Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 2 Omicron cases detected at Hyderabad

Omicron cases in Maharashtra rise to 32

Coronavirus in Maharashtra: Maharashtra reports 925 new cases & 10 deaths; Active caseload at 6,467

Omicron cases in Maharashtra: Four new cases of Omicron have been reported from Maharashtra. Two cases are from Osmanabad and one each from Mumbai and Buldhana. Of these, 25 patients have been discharged after testing negative. Patient from Mumbai had travelled to Ireland.

Coronavirus in Karnataka: Karnataka reports 317 Covid-19 cases, 2 fatalities. Infection tally rises to 30,01,251, death toll 38,277. Number of active cases in the state stands at 7,179.

Coronavirus in Poland: Poland's daily death toll from COVID-19 during the fourth wave of the pandemic has climbed to a record 669, the health ministry said on Wednesday, as the country battles high infection rates with tighter restrictions.”This is the effect of these last weeks, when the number of cases has accumulated. They are mainly unvaccinated people,” government spokesman Piotr Muller told private broadcaster Radio Zet earlier.The health ministry also said there were 24,266 new COVID-19 cases.Poland's highest daily death toll during the pandemic overall stands at 954, hit in April this year.Poland imposed new regulations on Wednesday to curb the spread of the virus, further limiting numbers in some public spaces such as restaurants and closing nightclubs.Countries around the world are tightening restrictions ahead of the festive season following the emergence of the new fast-spreading Omicron variant last month, which has now been detected in 77 countries. – Reuters

Coronavirus Live Updates: Man from Nigeria, family suspected to be hit by Omicron doing fine: TN Health Minister

A 47-year-old man who had arrived from Nigeria and six of his family members tested Covid-19 positive and their tests had S-gene drop raising the suspicion of being infected by Omicron were doing well, Tamil Nadu Minister Ma Subramanian said on Wednesday. The Minister for Medical and Family Welfare said the officials of Greater Chennai Corporation were involved in monitoring the primary and secondary contacts of his family members. Subramanian said the man has received two doses of vaccines and he, along with his family members, were asymptomatic and were ailing from cold, cough and body pain. According to him, the man arrived in Chennai on December 10 via Doha tested positive for Covid-19 during the random RTPCR-sampling test currently undertaken for passengers arriving from non-risk countries. – PTI

Coronavirus in Ladakh: Ladakh has reported 10 fresh COVID-19 cases, which took the tally to 21,849 in the Union Territory, officials said on Wednesday. Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, the union territory has recorded 216 Covid-related deaths — 158 in Leh and 58 in Kargil, they said. (PTI)

Covid-19 vaccines may be less effective against Omicron, says WHO

Preliminary evidence indicates that COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. The WHO, in its weekly epidemiological update, said that more data was needed to better understand the extent to which Omicron may evade immunity derived from either vaccines or previous infection. “As a result of this, the overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high,” it said. (Reuters)

Philippines confirms first 2 Omicron cases

The Philippines has recorded its first two confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in two travelers from Nigeria and Japan respectively, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday. The DOH said that the Nigerian national arrived in Manila on Nov. 30 via an Oman Air flight, while the returning overseas Filipino arrived on Dec. 1 via Philippine Airlines from Japan. The two Omicron-positive individuals are now isolated in a facility managed by the Bureau of Quarantine. The Filipino had symptoms of colds and cough upon arrival, the DOH said.

Coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh reported 163 fresh cases taking the total tally to 20,75,271 Coronavirus cases across the state. While coming to fatalities, three new deaths registered in the last twenty four hours with one each in Nellore, Srikakulam, and Visakhapatnam taking total toll to 14,471. Read Full Story