Page 5 - Latest Updates on Covid-19

Five years of Covid: Struggles, adaptations and hope for small businesses

From closures to online pivots, how small enterprises weathered the pandemic storm

Covid's quiet fade: Nearly 3 deaths per month still being reported

The latest numbers show that there have been 41 cases of Covid in the most recent four-week period ending mid-January, with three deaths

CIA suspects Covid originated from a lab but lacks confidence in finding

The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment released Saturday that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has low confidence in its own conclusion. The finding is not the result of any new intelligence, and the report was completed at the behest of the Biden administration and former CIA Director William Burns. It was declassified and released Saturday on the orders of President Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency, John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in Thursday as director. The nuanced finding suggests the agency believes the totality of evidence makes a lab origin more likely than a natural origin. But the agency's assessment assigns a low degree of confidence to this conclusion, suggesting the evidence is deficient, inconclusive or contradictory. Earlier reports on the origins of COVID-19 have split over whether the coronavirus emerged from a Chinese lab, ...

Explained: How to protect yourself from norovirus, Covid-19, flu, and RSV

In the winter months, it seems few are safe from some kind of illness flu, COVID-19, norovirus, colds. While many of the germs that cause this misery can circulate throughout the year, scientists think that the winter surge of flu and cold activity may be because we spend more time indoors and the cold, dry air may weaken our defences. But knowing what these bugs are and how they spread can help. While it may be difficult to make it through the season totally unscathed, there are some things you can do to protect yourself from these respiratory and stomach viruses. How do I know whether I have the cold, the flu, COVID-19 or something else? Some symptoms are hard to distinguish among illnesses, especially with respiratory viruses. Others are unmistakable. Norovirus is a foodborne illness that can spread through water and contaminated surfaces and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and stomach pain for about one to three days. The common cold can be caused by several different t

India's 2024 power output growth slowest since Covid-19, shows data

Power output rose 5.8 per cent annually to 1,824.13 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), an analysis of daily load despatch data from federal grid regulator Grid-India showed

Covid's lessons ignored: The world risks repeating past mistakes

The vaccines allowed Covid to be treated as an aberration, but we must not forget what it really was: A preview of the kind of planetary challenges that await us

Covid-like virus | All about HMPV virus and its symptons

The recent buzz about rising infections in China, especially about a virus called Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) has caused many to panic.

New year celebrations, Manipur CM Biren Singh, WHO urges China for Covid19 data & more

Authorities across Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Pune, have ramped up security measures for New Year celebrations. Nationwide, a zero-tolerance policy for drunk driving and drug violations is in effect

Hurt in Covid-19, MSMEs recover slowly as initiatives for them continue

Share of credit outstanding to MSMEs by scheduled commercial banks as a percentage of outstanding non-food credit is tepid

ICMR study concluded Covid vaccine didn't increase death risk: Nadda to RS

An ICMR study has conclusively documented that Covid vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India, instead lowering their odds, Union Health Minister J P Nadda told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Past COVID-19 hospitalization, family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden death, he said responding to a question. He said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has informed that the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology conducted a study titled 'Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India' -- a 'multicentric matched case-control study' -- at 47 tertiary care hospitals in 19 states and Union Territories during May-August last year. The cases were apparently healthy individuals without any known co-morbidity, who suddenly (less than 24 hours of hospitalisation or seen apparently healthy 24 hours before death) died of ...

Pralhad Joshi targets Justice Michael D'Cunha over Covid panel report

The John Michael D'Cunha Commission report has recommended prosecution of the then Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa

AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine

AstraZeneca that manufactured Covid-19 vaccine 'Covishield', has announced its global withdrawal, days after admitting that the vaccine has rare side effects. It has cited 'commercial reasons' for th

Covishield can cause blood clots, low platelet count. Here's all you should know

If you've had Covishield, the widely used Covid vaccine, here's a heads-up: it's linked to blood clots and low platelet count, although rarely. Just how rare?

PM Modi interaction with Bill Gates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bill Gates engaged in an interesting conversation on March 29 covering a range of critical topics.

New Covid-19 variant JN.1 detected: All you need to know

Health experts are concerned about the coronavirus variant JN.1, first identified in Luxembourg. JN.1 is a sub-variant of Pirola (BA.2.86), which is derived from the Omicron sub-variant. >

Mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China: Here's why the world is worried

China has reported an outbreak of influenza-like illness. According to news reports, Chinese hospitals are "overwhelmed with sick children" who have symptoms of respiratory illness. >

China Deliberately Engineered Coronavirus As "Bioweapon": Wuhan Researcher

A researcher at Wuhan Institute of Virology in China has made astonishing claims about the coronavirus, saying the virus was engineered by China as a "bioweapon". Watch the video to know more. >

All you need to know about world's first nasal vaccine for covid

The government has approved Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid-19 vaccine, iNCOVACC (BBV154), as a booster dose for those above 18 years of age. How does this needle-free vaccine work and how different is it from the existing ones? To get the answers, Business Standard spoke to Dr Gagandeep Kang, virologist and professor at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. Watch the video for more

BS Views of the week: Moonlighting, Covid, PMGKAY, and more

Business Standard's opinion pages this week focused on moonlighting, Covid threat, free grain scheme, and much more

BS Views of the week: India's rising unemployment rate

What does India’s rising unemployment rate mean for the country’s economic recovery? What will be the trends and challenges for the banking sector in the new year? And, why does India need higher expenditure on infrastructure to sustain our economic recovery?