Page 132 - Coronavirus

Top Headlines: Rlys' land lease policy, strong festival sales, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Waiting list for eye transplant at AIIMS Delhi grows threefold after Covid

Dr Titiyal said that he had hoped to touch 3,000 transplantations per year, however, due to Covid, the target will take another nearly three years to achieve

China's economy hammered but Covid testing firms post record profits

China's zero-Covid strategy of endless testing and lockdowns has hammered its economy and taken a toll on company profits, but it has delivered a windfall for test makers, a media report said

Mumbai logs 316 new Covid cases, three deaths; active count 2,218

Mumbai on Wednesday reported 316 new coronavirus positive cases and three fresh fatalities, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. With this, the infection tally grew to 11,47,041, while the death toll increased to 19,714, it said in a bulletin. On Tuesday, the country's financial capital had recorded 285 COVID-19 cases and zero fatality. The city has been reporting more than 200 cases daily since the beginning of September. The active case count went below the 2,500-mark with 2,218 such cases. A day ago, there were 2,540 active cases. The new cases were detected through 8,075 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, due to which the cumulative test count surged to 1,81,42,983. On Tuesday, 5,046 tests were conducted in the city. As 635 patients recuperated during the day, Mumbai's overall recovery count rose to 11,25,109. Mumbai's recovery rate is 98.1 per cent. Of the 316 new cases, only 17 patients are symptomatic, while the remaining 299 are asymptomatic, the bulletin

LIVE: Union Cabinet approves policy on long-term leasing of Railways' land

300 cargo terminals will be developed in 5 years, says Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Union Cabinet decisions

China earthquake death toll rises to 74 as Covid lockdown restricts escape

The death toll in this week's earthquake in western China has jumped to 74 with another 26 people still missing, the government reported Wednesday, as frustration rose with uncompromising COVID-19 lockdown measures that prevented residents from leaving their buildings after the shaking. The 6.8 magnitude quake that struct just after noon Monday in Sichuan province caused extensive damage to homes in the Ganze Tibetan Autonomous Region and shook buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, whose 21 million citizens are under a strict COVID-19 lockdown. Following the quake, police and health workers refused to allow anxious residents of apartment buildings out, adding to anger over the government's strict zero-COVID policy mandating lockdowns, quarantines and other restrictions, even while the rest of the world has largely reopened. Footage circulating online showed residents of the central city of Wuhan, where the pandemic is believed to have originated in late 2019, chanting lift

High-risk groups priority for latest adapted Covid-19 vaccines: ECDC

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said that individuals in high-risk groups and healthcare workers should be prioritised when the latest adapted Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out.

Office rents in Dubai rebounding, rising faster than in New York, London

Demand for space in the skyscraper and across Dubai is surging as the emirate attracts more wealth and expats due to its nimble response to the pandemic and relatively easy access to visas.

India reports 5,379 new Covid-19 cases; active cases decline to 50,594

India saw a single day rise of 5,379 coronavirus infections, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,44,72,241, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday. Active Covid cases have declined to 50,594, while the death toll has climbed to 5,28,057 with 27 fatalities, including 11 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am showed. The active cases comprises 0.11 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.70 per cent, the health ministry said. A decline of 1,742 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.67 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2 per cent, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,38,93,590, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry, 213.91 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been

Data story: India logs 5,379 new Covid cases; death toll at 528,057

India has so far administered 2,139,149,934 vaccine doses

Italian health agency approves 2 Omicron-specific Covid-19 booster shots

Italy began distributing Covid vaccines in December 2020, but the new boosters represent the first time the country has approved a vaccine dose engineered for a specific variant of the virus

Biden announces launch of annual Covid-19 vaccines for 12+ age group

US President Joe Biden has announced the launch of an annual COVID-19 vaccine for all Americans above 12 years of age, a move which he said would protect his fellow countrymen against this deadly disease and its variants. We are launching a new vaccine our first in almost two years with a new approach. For most Americans, that means one COVID-19 shot, once a year, each fall, Biden said in a statement. Starting this week, at tens of thousands of convenient pharmacies, doctor's offices, and community health centers, and other places, Americans age 12 and older can go get this new fall COVID-19 vaccine, he said. Biden said that the new vaccine provide the strongest protection from the new Omicron strain of the COVID-19 virus, which did not exist when the original vaccine was developed. As the virus continues to change, we will now be able to update our vaccines annually to target the dominant variant. Just like your annual flu shot, you should get it sometime between Labour Day and

India's first nasal vaccine for Covid-19 gets DCGI nod for emergency use

Bharat Biotech's iNCOVACC cleared for 2-dose regimen

Bollywood needs a superhero to rescue it; revenue still 38% down

Analysts blame industry woes on lockdowns, lack of new content, and growing competition from streaming and over-the-top platforms

Share of 'habitual offenders' among convicts lowest since 2016: NCRB

Recidivism has been improving after the pandemic

Airbnb witnesses surge in demand for offbeat destinations in India

Travellers' enthusiasm continued to grow after the Covid pandemic as there was about 140 per cent growth seen in non-urban night bookings on Airbnb during the second quarter of this calendar year. In India, the non-urban nights booked have increased by about 140 per cent when compared to the second quarter of 2022 (April-June) with the pre-pandemic second quarter of 2019, while non-urban long-term stays booked in India more than doubled, according to Airbnb internal data. According to the data, the number of destinations outside major cities have seen considerable growth in searches. Haldwani in Uttarakhand recorded a growth of about 330 per cent during the period under review, while Jibhi in Himachal Pradesh witnessed more than 270 per cent growth followed by Bir in Himachal Pradesh (more than 240 per cent growth) and Varkala in Kerala (more than 240 per cent growth), it added. On Airbnb, non-urban nights booked for long-term stays (over 28 days) more than doubled during the secon

Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid vaccine gets DCGI's nod for emergency use

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday approved Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid vaccine for restricted emergency use in those aged above 18 years. "Big Boost to India's Fight Against COVID-19! Bharat Biotech's ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored) recombinant nasal vaccine approved by @CDSCO_INDIA_INF for primary immunization against COVID-19 in 18+ age group for restricted use in emergency situation," Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted. He said this step will further strengthen "our collective fight" against the pandemic. India has harnessed its science, research and development (R&D), and human resources in the fight against COVID-19 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, he said. "With the science-driven approach & Sabka Prayas, we will defeat COVID-19," Mandaviya also said. The Hyderabad-based firm completed clinical trials of the nasal vaccine with about 4,000 volunteers and there is no side effect or adverse

Fight against Covid-19: Here is a list of vaccines approved in India

Besides Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine, India has 13 vaccines to fight against Covid-19. Two have been approved for manufacturing, while 11 have been approved for emergency use

Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, 97, hospitalised with Covid-19

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, was hospitalised on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19, his office said. Mahathir has been admitted to the National Heart Institute for observation for a few days as advised by the medical team, it said in a statement. It didn't provide further details on his condition. Mahathir, who was Malaysia's prime minister for two different periods, once was the world's oldest leader. He has had two coronary bypass surgeries but remains robust and sharp witted. He was admitted several times to the same hospital earlier this year. Mahathir later said he was hospitalised after experiencing shortness of breath due to a shortage of red blood cells. He later had a pacemaker implanted but acquired an infection during the surgery. He has said he thought he was dying at that point but somehow made a recovery. Mahathir ruled Malaysia initially for 22 years until his retirement in 2003. Spurred by anger over government corruption, he l

Indian pharma industry eyes South American market, seeks greater access

As Global pharma majors are exiting South America post Covid, the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) is looking to promote Indian pharmaceutical exports in the LAC