Omicron
Omicron News
WHO: China's COVID-19 plan 'unsustainable' due to highly-infectious Omicron variant
The ruthless and often chaotic implementation of zero-COVID in China has stirred considerable resentment and food shortages in Shanghai, where some residents have been under lockdown for more than a month
North Korea reports six deaths, a day after acknowledging COVID-19 outbreak
The true scale is unclear, but a big COVID-19 outbreak could be devastating in a country with a broken health care system and an unvaccinated, malnourished population
Global tourism recovering, but yet to return to pre-pandemic levels
International tourist arrivals worldwide have more than doubled, up 130 per cent in January 2022 on the same period last year, according to UN World Tourism Organization figures
North Korea reports first COVID-19 outbreak, declares 'severe national emergency'
North Korea has never admitted to a case of COVID-19, with the government imposing a rigid coronavirus blockade of its borders since the start of the pandemic in 2020
China's services activity plunges as zero-Covid drags, according to independent data
The figures come as China's leaders battle the highly infectious Omicron variant that has led to the locking down of major cities
Beijing tightens COVID-19 restrictions as long holiday begins
Faced with the highly transmissible Omicron variant, Chinese officials have doubled down on their zero-Covid policy, quashing virus clusters through mass testing and lockdowns
China facing 'tsunami' of Omicron, says top official as Shanghai, Beijing battle to curb Covid spread
All the residents in Beijing will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours to enter public spaces from 30 April
Beijing: Omicron threatens Communist Party congress where Xi Jinping seeks 3rd term as Chinese capital stares at lockdown
Authorities are moving quickly to try to prevent a massive COVID-19 outbreak that could trigger a citywide lockdown like the one that has paralyzed Shanghai for more than three weeks
Beijing orders mass COVID-19 testing in 11 districts after 32 turn positive on Monday's nucleic acid tests
Beijing is battling the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. It has ordered mass testing covering almost all of its 21 million population
Health
COVID-19: Possibility of new variants of Omicron in Delhi, say experts
Delhi on Wednesday reported 1,009 fresh cases, the highest since 10 February, while the positivity rate is 5.70 per cent
Surge in COVID-19 cases will not lead to fourth wave, says former Chief Scientist of ICMR
Dr R Gangakhedkar said that India has sublineages of the Omicron variant but no new variant has been reported so far and the chances of the fourth wave can't be seen as of now
Shanghai reports 7 more COVID-19 deaths, infection rate peaks amid lockdown in Chinese city
The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission on Tuesday said the seven victims were aged between 60 and 101, and all suffered from underlying conditions such as heart disease and diabetes
Shanghai reports three COVID-19 deaths, first since the start of lockdown
The deceased included two women aged 89 and 91, and a man aged 91. The city government said that they all had a variety of underlying health complaints such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure
India's 'warm vaccine' candidate effective against Delta, Omicron COVID-19 variants in mice, says study
The latest study, published recently in the journal Viruses, assessed vaccinated mice sera (blood samples) for efficacy against key coronavirus variants, including Delta and Omicron.
.jpg?impolicy=website&width=640&height=362 "No reason to worry until a new variant of concern of COVID-19 gets detected, says Delhi health minister")
No reason to worry until a new variant of concern of COVID-19 gets detected, says Delhi health minister
Satyendar Jain said that Delhi government is keeping a watchful eye over the COVID-19 pandemic situation and since World Health Organisation has not declared any new variant of concern, there is no reason to worry yet
China's health system feels the pressure as Omicron cases spike
Shanghai residents under lockdown have complained about a lack of access to food and medicines unrelated to COVID-19
Explained: A more contagious version of COVID-19 Omicron variant takes over; what's known about BA.2?
BA.2 been dubbed 'stealth omicron' because it lacks a genetic quirk of the original omicron that allowed health officials to rapidly differentiate it from the delta variant using a certain PCR test
Latest Omicron strain unlikely to cause new wave of pandemic, says Russian expert
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a warning against XE, a new variant of Omicron first detected in the UK.
COVID-19: Symptoms from Omicron infection last two days less than Delta, says Lancet study
The research, published in The Lancet journal has used data from vaccinated people who kept a smartphone log of their COVID-19 symptoms after breakthrough infections
XE variant of COVID-19 not more severe than Omicron, says top virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang
XE is a combination or recombinant of both sub-variants (BA.1 and BA.2) of Omicron and could be more transmissible than any COVID-19 strain, according to the WHO