India Coronavirus Dispatch: Kerala has lowest seroprevalence, finds survey

A third of Indians won't date anyone who is not vaccinated, Nationwide lockdown negatively impacted women's nutrition and other stories about country's on war on the pandemic

Over 43,500 fresh cases reported

India reported 43,509 fresh coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to 31.5 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 640 more deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 422,662. The active caseload is at 403,840, while the total recoveries have surged to 30.7 million. As many as 450 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 4.3 million were given on Wednesday. Read more

Madhya Pradesh has highest seroprevalence, Kerala lowest: ICMR survey

According to the fourth countrywide serological survey carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Covid, Madhya Pradesh has the highest seroprevalence among the states at 79%, while Kerala has the lowest at 44.4%, a report in the Scroll said. Serological surveys show the percentage of a population that may have antibodies against a virus. This percentage is called seroprevalence, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, it is still not clear how long antibodies last in an infected person and the levels required to prevent reinfection, the report said. Read more

One in three Indians polled in survey won’t go on a date with an unvaccinated person

Some Indians surveyed by dating app Bumble believe that they would be up for meeting someone who had got their vaccine shots, a media report said. As the Covid pandemic continues to make in-person interactions tricky, vaccines are fast becoming an important part of the online dating toolkit. Dating app users have begun adding their vaccination statuses to their bios, besides specifying the degree of Covid-appropriate behaviour they are comfortable with. India has vaccinated – either fully or in part – less than a fourth of its population. Read more

Nationwide lockdown negatively impacted women’s nutrition in India: Study

According to a study carried out by a group of researchers in the US, the nationwide lockdown in India in 2020 negatively impacted women's nutrition in the country, PTI reported. The study by Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition in four economically backward districts of Uttar Pradesh indicate a decline in household food expenditures and women’s dietary diversity in May last year compared to May 2019, particularly for non-staples like meats, eggs, vegetables and fruits, the report said. Read more

Kerala: Weekend lockdown declared, Centre to send 6-member team

Kerala saw a marked rise in Covid cases this week, with the state registering more than 22,000 cases for two days in a row on Tuesday and Wednesday, a report in the Hindustan Times said. Now, the state government has declared a complete lockdown on Saturday and Sunday (July 31 and August 1), while the Centre is sending a six-member team to take stock of the situation and help in stemming the infection surge, the report said. Read more