 cases. Karnataka's 5 new cases have taken its tally to 19, while Telangana's 8 new Omicron cases have brought the state's case tally to 20.
Coronavirus Live: 6,563 new Covid cases in India today, 132 fresh fatalitiesIndia reported 6,563 fresh COVID-19 cases and 132 related in the last 24 hours, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today, taking the total cases in the country since the beginning of the pandemic to 3,47,46,838.
India's active caseload currently stands at 82,267, the lowest in 571 days.
5 new Omicron cases reported in Karnataka, taking total cases to 19
Five fresh Omicron cases have been reported in Karnataka, taking the total cases in the state to 19. Active cases stand at 16, as three who tested positive for the coronavirus have recovered.
Assam reports 2 new COVID-19 deaths, 75 fresh cases
Assam reported two deaths due to COVID-19 on Sunday, while 75 more persons tested positive for the infection, pushing the total number of cases to 6,19,492, the National Health Mission (NHM) said.
With one person each in Kamrup Metropolitan and Sonitpur districts losing their lives, the total number of COVID-19 deaths rose to 6,147.
The NHM said 1,347 more COVID-19 patients have died till now, but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus as they had other ailments too.