Covid LIVE: 2 more Omicron cases in Mumbai, total 10 in Maharashtra now

Latest cases are a 37-year-old South Africa returnee man & his 36-year-old US returnee friend

2:28 AM

No decision on booster shot, vaccination for children yet

No decision was taken on giving a booster dose to fully-vaccinated individuals as the national technical advisory group on immunisation (NTAGI) on Monday met to analyse the data on deaths of children during the pandemic in India amid the Omicron scare, according to a person present at the meeting.

 

“Booster dose was not decided, but the group studied children’s death data and how it should be interpreted. For instance, if a child suffering from leukemia dies of Covid, then what should be the cause of death?” the person present at the meeting said. “No vaccine for children has been given approval yet. These decisions will be taken subsequently once a vaccine is approved. As for Omicron, not enough data is available yet to draw any conclusion,” the person added. READ MORE...

10:53 PM

Six test positive for Omicron in Pune's Pimpri Chinchwad

A total of six people, including three Nigerian nationals, have tested positive for the 'Omicron' variant of COVID-19 in Pimpri Chinchwad of Pune district, informed Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil on Monday.

 

"Around six people have been confirmed with Omicron variant of COVID-19 after we conducted genome sequencing. These are three Nigerian nationals who came from outside and the other three are the ones which came in their contact," said Patil.

 

"One of them have mild symptoms while the rest of them are stable," he added.

 

Meanwhile, both Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil and Mayor Usha Dhore assured citizens that the authorities will take care of the situation and there is no need to panic.

10:35 PM

India, Russia agree to fast track early mutual recognition of Covid vaccination certificates

India and Russia on Monday expressed confidence that early mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates will further facilitate movement of persons between the two countries and agreed to fast track the formalities for it.

 

The two countries also agreed to consider the resumption of direct passenger and cargo flights to their pre-pandemic capacity, said a joint statement issued after in-person talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

The joint statement said that the two sides exchanged views on the COVID-19 pandemic situation and highly appreciated the ongoing bilateral cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, especially with respect to the 'Sputnik-V' vaccine.

 

The leaders expressed gratitude to each other's countries for timely assistance during the pandemic.

9:17 PM

Over 128.66 cr Covid vaccine doses given so far; 85% of adult population got 1st jab

More than 85 per cent of India's eligible adult population has received the first shot of COVID-19 vaccine as the cumulative doses administered so far crossed 128.66 crore on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said.

 

Over 71 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Monday till 7 pm. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night, it stated.

 

Earlier in the day, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the country on inoculating more than 85 per cent of the eligible population with the first dose.

9:12 PM

108 new Covid cases in Jammu and Kashmir, two more die

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 108 fresh coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing the infection count to 3,37,915, while two fatalities in the past 24 hours raised the death toll to 4,483, officials said.

 

Twenty-two of the new cases were from the Jammu division and 86 from the Kashmir division of the Union Territory, the officials said.

 

They said Srinagar district recorded a maximum of 40 fresh COVID-19 cases followed by Baramulla and Jammu districts, both of which registered 11 new infections.

 

There are 1,661 active coronavirus cases in Jammu and Kashmir, while the count of recoveries has reached 3,31,771, the officials said.

9:03 PM

President Putin's visit is short but highly productive and substantive: Shringla

8:57 PM

Nagaland: Locals hold a candlelight vigil at Tizit village over the death of civilians

8:15 PM

New York will implement a sweeping vaccine mandate for all private employers, with effect from Dec 27

8:08 PM

Delhi airport clarifies on reports of long wait-time

7:31 PM

2 more Omicron cases in Mumbai

5:33 PM

'246 samples of returnees from at-risk countries sent for genome sequencing'

5:28 PM

A 4-member delegation to visit Nagaland

5:17 PM

'Booster dose is really a priority for people who have been vaccinated early on'

4:41 PM

Shah's statement holds no water: Congress leader

4:16 PM

Number of Covid cases rises to 101 at a school in Karnataka