Here are the latest updates about the new coronavirus variant:

  1. India’s tally of Omicron cases went up to 33 on Saturday, after Delhi recorded its second case. The 35-year-old patient, who had received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, had travelled to Zimbabwe and South Africa.
  2. The Mumbai Police prohibited gatherings of five or more residents on Saturday and Sunday under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Code Procedure as Maharashtra recorded a total of 17 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus this week.
  3. The Tamil Nadu government has said it will make it compulsory for college students to get vaccinated, The News Minute reported. So far, only 46% engineering students had taken one shot of the vaccine, the state health department said. to The Madurai district administration has prohibited the entry into public spaces of those who have not been completely vaccinated against Covid-19, reported ANI, citing District Collector Dr S Aneesh Sekhar.
  4. The health ministry on Friday cautioned states where districts are reporting Covid-19 positivity rates of over 10%, PTI reported. It added that districts with positivity rates between 5% and 10% also need to be watched. The ministry recommended the introduction of local containment measures to handle the rise in cases. 
  5. The demand for Covid-19 test kits has shot up as residents in Bengaluru stand in queues at testing centres after authorities emphasised on the need for RT-PCR tests, reported The Times of India.
  6. In Pune city, the first patient who had tested positive for the Omicron variant was discharged from quarantine on Friday, The Indian Express reported.
  7. Former Director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology Rakesh Mishra said that the very high rate of seropositivity should help India’s fight against the Omicron variant. Seropositivity is the presence of antibodies in the blood. But he stressed on the need for increased vaccination coverage and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour, reported PTI. 
  8. The Karnataka government on Friday released new coronavirus guidelines for the discharge of patients who tested positive for the new variant, reported the Hindustan Times. The state has reported two patients who had been infected with the new strain. 
  9. Switzerland’s medicines agency Swissmedic on Friday approved the inoculation of children between the ages of five and 11 with Pfizer-BioNtech’s Comirnaty vaccine, reported AFP.
  10. A booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine provides 70 to 75% protection against symptomatic infection from the Omicron variant, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday, according to PTI. The agency had analysed 581 Omicron for its study.