COVID-19 News Updates

In view of the possible threat from Omicron, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra Monday advised the people of the State not to lower their guards against Covid-19.

Post reopening of schools and educational institutions in Odisha, the state is witnessing a rise in Covid-19 infections among students and staffers.

The Government of India has issued revised guidelines for international travelers in view of Omicron variant of COVID-19.

A decrease of 1,832 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (34,572,523 infections and 468,554 deaths), followed by Brazil (22,080,906 infections and 614,278 deaths).

It said the number of people testing positive has risen in areas of South Africa affected by this variant, but epidemiologic studies are underway to understand if it is because of Omicron or other factors.

According to the new guidelines, the passengers travelling from countries that are categorised as 'at-risk' will have to undergo testing on arrival. If the passengers test positive, their samples will be sent for genomic sequencing, and they will be sent to institutional quarantine.

While the scare of a possible third wave is looming over schools across the State, the number of positivity has witnessed a spike recently; especially in the residential institutions and hostels.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the new Covid variant detected in South Africa this week as the 'Variant of Concern' -- VOC, following the Technical Advisory Group meetings.

As the COVID Omicron strain scare has gripped several countries, Odisha government has issued fresh guidelines for the travelers with a view to contain the spread of the virus. State Health Services director Bijay Mohapatra informed that quarantine along with Covid testing and genome sequencing would now be mandatory for foreigners and returnees from other countries.

He also emphasised on door-to-door vaccination drive and directed to ensure that everyone adheres to the COVID guidelines released by the government. Mahapatra also ordered to take the violators into tasks and take stern action against them. 

AICC launched a "Covid justice campaign" with its chief Rahul Gandhi sharing a video of the affected families on Twitter and demanding a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for every household that has lost at least a member to Covid-19.

Cases of the new variants have been detected in the last one week in countries like Botswana, South Africa, Hong Kong and Israel.

A decrease of 1,328 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 48,201,840 and 776,517, respectively according to the CSSE.