Coronavirus April 22 Latest News: Delhi government issued Standard Operating Procedure today to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in schools. Some of the SOPs that are to be followed include availability of Quarantine room at schools and Teachers will daily ask the students about Covid related symptoms in students and their family members. The guidelines also say that students and staff should not be allowed to enter school premises without thermal scanning, and parents should be advised to not send their children to school if they test positive for the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, in the wake of surge in number of Covid cases, state governments have pulled up their socks and are gradually announcing new measures before the Covid-19 situation gets out of hand. The national capital has started providing free Covid-19 precautionary dose to beneficiaries in the age group of 18-59 at government vaccination centres. Precautionary doses were being provided to the 18-plus population at private vaccination centres across the country from April 10th. The Delhi government also made wearing of masks mandatory in public places and announced a fine of Rs 500 on violators, just eight days after it had relaxed this norm due to a decline in cases.
The situation in NCR hasn’t improved either. Gautam Buddh Nagar on Thursday recorded 103 new Covid infections as the district accounted for over 50 per cent of the active infections in Uttar Pradesh, as per the official data. The number of active cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar stood at 467 while the total number of active infections in Uttar Pradesh was 856. In the wake of a rise in the cases, the health department has urged residents to contact helpline number 1800492211 for any immediate Covid-related assistance.
To keep you updated with Covid-19 situation across India and around the globe, here are the latest key pointers:
India reported 2,451 new Covid-19 cases today and its active caseload increased to 14,241, as per the official data shared by the Health Ministry on Friday morning. An increase of 808 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The active cases in India comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded as 98.75 per cent.
More than hundred people were fined across Noida and Greater Noida for not wearing face masks in public places, the police said today. The challans were issued on Thursday to these people during police checks in crowded places such as markets, metro stations and shopping malls in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Budd Nagar district, they said.
If you have taken a longer break between the first two Covid vaccine doses, the interval may boost your antibody levels up to nine-fold, as per a study conducted in the UK. The finding by researchers at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also suggests that eight months after primary infection may be an optimum time to receive the first vaccine in those with prior infection.
Genome sequencing laboratories in Delhi have detected a variant of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2. The samples that tested positive for the new sub-variant (BA.2.12.1) have been sent to the country’s apex Covid-19 genome sequencing consortium, INSACOG, for confirmation, according to officials from Delhi’s health department.
The World Health Organization has announced that it “strongly recommends” Pfizer’s Covid-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid for patients with milder forms of the disease who were still at a high risk of hospitalisation.
The infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra has increased to 7,08,942 with the addition of 20 coronavirus positive cases, an official told PTI on Friday. These cases were reported on Thursday. The death toll in the district remained unchanged at 11,889.
Shanghai has extended the Covid-19 lockdown to April 26, amid reports of growing public resentment as the eastern metropolis of 26 million reported 11 more deaths on Thursday, taking the toll in the current outbreak to 36.
Philadelphia health officials have said that they are ending the indoor mask mandate. A department spokesperson in a statement said that due to decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts, the city will move to strongly recommend masks in indoor public spaces as opposed to a mask mandate.
(With Agency Inputs)