# Not a concern: The new XE variant of the coronavirus is not a matter of concern as it is not likely to cause any more severity than other sub-variants of Omicron, said Dr Gagandeep Kang, Professor at Christian Medical College in Vellore. “Variants will come because people are travelling. What we know of the variant (XE) is that it is not a point of concern,” Kang said.
# Daily tally: India recorded 1,109 new Covid-19 cases and 43 deaths in the last 24 hours.
# Not confirmed XE: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that there is no confirmed information about XE variant in Mumbai. Tope tweeted his statement to media saying, “There is no confirmed information about XE variant. There is no intensity (of the virus) and the infection (rate) is not more than 10 to 15 per cent. So there is no need to worry”.
# Kerala relaxes restrictions: The government of Kerala has revoked the provisions of the Disaster Management Act for Covid containment measures, effectively withdrawing all Covid-19-related restrictions which have been in force in the State.
# Back to office: With the Covid-19 situation easing, the IT and hospitality industries have appealed to the IT professionals to come back to offices. Maheedhar Vellampalli, Treasurer of IT Corridor Hostel Association, has said the pandemic had forced at least 20 per cent of the 2,000 hostels in the IT hub area to shutdown operations.
# Sri Lanka’s medical emergency: Sri Lanka’s national medical association warned Thursday that hospitals will be unable to provide even emergency services in the coming weeks because of critical shortages of drugs and medical equipment caused by the country’s economic crisis, leading to a catastrophic number of deaths if supplies aren’t replenished. The government estimates that the Covid-19 pandemic has cost Sri Lanka’s tourism-dependent economy $14 billion in the last two years.