Page 131 - Coronavirus

China sends college students to quarantine under zero-Covid policy

Almost 500 students at China's premier college for broadcast journalists have been sent to a quarantine centre after a handful of COVID-19 cases were detected in their dormitory. The 488 students at Communication University of China, along with 19 teachers and five assistants, were transferred by bus beginning Friday night. Quarantining anyone considered to have been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus has been a pillar of China's "zero-COVID" policy. The quarantine centres include field hospitals, as well as converted stadiums and exhibition centres that have been criticised for overcrowding, poor sanitation and spoiled food. As of last week, approximately 65 million Chinese residents were under lockdown, despite just 1,248 new cases of domestic transmission being reported on Sunday. Most of those were asymptomatic. The lockdowns have sparked protests online and confrontations with health workers and police, and have exacted a major toll on the economy, ...

Data story: India logs 5,076 new Covid cases; death toll at 528,150

India has added 38,824 cases in the past 7 days.

Latest news LIVE: India logs 5,076 new Covid cases, 11 death in 24 hours

From coronavirus to Russia-Ukraine conflict, catch the latest developments from across the globe here

Karnataka logs 589 Covid-19 cases, one death; active cases stand at 4,379

Karnataka on Saturday reported 589 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death, taking the cumulative infections and fatalities to 40,58,178 and 40,216 respectively, the Health department said. The day also saw 478 people being discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 40,13,541, according to a health bulletin. Active cases stood at 4,379, the bulletin said. Bengaluru Urban accounted for the maximum number of 299 cases. Other districts too reported infections including 46 in Mysuru, 37 in Kodagu, 22 in Shivamogga, 21 in Hassan, 20 in Chikkamagaluru and 17 in Ramanagara. The lone death reported in the state due to COVID-19 occurred in Ballari. Bagalkote, Bidar, Chitradurga, Gadag, Vijayapura and Yadgir reported zero infection and zero death. A total of 23,709 samples were tested in the state including 17,681 using RT-PCR methods, taking the cumulative number of specimens examined to 6.88 crore. The number of vaccinations done in the state rose to 11.9 crore, with 15,519 people

Maharashtra records 734 Covid-19 cases, one death; 6,578 active cases

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 734 new coronavirus infections and a single pandemic-related death, a health department report said. The tally of COVID-19 cases reported in Maharashtra so far rose to 81,10,131 and death toll increased to 1,48,285. The state witnessed a dip in daily COVID-19 cases as a day before it had reported 955 new cases and four fatalities. On Saturday the highest 444 cases were reported from the Mumbai circle, followed by Pune circle (132), Nashik circle (45), Latur circle, (44), Kolhapur (25), Nagpur circle (21), Akola circle (18) and Aurangabad circle (5). Each administrative circle comprises four-six districts. The sole death was reported from Pune circle. The number of recovered coronavirus patients rose to 79,55,268 with 1,216 patients recovering since previous evening. Maharashtra has 6,578 active COVID-19 cases now, including the highest 1,900 in Mumbai, followed by 1,560 and 1,416 cases in Pune and Thane districts. The recovery rate in the state

Maharashtra: Thane records 170 new Covid-19 cases; active tally at 1,537

Thane district of Maharashtra has recorded 170 new coronavirus positive cases, taking the tally of infections to 7,43,591, a health official said on Saturday. With the addition of these cases on Friday, there are now 1,537 active cases in the district, he said. As nobody succumbed to the infection during the day, the death toll remained unchanged at 11,953 and the count of recoveries stood at 7,30,684, the official added.

Long Covid costing Australia's economy $3.6 bn annually, says report

Australia has announced a parliamentary inquiry into long Covid, with the aim of developing a clear definition of the illness and gauging the scale of its impact on the country's 26 million people

China oil demand may shrink first time since 2002 as Covid curbs bite

China's demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel could fall by 380,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8.09 million bpd in 2022, which would be the first contraction since 2002

Karnataka reports 690 new Covid-19 cases, one death; active cases at 4,269

Karnataka on Friday reported 690 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death, taking the total infections and fatalities to 40,57,589 and 40,215 respectively, the State Health Department said. The department in its daily COVID bulletin said 730 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 40,13,063 till date. Active cases stood at 4,269. Bengaluru urban district alone contributed 337 fresh infections. Other districts too reported new cases on Friday including 79 in Mysuru, 48 in Kodagu, 34 in Ramanagara, 22 in Chikkamagaluru and 17 in Hassan. The lone death due to coronavirus was reported in Chitradurga today. The bulletin said Davangere, Koppal and Yadgir districts reported zero fatalities. The positivity rate for the day was 2.44 per cent, the department said. As many as 27,429 tests were conducted, those included 20,073 RT-PCR tests. The total tests done till now is 6.88 crore. There were 38,353 inoculations done, taking the total vaccination to 11.90 crore so far

Tamil Nadu posts 436 fresh coronavirus cases; active tally at 4,918

Tamil Nadu on Friday recorded 436 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total caseload to 35,72,802. A lone passenger from Canada added to 436 positive cases today. There have been 38,038 fatalities due to the contagion so far and no death was reported today, according to a bulletin from the State health department. A total of 35,29,846 COVID-19 patients were discharged following treatment so far and this includes 442 who recovered today. The active cases declined to 4,918 from 4,924, a day ago. Among the districts, Chennai, Coimbatore and Chengalpattu recorded a maximum of 87, 57 and 43 cases, respectively.

Delhi logs 123 fresh Covid cases, 4 deaths in a day; active tally at 788

Delhi on Friday recorded 123 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 1.06 per cent while four more people succumbed to the disease, according to data shared by the health department here. The new cases were detected from 11,567 tests conducted the previous day, the department said in its latest bulletin. With the fresh cases and fatalities, Delhi's infection tally increased to 20,01,432 and the death toll reached 26,491, it said. On Thursday, the city logged 182 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 1.37 per cent and three fatalities. The day before, it recorded 177 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 1.36 per cent, and two deaths. The government did not issue a bulletin on Monday and Tuesday. On Sunday, the national capital recorded 218 cases with a positivity rate of 1.93 per cent. A day before, the city had logged 236 cases with a positivity rate of 1.68 per cent and three deaths. The number of active Covid cases in Delhi stands at 788. As many as 585 patients a

Maharashtra records 955 Covid-19 cases, four deaths, active cases at 7,061

Maharashtra on Friday recorded 955 new cases of coronavirus infection and four deaths. It raised the tally of infections to 81,09,397 and death toll to 1,48,284, an official from the state health department said. There was a marginal decline in infections as the state had on Thursday reported 1,076 cases besides six fatalities. The highest 518 new cases were recorded from Mumbai circle, followed by Pune circle at 255 cases, Nagpur (55), Nashik (53), Kolhapur (49), Akola (28), Aurangabad (17) and Latur circle (10). Of the latest deaths, three were reported from Mumbai circle and one from Aurangabad circle. As many as 972 patients recovered from the infection since previous evening, taking the count of recoveries to 79,54,052. The state currently has 7,061 active COVID-19 cases, of which Mumbai alone accounts for 2,085, followed by 1,721 and 1,532 cases in Pune and Thane districts. The recovery rate of the state is 98.08 per cent, while the fatality rate stands at 1.82 per cent.

Covid's medium-term impact and India's Human Development Index loss

While some of the HDI loss will survive into the future, it does not necessarily affect India's index rank in relation to others, which is down by just one over the six years to 2021, writes T N Ninan

Zenara Pharma launches generic anti-viral pills for Covid-19 in India

Zenara Pharma, a fully-owned subsidiary of the city-based Biophore India Pharmaceuticals, on Friday announced that it has launched generic Paxlovid (Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir) tablets in a combi pack as a treatment option for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19. A press release from the drug maker said Zenara Pharma has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to manufacture and market this product last month. The product, which will be sold under the brand name 'Paxzen,' is being manufactured at Zenara's US FDA and EU approved state-of-the-art facility in Hyderabad, it said. Pfizer's Paxlovid has been approved by US FDA for COVID treatment. The product will be sold at a Maximum Retail Price of Rs 5,200 per box, equivalent to one full course of treatment per patient, and contains 20 tablets of Nirmatrelvir 150ml and 10 Tablets of Ritonavir 100mg. Jagadeesh Babu Rangisetty, Co-founder and Managing Director at Zenara Pharma, s

Zenara Pharma launches tablets to treat mild to moderate symptoms of Covid

Zenara Pharma had received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) to manufacture and market this product last month

India registers 6,093 new Covid-19 cases; recovery rate rises to 98.70%

India logged 6,093 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,44,84,729, while the active cases declined to 49,636, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 5,28,121 with 31 fatalities which includes 13 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.11 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.70 per cent, the ministry said. A decline of 706 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. I The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June

Mumbai sees 290 new Covid cases, two deaths; active tally at 2,236

Mumbai on Thursday reported 290 COVID-19 cases and two deaths, which took the tally to 11,47,331 and the toll to 19,716, a civic official said. This was a dip from the 316 cases and three deaths witnessed on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official added. Mumbai has been reporting over 200 cases since the beginning of September, he pointed out. Of the 290 new cases, only 19 are symptomatic. The recovery count increased by 270 during the day and touched 11,25,379, leaving the city with 2,236 active cases, the official said. So far, 1,81,51,897 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the city, including 8,914 in the last 24 hours. This was higher than the 8,075 tests conducted in the previous 24-hour period. As per BMC data, the recovery rate was 98.1 per cent, while the overall growth rate of cases between September 2 and 7 stood at 0.028 per cent. The caseload doubling time was 2,471 days, as per official data.

Oil prices fall further as China extends Covid curbs to stop transmission

China's Chengdu extended a lockdown for a majority of its more than 21 mn residents to prevent further transmission of Covid while millions more in other parts the country were told to shun travel

Two Israel-based antibodies may fight all known Covid-19 strains: Study

Scientists in Israel have isolated two antibodies from the immune system of recovered COVID-19 patients that may neutralise all known strains of SARS-CoV-2, including Omicron, with up to 95 per cent efficiency. The team at Tel Aviv University noted that targeted treatment with antibodies and their delivery to the body in high concentrations may serve as an effective substitute for vaccines, especially for at-risk populations and those with weakened immune systems. By using antibody treatment, there is a possibility that the need to provide repeated booster shots to the entire population every time a new variant emerges will be eliminated, the researchers said. The study, recently published in the journal Communications Biology, is a continuation of a preliminary research conducted in October 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. At that time, the team sequenced all the B immune system cells from the blood of people who had recovered from the original COVID-19 strain in Israel

Beijing under Covid-19 alert after a school, university report fresh cases

The Chinese capital issued a fresh coronavirus alert on Thursday after it reported 21 local COVID-19 infections a day earlier, three of which were from a high school and the rest from a university, health officials said. In view of the fresh outbreak, Beijing's health officials asked residents to stay put during the upcoming Mid-Autumn festival holiday on Saturday, official media reported. According to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, there have been three confirmed cases screened out from the community level in Beijing's Haidian district. The three, who tested positive are classmates and live in the student dormitories of the high school affiliated to Minzu University of China, state-run Global Times reported on Thursday. It is mandatory for the city's 21.5 million population to undergo COVID-19 tests on alternate days. The high school has traced 570 close contacts and has been designated as a high-risk area since the three cases have been staying on the campus since ...