LIVE: PM Modi inaugurates multiple development projects in Goa

Modi took part in Goa Liberation Day celebrations

Latest live news: The Omicron coronavirus variant has been reported in 89 countries and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.

Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, but it is unclear if this is due to the virus' ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both, the WHO said in an update.

There may be no going back to the five-day week in the office, according to a survey of workers in 25 countries. Both employees and managers found working from home during the pandemic was positive for performance and well-being, a report by the OECD found. The proportion of staff teleworking at least one day a week is expected to be much higher than before the pandemic, said Bloomberg.

The upcoming Union Budget 2022 is unlikely to bring any tweaks in the existing income tax rates. The thinking in the government and among Budget makers is that, given the continued uncertainty around Covid-19 and its impact on household income and savings, any change in tax rates could be counter-productive.

11:26 PM

Omicron: We should prepare and hope things are not as bad as in UK, says Randeep Guleria

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr Randeep Guleria said on Sunday that in view of rising COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom, India should prepare itself for any eventuality.

 

"We should prepare and hope that things are not as bad as in the United Kingdom. We need more data on Omicron. Whenever there is a surge in cases in other parts of the world, we need to monitor it closely and be prepared for any eventuality. It is better to stay prepared than to get caught off-guard," said Guleria while talking to ANI.

 

India has so far reported over 100 cases of Omicron.

10:47 PM

Gujarat reports four new Omicron cases; tally rises to 11

Four new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were reported in Gujarat on Sunday, which took the state's count of the persons infected with this strain to eleven, officials said.

 

A 45-year-old NRI and a teenage boy who came from the UK, a Surat-based woman who had recently visited Dubai and a Tanzanian national are the new patients of the Omicron variant found in the state.

 

The NRI (non-resident Indian) had tested positive for the coronavirus infection in the RT-PCR test carried out at the Ahmedabad international airport soon after his arrival from the UK on December 15, a health department official said.

 

"The man's sample later confirmed that he was infected with the Omicron variant," Anand district health officer Dr M T Chhari said. He was scheduled to reach the state's Anand city from Ahmedabad.

10:01 PM

UK reports a further 12,133 confirmed Omicron cases in 24 hours

The United Kingdom reported more than 12,000 further confirmed cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the latest daily figures provided by health authorities on Sunday.
 

The UK Health Security Agency said on Twitter there had been an additional 12,133 confirmed cases of Omicron over the previous 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 37,101.

 

Meanwhile, Britain's health minister Sajid Javid declined on Sunday to rule out the chance of further Covid-19 restrictions before Christmas, saying the spread of the Omicron variant was a very fast moving situation.

9:35 PM

Railway extends Vistadome services to boost trade, tourism in NE

In a bid to boost trade and tourism in the northeast region and to promote its cultural heritage through railway connectivity, two more Vistadome train services were flagged off on Sunday after the first such services were launched by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) between West Bengal and the region in August.

The Vistadome tourist special trains with transparent glass windows and roofs providing 360-degree view were introduced on Sunday in two popular broad gauge routes having tourism potential -- Guwahati-Naharlagun (Arunachal Pradesh) and Naharlagun-Tinsukia (Assam).

NFR's Chief Public Relations Officer Guneet Kaur said that the vistadome train services were flagged off by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Minister of State of Railways and Textiles Darshana Jardosh at Guwahati Railway Station and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu at Naharlagun station.

9:01 PM

Tamil Nadu's coronavirus aggregate reaches 27.39 lakh

Tamil Nadu's coronavirus aggregate touched 27,39,806 as 610 positives were added afresh on Sunday while the toll rose to 36,680 with four more deaths.

 

According to a health department bulletin, Chennai and Coimbatore accounted for the majority of new infections with 129 and 98 cases, respectively, while the remaining was scattered across other districts.

 

Coimbatore, which has been reporting new cases in triple digits for several weeks added 98 new infections in the last 24 hours.

 

Meanwhile, recoveries outnumbered new infections with 682 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 26,95,856 leaving 7,270 active infections, the bulletin said.

 

A total of 1,01,616 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 5.62 crore. As many as 24 districts registered less than 10 new Covid-19 infections, while Ariyalur and Virudhunagar saw nil cases.

8:39 PM

Need to monitor it closely and be prepared for any eventuality: AIIMS Delhi Director on Omicron surge

8:31 PM

Delhi records 107 new Covid cases, one death

As many as 107 fresh cases of coronavirus, highest in the past six months, and one death, after 10 days, were reported in Delhi, according to the Health Department bulletin on Sunday.

 

With the new cases, the national capital's infection tally has now climbed to 14,42,197, while the latest death takes the Covid toll to 25,101.

 

The fatality rate currently stands at 1.74 per cent, while the Covid infection rate has gone up to 0.17 per cent. There are 540 active cases, as per the health bulletin, while 50 patients were cured and discharged during the past 24 hours, taking the recovery count to 14,16,556.

8:18 PM

300 COVID-19 cases, one death in Karnataka

With 300 fresh cases, Karnataka's COVID-19 aggregate touched 30,02,427 on Sunday, while one death took the cumulative fatalities to 38,288.

 

The health department said in its bulletin that 279 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,56,970. Active cases stood at 7,140. Bengaluru Urban remained the major contributor of COVID cases as the city reported 168 infections.

Other districts too had new cases including 37 in Dakshina Kannada, 13 in Mysuru, 11 in Hassan and 10 in Kodagu. Udupi was the only district which reported a death while there were zero fatalities in 30 districts. The positivity rate for the day was 0.26 per cent and the case fatality rate was 0.33 per cent. A total of 1,12,524 samples were tested in the state including 93,726 RT-PCR tests on Sunday, taking the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 5.53 crore. As many as 61,982 people were inoculated in the state taking the total vaccinations to 8.27 crore so far comprising first and second dose.

8:08 PM

'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon' campaign forced other parties to talk about women: Priyanka

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Sunday accused rival parties of ignoring women, saying they started talking about them only after her party gave the slogan of "Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon" (I am a girl and I can fight).

 

Addressing the 'Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon -- Shakti Samvaad' organised here under the party's women empowerment campaign, she said her party's "one small initiative has awakened all political parties". The Congress has announced it will give 40 per cent of tickets to women candidates in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

 

"Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon" is one of the slogans it has given to underscore women power. "The impact of my initiative was so much that now all political parties are talking about women," Vadra said at the event.

7:57 PM

Vietnam reports 16,110 new Covid-19 cases

Vietnam reported 16,110 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 16,093 locally transmitted and 17 imported, according to its Ministry of Health.

 

Among the localities, the Vietnamese capital Hanoi logged the highest number of infections on Sunday with 1,405 cases, followed by southern Ca Mau province with 1,345 cases, and southern Ho Chi Minh City with 1,014 cases.

 

The infections brought the country's total tally to 15,40,478 with 29,566 deaths, said the ministry. Nationwide, as many as 11,07,962 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered, up 10,799 from Saturday.

7:40 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 610 new Covid cases in a day

7:39 PM

Polling for 15 urban bodies in Chhattisgarh on Dec 20

Polling for 15 urban bodies in Chhattisgarh, including four municipal corporations, will be held on Monday. Simultaneously, bypolls will be held in 15 wards of different urban bodies. Over 1,393 candidates are in the fray, an official said.

 

Apart from the four municipal corporations, five municipal councils and six nagar panchayats will also go to the polls.

 

Counting of votes will be taken up on December 23, he added.

 

All eyes will be on Durg, the home district of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, where three municipal corporations and one municipal council are going to the polls.

7:35 PM

55 TN fishermen held, 8 boats seized by Sri Lankan Navy; CM urges Centre to act

As many as 55 Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested and 8 boats seized by Sri Lankan Naval personnel on Sunday, an official here said. Chief Minister M K Stalin spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over phone and requested him to take immediate steps to get the over 50 fishermen and their 8 boats released from Sri Lanka. "The Union Minister assured immediate action," an official release in Chennai said.

 

Soon after the apprehension of 43 fishermen and seizure of 6 boats from Rameswaram, 12 other fishers of Mandapam area were also subsequently taken into custody. The 2 boats of Mandapam fishermen were also seized, the official said.

7:25 PM

Jammu and Kashmir reports 136 new cases, 1 more death

Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday recorded 136 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection tally to 3,39,827 while one more fatality due to the virus pushed the death toll to 4,512, officials said.

 

Of the fresh cases, 114 were reported from the Kashmir division and 22 from the Jammu division, they said.

 

Srinagar district recorded the highest of 50 cases followed by 19 cases in Baramulla district.

 

There are 1,451 active cases in the Union Territory, while the number of recovered patients is 3,33,864, officials said.

 

Meanwhile, there are 50 confirmed cases of mucormycosis (black fungus) in the Union Territory as no fresh case was reported since Saturday evening, they said.

7:19 PM

Ahead of India series, CSA postpones domestic matches over COVID fears

Cricket South Africa on Sunday announced that the remaining round of CSA four-day franchise series, the country's premier domestic competition, has been postponed as a precautionary measure over COVID-19 fears.

The announcement came just a week before the three-match Test series between India and South Africa gets underway in Centurion. The country has seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past few weeks.

"The decision to defer the fifth round of matches, which were scheduled to take place between December 16-19 (Division Two) and December 19-22 (Division One), was taken as a safeguarding measure in light of the competition being held outside of a bio-secure environment and amid the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic," CSA said in a statement.