India Coronavirus Dispatch: Only 14% of deaths had life insurance cover

Study finds covid infection is mostly mild or asymptomatic in children, more people register wills during the second wave, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 51,500 fresh cases reported

India reported 51,667 fresh coronavirus infections on Friday, taking the cumulative caseload to 30.1 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 1,329 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 393,310. The active caseload is at 612,868, while the total recoveries have surged to 29.1 million. As many as 307.9 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, nearly 6.1 million were given on Thursday. Read more

Only 14% of Covid deaths had life insurance cover

While India has reported over 391,000 fatalities due to the pandemic, only 14 per cent of those have made insurance claims so far, indicating the poor life insurance penetration in the country, a report in The Indian Express said. Out of 55,276 claims made to the insurance firms, nearly 88 per cent amounting to Rs 3,593 crore have already been settled. However, with Covid cases and deaths having risen in recent months, insurance companies have turned cautious with some of them demanding vaccination certificates and a stricter medical check-up, the report said. Read more

Covid infection is mostly mild or asymptomatic in children: Study

New research has found that a number of children who contract Covid will likely be asymptomatic or the extent of the illness will be mild, a report in ThePrint said. The exception is those with comorbidities. The study was conducted by the Indian Paediatric Covid Study Group, which includes leading doctors from medical institutions across the country. Between March and November last year, the researchers observed 402 children that had contracted Covid — from those infected at birth, to patients aged 12 years, the report said. Read more

What is the 'Delta Plus' variant?

Delta Plus (B.1.617.2.1/(AY.1) is a new mutant strain of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, an explainer in The Indian Express said. It is technically the next generation of the virus and has emerged as a new threat, especially in India. "The Delta Plus variant, at present, is limited to smaller areas in the country. This mutant of Delta was first detected in Europe in March 2021, but it came to light on June 13. Although it is still under investigation, experts believe that the Delta Plus variant has increased transmissibility,” a medical expert told the paper. Read more

More people register wills during second wave of cases

Amid a devastating second wave of the pandemic that saw scores of people succumb, there has been a rise in the number of people drafting and registering a will for their wealth, a report in The Hindu said. A will is a declaration of how a person wishes his or her property to be distributed after death. The rise was noticeable in the months of April and May, which saw a jump in case fatality rate and a near-collapse of the healthcare system as Covid cases soared, the report said. Read more