Here are the top coronavirus related developments of the day:

  1. The Centre on Friday said that Covid-19 vaccination, including precaution doses, for persons who have tested positive for Covid-19 will be done three months after their recovery, PTI reported. Union Health Ministry Additional Secretary Vikas Sheel, through a letter, requested all the states to comply with recommendation. He added that the suggestion is based on scientific evidence from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
  2. Gujarat on Friday imposed night curfew in 17 cities as the cases of coronavirus increased in the state, ANI reported. The crufew is already in force in 10 major cities, including Ahmedabad and Surat.
  3. India on Saturday morning recorded 3,37,704 new coronavirus cases, taking the infection count in the country to 3,89,03,731 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The toll rose to 4,88,884 after 488 more people died due to the virus.
  4. The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday said that educational institution will be shut in the state till January 30 as coronavirus cases were rising, PTI reported. Additional Chief Secretary (home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi has urged the institutions to continue with online classes.
  5. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said that schools in Pune district will not be opened for another week, ANI reported. “Covid numbers are not likely to come down in Pune for at least eight days,” he said. On Friday, the district had recorded more than 16,000 cases.
  6. Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Deve Gowda on Friday evening tested positive for coronavirus, The Hindu reported. Dr CN Manjunath, director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, said that the leader had mild symptoms like headache, nasal congestion and cough. Gowda’s vitals were normal, the official said.
  7. In Kerala’s Poojappura Central Jail, 262 prisoners tested positive for Covid-19, India Today reported on Saturday. As many as 936 prisoners were tested over the last three days. The prison superintendent has asked for special doctors to treat the infected prisoners. The positive inmates have been moved to a separate cell block.
  8. The South Dum Dum Municipality in West Bengal’s capital Kolkata announced a 25% discount on pending property taxes for residents who have taken both shots of the coronavirus vaccine, The Indian Express reported.“There are a number of people who haven’t paid their property taxes,” said Debashis Banerjee, member of the municipality’s Board of Administrators (health and public health). “The discount scheme will encourage citizens to clear their pending property tax dues.”
  9. United States’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that unvaccinated adults infected with coronavirus were 17 times more likely to be hospitalised, The Guardian reported. The risk is three times higher in unvaccinated citizens aged 65 and above.
  10. World Health Organization on Saturday asked the countries with high vaccination coverage against Covid-19 to share doses with other nations before inoculating healthy children and adolescents, India Today reported. The global health body in its revised guidelines  advised against the unrestrained use of booster doses to all age groups, especially to those who are at smaller risk of suffering severe outcomes of coronavirus.