Page 163 - Coronavirus

Post-pandemic labour markets in West now have backward bending supply curve

The financial aid provided by governments to help people during the pandemic is dis-incentivising people from re-joining the labour force to the full extent that they can

German health minister recommends fourth Covid-19 dose for under 60s

Germany's Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach on Friday recommended a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose for people under the age of 60, contradicting the advice from a relevant national commission.Germany's Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommends a second COVID-19 booster shot with a mRNA vaccine, such as the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna, only to people aged over 70, residents in care facilities, people with immunodeficiency and medical staff."If someone wants to enjoy the summer and not run the risk of getting ill, then I would recommend vaccination even to younger people in consultation with their family doctor," Lauterbach told the Spiegel magazine.A vaccine adapted to Omicron is expected to come out in late August or early September, but Lauterbach said people who are aged 60 and over "should definitely not wait for the new vaccine," as the protection they need against serious illness or death is already provided by the current vaccines.Of the 69.4 million adults in Germany ..

Bengal logs 2,839 new Covid-19 cases, six deaths; positivity rate at 18.05%

The district administrations were directed to organise camps to provide booster doses to beneficiaries and ensure COVID-appropriate behaviour among people, an official said.

Tamil Nadu logs 2,340 new Covid-19 cases, active cases stand at 17,228

Four of the 38 districts recorded most of the infections with Chennai seeing 607 cases, Chengalpet 306, Coimbatore 165, and Tiruvallur 149 while the rest were spread across other districts.

Maharashtra reports 2,382 Covid cases, eight deaths; active cases at 15,521

The recovery rate in the state is 97.96% and fatality rate 1.84%. The health department also said that 35 patients of BA.4 and BA.5 variants and 8 patients of BA.2.75 variant were reported on Saturday

Karnataka reports 1,374 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths; active cases at 7,296

Bengaluru urban district alone contributed 1,234 new cases and reported two deaths.

Sikkim reports 114 new coronavirus cases in 24-hr, positivity rate at 24%

Sikkim now has 489 active cases, while 38,159 people have recovered from the disease, and 768 have migrated to other states so far.

Efforts needed to get routine immunisation back to pre-Covid times: WHO

Many counties have demonstrated that routine immunization can be maintained or scaled up along with COVID-19 vaccination, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia.

Booster dose necessary to beat residual effect of Covid-19: Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the booster dose drive was important in the fight against COVID-19 as the residual effect of the pandemic will have a 'tapering effect'

Assam reports over 700 new Covid cases, one more death in last 24 hours

Assam logged 706 fresh Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally to 729,322, while the death toll mounted to 6,646 with one more fatality, a National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said

New Zealand reports 9,241 new community cases of Covid, 29 deaths

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers of Covid in New Zealand now sits at 9,984. 761 current hospitalisations, including 15 cases in ICU or HDU, and 29 deaths reported

India records 20,044 fresh Covid-19 cases, 56 deaths in last 24 hours

India's Covid-19 case tally rose by 20,044 in a day to reach 43,730,071 while active cases increased to 140,760, according to Health Ministry data updated on Saturday

Covid vaccine's protection short-lived, booster shots essential: Study

Vaccine's strong protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus is short-lived and dependable; requires up-to-date boosters that are adapted to address changes that occur as part of virus' natural evolution

Coronavirus: First day of free boosters sees nearly 95% jump in offtake

1.49 mn booster doses administered out of total 2 mn doses given on Friday

Parliament relaxes entry into Central Hall with reduction in Covid-19 cases

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has asked members to ensure that they are vaccinated and also advised them to wear a face mask all the time

BA.5 Omicron subvariant 4 times more vaccine-resistant, says study

The BA.5 Omicron subvariant, now the dominant coronavirus strain in the US, is four times more resistant to Covid-19 vaccines, according to a new study published in Nature

Gujarat registers 822 new Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths; active cases at 4,482

The fresh deaths - one each in Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar city - pushed the toll to 10,953, said the department in a release.

West Bengal logs 3,067 new Covid cases, 5 deaths; positivity rate at 21.29%

West Bengal on Friday reported 3,067 COVID-19 cases, which pushed the tally to 20,65,360, the health department said in a bulletin on Friday. North 24 Parganas registered 693 infections followed by Kolkata at 653. Five more deaths due to the disease raised the toll to 21,265, the bulletin said. The number of active cases rose by 1,187 to 30,043 Altogether 20,14,052 people have recovered from the disease, 1,875 of them since Thursday. The positivity rate stood at 19.54 per cent. The state since Thursday tested 15,699 samples, the bulletin added.

Karnataka reports 977 new Covid-19 cases, one death; active cases at 6,702

The department in its daily COVID bulletin said 1,013 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 39,37,173 till date. Active cases stood at 6,702.

Tamil Nadu records 2,312 new Covid-19 cases,1 death; active infections dip

As many as 2,682 persons were cured of the virus on Friday, a government bulletin said.