Page 10 - Coronavirus

Recovery in overseas travel by Chinese lags due to costs, visa snags

The Chinese currency has fallen more than 2% against the dollar since the start of the year, raising costs in yuan terms for Chinese travellers abroad

Employment in informal sector below pre-Covid level, shows NSO data

According to the factsheet, the number of unincorporated enterprises rose by 2 million between July 2015-June 2016 and October 2022-September 2023 to 65.04 million

Traders demand resumption of border trade with China through Lipulekh pass

Indian traders involved in border trade with China through the Lipulekh pass in Pithoragarh district since 1992, have requested the central government to take up the issue of resumption of border trade through this route with Beijing. The trade route was closed rather suddenly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, forcing Indian traders to return from the Taklakot mart in Tibet leaving behind their woollen products. Five years have passed but the route has not been opened, an organisation of border traders in Dharchula said. The traders who belong to the Bhotia tribe started to raise their demand for reopening of the trade route through Lipulekh after China recently began the process of implementing a pact, in which it had agreed to open all 14 trade passes with Nepal. The implementation of the agreement inked by China and Nepal in December, 2022 began on May 25 this year, when China opened Piangi pass situated in Dolpa district of eastern Nepal, president of Bharat

10.5 mn flights scheduled to crisscross skies, jets burn fuel like its 2019

The International Air Transport Association is anticipating record passenger numbers this year, and planes that will be about as full as they were before the virus using record amounts of fuel

Fauci testifies publicly before US panel on Covid origins, controversies

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert until leaving the government in 2022, faces heated questioning Monday from Republican lawmakers about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Republican-led subcommittee has spent over a year probing the nation's response to the pandemic and whether US-funded research in China may have played any role in how it started. Democrats opened the hearing saying the investigation so far has found no evidence that Fauci did anything wrong while missing an important opportunity to prepare for the next scary outbreak. Fauci alternately a trusted voice during the pandemic and the target of partisan attacks, even death threats spent 14 hours over two days in January being grilled by the House panel behind closed doors. On Monday, they're questioning him again, in public and on camera for the first time since he ended more than five decades of government service. This time around he'll face a new set of questions about the credibility of

Here's why revenge travel is finally losing its appeal after three years

Travel demand is far from falling off a cliff. But there are signs that our wanderlust is downshifting from never-ending to a more normal pattern

Centre, states gear up to tackle infectious zoonotic disease outbreaks

Centre announces detailed advisory on bird flu, Kerala government intensifies Nipah prevention efforts

China falling emissions since Covid signal peak carbon may already be here

Emissions fell 3 per cent in March from the prior year, the first annual decline since January 2023, Lauri Myllyvirta, senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute, said

Covid-19 effect: Global healthy life expectancy slumps to 2012 level

According to WHO's latest report, global life expectancy and healthy life expectancy dropped to 2012 levels of 1.8 and 1.5 years, respectively, eradicating a decade of progress

HC upholds validity of extending assessment orders' time limit during Covid

The court observed that the government is empowered to extend the limitation period for taking actions that could not be completed or complied with due to force majeure

TN govt assures no need for panic amid new Covid wave in Singapore

The new Covid wave in Singapore is a "milder infection" and there was no need for panic and Tamil Nadu has the required infrastructure to face any situation, a top official said on Wednesday. Dr T S Selvavinayagam, Director, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPHPM), said "there has been no significant (hospital) admissions" in Singapore following the outbreak. "In the last few weeks, it is being reported that there are Covid cases in South Asian countries like Singapore. As far as we (TN) are concerned, there is no need for any apprehension...the Singapore variant, KP.2 is a sub variant of Omicron and has been reported in some parts of India," he said. As many as 290 cases of KP.2 and 34 cases of KP.1, both sub-lineages of Covid-19 that are responsible for surge in cases in Singapore, have been found in India, according to official data. In a video released by the DPHPM, Selvavinayagam said the variant has been "so far giving only milder infection, no severe ...

Indian overseas spending hits all-time high of $31.7 billion in FY24

The yearly remittance data shows a robust inclination among Indians towards international travel, with expenditures totalling $17 billion in FY24

'Unusual' form of cell death underlies lung damage in Covid patients: Study

An unusual form of cell death could lead to a Covid patient's lungs suffering extreme damage, potentially resulting in life-threatening conditions such as inflammation and acute respiratory disorders, according to new research. The ability to inhibit this unusual form of cell death -- ferroptosis -- can offer doctors new ways of to treat Covid-19 lung disease, the study suggested. Cell death, where a cell stops functioning, can be natural or could result from causes such as a disease or an injury. The most common form of cell death involves cells "chopping up" the molecules inside, researchers explained, adding that this occurs in humans, both when they are ill or are ageing. However, in ferroptosis, the relatively uncommon form of cell death, cells die because their outer fat layers collapse, the researchers at Columbia University, US, said. In this study, they analysed human tissues and collected autopsies of patients who died of respiratory failure caused by Covid-19 infection.

India rises to 39th position in WEF index for travel, tourism development

Country top performer in South Asia and among the lower-middle-income nations

290 cases of Covid variant KP.2, 34 of KP.1 detected in India: Insacog data

As many as 290 cases of KP.2 and 34 cases of KP.1, both sub-lineages of COVID-19 that are responsible for surge in cases in Singapore, have been found in India, according to official data. However, a source in the Union health ministry told PTI that they are all sub variants of JN1 and there is no associated increase in hospitalization and severe cases. "So there is no reason for concern or panic. The mutations will keep happening at a rapid pace and this is the natural behaviour of viruses like SARS-CoV2," the source said. The source further said that the INSACOG surveillance is sensitive and is able to pick up the emergence of any new variant and samples are also picked from hospitals in a structured manner to detect any change in the severity of disease due to virus. Data compiled by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) showed that 34 cases of KP.1 have been found across seven states and UTs with 23 cases registered from West Bengal. The other states are Goa (1)

Study on Covaxin should revise statement on conclusions for clarity

It likely overstates actual risks associated with the vaccine and conflates common illnesses with vaccine-related adverse effects

ICMR distances itself from BHU study on Covaxin, calls it 'poorly designed'

Bharat Biotech had then rebuked the BHU study, saying that its indigenously developed Covid vaccine Covaxin has shown an 'excellent safety track record' in various studies

Covid vaccine makers gear up to launch new-generation jabs in India

India currently does not have any XBB 1.5 variant-based vaccines in the market

Federal Reserve Chair Powell tests positive for Covid-19: Spokesperson

Powell, 71, previously tested positive for Covid in January 2023. The next meeting of the Fed's policy-setting committee is set for June 11-12

Over 25,000 new Covid cases in Singapore, minister advises wearing masks

Singapore is seeing a new COVID-19 wave as the authorities recorded more than 25,900 cases from May 5 to 11 even as Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday advised the wearing of masks again. We are at the beginning part of the wave where it is steadily rising, said Ong. So, I would say the wave should peak in the next two to four weeks, which means between mid- and end of June, The Straits Times newspaper quoted the minister as saying. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the estimated number of COVID-19 cases in the week of May 5 to 11 rose to 25,900 cases, compared with 13,700 cases in the previous week. The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations rose to about 250 from 181 the week before. The average daily intensive care unit (ICU) cases remained low at three cases, compared with two cases in the previous week. The MOH said that to protect hospital bed capacity, public hospitals have been asked to reduce their non-urgent elective surgery cases and move suitable patients to ...