Covid LIVE: Consider local curbs during festivals, Centre tells states

Coronavirus live updates: Serum Institute to test US firm's vaccines on children; Brazil cities ease curbs.

2:47 AM

Quad nations on track to produce 1 billion doses of Covid vaccine: US

Quad countries are on track to produce at least 1 billion doses of Covid vaccine in India by the end of 2022, the White House said here as it reiterated its commitment to provide free jabs to the needy across the world without any strings attached. The Quad grouping comprises Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

 

In March, leaders of the Quad, during their first virtual summit, committed themselves to provide one billion vaccines to Southeast Asia.

 

"Our Quad partnership is on track to help produce at least 1 billion doses of Covid vaccines in India for the Asia region by the end of 2022," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.' She said so far the United States has provided 110 million vaccines to the world.

1:52 AM

COVID-19 vaccination to resume in Mumbai from today

COVID-19 vaccination will resume in Mumbai city of Maharashtra from Thursday, said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). On account of a shortage of COVID vaccine doses, all government vaccination centers were closed on Wednesday. BMC in an official statement said that 1,05,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been received. From these, 57,000 doses were of Covishield and 48,000 doses were of Covaxin.

 

Mumbai's civic body on Tuesday said, "Due to lack of vaccines, there will be no vaccination at the government vaccine centres in Mumbai tomorrow." Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases, BMC has also imposed section 144 of The Code Of Criminal Procedure till 11 pm every day and night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am every day.

 

As per the state health bulletin issued on Wednesday, Maharashtra reported 6,126 new COVID-19 cases, 7,436 recoveries and 195 deaths. There are 72,810 active cases taking the cumulative toll of cases registered in the state so far to 63,27,194. The recovery rate in the state is at 96.69 per cent, while case fatality is at 2.1 per cent. The death toll stands at 1,33,410.

1:18 AM

Low contact tracing, declining no. of Covid tests in Kerala: Central team to health ministry

A central team that went to Kerala, in its report to the Union health ministry, has said contact tracing of COVID-19 patients in the state is low, home isolation guidelines are not being followed and the number of tests conducted to detect the infection is showing a downward trend.

 

According to official sources, the report pointed out that people are becoming more complacent regarding Covid-appropriate behaviour and highlighted the need for ramping up vaccination.

 

Dr Sujeet Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), P Ravindran, former DDG, Dr SK Jain, Advisor (PH) NCDC, Dr K Regu, Additional Director, Kozhikode branch of the NCDC, Dr Pranay Verma, Joint Director, NCDC, and Dr Ruchi Jain, Public Health Specialist, Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Thiruvananthapuram, were part of the central multi-disciplinary team.

12:32 AM

Assam logs 1,065 new COVID-19 cases, 19 more deaths

Assam on Wednesday reported 19 more COVID-19 deaths, which took the toll to 5,326, according to a bulletin issued by the National Health Mission. The coronavirus caseload in the northeastern state mounted 5,70,504 as 1,065 more people tested positive for the infection, it said.

 

Four fresh fatalities were registered in Jorhat, three in Karbi Anglong and two each in Baksa, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia, while one patient each succumbed to the infection in Cachar, Golaghat, Kamrup Metro, Kokrajhar and Lakhimpur.

 

Currently, the COVID death rate is at 0.93 per cent, and 1,347 coronavirus-positive patients have so far died in the state due to other ailments. Of the new cases, 181 were reported from Kamrup Metro, 71 from Lakhimpur, 63 from Barpeta and 56 from Nalbari.

11:44 PM

Over 46.89 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 48.89 crore, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. More than 33.50 lakh (33,50,612) doses were administered on Wednesday, according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.

 

The ministry said 18,36,439 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years received the first dose and 3,89,589 were administered the second dose of the vaccine on Wednesday.

 

Cumulatively, 16,61,98,236 people in the 18-44 age group have received the first dose and 1,02,51,772 have been administered the second dose of the vaccine across the 37 states and Union territories since the start of the third phase of the nationwide vaccination drive.

8:34 PM

Union Health Secy writes to all states to consider imposition of local curbs

8:05 PM

Delhi sees 67 new cases in last 24 hours

7:38 PM

Night curfew in Bengaluru from 10 pm to 6 am till Aug 16

6:36 PM

2,442 new cases in Andhra

6:25 PM

Delhi govt issues revised rate of RT-PCR test

6:11 PM

Active caseload in Kerala over 176,000

4:05 PM

Weekend lockdown to be imposed only on Sundays, says Kerala health minister

3:50 PM

While some cases could go undetected, missing out on deaths completely unlikely: Govt

The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday clarified that while some COVID-19 cases could go undetected as per the principles of infectious disease and its management, missing out on deaths was completely unlikely given the robust and statute-based death registration system in India. During the peak of the second wave, the health system across the country was focused on effective clinical management of cases requiring medical help due to which correct reporting and recording of Covid deaths could have been delayed but it was later reconciled by states and UTs, the ministry said in a statement.

3:50 PM

Health ministry asks for monitoring district wise cases and deaths on a daily basis

States consistently reporting lower number of daily deaths has been advised to re-check their data, says government. A case in point is the Union health ministry writing to the state of Bihar to provide detailed date and district wise break-up of the reconciled number of deaths.

2:33 PM

If the situation worsens, further decisions will be taken: Himachal CM

1:30 PM

Mizoram reports 178 children getting Covid in 24 hours

Mizoram reported 885 new Covid-19 cases to take the total to 40,996, PTI reported quoting the health department. The new cases include 178 children. Death toll increased to 156 after three persons died of the disease in 24 hours.

1:16 PM

Jharkhand reports 23 new cases

Jharkhand recorded 23 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours to take the state’s total to 347,246, PTI reported on Wednesday quoting the health department. Death toll remained at 5,129 as no new death was reported overnight due to the disease.

12:53 PM

Most children who develop Covid recover in six days: Lancet study

Most children who develop Covid recover after six days, according to a large UK study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. , The number of children who experience symptoms beyond four weeks is low. The study provides the first detailed description of Covid illness in symptomatic school-aged children, PTI reported.

12:18 PM

Honda swings to Q1 operating profit

Honda Motor Co swung on Wednesday to a first-quarter operating profit of 243.21 billion yen ($2.23 billion) from a 113.7 billion loss a year ago as car sales recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Reuters reported. Operating profit at Japan's No.2 car maker by sales for the three months ended June 30 was double the average profit estimate of 119.2 billion yen based on nine analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

 

12:00 PM

Arunachal's new cases rise by 319

Arunachal Pradesh's total Covid-19 cases increased to 48,884 after 319 more people tested positive for the disease, PTI reported quoting the government health department on Wednesday. The death toll remained at 234, as no fresh casualty was reported in the last 24 hours.

11:11 AM

Gender disparity in India's immunisations narrows

The gender disparity in India's Covid-19 immunisation drive has narrowed, government data showed on Wednesday, as pregnant women are now allowed to get their shots and authorities try to dispel rumours about fertility. Women have received about 47% of the 481 million vaccine doses administered in India, nearly in line with the gender ratio in the country, the data showed. Men have now received 13% more doses than women, compared with about 17% in early June, Reuters reported.

 

10:20 AM

Diaspora doctors raise $5 mn for Indian hospitals

Indian-American doctors have raised $5 million for Covid-19 relief in India, PTI reported quoting an association of physicians. The fund raised by the American Association of Physicians of Indian-Origin was used to help 45 hospitals with equipment.

9:38 AM

India reports 42,625 new cases

India reports 42,625 new cases of Covid-19 overnight, says health ministry, Active cases are at 410,353

9:25 AM

Andaman and Nicobar report one case

India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded only one new Covid-19 case in the last 24 hours, pushing the archipelago’s total to 7,540. It has six active cases, PTI reported.

 

9:12 AM

Delta spikes herd immunity threshold to over 80%

The spread of the delta coronavirus variant has pushed the threshold for herd immunity to well over 80% and potentially almost 90%, the Infectious Diseases Society of America said. Bloomberg reported this

8:15 AM

Tokyo Olympics reports 29 new Covid-19 cases

Tokyo Olympics organisers on Wednesday reported 29 new Games-related Covid-19 cases, including four athletes. Three of the four infected athletes are in the Greek artistic swimming team, the organisers said, Reuters reported.

8:04 AM

US helping India with vaccines: Biden

The US is helping India and other countries to be able produce the vaccines by themselves, President Joe Biden has said. With a need for several billion doses around the world, the US was committed to provide half a billion. “We're not charging anybody anything. And we're trying to do as much as we possibly can,” he said at the White House, PTI reported.

8:02 AM

NYC to seek vaccine proof for indoor dining

New York City will soon require proof of Covid-19 vaccinations for anyone who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, see a performance or go to the gym, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced, making it the first big city in the US to impose such restrictions, reports the AP.

7:37 AM

States' tax share may take a hit

The central government's gross tax revenues nearly doubled in the first quarter of financial year 2021-22 (Q1FY22) compared to last year, transfers to states in the form of devolution declined by 12.3 per cent, which may impact states’ spending as they battle economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic. More here

 

7:35 AM

R-factor high in 8 states

R-factor—a measure of the coronavirus’s ability to spread--is high in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Laks­hadweep, Tamil Nadu, Karn­ataka, Mizoram, Puducherry, and Kerala, says India’s health ministry. More here