Covid LIVE: Haryana schools to reopen for Classes 4, 5 from Sep 1

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11:13 PM

Chhattisgarh reports 52 COVID-19 cases, zero death; active tally below 650

Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,04,282 on Wednesday with the addition of 52 new cases, while no fresh fatality due to the infection was reported in the case, a health department official said.

 

The death toll remained unchanged at 13,555, he said. The day also saw the discharge of 29 patients from various hospitals, while 49 others completed their home isolation, taking the number of recovered cases to 9,90,100, the official said. The state now has 627 active cases. Raipur district reported 8 new infections, taking the caseload to 1,57,857, including 3,139 deaths.

9:42 PM

Bengal reports 10 more COVID-19 deaths, 708 fresh cases

West Bengal's COVID-19 death toll climbed to 18,393 with 10 more fatalities, while 708 fresh cases pushed the tally to 15,44,817, a bulletin released by the health department said on Wednesday. The state now has 9,185 active cases, and 15,17,239 patients have recovered from the disease so far, including 730 since Tuesday, it said.

 

The single-day fatalities include four deaths in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts. Kolkata and North 24 Parganas reported the highest number of new cases (89 each), the bulletin said.

 

A total of 1,67,73,319 samples have been tested in West Bengal for COVID-19 thus far, it added.

9:14 PM

Samples from Indore show presence of Delta plus variant of COVID-19

The genome sequencing of samples collected from two COVID-19 patients who have since recovered has revealed that they had been infected with the Delta plus variant, a health official from Madhya Pradesh's Indore city said on Wednesday.

 

The samples collected from a 35-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man were sent to the Delhi-based National Center for Disease Control in July and the report had arrived recently, said Dr Amit Malakar, nodal officer for prevention of COVID-19.

 

These were the first Delta plus cases reported in the district, which had earlier seen cases of Delta variant, the official said, adding that both patients have recovered from the infection and have been vaccinated.

8:51 PM

Nagaland: 49 fresh cases push Covid-19 tally to 29,718

Nagaland's COVID-19 tally rose to 29,718 on Wednesday as 49 more people tested positive for the infection, while a fresh fatality pushed the death toll to 612, a health bulletin said, PTI reported.

Dimapur district registered the highest number of new cases at 24, followed by Mokukchung (11), and Kohima (nine).

The death of a COVID-19 patient was reported from Peren district during the day, it said.

8:36 PM

Haryana schools to reopen for Classes 4, 5 from Sep 1

8:32 PM

India administered about 6.6 million vaccine doses today

8:18 PM

Maha govt launches special mission for Covid-19 widows

The Maharashtra government has launched a special mission for women from poor families who have lost their husbands to coronavirus infection which aims to provide a bunch of services under one roof, PTI reported.

"The new programme- 'Mission Vatsalya'- has been designed for widows, especially from rural areas who come from poor backgrounds and deprived sections. Due to the death of the sole breadwinner in their families, their hardship is increased. Considering these all aspects, a bunch of 18 benefits, schemes, and services will be provided to these widows under one roof," Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Yashomati Thakur said on Wednesday.

7:52 PM

125 fresh cases reported in J-K

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 126 fresh cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the tally to 3,24,546, while no fresh death was reported in the Union Territory in the last 24 hours, officials said, PTI reported.

Out of the fresh cases, 26 were from the Jammu division and 100 from the Kashmir division, they said.

The officials said that Srinagar district recorded the highest number of 51 cases followed by 12 cases in Budgam district.

7:52 PM

Goa reports 77 Covid-19 cases, one death

Goa recorded 77 new coronavirus infections and one death on Wednesday, a health department official said, PTI reported.

The caseload in the state rose to 1,73,434 while the death toll reached 3,187.

The number of recovered patients rose to 1,69,314 with 75 persons getting discharged from hospitals on Wednesday.

7:49 PM

Brazil to give Covid-19 booster shots to elderly and vulnerable

Brazil will give booster shots of a COVID-19 vaccine to immunosuppressed or vulnerable people and citizens over the age of 80, beginning on Sept. 15, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said, Reuters reported.

7:29 PM

Sri Lanka to issue digital Covid vaccination cards

Sri Lanka will issue a digital Covid vaccination card to those fully inoculated from mid-September onwards, IANS reported.

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that 75 per cent of people over 30 years of age are to be vaccinated by the first week of September and from September 15 onwards, a digital card would be issued to those who have taken both the doses.

Earier this month, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, who also the heads of the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak, had announced that the government is planning to make vaccination certificate mandatory for those visiting public places, using public transport or those crossing provinces.

7:25 PM

Swiss gov't examines introducing Covid-19 certificates in most indoor spaces

6:55 PM

Karnataka reports 1,224 new cases

6:41 PM

Covid expert panel chief says let's pray Covid 3rd wave does not affect K'taka

Dr Devi Shetty, Chairman of the Covid Expert Committee in Karnataka, stated on Wednesday that it is difficult to say how the third wave of Covid-19 will affect the state and when it will come. "Let's pray Covid third wave does not enter Karnataka," he stated, IANS reported.

He was speaking after the launch by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the Volvo Vaccine Bus jointly organised by Narayana Hrudayalaya and the Volvo Group of India.

"The committee has submitted its report to the government on a Covid third wave. It is expected that the Covid third wave might affect the state in October. We should pray that it should not come. However, it is coming," he said.

6:22 PM

Kerala sees 31,445 new cases, 215 deaths in a day; TPR at 19%

6:07 PM

ZyCoV-D to be rolled out in Oct for for 12-17 age group, says NTAGI

6:04 PM

47 fresh cases push Sikkim's Covid tally to 29,524

Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 29,524 on Wednesday as 47 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said, PTI reported.

East Sikkim district reported the highest number of new cases at 20, followed by West Sikkim (15) and South Sikkim (12).

Sikkim now has 1,415 active cases, while 27,461 people have been cured of the disease and 281 patients have migrated to other states so far. The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stood at 93.9 per cent, it said.

6:03 PM

J&J says booster dose increased antibodies in early-stage studies

5:27 PM

Cong urges Kerala Govt to release health data

A day after Kerala crossed the 24,000 mark in the daily COVID-19 cases after an interval, the Opposition Congress on Wednesday picked holes in the virus management system in the state and urged the LDF government to immediately release the health data in this regard, PTI reported.

 

Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, V D Satheesan alleged that the COVID control system in the state has failed and wanted the government to revive its existing strategies and methodology for the disease management.

 

"Though the total number of COVID patients had crossed 38 lakh mark in the state, the government is still hiding the health data related to it. This will prevent evolving strategies to fight the third wave of the disease," he told a press meet here.

5:26 PM

States asked to vaccinate all school teachers on priority before Teachers' Day

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said more than two crore additional COVID-19 vaccine doses are being made available to states this month and they have been asked to vaccinate all school teachers on priority before Teachers' Day on September 5, PTI reported.

 

Schools across the country were closed in March last year ahead of a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus infection.

 

The Centre had allowed the reopening of schools as per the COVID-19 situation in October last year. While several states began partial reopening of schools, there was a complete closure again in April when an aggressive second wave of COVID-19 hit the country.

5:25 PM

China accuses US of politicising COVID-19 origins research

China went on the offensive Wednesday ahead of the release of a US intelligence report on the origins of the coronavirus, bringing out a senior official to accuse the United States of politicising the issue by seeking to blame China, AP reported.

 

Fu Cong, a Foreign Ministry director general, said at a briefing for foreign journalists that scapegoating China cannot whitewash the U.S.

 

If they want to baselessly accuse China, they better be prepared to accept the counterattack from China, he said.

4:49 PM

Covid vaccine protection wanes within six months, say UK researchers

Protection against COVID-19 offered by two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines begins to fade within six months, underscoring the need for booster shots, according to researchers in Britain, Reuters reported.

4:45 PM

Taliban takeover slows Covid vaccination pace in Afghanistan

4:42 PM

Schools reopen in Tripura for classes 6-12

4:11 PM

Indian Covid vaccination programme crosses 600-mn mark

4:06 PM

Pak reports highest number of deaths in over 3 months, 4,199 new cases

Pakistan has reported 141 new COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest number of fatalities recorded in more than three months, while 4,199 fresh infections have been detected across the country, according to the official data released on Wednesday, PTI reported.

The previous highest of 161 deaths reported in a single day in recent months was on May 3.

The health authorities also detected 4,199 new cases of coronavirus after conducting 61,410 tests, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 1,135,858, while the death toll has gone up to 25,220, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.

4:05 PM

NTAGI to soon chalk out roadmap to introduce Zydus Cadila's vaccine in Covid inoculation drive

The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) will soon hold a meeting to devise a roadmap for introducing Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine in the inoculation drive and prioritising beneficiaries focusing on those aged 12-18 years with comorbidities, PTI reported.

The indigenously developed world's first DNA-based needle-free COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D received Emergency Use Authorisation from the drug regulator on August 20 making it the first vaccine to be administered in the age group of 12-18 years in the country.

NTAGI Chairman Dr N K Arora said it is estimated that there are around 12 crore adolescents in the age group of 12-18 years in India and less than 1 per cent of them may have comorbidities.

3:42 PM

Guj: Schools for Classes 6 to 8 to reopen on Sep 2

The Gujarat government on Wednesday announced that schools for Classes 6 to 8 will reopen from September 2 with 50 per cent capacity, PTI reported.

The decision on resuming physical lectures for Classes 6 to 8 in schools was taken by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in a cabinet meeting during the day, state Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Though schools in the state have been permitted to resume classes from their premises, the ongoing system of online lessons for these classes will also continue, the minister said.

3:37 PM

Kerala Oppn asks Vijayan to break his silence as Covid rages

The Congress-led Opposition in Kerala on Wednesday demanded Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to break his silence as Covid is raging in the state, IANS reported.

Vijayan of late has not met the media and he interacts through daily Covid statements only.

Speaking to the media here, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said that they have been observing the Covid situation which is not good and the CM has turned to be a mute spectator.

3:36 PM

UN health agency sees virus cases leveling off

The World Health Organisation said the number of new coronavirus cases reported globally appears to be stabilising at about 4.5 million infections after steadily rising for the past two months, AP reported.

In its weekly assessment of the pandemic, the UN health agency said COVID-19 increased by about 20 per cent and 8 per cent in the Western Pacific and in the Americas, while rates of disease either remained the same or dropped in other regions.

The countries with the highest numbers of new cases were the United States, Iran, India, Britain and Brazil.