India’s daily Covid-19 cases neared the 2 lakh mark (1,94,720 to be precise) and the cumulative number of Omicron patients inched towards the 5,000 figure (4,868), according to health ministry statistics.  

Coronavirus loses 90 percent of its ability to infect people within 20 minutes of becoming airborne – with most of the loss occurring within the first five minutes, according to the world’s first simulations of how the virus survives in exhaled air.

With the health directorate reporting 2,458 new Covid cases yesterday, the highest in four months, experts warned that the pandemic situation, fuelled by community transmission of Omicron variant, may get worse fast.

The parliamentary standing committee on expatriates’ welfare and overseas welfare ministry at a meeting recommended the installation of rapid test facilities in all three international airports of the country for outgoing expatriate workers.

The daily count of Covid-19 infections in Delhi rose to 21,259 taking the total caseload to nearly 16 lakh as authorities ordered closure of all private offices, except those in exempted categories in view of the sharp uptick in cases.

A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people.

At least 2,458 new infections were recorded and two people died from Covid-19 in 24 hours till 8am today, said a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Experts said Monday that an alleged hybrid coronavirus mutation dubbed "Deltacron" reportedly discovered in a Cyprus lab is most likely the result of a lab contamination, and not a new worrying variant.

Three dengue patients were hospitalised in 24 hours till 8 am today, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and his wife Rahat Ara Begum have tested positive for coronavirus.

Nearly one million Hindu worshippers are expected to gather on the banks of the Ganges river this Friday and Saturday for a holy bathe despite galloping Covid-19 infections across the country, an official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday the government has secured enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for all eligible Canadians to receive a booster as well as a fourth dose, according a statement from Trudeau’s office.

Pfizer expects a Covid-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron variant to be ready in March, the company's head said Monday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States reached a record high on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, as a surge in infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant strains health systems in several states.

While authorities have taken an initiative to inoculate students of Chattogram, health guidelines are barely being followed during the vaccination campaign. Students and their guardians crowded the inoculation centres yesterday, with no social distancing in sight.

The Covid curbs are back five months after relaxation as the government looks to stem the tide of Covid-19 cases that can potentially cripple the economy and overwhelm hospitals once again.

Taking the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and its new variant Omicron into consideration, the government has issued fresh restrictions on public gatherings -- to be effective from January 13.

High levels of T-cells from common cold coronaviruses can provide protection against Covid-19, an Imperial College London study published on Monday has found, which could inform approaches for second-generation vaccines.

At least 2,231 new infections were recorded and three people died from Covid-19 in 24 hours till 8am today, said a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Nine more cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Bangladesh, taking the total tally to 30 till today, according to GISAID, the global database for genomic data on the coronavirus.