Covid LIVE: Kerala sees 21,445 cases in a day; 6,388 in Maharashtra

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1:02 AM

WHO expert 'had concerns' about lab close to first Covid cases

When a World Health Organization-led team travelled to China earlier this year to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, a top official said he was worried about safety standards at a laboratory close to the seafood market where the first human cases were detected, according to a documentary released Thursday by Danish television channel TV2.

 

The Wuhan branch of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention was handling coronaviruses without potentially having the same level of expertise or safety or who knows, Peter Ben Embarek said during a conference call in January, according to footage shown by TV2. Ben Embarek is a WHO expert on disease transmission from animals to humans and one of the team's leaders.

 

But months later, when WHO released its dense report on its mission to Wuhan, the U.N. health agency concluded that a leak of the virus from the lab was extremely unlikely to have caused COVID-19. The WHO report even lent credence to a fringe theory promoted by the Chinese government that the virus may have been spread via frozen seafood packaging.

12:13 AM

Bengal reports 747 new COVID-19 cases, 10 fresh fatalities

West Bengal on Thursday reported 747 new COVID-19 cases which pushed the tally to 15,36,446, a bulletin issued by the health department said. Ten new COVID-19 fatalities pushed the death toll to 18,268, it said.

 

Of the 747 new cases, 88 were recorded in North 24 Parganas followed by 77 in Kolkata and 74 in Darjeeling. West Bengal currently has 10,127 active COVID-19 cases as 15,08,051 people have recovered from the disease, including 773 on Thursday, it said.

 

The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state now is 98.15 per cent and the fatality rate is 1.19 per cent, the bulletin said. As many as 1,62,55,271 samples have been tested in the state for COVID-19 so far, including 45,446 since Wednesday. The state has so far inoculated 3,29,81,309 people with COVID-19 vaccines, including 2,99,872 on Thursday, it added.

10:54 PM

Delhi records zero COVID-19 fatality, eighth time since onset of 2nd wave; 49 cases

No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi on Thursday, the second consecutive day when the daily fatality count was nil, while 49 fresh cases were reported with a positivity rate of 0.07 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

 

This is the eigth time, since the starting of the second wave of the pandemic in the national capital, that zero fatality has been logged in a day.

 

On July 18, July 24, July 29, August 2, August 4, August 8 and August 11, too, no death due to COVID-19 was recorded, as per official data. On March 2 this year, the national capital had reported zero death due to the virus. On that day, the number of single-day infections stood at 217 and the positivity rate was 0.33 per cent.

8:45 PM

Nepal reports 3,260 new Covid-19 cases

Nepal detected 3,260 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, taking the total tally to 798,651, while the death toll reached 10,212 after 32 fresh fatalities were recorded, the health ministry said. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, a total of new 10,806 swab samples were tested under the RT-PCR method, of which 2,473 turned out as positive. Likewise, 4,656 people underwent antigen tests for the virus, of which an additional 787 tested positive.

8:10 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 1,859 new coronavirus cases

Andhra Pradesh reports 1,859 new coronavirus cases, 1,575 recoveries and 13 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:01 PM

Manipur reports 677 new coronavirus cases

Manipur reports 677 new coronavirus cases, 690 recoveries and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:39 PM

Rajasthan re-opens schools for Classes 9-12 from Sept 1

Government of Rajasthan allows re-opening of schools from class 9-12 with 50 per cent capacity, from September 1. Teaching and non-teaching staff need to mandatorily have taken at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine at least 14 days before the reopening.

7:35 PM

Maharashtra reports 6,388 new cases

Maharashtra reports 6,388 new cases, 8,390 recoveries and 208 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:26 PM

Karnataka reports 1,857 new Covid-19 cases

6:28 PM

Kerala: 21,445 fresh Covid cases, 160 more deaths

Kerala on Thursday reported 21,445 fresh COVID cases pushing the total infection caseload to 36,31,638, with the number of people succumbing to the virus rising to 18,280 with 160 more deaths, PTI reported.

As many as 20,723 people have been cured of the infection since Wednesday, taking the total recoveries to 34,36,318 and the number of active cases in the state to 1,76,518, a state government release said.

6:21 PM

Uttarakhand reports 24 new Covid cases, zero deaths

5:59 PM

Only 2% Covid beds occupied right now, says Delhi health minister

5:57 PM

Scientists fear UK Covid cases may surge after summer lull

As Britain enjoyed a summertime lull in COVID-19 cases, the nation's attention turned to the end of pandemic-related restrictions and holidays in the sun. But scientists are warning the public not to be complacent, saying high levels of infection in the community are likely to lead to another spike in cases this fall, AP reported.

The reason for their pessimism is the delta variant of COVID-19, now dominant throughout the UK. Vaccines are less effective against this more transmissible variant, meaning Britain needs to achieve a much higher level of vaccination if it hopes to control the disease. About 60% of the UK population has been fully vaccinated.

5:55 PM

Covid booster shot very effective, shows 1st trial in transplant patients

Scientists at the University Health Network (UHN) here have conducted a first-in-the-world randomised placebo-controlled trial of third dose Covid-19 booster vaccine for transplant patients that shows substantially improved protection, IANS reported.

 

Persons who have received an organ transplant are considered to be at increased risk for Covid-19 and for a severe outcome because their immune systems are necessarily suppressed to ensure their transplants are successful and lasting.

 

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has shown that a third dose of Covid vaccine is the best way to increase protection in them.

5:27 PM

Covid-19 may likely become childhood disease: Study

Risk of Covid-19 may shift from older adults to younger children as the SARS-CoV-2 virus becomes endemic, according to new research, IANS reported.

Once endemic in the global population, Covid-19 may behave like other common cold coronaviruses, affecting mostly young children who have not yet been vaccinated or exposed to the virus.

"Following infection by SARS-CoV-2, there has been a clear signature of increasingly severe outcomes and fatality with age," Ottar Bjornstad, of the Department of Biology at the Pennsylvania State University, said.

5:13 PM

Andhra Pradesh logs 1,859 new Covid cases, 13 deaths

Andhra Pradesh on Thursday added 1,859 new coronavirus cases to its tally that now touched 19,88,910, PTI reported.

In the 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, 1,575 patients had recovered from the infection while 13 more succumbed in the state, the latest bulletin said. 

4:45 PM

Majority of citizens feel confident of India's preparedness for 3rd Covid wave: Survey

As many as 58 per cent of citizens surveyed feel confident that India is well prepared to handle the third wave of COVID, LocalCircles said on Thursday, PTI reported.

The question how confident do people feel about India's preparedness to handle a possible third COVID wave in August-December 2021, received 8,880 responses in a survey conducted by LocalCircles, a community social media platform.

4:31 PM

Mandaviya meets WHO Chief Scientist Dr Swaminathan over Covaxin nod

4:19 PM

Covid-19 infection linked to problems in thinking, attention: Study

People who have recovered from COVID-19 may face problems in cognitive tasks such as thinking and attention, according to a study of over 80,000 individuals, PTI reported.

The research, published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, found that those with more severe COVID-19 symptoms scored lower on an online series of tests, with performance on reasoning and problem-solving tasks being most affected.

Further analysis of the data indicated that those who received mechanical ventilation to help them breathe while in the hospital had the greatest impairment on cognitive tasks.

4:07 PM

First wave of Covid caught us when our health infrastructure was very rudimentary: EAM Jaishankar

3:52 PM

Covid curbs in West Bengal extended till August 30: Mamata

3:32 PM

Covid impact on art: sales for top artists decline 25% in 2020 to Rs 81 cr

Top Indian artists' sales dipped by a fourth to Rs 81.28 crore in the pandemic-impacted 2020, a report said on Thursday, PTI reported.

London-based sculptor Anish Kapoor topped the Hurun India Art List 2021 with Rs 20.64 crore by selling 65 lots, which helped him top the tables for the third consecutive year. His turnover was down 54 per cent when compared to 2019.

The list is a compilation of 50 living artists either born or residing in India and has been compiled with data from Artprice.com, which collects data from auction houses.

3:29 PM

540.4 million Covid vaccine doses provided to states and UTs so far: Health ministry

3:09 PM

Covid-19 hospitalisations, deaths in US likely to spike in next 4 weeks: CDC warns

The US may see a spike in COVID-19 related hospitalisations and deaths over the next four weeks, the country's public health agency has warned, driven in large part by the highly infectious Delta variant, PTI reported.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published ensemble forecasts on Wednesday predicting 9,600 to 33,300 new confirmed COVID-19 hospital admissions likely reported on September 6 and 3,300 to 12,600 new deaths likely reported in the week ending September 4.

COVID-19 hospitalisations are reaching all-time highs in parts of the South in the US, with some patients unable to get the care they would normally receive, CNN reported.

2:49 PM

Odisha logs 1,107 fresh Covid-19 cases, 67 more fatalities

Odisha Thursday added 1,107 more people to its COVID-19 tally with 1,107 single-day cases, while 67 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 6,697, a health department official said, PTI reported.

The coastal state now has 10,853 active cases, and 9,73,579 patients have so far recovered from the disease, including 869 since Wednesday, he said.

2:32 PM

PM Modi lauds role of women's self help groups for serving nation during Covid

Appreciating women's role during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the way the women Self Help Groups (SHGs) across the country has served the nation during the pandemic by producing masks and sanitisers and creating awareness about the infection is unprecedented, ANI reported.

The Prime Minister during the event informed that there are over 42 crore Jan-Dhan bank accounts out of which 55 per cent are held by women.

Speaking at the 'Atmanirbhar Narishakti se Samvad' event, PM Modi congratulated the women SHGs and said, "I congratulate our sisters who along with giving a better life to their families have helped in the development of the country too."

2:13 PM

Difficult to ascertain oxygen-related deaths without a probe: Sisodia

2:02 PM

India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 520 mn-mark

Source: PIB 

1:50 PM

4,889 people registered for door to door vaccination program: BMC

1:30 PM

China administers 1.82 bln doses of vaccines till Aug 11

China administered about 12.1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines on August 11, bringing the total number of doses administered to 1.82 billion, Reuters reported citing data from the National Health Commission on Thursday.