Covid LIVE: Maharashtra sees 41,434 new cases; Omicron tally reaches 1,009

Maharashtra capital Mumbai sees 20,318 new Covid cases in a day

4:06 PM

No road shows, rallies in 5 poll-bound states till Jan 15, says EC

4:03 PM

All election officials and employees will be considered as frontline workers

3:59 PM

All election officials and employees will be considered as frontline workers: CEC

3:50 PM

All polling stations will be equipped with Covid-mitigation facilities: EC

3:49 PM

We aim to conduct Covid-safe elections in five states: CEC

3:43 PM

ECI decided to announce polls with Covid safety norms in place: CEC

3:40 PM

IPS Narinder Bhargav, Commandant, 3rd IRB Ludhiana, appointed as SSP Ferozepur

2:25 PM

IPS Viresh Kumar Bhawra has been appointed as the new DGP of Punjab

1:42 PM

'2,500 beds are available at the BKC Jumbo Covid Centre'

1:27 PM

Pondy sees big jump in daily COVID-19 cases, test positivity rate rises

Puducherry witnessed a big jump in the number of fresh coronavirus cases with 280 infections being reported during the last 24 hours ending 10 a.m. on Saturday pushing up the overall tally to 1,30,278.

The new cases identified at the end of examination of 3,554 samples were spread over Puducherry 234, Karaikal 27 and Mahe 19.

Yanam an enclave in Andhra Pradesh reported no fresh case.

12:57 PM

No need for 4th Covid jab yet: UK experts

A fourth Covid jab is not yet needed, say UK experts, because booster doses continue to provide high protection against severe disease from the Omicron variant among older adults.

 

UK Health Security Agency data show three months after boosting, protection against hospitalisation remains at about 90 per cent for people aged 65 and over, the BBC reported.

 

Protection against mild symptomatic infection is more short-lived, the data revealed.

12:47 PM

26 new cases push Arunachal's COVID-19 tally to 55,462

Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 55,462 on Saturday as 26 more people, including two returnees from Assam and Bihar, tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

Arunachal Pradesh is witnessing a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases, with 110 infections reported in the last four days. The state had registered 29 cases on Friday.

12:46 PM

Over 20 mn children in 15-18 age group vaccinated with first dose so far: Mandaviya

Over 20 mn teenagers in the age group of 15-18 years have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in less than a week of the inoculation drive being launched for children, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.

 

With the administration of more than 9 million (9,059,360) vaccine doses in the past 24 hours, the cumulative number in the country has exceeded 1.5 billion (1,506,192,903), according to provisional reports updated till 7 am.

12:38 PM

Bengal govt relaxes Covid curbs; allows salons, parlours to operate with 50% capacity

The West Bengal government Saturday relaxed its COVID-19 curbs in the state, allowing salons and beauty parlours to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 10 pm.

 

An official order to this effect said the owners should ensure that the staff and customers are fully vaccinated and they follow all health protocols.

 

However, there was no clarification from when the order would be applicable.

12:21 PM

China reports 159 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hrs

China on Friday reported 159 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

 

As per the National Health Commission daily report, 95 cases were locally transmitted, while 64 were new imported cases, reported Xinhua.

 

Of the new local cases, 46 were reported in Shaanxi, 43 in Henan, four in Zhejiang, and two in Guangdong, the commission said.