India Coronavirus Dispatch: Daily cases under 100,000 after over two months

Study finds Covid variant found in Brazil more severe than the original variant, Delta variant dominant in Bengaluru, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 86,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 86,498 fresh coronavirus infections on Tuesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 28.9 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 2,123 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 351,309. The active caseload is at 1.3 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 27.3 million. As many as 236.2 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 3.3 million were given on Monday. Read more

Doctors want to know if the Delta variant is more severe

Doctors want to know if the more infectious Covid variant that drove the devastating second wave in India, called Delta, is also more severe than other variants, a report in Bloomberg said. Indian doctors have linked the Delta variant to hearing impairment, severe gastric upsets and blood clots, symptoms typically not seen in Covid patients. In England and Scotland, early evidence suggests the now-dominant strain carries a higher risk of hospitalization. Delta, also known as B.1.617.2, has spread to more than 60 countries over the past six months and triggered travel curbs from Australia to the US. Read moreInequality legacy haunts South Africa’s vaccine rollout plan. Read more

Covid strain first found in Brazil, more severe than original variant: ICMR study

The B.1.1.28.2 variant of the coronavirus, which was first identified in Brazil, could cause a more severe form of Covid than the original variant that spread from Wuhan, a report in ThePrint said that cited a study by researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi and the National Institute of Virology in Pune. The B.1.1.28.2, however, has so far had very little prevalence worldwide, with less than 0.5 per cent of the viral samples detected worldwide showing this strain, the report said. Read more

Bengaluru: Delta variant found in majority of Covid samples

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is dominant among Covid patients in Bengaluru, a report in The Indian Express said that cited a recent genomic study held in the city. As many as 93 per cent of the samples collected from symptomatic patients confirmed the presence of the Delta variant. Bengaluru Urban has accounted for over 44 per cent and 53 per cent of the total cases and deaths recorded across Karnataka since April 1, the report said. Read more

Passports of students, professionals going abroad to be linked to vaccine certificate

The Central government has announced that students and professionals going abroad for education and work, including those part of the Tokyo Olympics contingent, will have to get their vaccination certificates linked to their passports, a report in the Scroll said. These beneficiaries will be eligible to take their second dose of the Covishield vaccine after a gap of just 28 days and do not need to wait for the mandated 84-day interval. The facility will be available to those belonging to these categories and going abroad till August 31, the report said. Read more