Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 2 Omicron cases detected at Hyderabad

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Puducherry Logs 13 New Covid Cases

Puducherry recorded 13 new coronavirus cases during last 24 hours on Wednesday taking the total number of those affected by the disease to 1,29,261. The new cases identified at the end of 2,206 samples were spread over Puducherry 11 and Karaikal and Mahe one case each. The active cases were 173 which included 39 patients in hospitals and remaining 134 patients were in home isolation.

Omicron variant in West Bengal: West Bengal reports its first Omicron case as 7-year-old boy tests positive for coronavirus variant: State health department

Omicron tally rises to 65 in India

Telangana Omicron update: Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said that the missing Somalian with Corona Omicron positive has been tracked and shifted to TIMS Gatchibowli. The health authorities are in the process of identifying those who came in contact with him for further testing.

All the foreign nationals residing in that area will be screened for Covid now.

Omicron variant in Telangana: Telangana on Wednesday reported two cases of Omicron variant for the first time. According to the Telangana medical and health department, two passengers who arrived from Kenya and Somalia have tested positive for the Omicron, a new variant of COVID-19. Read Full Story

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Arunachal Pradesh Reports Single COVID-19 Case

Arunachal Pradesh reported one fresh case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the tally to 55,314. The death count remained at 280 as no new fatality due to the contagion was reported in the past 24 hours.The frontier state now has 34 active cases, while 55,000 people have recovered from the disease so far.

Hong Kong researchers urge third Covid-19 shot after new Omicron study

Researchers in Hong Kong have urged people to get a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible, after a study showed insufficient antibodies were generated by the Sinovac and BioNTech products to fend off Omicron.

Tuesday's release of the results of a study by scientists in the microbiology department of the University of Hong Kong was the first published preliminary data on the impact of Sinovac's vaccine against the Omicron variant of coronavirus. None of the serum of the 25 Coronavac vaccine recipients contained sufficient antibodies to neutralise the new variant, according to the study, accepted for publication in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers said. (Reuters)

Maharashtra govt slashes RT-PCR rates to Rs 1,975 from 4,500

The Maharashtra government has once again slashed the price of the RT-PCR test at Mumbai airport.In the beginning, the price was Rs 4,500. Then it was cut down to Rs 3,900. And now it is slashed to Rs 1,975, said a press release.

US COVID death toll hits 800,000, a year into vaccine drive

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring. The number of deaths, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Atlanta and St. Louis combined, or Minneapolis and Cleveland put together. It is roughly equivalent to how many Americans die each year from heart disease or stroke.

Pfizer confirms COVID pill's results, potency versus omicron

Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental pill to treat Covid-19 appears effective against the omicron variant.

The company also said full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill's promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalisations and deaths by about 89% among high-risk adults when taken shortly after initial Covid-19 symptoms.

Separate laboratory testing shows the drug retains its potency against the omicron variant, the company announced, as many experts had predicted. Pfizer tested the antiviral drug against a man-made version of a key protein that omicron uses to reproduce itself. (AP)