NEW DELHI/MUMBAI : Hours after Mumbai’s civic body on Wednesday claimed that a case of the new XE variant of Covid-19 had been detected, top sources in Union health ministry said the genome sequencing of the patient’s sample does not indicate the presence of this variant, which is said to be more transmissible than the earlier variants.

According to officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a 50-year-old woman with international travel history was detected with the XE variant. She was asymptomatic and did not have co-morbididities. 

The XE strain,  a variant of Omicron BA1 and BA2, occurs when the person is infected with more than one variant. A large number of XE variant patients were detected in the UK. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner of BMC, said the patient is fully vaccinated. “On arrival in Mumbai on February 10, her test came negative. But later during another test, she was detected positive. She was quarantined in a hotel. She is fine. Her test samples came negative on March 3,” Kakani added.

However, a Union health ministry source denied the presence of the variant in the patient’s sample. “Files of the sample, which is being said to be the ‘XE’ variant, were analysed in detail by experts of INSACOG who inferred that the genomic constitution of this variant does not correlate with the genomic picture of ‘XE’ variant,” the source said. 

Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) studies and monitors genome sequencing and virus variation of circulating strains of Covid-19 in India. Kakani maintained that BMC had recently carried out genome sequencing of 230 Covid-19 samples, of which one was detected with the XE variant.

The WHO has said that early estimates suggest XE is 10 per cent more contagious than BA.2 (Omicron). However, the global health body has said that this finding requires further confirmation.

What do we know so far about the new strain

• The new Covid strain XE was first detected in the UK on January 19 
• XE is a mutation of the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron strains, referred to as a ‘recombinant’. 
• WHO said it appeared to be 10 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron
• The new strain is also being called a stealth variant because of its ability to evade detection

NEW DELHI: With 1,033 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,31,958, while the active cases dipped to 11,639, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll climbed to 5,21,530 with 43 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said.

A reduction of 232 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.21 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.22 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,24,98,789 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 185.20 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year.

The 43 new fatalities include 32 from Kerala. A total of 5,21,530 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,800 from Maharashtra, 68,228 from Kerala, 40,056 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,155 from Delhi, 23,497 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,200 from West Bengal.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

NEW DELHI: With 795 new coronavirus infections reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,29,839, while the active cases dipped to 12,054, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The death toll climbed to 5,21,416 with 58 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said.

A reduction of 543 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.17 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was at 0.22 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,24,96,369, while the case fatality rate was recorded as 1.21 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 184.87 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

NEW DELHI: India recorded less than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time in 715 days even as the virus tally rose to 4,30,29,044, while the active infection count fell below 13,000, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

India recorded COVID-19 cases below 1,000 for the first time since April 18, 2020 when 991 cases were reported.

A reduction of 416 cases has been recorded in the number of active infections in a span of 24 hours. India’s COVID-19 tally had surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore coronavirus cases on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.29 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.22 per cent, according to the Health Ministry.

A total of 79.10 crore tests for the detection of COVID-19 have been conducted so far, including 3,14,823 in the last 24 hours. The 13 new fatalities include eight from Kerala. A total of 5,21,358 deaths linked to coronavirus have so far been reported in the country.

This includes 1,47,789 from Maharashtra, 68,074 from Kerala, 40,054 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,153 from Delhi, 23,496 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,199 from West Bengal. The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

NEW DELHI: With 1,335 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,25,775, while the active cases dipped to 13,672, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

A reduction of 635 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.22 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.23 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,24,90,922, while the case fatality rate was recorded as 1.21 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 184.31 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. The 52 new fatalities include 48 from Kerala.

A total of 5,21,181 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,783 from Maharashtra, 67,913 from Kerala, 40,054 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,152 from Delhi, 23,495 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,197 from West Bengal.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

NEW DELHI: With 1,225 new coronavirus infections reported in a day, India’s infection tally rose to 4,30,24,440, while the active cases dipped to 14,307, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said. A reduction of 397 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The country’s daily Covid positivity rate was recorded at 0.20 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.23 per cent. A total of 78.91 crore Covid tests have been conducted so far, with 6,07,987 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.

According to the ministry, the 28 new fatalities include 21 from Kerala.

A total of 5,21,129 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,47,782 from Maharashtra, 67,865 from Kerala, 40,053 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,152 from Delhi, 23,495 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,197 from West Bengal.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

India’s COVID-19 tally had surpassed the one crore-mark on December 19, 2020. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year.

NEW DELHI: With 1,938 coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of cases rose to 4,30,14,687, while the active cases further declined to 22,427, according to Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,16,672 with 67 daily fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.05 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

A reduction of 660 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 0.29 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.35 per cent, according to the ministry.

The last 24 hours saw a total of 6,61,954 COVID-19 tests being conducted in the country and so far, over 78.49 crore tests have been done.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,24,75,588, while the case fatality rate has been recorded at 1.20 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered, so far, under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 182.23 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed two crore cases on May 4 and three crore cases on June 23.

The 67 new fatalities include 61 from Kerala.

A total of 5,16,672 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,43,769 from Maharashtra, 67,476 from Kerala, 40,042 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,148 from Delhi, 23,492 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,197 from West Bengal.

The health ministry said that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

NEW DELHI: More than 69 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses have so far been administered to the beneficiaries in the 12-14 years age group, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.

The cumulative number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 182 crore on Wednesday, it added.

More than 28 lakh (28,17,612) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Wednesday, the ministry said, adding that the daily vaccination tally is expected to go up with the compilation of the final reports by late night.

Over 69 lakh (69,99,528) vaccine doses have so far been administered to the beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group, according to the ministry’s data.

More than 2.21 crore (2,21,14,924) precaution doses have been given to the healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged above 60 years, the ministry said.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year, with the healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2 last year.

The next phase of Covid vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged above 45 years from April 1 last year.

The Centre then decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be inoculated against the viral disease from May 1 last year.

The next phase of Covid vaccination commenced from January 3 this year for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

The country began administering precaution doses of the vaccines to the healthcare workers, the frontline workers and those aged 60 years and above with comorbidities from January 10 this year. The inoculation of children aged 12-14 started from March 16.

NEW DELHI: India’s COVID-19 tally increased to 4,30,06,080 on Saturday with 2,075 fresh infections, while the active cases declined further to 27,802, according to Union health ministry data.

The death toll due to the viral disease climbed to 5,16,352 with 71 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.06 per cent of the total infections.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.73 per cent, the health ministry said.

A reduction of 1,379 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.56 per cent and the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.41 per cent, the ministry said.

The last 24 hours saw a total of 3,70,514 COVID-19 tests being conducted.

India has so far conducted over 78.22 crore tests, it said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,24,61,926.

The case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent, it added.

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive have exceeded 181.04 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, 2021, and three crore on June 23.

The 71 new fatalities include 59 from Kerala.

Of the total 5,16,352 deaths reported so far in the country, 1,43,765 were from Maharashtra, 67,197 from Kerala, 40,033 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,145 from Delhi, 23,492 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,193 from West Bengal.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

NEW DELHI: With 2,528 new COVID-19 cases being reported in a day, India’s infection tally now stands at 4,30,04,005, while the count of active cases fell below 30,000 after around 685 days, according to the Union Health Ministry on Friday.

The count of active cases has declined to 29,181 which comprises 0.07 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further improved to 98.73 per cent, the health ministry said.

A reduction of 1,618 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload of the country in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.

There has been a sustained fall in the weekly and daily positivity rates too, the ministry said.

Both were recorded at 0.40 per cent, it added.

The last 24 hours saw a total of 6,33,867 COVID-19 tests being conducted.

India has so far conducted over 78.18 crore tests for the disease.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,24,58,543, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent, the data showed.

The cumulative number of doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 180.97 crore.

India’s COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

The country crossed the grim milestones of two crore cases on May 4, 2021 and three crore on June 23.

The 149 new fatalities include 130 from Kerala.

A total of 5,16,281 COVID-19 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,43,762 from Maharashtra, 67,138 from Kerala, 40,028 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,145 from Delhi, 23,492 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,192 from West Bengal.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.