Page 116 - Coronavirus

New Covid strains, seasonal ailments may spike hospitalisation in winter

13 XBB variants detected in Maharashtra are all under home-isolation; the strain spreads rapidly and is said to be behind the recent spike in Singapore

Maharashtra records 418 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths; active tally at 2,688

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 418 fresh coronavirus positive cases and three fatalities, which raised the overall infection tally to 81,28,676 and toll to 1,48,377, a health department said. The state saw 60 more cases as compared to Tuesday, when there were 358 cases and two fatalities. Mumbai recorded 141 new cases. Pune city, Pune district and Sindhudurg district recorded one death each. The state's fatality rate stood at 1.82 per cent. There are now 2,688 active cases in Maharashtra, it said, adding that 515 patients have recuperated from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative recovery figure to 79,77,611. The recovery rate in the state stands at 98.14 per cent. As 17,623 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the cumulative test count rose to 8,51,11,673. Maharashtra's coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases: 81,28,676; new cases: 418; death toll: 1,48,377; active cases: 2,688; recoveries: 79,77,611; tests so far: 8,51,11,673.

LIVE: CCI imposes Rs 169-cr penalty on OYO for 'anti-competitive conduct'

From Congress presidential elections to coronavirus cases and more, catch all the latest developments from across the globe here

Boston University researchers claim to have developed new Covid strain

Following a set of linked experiments, researchers at Boston University claim to have developed a new Covid strain with an 80% death rate

Over 14.8 million US children tested positive for Covid since 2020

Over 14.8 mn children in US have tested positive for Covid since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Winter is coming: New Covid-19 variants prompt alert for illness season

Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya holds review meeting as experts call for continued vigil

Top headline: Government reviews Covid situation, India-UK FTA, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Best of BS Opinion: Rising global risks, menace of malnutrition & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Mandaviya reviews Covid-19 situation; mask mandate should continue

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday reviewed the Covid situation amid detection of cases of a new sub-variant of Omicron from parts of the country. The meeting concluded that wearing masks and following Covid-appropriate behaviour should continue, a health ministry statement said. With the emergence of new Omicron variants, many countries are witnessing a steep rise in Covid cases. During the meeting with public health experts and officials, Mandaviya reviewed the pandemic situation, status of vaccination drive and the global scenario of new variants of Covid, it said. The minister stressed on monitoring entry points, the statement said. Mandaviya stressed the need to undertake adequate testing (with higher proportion of RTPCR) and effective Covid surveillance to assess and control the spread of infection in a timely manner. He directed officials to continue to focus on surveillance, particularly through sentinel sites including monitoring of SARI and ILI cases, an

Zoom to Moderna: The extraordinary rise and fall of Covid billionaires

Their rise and subsequent slump were sharper than the other 131 members of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index whose net worth more than doubled, but wasn't as reliant on how Covid altered lives

Govt reviews Covid situation as Omicron subvariant BQ.1 detected in Pune

The BQ.1 is a mutation of BA.5, which is behind 60% Covid cases in the US

Delhi records 141 fresh Covid-19 infections, positivity rate at 2.04%

Delhi on Tuesday logged 141 new COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 2.04 per cent, according to data shared by the health department. No new fatality due to the viral disease was reported in the city. With these new cases, the national capital's Covid case tally has climbed to 20,05,104, while the death toll stands at 26,506, the department said in the latest bulletin. The new cases were detected from 6,906 tests conducted on Monday, it showed. The national capital on Monday recorded 61 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 3.61 per cent. On Sunday, the city recorded 115 coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 1.59 per cent. On Saturday, 135 Covid cases were reported with a positivity rate of 2.12 per cent. The day before, the city reported 112 cases with a positivity rate of 1.75 per cent. The number of active Covid cases in Delhi now stands at 500, the bulletin stated, adding that a total of 315 patients are under home-isolation. Of the 8,819 beds reserved for Covid .

Maharashtra records 358 new Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths; active tally at 2,788

Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 358 fresh coronavirus cases and two fatalities that raised the tally of infections to 81,28,258 and the toll to 1,48,374, a health department official said. With 370 patients recovering from the infection in the last 24 hours, the count of recoveries reached 79,77,096, the official said. As per a bulletin from the health department, the state is now left with 2,788 active cases. Mumbai recorded 128 fresh cases. Both the fatalities were reported from Nagpur city and district. Maharashtra's (COVID-19) fatality rate now stands at 1.82 per cent and the recovery rate at 98.14 per cent, the bulletin said. A total of 14,475 swab samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests conducted so far in the state to 79,76,726, it said. Coronavirus figures in Maharashtra are as follows: Total cases 81.28,258, new cases 359, death toll 1,48,374, recoveries 79,77,096, active cases 2,788, number of tests so far 79,76,726.

Pandemic caused prolonged decline in global life expectancy: Study

COVID-19 has caused a prolonged decline in life expectancy levels, leading to global mortality changes unprecedented in the last 70 years, according to a study. The researchers from the University of Oxford, UK, and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany used data from 29 countries in Europe, as well as Chile and the US. The study, published on Monday in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, found that life expectancy in 2021 remained lower than expected across all 29 countries, had pre-pandemic trends continued. Previous global epidemics have seen fairly rapid "bounce backs" to life expectancy levels, the researchers said. However, the scale and magnitude of COVID-19, on mortality, confounds claims it has had no more impact than a flu-like illness, they said. The researchers noted that life expectancy losses during recurring flu epidemics over the second-half of the 20th century have been much smaller and less widespread than those seen in the pandemic. A clear .

New Omicron subvariant BQ.1 detected in Pune; Covid cases surge in state

The Maharashtra health department has cautioned that the COVID-19 cases could rise especially during winters and the festive season, citing new variants like BA.2.3.20 and BQ.1 reported from the state. These variants have been detected for the first time in the country, it said. It also said that the new XBB variant of coronavirus has a growth advantage over BA.2.75 and has immune evasive property. A health bulletin on Monday said the COVID-19 cases rose by 17.7 per cent in the state between October 10 and 16 as compared to between October 3 and 9. This rise has been noticed particularly in the densely populated districts of Thane, Raigad and Mumbai, it said. "Some experts are predicting a rise in the coming winter season especially in the festive environment. In WGS (whole genome sequencing), the proportion of BA.2.75 has decreased to 76 per cent from 95 per cent," the bulletin said. "The state has reported XBB which is a new variant having growth advantage over BA.2.75 and immu

Omicron sub-variant BF.7 behind China surge sparks concerns in India

Amid rising concerns around Omicron sub-variant that caused surge in China, the network of government scientists and labs responsible for genome-sequencing strains of Covid-19 virus are likely to meet

Data story: India adds 1,542 new Covid cases; death toll at 528,913

India has added 16,036 cases in the past 7 days

Data shows 1.4 million Canadian adults report prolonged Covid-19 symptoms

Nearly 1.4 million Canadian adults indicated they had symptoms at least three months after a positive Covid-19 test or suspected infection, Statistics Canada said.

China's zero covid strategy could impact India's consumer durable industry

White goods have 25-75 per cent of their components coming from China, with air-conditioners being the most dependent on them with 75 per cent.

Covid-19: China locks down almost 1 million people near iPhone factory

Almost 1 million residents of Zhongyuan district were ordered to stay at home starting Monday, except for when they need to undergo Covid testing, and non-essential businesses have been shut