Health

Kanpur: A mild third wave of new variant Omicron of Covidvirus-19 is likely to peak in India between January and February next year, claimed Professor Manindra Agrawal of IIT here.

This will be around the Assembly elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur respectively.

Cautioning the citizens he said that they must remain careful.

In contrast to a South African research study, Manindra Agrawal said that Omicron does not seem to be bypassing natural immunity from Covid in any significant way.

Lalitpur (UP), Dec 2 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government, alleging that it left people to die and stopped them from entering the state while they were walking back home during the coronavirus lockdown.

The pictures seen during the Covid pandemic "were not even seen during the Partition", he alleged during a rally at Ginaut Bagh of Lalitpur district.

"Who can forget the pictures when a lockdown was imposed and our labourer brothers had to come from other places," Yadav said.

30 Nov 2021; MEMO: Miss France Clémence Botino tested positive for coronavirus shortly after arriving in Israel to participate in the Miss Universe 2021 pageant, Israel Hayom reported.

The paper quoted informed sources as saying that Botino was taken in an ambulance to a government isolation hotel yesterday morning and she will most likely miss the competition on 12 December in Eilat.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan announced Monday it will suspend entry of all foreign visitors from around the world as a new coronavirus variant spreads.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the measure will take effect Tuesday.

The decision means Japan will restore border controls that it eased earlier this month for short-term business visitors, foreign students and workers.

Singapore, Nov 26 (PTI Singapore will restrict entry of people with recent travel history to seven African countries after reports that a potentially more contagious COVID-19 variant may be circulating there, the Ministry of Health said on Friday.

From 11.59 PM (local time) on Saturday, all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with travel history within the last 14 days to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe will not be allowed to enter Singapore or transit here.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world raced Friday to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent.

A World Health Organization panel named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the predominant delta variant, which is still a scourge driving higher cases of sickness and death in Europe and parts of the United States.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Friday that Israel is “on the threshold of an emergency situation” after authorities detected the country’s first case of a new coronavirus variant and barred travel to and from most African countries.

The Health Ministry said it detected the new strain in a traveler who had returned from Malawi and was investigating two other suspected cases. The three individuals, who had all been vaccinated, were placed in isolation.

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, resumed exports of coronavirus vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program on Friday after halting most overseas sales in March.

26 Nov 2021; MEMO: Moroccan authorities yesterday suspended all commercial flights with France to curb an increasing number of coronavirus cases.

The Moroccan Monitoring Committee of COVID-19 said in a statement that the decision was taken "to preserve Morocco's achievements in terms of management of the COVID-19 pandemic and to deal with the deterioration of the health situation in some European countries," adding that the suspension will start "on Friday until further notice."

Dharwad (Karn), Nov 25 (PTI) Two hostels of SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital here have been sealed, with 66 medical students studying there having tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Thursday.

About 300 out of the total 400 students studying in the medical college have undergone COVID tests so far.

According to officials, a students' event almost a week ago might have resulted in the spread, as they advised people to avoid attending programmes like marriage, functions, and cultural gatherings.