A third wave of coronavirus infections may have already begun in some Indian cities, health experts said on Friday, as the country's daily infection rate more than doubled in less than a week.
The head of the government’s task force warned on Thursday that the pandemic situation was changing with the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and “cannot be taken for granted".
“The severity issues are still unsettled; the World Health Organisation ... says severity is, hopefully, mild,” Dr V K Paul said.
“But it cannot be taken for granted because it is still a work in progress.”
Dr Paul said earlier in December that a third wave of infections in India could lead to 1.4 million new cases a day.
India reported more than 16,700 cases on Friday, compared with slightly over 6,300 on Monday, including 309 caused by Omicron – the biggest single-day jump in infections by the new variant.
A total of 1,270 Omicron infections have been confirmed since the first case was detected on December 2.
There have been no fatalities arising from the new variant, although officials in Maharashtra state – which has reported 450 Omicron cases – said a man of 52 who died of cardiac arrest at a hospital on December 28 was later confirmed to have been infected with Omicron.
However, they said his death was due to “non-Covid reasons”.
Maharashtra recorded 5,368 cases on Thursday – including 3,555 in Mumbai, the densely populated state capital. Nearly 150 of the Omicron cases in Mumbai have no travel history.
The western state was one the worst-affected regions during India's second wave which peaked in April and May. Maharashtra accounts for 6.6 million cases out of nearly 35 million recorded in the country, and almost 142,00 out of about 481,00 deaths.
Daily cases also witnessed a surge in New Delhi, the national capital, where officials say more than half of new cases are caused by Omicron.
Delhi reported more than 1,300 new cases on Thursday – four times more than the number recorded on Monday and the highest daily tally in seven months.
“Looking at the jump in coronavirus cases in Delhi and Mumbai, it would be reasonable to say that the third wave has at least started in the clusters in Delhi and Mumbai,” said Dr Rahul Pandit, director of critical care at Fortis Hospital in Mumbai.
Paul Kattuman, a professor at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge in the UK, who predicted India’s devastating second wave, said the country will probably experience an intense but short-lived increase in Covid-19 cases driven by Omicron.
“It is likely that India will see a period of explosive growth in daily cases and that the intense growth phase will be relatively short,” he said.
India's federal government and regional authorities recently announced new measures to contain the pandemic, including vaccination of teenagers and a third dose for frontline workers and the vulnerable population from January.
The Delhi government has ordered schools, colleges and gyms to close and markets and public transport to operate at 50 per cent capacity. The eastern city of Kolkata has banned flights from the UK from January 3.
There are fears that large campaign rallies in five states that will hold elections in early 2022 could turn into super spreader events, prompting calls for the polls to be postponed.
But India’s election commission on Thursday said the elections would be held on schedule and that it did not have the power to ban election rallies.
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Premier League results
Saturday
Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2
Cardiff City 2 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Bournemouth 2
Leicester City 3 Fulham 1
Newcastle United 3 Everton 2
Southampton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Manchester City 3 Watford 1
Sunday
Liverpool 4 Burnley 2
Chelsea 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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THE%20SWIMMERS
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
HAJJAN
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MATCH INFO
Delhi Daredevils 174-4 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians 163 (19.3 ovs)
Delhi won the match by 11 runs
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Real Sociedad v Leganes (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Real Valladolid (4pm)
Valencia v Granada (7pm)
Eibar v Real Madrid (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Sunday
Real Mallorca v Villarreal (3pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Levante (5pm)
Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (7pm)
Getafe v Osasuna (9.30pm)
Real Betis v Sevilla (midnight)
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
