Here are the latest updates about the new coronavirus variant.

  1. The number of Omicron cases in India rose to 38 on Sunday after four new cases were detected in Maharashtra, Kerala, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These were the first cases of the new variant in Kerala, Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh.
  2. The Andhra Pradesh government said a 34-year-old foreign traveller, who came from Ireland to Visakhapatnam, was found positive. He does not have any symptoms. A 20-year-old man who came from Italy to visit his relatives in Chandigarh also tested positive for Omicron. In Karnataka, a 34-year-old returnee from South Africa caught the Omicron variant. This is the third case of the new strain in the southern state. The city of Nagpur in Maharashtra also reported its first case of the Omicron variant after a 40-year-old man who returned from Burkina Faso tested positive for it, The Times of India reported. Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the person who tested positive for the new variant returned from the United Kingdom to Kochi on December 6.
  3. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 may pose “a fresh risk” to global recovery but its impact would be “less severe” for India due to the increasing pace of vaccination in the country, a finance ministry report said on Saturday, reported the Hindustan Times. In its monthly economic review for November, the ministry said that India’s economic recovery is expected to gain further strength in the remaining two quarters of the current financial year.  
  4. The Indian Council of Medical Research in Assam’s Dibrugarh district has designed a testing kit that will be able to detect the Omicron variant in a couple of hours, ANI reported. Currently, It takes three to four days time to detect the variant with the help of kits available in the market.
  5. The Union health ministry asked states to keep a strict watch in 27 districts that have Covid-19 test positivity rates of 5% and above, reported the Hindustan Times. 
  6. The Supreme Court in Brazil has ruled that foreign visitors will need to provide a coronavirus vaccination certificate to enter the country, reported BBC. The court said it would be impossible to check all visitors and prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. 
  7. People aged 30 and above in England will now be able to get Covid-19 booster jabs from Monday, reported BBC. Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said data shows the booster shots were “essential defence against Omicron”.
  8. Australia said that it will shorten the wait time for people to get a Covid-19 booster dose to five months after the second shot in view of rise in Omicron variant cases, reported Reuters. Previously, Australia allowed administration of the booster jabs to people above 18 years six months after their their second dose.
  9. Dr Samiran Panda, the head of epidemiology department in the Indian Council of Medical Research, has advised against suddenly introducing booster shots or recommending any change in the time gap of Covishield shots in view of Omicron cases, reported The Times of India. 
  10. Amid Omicron concerns, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said his government has made coronavirus vaccination mandatory for students above 18 years of age to attend college classes, reported The News Minute.