Page 62 - Coronavirus

Government affirms its number, says no 'overestimation' in retail inflation

A number of economists had pointed out that January's retail inflation data may have been overestimated by 23 basis points owing to a variation in the price index for cereals

US starts trial to evaluate antiviral in adults hospitalised with Covid

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has initiated a multi-site clinical trial evaluating an investigational antiviral for the treatment of Covid-19, the agency has announced

WHO chief Ghebreyesus vows to push for answers on coronavirus origins

Solving the mystery of where the SARS-CoV-2 virus came from and how it began spreading among humans is considered vital for averting future pandemics

Urbanisation and urban dynamics

Cities are not just an economic landscape. In the post-Covid world there is a need to understand the role culture plays in how a city grows beyond its economic allure

China smartphone market shows recovery after worst 2022 sales: Report

In four out of five weeks, the sales stayed above 6 million, a level seldom reached in 2022 when the pandemic haunted China's cities from time to time

India reports 102 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths; active tally rises to 1,823

India saw a single-day rise of 102 fresh COVID-19 cases as the active caseload increased to 1,823, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday. The country's Covid death toll stands at 5,30,756 with three latest fatalities -- two reported by Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours and one reconciled by Kerala -- the data updated at 8 am stated. The total tally of coronavirus cases was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,84,376). The daily positivity was recorded at 0.08 per cent, while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.09 per cent. The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,51,797, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.63 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so

China's world-beating drop in Covid-19 deaths revives data concerns

After meticulously tracking cases for most of the pandemic, China abruptly abandoned its signature zero-tolerance policy at the end of 2022, halting mass testing, quarantines and lockdowns

India introduces new Covid-19 rules for travellers from six countries

However, random testing of 2 per cent of all travellers landing in India will continue, the health ministry has said

Paxlovid reduced hospitalisation, death risk during Omicron wave: Study

Antiviral drug, paxlovid, significantly reduced the likelihood of hospitalisation or death from COVID-19 in people at risk of severe illness during the Omicron wave, according to a study. The research, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of paxlovid, a combiantion of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir drugs, in preventing severe illness during the emergence of the Omicron variant. The researchers from Public Health Ontario looked at data on adults with mild disease in Ontario, Canada who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test between April 4 and August 31, 2022. They compared 8,876 patients treated with nirmatrelvirritonavir with 1,68, 669 who were not treated. Most patients were older than 70 years, were vaccinated and had potential drugdrug interactions. A previous randomised controlled trial conducted before the emergence of the Omicron variant had found nirmatrelvirritonavir to be effective at treat

India reports 82 new Covid cases, 3 deaths; active tally decline to 1,837

India reported 82 new coronavirus infections while active cases declined to 1,837, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll rose by three to 5,30,753 with Uttar Pradesh reporting two fatalities and West Bengal recording one, the data updated at 8 am stated. The total number of Covid cases was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,84,200). The daily positivity was recorded at 0.14 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.09 per cent. The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections while the national recovery rate has risen to 98.81 per cent, according to the ministry's website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to over 4.41 crore (4,41,51,610) while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the website, 220.62 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Semiconductor chip supply constraints put brakes on auto OEM ramp-up

Firms struggle to increase production as supplies yet to fully normalise

India coronavirus update: Active Covid cases in country rise to 1,843

India recorded 124 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 1,843, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll stands at 5,30,750, the data updated at 8 am stated. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,84,118). The daily positivity was recorded at 0.10 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.09 per cent. The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,51,525, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website 220.62 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. 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 Septembe

Maharashtra records 16 new Covid-19 cases in a day; active tally at 82

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 16 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 81,37,280, the state health department said. The COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 1,48,421 as no fresh fatalities were reported. Maharashtra is now left with 82 active cases after 15 patients were discharged during the day, taking the number of recoveries to 79,88,777, it said. The case recovery rate in the state now stands at 98.18 per cent and the fatality rate at 1.82 per cent, the department said. Mumbai reported five cases, which raised the overall count to 11,54,366 while the death toll remained 19,747. With eight new cases, the tally of infections in the Mumbai division rose to 23,88,293. Nashik, Aurangabad, Latur, and Akola divisions didn't report any fresh cases while the Nagpur division logged one case, Pune division 5, and the Kolhapur division 2.

Covid-19 has significant impact on liver, says study at Mumbai hospital

COVID-19 can have a significant impact on liver besides respiratory and other vital systems, a study by a civic-run hospital here has shown. The study by the Gastroenterology department of BYL Nair Hospital, which was among the main hospitals earmarked for treating coronavirus patients in the city, found that almost half the participants had developed liver abnormalities. The report was recently published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, a publication of the Indian Council of Medical Research. As many as 46 per cent of patients (who took part in the study) had liver abnormalities caused by coronavirus, overuse of experimental and potentially dangerous drugs early in the pandemic and critically low oxygen levels, it said. "The study findings have underlined that the liver also took a huge hit due to COVID-19, like the lungs and heart," said Dr Pravin Rathi, gastroenterologist and dean of Nair Hospital. Dr Sanjay Chandnani, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor at .

NTAGI panel takes up inclusion of COVOVAX as heterologous booster dose

The COVID-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) discussed the inclusion of Covovax vaccine as a heterologous booster dose for adults on the CoWin portal to boost the uptake of precaution doses, official sources said on Saturday. A final decision on its inclusion will be taken by the NTAGI's Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) which is likely to meet by the end of this month. The COVID-19 Working Group discussed the matter on Wednesday. According to an official source, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Serum Institute of India (SII), had written to the Health Ministry last month seeking inclusion of Covovax on the CoWIN portal. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on January 16 approved market authorisation to Covovax as a heterologous booster dose for adults who have been administered two doses of Covishield or Covaxin. The DCGI's approval was based on recommendations by the Subject Expe

India logs 132 Covid cases, active tally at 1,820; positivity rate at 0.1%

India recorded 132 new coronavirus infections, pushing the tally to 4.46 crore, while the active cases increased to 1,820, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. The death toll stands at 5,30,750, data updated by the ministry at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 0.10 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.09 per cent, the ministry said. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. So far, the country has recorded a total of 4.46 crore (4,46,83,994) Covid cases. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,51,424, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.62 crore doses of vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 inoculation drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August

Covid vaccines do not increase risk of adverse events, claims Study

COVID-19 vaccines did not cause an increased risk of adverse events such as heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest, myocarditis, pericarditis, and deep vein thrombosis, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Vaccines, monitored the entire population of the Italian province of Pescara for 18 months, from January 2021 to July 2022. The team led by researchers from the University of Bologna in Italy collected inhabitants' health data and analysed the frequency of a number of serious diseases such as cardiovascular disease, pulmonary embolism and thrombosis. Pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that blocks and stops blood flow to an artery in the lung while thrombosis occurs when blood clots block veins or arteries. The study showed that none of the diseases examined were found to be more frequent among the vaccinated than among the non-vaccinated. "The results obtained clearly show that there was no increased risk of serious diseases among the vaccinated," said ...

No new Covid variants emerged during China's recent outbreak: Lancet study

Two known Omicron sub-variants rather than any new variants have chiefly been responsible for the recent COVID-19 surge in China, according to a study of cases in Beijing published in The Lancet Journal. The analysis suggests Omicron sub-variants, BA.5.2 and BF.7 among the most dominant variants in Beijing during 2022 accounted for more than 90 per cent of local infections between November 14 and December 20, 2022. The results represent a snapshot of the pandemic in China, due to the characteristics of Beijing's population and the circulation of highly transmissible COVID-19 strains there, the researchers said. China is widely reported to have ended its zero-Covid strategy on December 7, 2022. Since the lifting of these strict COVID-19 control policies which included targeted lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine surging case numbers have raised concerns that new variants could emerge. In the three years since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, the emergence of variant

Round table: Changes to Insurance Act a redefining moment, say experts

Covid has been a defining moment for the industry; the industry has paid out Rs 25,000 crore in claims, it has led to an important change by converting insurance from a push product to a pull product

Covid was the moment of truth for the life insurance industry: Experts

On the part of Irdai, they have relaxed capital requirements in certain lines of business