Page 55 - Coronavirus

PM holds Covid meeting amid renewed concerns, says 'pandemic far from over'

Covid-19 cases have risen to their highest level in around four months. From less than 200 cases across India at the end of February, India reported 1,134 cases on March 21st

Covid affected access to essential meds for cancer, heart diseases: WHO

The report reviewed the impact of the pandemic on NCD medicines from manufacturing, procurement, and importation to delivery, availability, and affordability

LIVE: Billionaire industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla receives Padma Bhushan

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PM advises precaution, maintenance of vigil amid rise of Covid-19 cases

A mock drill was also conducted on December 27, 2022, in 22,000 hospitals, and many remedial measures were taken by hospitals thereafter

New Covid-origins study hints at spillover from animal: Scientists

Besides raccoon dogs, the international team of scientists also found DNA of bamboo rats, palm civets, Malayan porcupine and Amur hedgehog

Samarthanam raises awareness about post-Covid impact on PwDs at UNHRC

In an oral intervention in the general debate on persons with disabilities at the 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council, Samarthanam Trust for the disabled raised awareness about the impact

Covid-19 cases increasing in Kerala; govt issues alerts to all districts

COVID-19 infections increased in Kerala slightly prompting the state government to sound alerts to all districts on Wednesday. In a statement, Health Minister Veena George said there has been a little increase in the number of Covid-19 cases with the state reporting 172 cases on Tuesday. She said Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts have more virus cases. "There are a total of 1,026 active cases of COVID-19 and 111 people are under treatment in hospitals. All districts have been alerted," the minister said. She said the districts have also been directed to strengthen surveillance. A high-level meeting, chaired by George, also assessed the Covid situation in the state.

PM Modi to hold high-level review meeting on Covid situation today

Amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review the situation and public health preparedness, officials said. India has recorded 1,134 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases increased to 7,026, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths. One death each has been reported by Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra while one fatality was reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 1.09 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.98 per cent.

India reports 1,134 new Covid cases, 5 deaths; active tally rises to 7,026

India recorded 1,134 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases increased to 7,026, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths with one each reported by Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra and one reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 1.09 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.98 per cent. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,98,118). The active cases now comprise 0.02 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.79 per cent, the ministry said. A total of 92.05 crore tests for detection of Covid have been conducted so far with 1,03,831 being tests conducted in the last 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,60,279 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website,

Goa CM asks people to take precautions due to Covid-19, influenza cases

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday asked people to take precautions in the wake of a rising number of COVID-19 and influenza infections in the country. Sawant also said the count of coronavirus cases went up slightly in the coastal state. The state government is monitoring the situation amidst the rise in COVID-19 and influenza cases in the country, the chief minister said, adding that people will have to take precautions while the government has already issued an advisory. People who are feeling flu-like symptoms should avoid crowded places and opt for isolation, he said. Goa reported 17 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the overall tally to 2,59,297. The number of active cases is 109. The state has not recorded confirmed influenza cases so far. According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday, India logged 699 new cases of coronavirus, while the active cases increased to 6,559.

Long Covid infection linked with risk of 'face blindness': Study

Prolonged symptoms of COVID-19 may be associated with difficulty recognising faces, a little-known condition called face blindness, and navigational problems, according to a study. Previous studies have shown that COVID-19 can cause a range of neurological problems, including the loss of smell and taste, and impairments in attention, memory, speech, and language, known as "brain fog". The latest research, published in the journal Cortex, is the first to report prosopagnosia, or face blindness, following symptoms consistent with COVID-19. The condition that can make people fail to recognise familiar faces, has been estimated to affect between 2 and 2.5 per cent of people in the world. The researchers assessed the case of Annie, a 28-year-old customer service representative and part-time portrait artist in the US, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March 2020 and suffered a symptom relapse two months later. "When I first met Annie, she told me that she was unable to recognise the f

India reports 699 new Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths; active tally rises to 6,559

India logged 699 new cases of coronavirus, while the active cases increased to 6,559, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The death toll increased to 5,30,808 with two deaths. While one death was reported by Odisha, another was reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 0.71 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.91 per cent. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,96,984). The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.80 per cent, the ministry said. A total of 92.04 crore tests for detection of Covid have been conducted so far with 97,866 being conducted in the last 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,59,617, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.65 crore doses of Covid vaccine have

Biden signs bill to declassify information related to origins of Covid

US President Joe Biden on Monday signed a Bill, the "COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023", that requires the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information related to the origins of COVID.The US President in a statement on Monday said: "My Administration will continue to review all classified information relating to COVID-19's origins, including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology; will declassify & share as much of that information as possible.""Today, I am pleased to sign into law S. 619, the "COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023." I share the Congress's goal of releasing as much information as possible about the origin of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In 2021, I directed the Intelligence Community to use every tool at its disposal to investigate the origin of COVID-19, and that work is ongoing," Biden said in a statement released by The White House."We need to get to the bottom of COVID-19's origins to help ensure we can better prevent future pandemics. My

Ten active cases of Covid-19, two of H3N2 influenza reported in Jharkhand

The state Health Department has alerted all the districts and blocks to take steps along the lines of Test-Track-Treat, to stop the spread of infection

Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 accounts for over 90% new Covid cases in US

The second most prevalent strain BQ.1.1 only accounted for 3.5 per cent in the latest week

Covid report based on China samples puts suspicion back to animal origins

In some samples there was more animal genetic material than human genetic material indicating possible SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals, the report says

'XBB' Covid variants unlikely to cause new wave, don't create panic: Expert

India on Monday recorded a single-day rise of 918 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours pushing the active cases to 6,350, according to the Union Health Ministry data

Underactive immune response may explain severe Covid in obese: Study

People who are obese may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 because of a poorer inflammatory immune response, according to a study. The research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that following SARS-CoV-2 infection, cells in the lining of the lungs, nasal cells, and immune cells in the blood show a blunted inflammatory response in obese patients, producing suboptimal levels of molecules needed to fight the infection. While some people have very mild -- or even no -- symptoms due to COVID-19, others have much more severe symptoms, including acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring ventilator support. One of the major risk factors for severe COVID-19 is obesity, which is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of over 30, the researchers said. While this link has been shown in numerous epidemiological studies, until now, it has not been clear why obesity should increase an individual's risk of severe COVID-19. "During the pandemi

India records 918 new Covid-19 infections, 4 deaths; active cases at 6,350

India saw a single-day rise of 918 fresh coronavirus cases, while the active cases rose to 6,350, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Monday. The country's COVID-19 death toll has increased to 5,30,806, with four latest fatalities -- two reported by Rajasthan, one by Karnataka and one death reconciled by Kerala. According to the data updated at 8 am, the daily positivity was recorded at 2.08 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.86 per cent. The infection tally stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,96,338). The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total cases, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.8 per cent, according to the health ministry website. A total of 92.03 crore tests for detection of Covid have been conducted so far with 44,225 tests conducted in the last 24 hours. The total number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,59,182, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per ...

South Korea lifts years-long mask mandate for public transportation

The mandate however, remains in place for medical facilities, pharmacies and other vulnerable facilities, such as nursing homes