LIVE: Govt is alert, taking proactive action, says PM at Covid review meet

Centre on Thursday in an advisory cautioned states to observe all precautions and don't let the guard down in view of the rise in Omicron variant cases

9:45 PM

Delhi ready for up to 3 lakh tests, 1 lakh cases daily: Kejriwal amid Omicron scare

Anticipating a surge in Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his government has made preparations to handle one lakh patients and conduct three lakh tests daily and ensure availability of enough manpower, medicines and oxygen.

 

Kejriwal stressed that the latest variant of coronavirus spreads rapidly and claimed that it causes "very mild" infection, fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

 

Therefore, the government has been focusing on strengthening its home-isolation module and directions have been issued to hire agencies for treating patients in their home, he said.

 

"We have made preparations keeping these things in mind. We have ramped up our capacity to be able to conduct three lakh tests daily. At present, 60,000 to 70,000 tests are being conducted in Delhi every day," Kejriwal said at a press conference after a review meeting with senior officials.

9:18 PM

US adds Merck pill as 2nd easy-to-use drug against COVID-19

US health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against COVID-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of omicron infections.

 

The Food and Drug Administration authorization comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. That pill is likely to become the first-choice treatment against the virus, thanks to its superior benefits and milder side effects.

 

As a result, Merck's pill is expected to have a smaller role against the pandemic than predicted just a few weeks ago. Its ability to head off severe COVID-19 is much smaller than initially announced and the drug label will warn of serious safety issues, including the potential for birth defects.

8:53 PM

Maharashtra reports 23 new cases of Omicron variant; total count reaches 88

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 23 fresh cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, which took the number of persons found infected with this strain in the state to 88, the health department said. This is the highest number of such cases reported in a day till now.

 

"Twenty-three new cases of Omicron were reported in Maharashtra today. Of them, 22 cases reported by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and one case by the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune," the department said in its bulletin.

 

Of the 23 fresh cases, 13 are from Pune district - three from Pune Municipal Corporation areas, three from rural parts of the district and seven from Pimpri Chinchwad township -, five from Mumbai, two from Osmanabad and one each from Thane, Nagpur and Mira-Bhayander.

8:46 PM

Over 140.24 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far, says govt

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India crossed 140.24 crore on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said. Over 51 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Thursday till 7 pm, it said. The ministry said the daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night.

 

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 years and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

 

The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

8:34 PM

CM Uddhav will hold a meeting with the Covid Task Force today at 10 pm

8:16 PM

Madhya Pradesh govt imposes night curfew

8:05 PM

Gujarat reports 7 more cases of Omicron variant

7:57 PM

Maharashtra: 23 more patients have been found to be infected by Omicron

7:39 PM

PM Modi chairs Covid review meeting amid Omicron threat

6:03 PM

Assocham asks for TDS cut in Union Budget

Industry group Assocham on Thursday asked the government to cut Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) in the next Budget with a view to reducing litigation on the application of correct rate. Now, there are various rates of TDS prescribed under the Income Tax Act on different categories of transactions and that has led to ambiguities in the context of applicability of relevant sections and correct rate, resulting in litigation, the chamber said.

 

4:52 PM

DMF fund manager, parents pay Rs 5 cr to settle Sebi case

A fund manager of Deutsche Mutual Fund and his parents paid almost Rs 5 crore to settle with Sebi, India’s market regulator, a case of alleged front running in the trades of the mutual fund, PTI reported. The amount remitted by them includes settlement charges, wrongful gains and interest charged on the ill-gotten gains. Akash Singhania allegedly had knowledge of investment and impending orders of the fund.

4:22 PM

Delhi preparing for Omicron outbreak: Kejriwal

"Manpower, medicines being arranged" for coronavirus cases related to Omicron, says Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

3:37 PM

Ludhiana blast damages wall of court complex

News agency PTI reports one person died and three were injured in the blast at Ludhiana district court complex. The blast took place in the washroom of the second floor of the court complex, damaging a wall of the building and shattering windows of some vehicles parked in the premises. Other news reports put said two people had died and four were injured.

3:20 PM

Hero Motocorp to revise prices of scooters, bikes

Hero Motocorp said on Thursday it will to revise prices of its motorcycles and scooters from January 4. Price revision will be up to Rs 2,000 and it is necessitated by increasing commodity prices, Reuters reports quoting company statement.

 

3:17 PM

Modi starts work on 27 development projects in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated work for 27 development projects worth Rs 2,095 crore in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections next year. This was his second visit to the city in 10 days.