Page 97 - Coronavirus

China eases curbs in parts of nation; no signs of ending Covid Zero policy

China is easing some of the world's most stringent anti-virus controls and authorities say new variants are weaker. But they have yet to say when they might end a zero-COVID strategy that confines millions of people to their homes and set off protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to resign. On Monday, commuters in Beijing and at least 16 other cities were allowed to board buses and subways without a virus test in the previous 48 hours for the first time in months. Industrial centers including Guangzhou near Hong Kong have reopened markets and businesses and lifted most curbs on movement while keeping restrictions on neighbourhoods with infections. The government announced plans last week to vaccinate millions of people in their 70s and 80s, a condition for ending "zero- COVID restrictions that keep most visitors out of China and have disrupted manufacturing and global trade. That spurred hopes for a quick end to zero COVID." But health experts and economists warn it will be

Long Covid symptoms in kids change over time, reveals Lancet study

This was also the case when researchers looked at scales measuring poor quality of life, experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties, poor wellbeing and fatigue

With just one active case, Lucknow all set to become zero-Covid city

As no fresh cases have been reported from the past four days, the active caseload of the city will be then zero - a dream for which thousands of healthcare providers

Respiratory virus at high, Tridemic overwhelms Canadian health care system

Tridemic is the combination of three virals - Flu, Covid-19 and RSV

Lessons from Covid: Pharma firms turn attention to adult vaccination

Vaccine companies have warmed up to the idea of adult vaccines for other diseases such as pneumonia, flu and shingles as well

Woman slips into coma after AstraZeneca vaccine dose against Covid-19

Diagnosed with rare, serious condition

Shanghai eases Covid-19 restrictions as China's policy shift expands

The financial hub will scrap PCR testing requirements to enter outdoor public venues such as parks as well as ride public transit effective Monday, city authorities said in a statement Sunday

Coronavirus: Study sheds light on origins of SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron

The SARS-CoV-2 subtype, later termed "Omicron," was discovered a year ago in South Africa and spread rapidly over the world. It is still unknown how, when, or where this virus developed.

Singapore to see new wave of Covid-19 infections: Health Minister

Singaporeans should expect a new wave of Covid-19 infections with more people travelling and due to the upcoming year-end festivities, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said

India's Covid tally rises by 226; active caseload declines to 4,529

India logged 226 new Covid infections in a day taking the tally of cases to 4.46 crore while active caseload has declined by 68 to reach 4,529, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll has climbed to 5,30,6278 with one fatality being reported from Odisha, data updated at 8 am stated. Active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,38,235, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 219.93 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh

Premature to declare death of globalisation; geopolitics transforming trade

A US-China trade war, a global pandemic, Brexit and Russia's war in Ukraine have rattled the once-entrenched ways that the world's largest economies trade with each other

Apple plans to shift production out of China in wake of violent protests

Apple is accelerating its plans to shift some of its production outside China and telling suppliers to plan more for assembling the product elsewhere in Asia, particularly India and Vietnam

Maharashtra logs 37 new Covid-19 cases, zero fatality; active tally at 328

Maharashtra on Saturday recorded 37 new cases of coronavirus that raised the tally of infections to 81,35,937, an official from the state health department said. The toll remained unchanged at 1,48,407, while the count of recoveries reached 79,87,202 after 69 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, the official said. With 10,552 swab samples tested in the last 24 hours, the number of tests conducted across the state so far rose to 8,56,74,603, he said. As per the health department's report, Pune circle reported the highest 16 fresh cases, followed by Mumbai (15), Aurangabad (4) and Nashik and Nagpur circle one each. The state now has 328 active cases, of which Pune has the highest 130 cases, followed by 58 and 51 cases in Thane and Mumbai districts respectively, it said. The recovery rate is at 98.17 per cent, while the fatality rate is1.82 per cent, the report said. Coronavirus figures of Maharashtra are as follows: Positive cases 81,35,937; fresh cases 37; d

Beijing and Tianjin scrap mandatory Covid-19 tests for public transport

Several Chinese cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Shenzhen on Saturday scrapped the mandatory COVID-19 tests for public transport, as authorities softened their stance on the stringent Zero-COVID policy amid a spate of anti-government protests across the country. Residents in Chengdu and Guangzhou no longer require to show Covid test results when entering most public places, the official media reported on Saturday. On Friday, authorities in Beijing announced that 48-hour valid nucleic acid tests are no longer needed on buses and subways starting next Monday. Passengers must, however, still keep their masks on, they said. Shopping malls in Beijing will be open starting from December 3, although some still cannot provide dine-in services, for which a 48-hour test is required. The marginal lifting of curbs came after last weekend's protests in several cities, including in Shanghai and Beijing against the draconian Zero-COVID lockdowns that are disrupting people's livelihoods.

Covid emergency phase closer to end but Omicron transmission remains: WHO

The reason behind is that "Omicron has proved to be significantly more transmissible than its predecessor, Delta, and continues to cause significant mortality due to the intensity of transmission"

11% of Covid cases that needed hospitalisations had lung scarring: Study

Up to 11 per cent of Covid cases that needed hospitalisation had lung scarring which may be irreversible and could get worse over time, according to a study conducted in the United States. The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, sought to determine the percentage of COVID-19 patients, with various degrees of severity, discharged from hospital who had a type of fibrotic lung damage, known as interstitial lung disease, that requires follow-up care. Interstitial lung disease refers to a broad group of diseases that are characterized by lung scarring, including idiopathic lung fibrosis. This scarring makes it difficult to breathe and get oxygen into the bloodstream. Lung damage caused by this may be irreversible and get worse over time. "We estimated that up to 11 per cent of hospitalised Covid patients had fibrotic patterning after recovery from the acute illness," said corresponding author Iain Stewart, an advanced research fellow (Rayne

At Shanghai vigil, bold shout for change preceded crackdown amid covid woes

The mourners in Shanghai lit candles and placed flowers. Someone scrawled Urumqi, 11.24, Rest in Peace in red on cardboard referring to the deadly apartment fire in China's western city of Urumqi that sparked anger over perceptions the country's strict COVID-19 measures played a role in the disaster. What started as a small vigil last weekend by fewer than a dozen people grew into a rowdy crowd of hundreds hours later. One woman defiantly shouted for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to resign, emboldening others. Then, before dawn, police swept in and broke up the gathering, preventing more such gatherings from happening. The Nov. 26 protest in Shanghai wasn't the first or the largest. But it was notable for the bold calls for change in China's leadership the most public defiance of the ruling Communist Party in decades. Nationalist bloggers swiftly blamed foreign black hands, and the government vowed to crack down on hostile forces. But the protest emerged spontaneously, according to 11

Deadly Covid variants still transmissible between species, finds study

Computer simulations showed there is a still significant risk of mammalian cross-species infectivity

Pharma, consumer durables sectors likely to feel China curb heat

Industry players say lockdown could have an impact on the supply of components used in consumer durables

RBI monetary policy: Pace of tightening set to slow

Our financial system needs more time for the broad-based transmission of the past concentrated increases in the repo rate (190 basis points in just four months)