Page 79 - Coronavirus

China's Covid disruptions leave foreign investors worried: Report

The country is now planning to reopen borders on January 8 and abandon quarantine after it downgrades its treatment of Covid-19

Covid-19 pandemic, political drama rocked Mumbai civic body in 2022

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, country's richest civic body, was governed by administrators for the better part of 2022, as the city emerged from the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the civic body's five-year term ended in March, the elections were stalled due to the pandemic at the start of the year and the subsequent political turmoil in Maharashtra, which saw the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June. Mumbai entered 2022 with a sudden rise in coronavirus cases, putting the BMC on alert. The city reported more than 20,000 daily cases for a few days at the start of the year, although the toll did not see a sharp rise. By April, the infections gradually ebbed, prompting the civic body to do away with the mask rule, which had been in force since 2020. The BMC also managed to vaccinate the entire adult population in the city against the deadly infection. It had administered 92,42,888 second doses of the vaccine, as against its target of 92,36,500 to

Chinese govt to start issuing new passports as Covid-19 curbs ease

The Chinese government says it will start issuing new passports as it dismantles anti-virus travel barriers, setting up a potential flood of millions of tourists out of China for next month's Lunar New Year holiday. That raises the possibility of an influx of free-spending Chinese visitors to revenue-starved destinations in Asia and Europe in what usually is the country's busiest travel season. But it also presents a danger, as tourists might spread COVID-19 as infections surge in China. China stopped issuing passports at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 as part of the world's strictest anti-virus controls and tried to block students, businesspeople and other travellers from going abroad. Tourist travel into China was shut down. Businesspeople and others who were allowed in were quarantined for up to one week. Tuesday's announcement adds to abrupt changes that roll back a "zero-COVID" strategy that confined millions of families to their homes. It kept infection rates

Mother-child duo, returning from China, test Covid positive in Tamil Nadu

A woman and her six-year-old daughter, who returned from China via Colombo, tested positive for COVID-19 at the Madurai airport in Tamil Nadu, a senior health official said on Wednesday. The woman, hailing from Virudhunagar near Madurai, and her daughter were subjected to RT-PCR test at the airport when they landed on Tuesday and the results turned positive for coronavirus, the official said. Both are under home isolation in Virudhunagar. Their samples would be sent to the state lab for whole genomic sequencing. On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu had reported 10 positive cases while the number of active cases remained at 51. The Tamil Nadu government had intensified the screening of all passengers who arrived at the four airports in the state immediately after the sudden surge in coronavirus cases in China and other countries. On Tuesday, state Health Minister Ma Subramanian, while inspecting a COVID-19 mock drill at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, here had said that the govern

As Covid-19 cases start rising, demand for masks, sanitisers grows: Report

The demand for premium masks costing more than Rs 2,000 has been rising rapidly among travellers

India reports 188 new Covid infections; active cases rise to 3,468

India logged 188 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 3,468, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,77,647). The death toll stands at 5,30,696, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.14 per cent, while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.18 per cent, the ministry said. It said 1,34,995 tests for detection of Covid have been conducted in the last 24 hours. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 47 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,43,483, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.07 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administ

Rise in active Covid-19 cases in Bihar; no need for panic, says expert

Bihar has witnessed a more than ten-fold rise in active COVID-19 cases, since last weekend, according to figures released by the state health department. The state, which had zero active case till Sunday, now has 14, with Gaya accounting for 12 of these. Notably, Gaya is witnessing an influx of pilgrims from abroad who are heading for Bodh Gaya, less than 20 km away, to attend the discourses of the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader is in Bihar after a gap of two years. On Monday, the international Buddhist pilgrimage centre had reported five COVID-19 cases, all of them foreign nationals. In addition, one person each has tested positive for coronavirus in Darbhanga and Patna. Meanwhile, Dr Gopal Krushna Pal, the Executive Director of AIIMS, Patna, said in a statement "there is no need to panic over rumours of an impending fourth wave. Though it would be prudent if people avoided going to crowded places and wore masks while venturing out". He asserted that the hospital was

Countries restrict entry of Chinese travellers as Beijing lifts Covid curbs

Uncertainty over the true scale of infections without reliable official figures is fueling concern that the rapid spread of the virus could lead to the emergence of new variants

As travel roars back post Covid-19 lull, airlines face shortage of planes

As travel springs back and even China dismantles the last remaining Covid curbs, one stark truth is beginning to emerge - the world is running desperately short of planes

Explainer: What will happen if Covid asylum restrictions in the US end

Since the pandemic began, the United States has been using a public health rule designed to limit the spread of disease to expel asylum-seekers on the southern border. Title 42, as it's called, has been used more than 2.5 million times to expel migrants since March 2020, although that number includes people who repeatedly attempted to cross the border. The Supreme Court said in a ruling Tuesday that it would keep Title 42 in place indefinitely. The case will be argued in February, and the stay will be maintained until the justices decide the case. In November, a federal judge ruled that immigration authorities could no longer use Title 42 to quickly expel prospective asylum-seekers and set a Dec. 21 deadline for its use to end. That set off a legal back-and-forth with a group of conservative-leaning states pushing to keep Title 42 in place and the federal government and immigration advocates say its time is over. The change comes as surging numbers of people are seeking to enter th

India's nasal vaccine not for those who have taken booster: NTAGI chairman

The Indian nasal vaccine cannot be given to those who have allready taken a precaution or booster dose, the head of the country's vaccine task force said

Air India Express lists Covid-19 guidelines for flyers from UAE to India

Air India Express on Tuesday issued guidelines for the maintenance of Covid-appropriate behaviour by travellers travelling from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India

China to reopen borders, abandon quarantine even as Covid-19 cases rise

Zero-Covid policy over: Quarantine for travellers to end starting Jan 8

China to end quarantines for inbound travellers as 'Covid Zero' dismantled

People arriving in China will only be required to obtain negative Covid test results within 48 hours of departure, according to a statement from the National Health Commission Monday

World shares advance after China relaxes more Covid-19 restrictions

World shares advanced Tuesday after China announced it would relax more of its pandemic restrictions despite widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 that are straining its medical systems and disrupting business. China's National Health Commission said Monday that passengers arriving from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, starting Jan. 8. They will still need a negative virus test within 48 hours of their departure and to wear masks on their flights. But it was the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures that have severely limited travel to and from the world's No. 2 economy. With economic activity floundering, and multinationals questioning the viability of China as a sourcing location, policymakers have as so many times in the past adopted a very business-like approach," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. Companies welcomed the move as an important step toward reviving slumping business activity. Germany's DAX gained 0

Daily vaccination rates in India surge two-fold amid global Covid scare

This despite an infection rate of about 150-200 cases a day; Vaccine makers say there are sufficient stocks to meet rising demand

Corporate India gears up to hedge China supply risk amid Covid surge

The sectors in India that import from China include pharmaceutical (pharma), automotive (auto), textile, engineering, and electronic goods

Maharashtra: Covid mock drills conducted at about 1,300 health facilities

Mock drills to assess preparedness for treating COVID-19 cases were conducted at about 1,300 health facilities in Maharashtra on Tuesday in view of a spurt in cases in China and some other countries, the state health department said here. Drills were carried out at 610 government hospitals, 628 private hospitals, 28 government medical colleges and 27 private medical colleges as of 5 pm, said an official statement. Last week, the Union government had directed all the states to conduct such exercises to ensure preparedness of hospitals in the wake of rise in COVID-19 cases in China, Brazil, South Korea and USA, among others. "A review of available hospital beds, ICU facilities, equipment, oxygen system, medicine stocks, human resources and their training and telemedicine facility was taken," the release stated. A doctor at the government-run J J Hospital in Mumbai said they checked the preparedness of their COVID-19 wards, medicine stocks, X-ray machinery and oxygen supply units. A

2022: When the pendulum moved from great resignation to great return

The controls are back with employers, and WFO with a degree of flexibility is the office-way for now

PFRDA restores pre-Covid norms for withdrawals by govt NPS subscribers

The government sector NPS subscribers will have to make a request for partial withdrawal of their National Pension System (NPS) corpus only through their associated nodal offices from January 1, 2023. The government sector NPS subscribers include employees of central and state governments and autonomous bodies. The Pension Fund Regulatory And Development Authority (PFRDA) relaxed the norms during the COVID pandemic by allowing withdrawals under NPS through self-declaration. "With the abating of the pandemic-related difficulties and relaxation of lockdown restrictions, the issue examined after taking into consideration of the prevalent practices, circumstances and law, it has been decided to make it mandatory for all the Government sector subscribers to submit their requests through their associated nodal offices," it said in a circular. PFRDA said the relaxation given in January 2021 had benefited the subscribers during the COVID pandemic and immobility caused due to lockdowns in .