COVID-19 News Updates

Whether or not a mutation turns out to be milder or more lethal is a matter of chance, he said.

People should remain alert at community-level since children would be at risk in case a surge happens, cautioned Odisha Health Director, Bijay Mohapatra on Wednesday (Dec 8).

As state awaits the genome sequencing reports of 246 foreign returnees, Odisha Public Health Director, Niranjan Mishra, on Wednesday (Dec 8) informed that four persons who have returned from at-risk countries tested positive for Covid-19.

The samples from the foreign returnees have been sent for genome sequencing to trace if they are infected with the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2

Meanwhile top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said that early data on the Omicron Covid-19 variant is a "bit encouraging" and does not indicate a great degree of danger, says.

The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (34,648,383 infections and 473,757 deaths), followed by Brazil (22,157,726 infections and 616,018 deaths).

A decrease of 1,281 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.

In the backdrop of the Indian Medical Association's warning of a massive third wave of Covid pandemic, people in Odisha have set their eyes on the result of genome sequencing reports of 246 Covid positive patients in the State. 

The results suggest a sub-group of patients who would likely benefit from this therapy, and they highlight the need for additional studies in the development of this therapy.

State Health Services Director Bijay Mohapatra on Tuesday (Dec 7) claimed that till Monday evening, not a single person who has arrived in Odisha from ‘at risk’ countries has tested positive for Covid-19.

Most of the vaccines, in general, have demonstrated their effectiveness against new variants including Delta in preventing hospitalisations and deaths. However, their effectiveness seems to be waning rapidly over time (6 to 9 months after 2nd dose), necessitating booster doses to those at high risk and to all adults if sufficient vaccine supplies are available.

In addition, a significantly higher number of short-lived vaccine reactions were reported in volunteers who received a second dose of Moderna compared to those who received two doses of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer.

Amid rising threat of ‘Omicron’ variant of Covid-19, as many as 9 girl students studying at a residential school at Dasrathpur in Jajpur district tested positive for the virus on Monday (Dec 6). Reports said that the infected girls were students of Class 6 and 9 at the government-run school.

With Omicron starting to engulf India, the third wave of coronavirus could hit the peak by February with daily cases in the country expected to reach up to 1-1.5 lakh. This information was recently shared by IIT scientist Manindra Agarwal, who is involved in the mathematical projection of trajectory of COVID-19.

The students have been kept in isolation in separate rooms on the premises of the school and undergoing treatment, informed Siddharth Shankar Swain, Angul district Collector.