Coronavirus Omicron variant India live updates: At 678, India sees 3rd wave’s highest daily toll

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As schools resume on-campus classes for classes VIII to XII from Thursday, most institutes will have hybrid classes and staggered timings like they did before the third-wave shutdown. The only change will be Class VIII students returning to schools for the first time in two years. Authorities at a majority of institutes pointed out Class VIII students, who were yet to turn 15 and so, still unvaccinated, were a concern and that they might be called in after classes IX to XII resumed classes.

The state and city reported a rise in Covid cases on Wednesday, but weekly indicators show the spread of the infection is on the decline. The weekly positivity rate (WPR) of the state dropped to 17. 2% on Wednesday, down from nearly 24% last week. Mumbai reported the lowest WPR of 3. 6% against nearly 8% last week.

Mexico registered 573 new coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, according to health ministry data, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 307,493.

New Zealand's government on Thursday said it will end its quarantine requirements for incoming travelers and reopen its borders, a change welcomed by thousands of citizens abroad who have endured long waits to return home.Since the start of the pandemic, New Zealand has enacted some of the world's strictest border controls. Most incoming travelers need to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel room run by the military, a requirement that has created a bottleneck at the border.The measures were initially credited with saving thousands of lives and allowed New Zealand to eliminate or control several outbreaks of the coronavirus.

Airlines for America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, International Air Transport Association, Aerospace Industries Association, the U.S. Travel Association and other groups called for change in a letter to White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients. "Surveys of air passengers indicate that pre-departure testing is a leading factor in the decision not to travel internationally. People simply are unwilling to take the chance that they will be unable to return to the U.S.," they wrote.