SPORTS

A couple of weeks ago, all of my friends had an elaborate conference call trying to make a plan for New Year’s eve.  

And while some of us went straight ahead to the idea of an intimate house party, others jumped to the thought of chilling at a beach in Goa. And I wouldn’t lie, I was tempted.  

Call it bad luck or good, but I fell sick just a week before the New Year and ended up staying in on the big night. Others, however, flew to Goa and landed plum in the middle of what can only be called a breeding ground for Omicron, as thousands of people partied into the night without a mask on.

With the Covid positivity rate in Delhi rising to 6.5 per cent in the last 24 hours, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is deliberating over strengthening the already existing restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, including of the new variant Omicron.

Under the Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP), of the DDMA, it is decided as to which activities would be allowed under what circumstances in case of a surge in Covid-19 cases.

There are four levels of colour-coded alerts, namely, yellow, amber, orange and red. Currently, Delhi is under the `yellow` alert, which is declared when the infection rate continues to be either at 0.5 per cent for two consecutive days or crosses it. Under the Level 1 alert, 1,500 positive cases could be reported in the national capital in one week.

Amid concerns over the new, highly transmissible Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, India is all set to begin vaccinating the 15 to 18-year-old age group against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) from today. It is, however, to be noted that only Bharat Biotech's indigenously-made shot ‘Covaxin’ will be used for vaccinating this age bracket. According to a note sent by the Union health ministry to all states and Union territories, additional doses of Covaxin will be sent to the states for administering the vaccine to this population category.

The government's decision to begin the vaccination drive in this regard was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Christmas Day last December. It was said that while vaccination for the age bracket of 15-18 will begin from January 3, 2022, the administration of a precautionary third dose (booster shot) for vulnerable categories of people will begin from January 10.

The Kolkata Metro will stop issuing tokens from Monday in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). This is part of the strict curbs announced by the West Bengal government after a 14-fold rise in Covid-19 cases in just seven days.

The restrictions on Metro were issued under the provision under Disaster Management Act 2005 on Sunday (January 2). The number of tokens will be reduced till further notice in order to operate with 50 per cent capacity as per state government's directions.

Only smart card holders will be able to travel in the Metro as the counter will only issue these cards and the cardholders will be able to recharge their cards like before.

Aam Aadmi Party`s National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit Uttarakhand on Monday (January 3, 2022). On this one-day visit to Uttarakhand, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will hold a meeting with party officials.

According to a statement by the party, issued on Sunday, this will be the sixth election tour of AAP`s national convener in Uttarakhand. 

The release added that Arvind Kejriwal will reach Jolly Grant Airport on Monday at around 11:30 am. He will go to Bijapur Guest House from the airport.