Botswana says 15 more cases of Omicron variant detected in country
Omicron variant: Scotland reports 6 cases of new COVID-19 strain, UK's total tally at 9
WHO warns risk related to Covid variant Omicron 'very high'
COVID-19 Alert: Morocco suspends all incoming flights over Omicron variant
Japan to bar new foreign arrivals over Covid-19 variant: PM Kishida
Thane: Dombivali resident tests COVID-19 positive after returning from South Africa; samples will be sent for genome sequencing
A man who returned from South Africa to Dombivali in Thane district of Maharashtra recently has tested positive for coronavirus, a Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) official said on Sunday. Read more.
COVID-19: India reports 8,309 new cases, 236 deaths in last 24 hours
India reported 8,309 new COVID-19 cases, 236 deaths and 9,905 recoveries in the last 24 hours; Active caseload at 1,03,859; lowest in 544 days, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Monday. Read more.
Not yet clear if Omicron more transmissible, causes severe disease, says WHO
The World Health Organization has said it is "not yet clear" whether the newly-detected coronavirus variant Omicron is more transmissible or causes more severe disease compared to other variants, including the highly-transmissible and globally prevalent Delta variant.
"There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants," the WHO said, It added that initial reported infections were among university studies -- younger individuals who tend to have more mild disease -- but understanding the level of severity of the Omicron variant will take days to several weeks.
South Africa to remain on lowest lockdown level; calls for immediate end to travel ban
South Africa will remain on the lowest 'Level One' of its five-level lockdown strategy to fight the Covid-19 pandemic despite the global panic around the detection of the Omicron variant in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced .
Ramaphosa also called on more than 20 countries that have imposed travel bans to and from South Africa and its neighbours to immediately end the ban to avoid further harm to the economies of these countries, which have already been battered by the pandemic.
COVID: Canada confirms two cases of Omicron variant
The first two cases of the new, Omicron, coronavirus strain have been confirmed in Canada, the Ontario government says.
"Today, the province of Ontario has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa, both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation," Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health, said in a Sunday statement.
