Page 138 - Coronavirus

North Korea says new fever cases near China border were flu, not COVID-19

North Korea on Friday said the latest fever cases detected in its border region with China were tested to be influenza, not coronavirus infections as initially feared. The report by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency came a day after the North said it locked down unspecified areas in Ryanggang province after four people had fevers that were suspected to be COVID-19. North Korea maintains it has had no confirmed coronavirus cases since August 10, when leader Kim Jong Un declared a widely disputed victory over the virus, just three months after the country acknowledged an omicron outbreak. KCNA said diagnostic tests of samples, the nature of the symptoms, and information gained from contract tracing led health workers to conclude that the fevers were caused by influenza. The patients have since returned to normal temperatures, it said. North Korean officials lifted the lockdown but urged residents to maintain vigilance by continuing to wear masks and reporting to healt

China adds 1 trn yuan more of stimulus to rescue economy, bolster growth

China stepped up its economic stimulus with a further 1 trillion yuan of measures to bolster growth and curb the fallout of repeated Covid lockdowns and the crisis in the property market

Pharma needs a dose of regulation

Code for pharmaceutical marketing must be implemented

Delhi logs 702 new Covid-19 cases, 4 deaths; positivity rate at 4.49%

Delhi on Thursday recorded 702 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 4.49 per cent, while four more people succumbed to the viral disease, according to data shared by the city health department. The new cases came out of 15,632 tests conducted the previous day, the department said in its latest bulletin. With the fresh cases and fatalities, Delhi's infection tally increased to 19,97,054, while the death toll rose to 26,446, it said. Delhi on Wednesday recorded 945 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 5.55 per cent, and six fatalities.

Maharashtra records 1,887 Covid cases, six deaths; active tally at 12,269

Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 1,887 new coronavirus cases and six pandemic-related deaths, the health department said in a bulletin. The state's COVID-19 case tally rose to 80,91,276, and death toll reached 1,48,214. On Wednesday, the state had recorded 1,913 cases and five fatalities. State capital Mumbai recorded 838 new coronavirus cases and two fatalities on Thursday. Pune city, Solapur city and Raigad and Solapur districts recorded one fatality each. The case fatality rate in the state stands at 1.83 per cent. There are 12,269 active cases in the state now. As many as 2,190 patients recovered from coronavirus infection since Wednesday evening, taking the total of recovered patients to 79,30,793. The recovery rate in the state stands at 98.02 per cent. As many as 35,969 tests were conducted since previous evening, which took the tally of tests conducted in the state to 8,39,58,734. Coronavirus figures of Maharashtra: New cases: 1,887; Deaths: six; Active cases: 12,269;

Italian man tests positive for monkeypox, Covid, HIV all at once: Report

According to the Daily Mail, scientists have reported this as the first known case of a person testing positive for these viruses, all at once

Latest LIVE: SC to review 2 points in PMLA verdict, issues notice to Centre

From Supreme Court's hearing on review plea of PMLA, remission order of Bilkis Bano convicts, to latest Covid and Russia-Ukraine war updates, catch all the latest news here

Germany approves stricter Covid measures, expects fresh coronavirus cases

Masks are to be compulsory in clinics and nursing homes throughout Germany, and proof of a negative Covid test will be required before entry

China announces 19 new policies in a bid to bolster economic growth

The measures -- unveiled by the State Council, the country's Cabinet -- include more than 1 trillion yuan ($146 billion) in new funding to boost investment and consumption, as well as more flexibility

Data story: India records 10,725 new Covid cases, active tally at 94,047

India has added 80,056 cases in the past 7 days

Data story: India records 10,649 new Covid cases, death toll at 527,452

India has so far administered 2,105,883,682 vaccine doses

Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine shows 73% efficacy in children under 5 years

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was 73 per cent effective in protecting children ages 6 months through 4 years during the time when the Omicron strain was highly prevalent, Pfizer has announced

US first lady Jill Biden has 'rebound' Covid case, president negative

First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 again in an apparent rebound case, after she initially tested negative for the virus over the weekend. President Joe Biden, who spent three days with his wife at their Rehoboth Beach, Del. vacation home, continues to test negative, the White House said. He also suffered a rebound case earlier this month after an initial recovery from the virus. Biden's deputy communications director Kelsey Donohue said she has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and will remain in Delaware where she has reinitiated isolation procedures. She added: The White House Medical Unit has conducted contact tracing and close contacts have been notified. Jill Biden, 71, had been prescribed the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which has proven to be highly effective at preventing serious disease and death among those at highest risk from COVID-19, but a minority of those prescribed the drug have experienced a rebound case of the virus a few days after their ..

Delhi logs 945 new Covid cases, 6 deaths; positivity rate dips to 5.55%

Delhi on Wednesday recorded 945 fresh COVID-19 cases and six fatalities, while the positivity rate stood at 5.55 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here. The fresh cases came out of 17,024 tests conducted the previous day, the department said in its latest bulletin. With the fresh cases and fatalities, Delhi's infection tally increased to 19,96,352 and the death toll to 26,442, it said.

Festive season sans Covid curbs to spur ad growth at the movies and on TV

Broadcasters, multiplex operators counting on September-December period that is marked by regional and national fests

Covid deaths down by 15% worldwide in past week, cases fall by 9%: WHO

The number of coronavirus deaths reported worldwide fell by 15% in the past week while new infections dropped by 9%, the World Health Organisation said Wednesday. In its latest weekly assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. health agency said there were 5.3 million new cases and more than 14,000 deaths reported last week. WHO said the number of new infections declined in every world region except the Western Pacific. Deaths jumped by more than 183% in Africa but fell by nearly a third in Europe and by 15% in the Americas. Still, WHO warned that COVID-19 numbers are likely severely underestimated as many countries have dropped their testing and surveillance protocols to monitor the virus, meaning that there are far fewer cases being detected. WHO said the predominant COVID-19 variant worldwide is omicron subvariant BA.5, which accounts for more than 70% of virus sequences shared with the world's biggest public viral database. Omicron variants account for 99% of all sequences

Maharashtra logs 1,913 Covid-19 cases, five deaths; active tally at 12,578

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 1,913 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of three from a day ago, while five more patients died due to the infection, the health department said. With this addition, the tally of COVID-19 cases in the state climbed to 80,89,389, while the death toll increased to 1,48,208, it in a bulletin. On Tuesday, the state had recorded 1,910 cases and seven deaths. As per the bulletin, of the total new cases recorded on Wednesday, the highest 1,320 were from the Mumbai administrative circle, followed by Pune (309), Nagpur (88), Nashik (65), Kolhapur (47), Akola (26), Latur (44) and Aurangabad (14) circles. An administrative circle consists of multiple districts. Of the five deaths reported on Wednesday, two were from Mumbai city and one each from Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Parbhani city, said the bulletin. The number of discharged persons rose to 79,28,603 after 1,913 patients recovered from the infection during the day, leaving the state with 12,578 active cas

LIVE: Nitish wins trust vote after BJP lawmakers walk out of Bihar assembly

From Adani Group acquiring a majority stake in New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) to Covid news, catch all the latest live updates here

Singapore eases Covid-19 restrictions, masks only on public transport

Singapore on Wednesday relaxed its social-mixing restrictions on COVID-19 and said that wearing masks won't be mandatory from August 29 except on public transport and hospitals as the daily hospital cases have halved in the country. Speaking at a press conference to announce the relaxation of the masks mandate, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that masks will only be mandatory in two settings, the first being healthcare facilities, residential care homes and ambulances, as well as indoor premises within hospitals and polyclinics. And the second being public transport, the Channel News Asia quoted him as saying. Mask-wearing in the airport and on private transport modes such as school buses, private bus services and taxis will be optional, he said. The relaxation in the COVID-19 restrictions came as the daily hospital cases have halved from more than 800 in July to below 400 these days, the report said. But it will also be required on public transport such as the boarding a

China broadens visa availability after two years as pandemic concerns ease

China is easing its tight restrictions on visas after it largely suspended issuing them to foreign students and others more than two years ago at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The website of the Chinese Embassy in India said the updated procedures would take effect from Wednesday, without making a specific mention of vaccine requirements or proof of a negative test for the virus. China still requires those arriving from abroad be quarantined at a hotel or private home and proof of a negative test is required for entry to many public and commercial spaces. The easing of visa restrictions is significant for Indian students, especially those pursuing degrees in medicine that are far more affordable in China than in Western nations. For students who return to China to resume their studies: Certificate of Returning to Campus' issued by the university in China" is required, the Embassy said. The Chinese Embassy in Washington also posted a notice saying the new rules for students a