111 new cases, death toll reaches at 4,524
The Jammu and Kashmir recorded 111 fresh COVID-19 cases and one fatality due to the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the infection count to 3,40,833 and the death toll to 4,524.
Thirty-two of the fresh cases were from the Jammu division and 79 from the Kashmir division of the Union territory, the officials said.
They said Srinagar district recorded a maximum of 38 new cases, followed by 21 cases in Jammu district.
The Union Territory now has 1,333 active COVID-19 cases, while the count of recoveries stands at 3,34,976, the officials said.
The mucormycosis (black fungus) infection count in the UT remained unchanged at 50 as no fresh case was reported, they said.
Meanwhile, the Centre on Monday issued a fresh advisory to all States and UTs to deal with the pandemic situation amidst initial signs of surge in cases of COVID-19 as well as increased detection of Omicron variant in different parts of the country,
In the advisory, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said States and Union Territories may consider imposing need based, local curbs and restrictions, to control the crowd during the festive season.
Asking States and UTs not to let the guard down, he emphasised that there should be continued focus on the five-fold strategy — Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour to avoid the possibility of surge in COVID-19 cases, especially keeping in view the new Variant of Concern (VOC).
He asked the States and UTs to refer to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order issued for ensuring implementation of the measures as conveyed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on December 21.
“The country has witnessed an overall decline in active cases. However, the new variant, Omicron is reported to be at least three times more transmissible than the Delta VOC, and is posing a new challenge for the Covid containment measures,” the communication said.
In the countries with Omicron-driven surge, the home secretary said, the growth trajectory of cases has been very steep and in our country, 578 Omicron cases have already been reported in 19 States and UTs so far.
Meanwhile, CoWIN chief Dr. RS Sharma said that the children aged between 15 and 18 years would be able to register on the CoWIN portal from January 1 and the vaccine option for them would only be Covaxin.
According to the guidelines, which will come into effect from January 3, those aged 15 and above will be able to register on CoWIN. In other words, “all those whose birth year is 2007” or before, shall be eligible.
An additional provision has been made on CoWIN through which students can register for vaccination on the portal using their student identity cards as some may not have Aadhaar or other ID cards, Sharma said.
The beneficiaries (aged 15-18 years) can register themselves online through an existing account on Co-WIN or by creating a new account through a unique mobile number. This facility is available for all eligible citizens presently.
Such beneficiaries can also be registered at the vaccination sites by the verifier or the vaccinator in the facilitated registration mode and appointments can be booked online or on-site (walk-in), the guidelines stated.
In a televised address to the nation on Saturday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that vaccination against COVID-19 for children aged between 15 and 18 years will start from January 3, while a “precaution dose” for the healthcare and frontline workers would be administered from January 10 — decisions that came amid a rising number of coronavirus cases linked to its Omicron variant.
