LIVE: Maharashtra sees 26 more cases of Omicron; night curfew in Kerala

Kerala said on Monday it will implement a night curfew from December 30 to January 2 (10pm to 5 am), becoming the latest Indian state to implement such a measure to contain rising coronavirus cases. No New Year celebrations will be allowed after 10pm on December 31, said the state government. Uttarakhand is imposing an 11 pm to 5 am curfew from Monday for an indefinite number of days.

The first recipients of the booster or "precautionary" dose of coronavirus vaccines will be for people older than 60 with associated comorbidities, and those who got their second dose nine months ago, CoWIN platform Chief Dr RS Sharma told ANI. Teens aged 15-18, who are now eligible for the shot, will be able to register on the CoWIN platform from Jan 1.

The central government has told states to impose restrictions to control crowds during year-end celebrations, urging them "not let their guard down" as coronavirus cases rise amid fear of fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus.

There is "need for greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making, and strict and prompt containment actions at the local and district levels," said Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in a letter to states and union territories.

 

10:07 PM

Maharashtra logs 1,426 new Covid cases, 21 deaths; 26 more Omicron patients found

Maharashtra on Monday reported 1,426 fresh coronavirus cases, including 26 new Omicron patients - daily count down 222 from a day ago - while 21 more persons succumbed to the infection in the the state, the health department said.

 

The health department said the state recorded 21 fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours, taking the COVID-19 toll to 1,41,454. The case fatality rate is the state stands at 2.12 per cent. With 1,426 new cases, the statewide tally of those infected with COVID-19 reached 66,59,314, it said in a bulletin. The count of active cases crossed the 10,000-mark to stand at 10,441, reflecting a widening gap between new and recovering patients. On Sunday, Maharashtra had recorded 1,648 COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths.

The state had also reported 31 new cases of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, a day ago. The state has so far recorded 167 Omicron cases. On Monday, 776 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of those recovered so far to 65,03,733, the department said.

The coronavirus recovery rate in the state stands at 97.66 per cent. The bulletin said 93,819 coronavirus tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, pushing their cumulative number to 6,85,49,133. Currently 91,464 people are in home quarantine and another 880 in institutional quarantine, it added.

9:26 PM

India sees highest single day rise of Omicron infections; Goa, Manipur report first cases

India reported over 150 fresh Omicron infections with Goa and Manipur on Monday registering their first cases as the total tally of this latest variant of COVID-19 touched nearly 600. With the surge in cases, the Centre issued a fresh advisory to all states and union territories, asking them not to let the guard down.

 

According to Union Health Ministry data updated in the morning, 156 fresh cases of Omicron were logged, taking the tally of such cases to 578. However, 151 out of the 578 people, who contracted the infection, have recovered or migrated.

 

The 578 cases have been detected across 19 states and union territories with Delhi recording the maximum number of 142 cases followed by Maharashtra at 141, Kerala 57, Gujarat 49, Rajasthan 43 and Telangana 41.

9:03 PM

Covid vaccination: CoWIN registration for those in 15-18 age group to start on January 1

Children aged between 15 and 18 years would be able to register on the CoWIN portal from January 1 and the vaccine option for them would only be Covaxin, officials said on Monday as preparations are underway to start inoculating children against COVID-19 from January 3.

 

"Children aged between 15 and 18 years would be able to register on the CoWIN portal from January 1," CoWIN chief Dr RS Sharma said on Monday.

 

The vaccine option for those in the 15-18 age group would only be Covaxin, according to the "Guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination of children between 15-18 years and precaution dose to HCWs, FLWs and 60+ population with comorbidities" issued by the Union health ministry on Monday.

8:43 PM

'No public events/gatherings to celebrate New Year's Eve shall be allowed anywhere in Bengaluru'

8:31 PM

Telangana reports 12 new Omicron cases in the last 24 hours

7:51 PM

Belur Math shall remain closed for devotees and visitors on Jan 1

7:40 PM

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred today at 146km NNW of Kargil

7:32 PM

FCRA registration has been neither suspended nor cancelled: Missionaries of Charity

7:12 PM

Akali leader Majithia seeks anticipatory bail

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, booked under the NDPS Act, on Monday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The politician’s plea said the cases against him "to target the applicant/petitioner is one of the major election planks of the current government" led by the Congress in Punjab.

6:34 PM

Kerala announces night curfew from Dec 30

Kerala said on Monday it will implement a night curfew from December 30 to January 2 (10pm to 5 am), becoming the latest Indian state to implement such a measure to contain rising coronavirus cases. No New Year celebrations will be allowed after 10pm on December 31, said the state government.

6:27 PM

Mumbai logs 809 new coronavirus cases

Mumbai records 809 new cases of the coronavirus and 3 deaths from the disease in 24 hours.

6:18 PM

Govt's paddy procurement reaches 443.49 lakh tonnes in Oct-Dec

The government has collected 443.49 lakh tonnes of paddy at minimum support price (MSP) in the ongoing marketing year that started in October. More than 47 lakh farmers have benefited from the MSP value of Rs 86,924.46 crore so far, said the food ministry Monday.

5:58 PM

Uttarakhand imposes night curfew

Uttarakhand is imposing an 11 pm to 5 am curfew from Monday for an indefinite number of days, citing rising number of coronavirus cases. Essential services like health, movement of vehicles carrying health personnel, ambulances, postal services are exempt from the curfew.

5:31 PM

China tightens scrutiny of offshore listings in certain sectors

The Chinese government will require that domestic firms in sectors off-limits to foreign direct investment, such as Internet news and publishing, receive clearances from regulators before they can list their shares outside the mainland. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced the new rules on the clearances on Monday in a statement that also included an updated annual "Foreign Investment Negative List" that outlines business sectors where foreign direct investment is banned or restricted, Reuters reported.

5:22 PM

Torrent Pharma recalls over 27k bottles of BP drug in US

Torrent Pharma is recalling more than 27,000 bottles of its generic drug, used in lowering high blood pressure, in the US market. As per the latest enforcement report by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), the Ahmedabad-based company is recalling 27,312 bottles of the Telmisartan and Hydrochlorothiazide tablets, PTI reported.