Covid-19: Indian consulate in Shanghai closes in-person services, WHO monitors Omicron’s descendent lineages, and more

The Indian Consulate in Shanghai has announced the suspension of in-person consular services as China’s gleaming business hub with 26 million people struggled with mounting Covid-19 cases, putting the country’s dynamic zero-case policy to the test. Indian citizens in Eastern China Region may apply at the Embassy of India, Beijing for availing of urgent consular services, the Consulate said in a notice issued on Tuesday.

India records 1,088 new Covid-19 cases 
India saw a single-day rise of 1,088 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,30,38,016, while the active cases dipped to 10,870, according to the Union Health Minry data Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 5,21,736 with 26 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The 26 new fatalities include 19 from Kerala.
Continuing to monitor ‘several descendent lineages’ of Omicron variant: WHO
The World Health Organisation has said that it is continuing to monitor “several descendent lineages” of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, including two new sublineages that have additional mutations associated with potential “immune escape characterics.”
South Korea to expand rollout of second Covid booster shot to people over 60
South Korea’s health minry said on Wednesday it will adminer a second Covid-19 vaccine booster shot for people over 60 as the country continues to battle the highly contagious Omicron variant. “The government plans to expand the fourth round of vaccination to those aged 60 and older,” Health Miner Kwon Deok-cheol told a meeting, adding the infection rate in the age group has continued to rise to stand above 20%.
Here are other top developments from around the world:
➡️ China continued to battle sharp spikes in Covid-19 cases, pushing authorities to warn of strict measures for those violating lockdown rules, while a tally of companies suspending production due to the restrictions ticked higher.

➡️ Shanghai warned that anyone who violates strict Covid-19 lockdown rules will be dealt with strictly, while also rallying people to defend their city as its tally of new cases rebounded to more than 25,000.
➡️ More than 30 Taiwan companies, many making electronics parts, said government Covid-19 control measures in eastern China had led them to suspend production until at least next week.
➡️ South Korea will adminer a second Covid-19 vaccine booster shot for people over 60, as the country continues to battle the highly contagious Omicron variant.
➡️ Shionogi & Co shares plunged in Tokyo trading amid concerns that the drugmaker’s oral treatment for Covid-19, which is still awaiting approval from regulators, could pose pregnancy risks.
➡️ New Zealand welcomed hundreds of travellers from Australia with emotional scenes as it opened its borders to its trans-Tasmanian neighbour for the first time since mid-2021.

➡️ The BA.2 Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus is now responsible for 86% of US Covid-19 cases and more than 90% of infections in the Northeast, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
➡️ British Prime Miner Boris Johnson apologised but defied calls to resign on Tuesday after being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules attending a gathering in his office to celebrate his birthday
➡️ Britain’s finance miner Rishi Sunak offered an “unreserved apology” for breaking Covid-19 lockdown laws, echoing comments from Johnson, and said he had accepted and paid a fine.

➡️ Saudi Arabia will let up to 1 million people join the Haj pilgrimage this year, greatly expanding the key event to participants from outside the kingdom after two years of tight Covid-19 restrictions, state media said.
➡️ An experimental drug being developed RedHill Biopharma Ltd that improved outcomes in a randomised trial involving severely ill Covid-19 patients infected with earlier versions of the coronavirus is showing promise against the Omicron variant in test-tube experiments, researchers said.
(Compiled from Reuters and Associated Press reports)