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Coronavirus News Highlights: After facing the brutal second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India is now preparing for the possible third coronavirus wave. So far, the country has recorded over 3.21 crore confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 4,30,254 deaths. A total of 3,13,02,345 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far. There are 3,85,227 active COVID-19 cases in the country, which comprises 1.20 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's recovery rate now stands at 97.46 percent. Globally, more than 20.61 crore people have been infected by the coronavirus and 43.44 lakh have died so far. India has been running the third phase of the vaccination drive in which everyone above 18 years of age will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 52.95 crore, according to the Union Health Ministry.
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Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 tally reached 10,03,697 on Saturday with the addition of 83 cases, while one death took the toll to 13,546, a health official said.
The number of recoveries reached 9,88,790 after 38 people were discharged from hospitals and 106 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 1,361 active cases, the official informed.
Haryana on Saturday reported 14 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its tally to 7,70,186 while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 9,657.
Of the fresh cases, four were reported from Gurugram and two each from Panchkula and Palwal, according to the health department's daily bulletin.
The UK on Saturday reduced the cost of COVID-19 tests for international travellers from Amber list countries like India from 88 pounds to 68 pounds (USD 122 to USD 94), after many representations over the high charges of the mandatory testing.
Union Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, will visit Kerala on August 16 to review the COVID-19 situation in the southern State. He is also likely to visit Guwahati in Assam on August 17 to hold a review meeting there, sources said.
According to the sources, the Union minister is likely to meet Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, and hold a meeting with state Health Minister, Veena George, and other officials involved in Covid management there. (PTI)
Iran says it will impose a six-day-long “general lockdown” in cities across the country after being hit by what it describes as its fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, state media reported Saturday.The lockdown includes all bazars, markets and public offices, as well as movie theaters, gyms and restaurants in all Iranian cities.The lockdown will begin on Monday and will last through Saturday.The national coronavirus taskforce, which issued the decision, also ordered a travel ban between all Iranian cities from Sunday to Friday.Also on Saturday, Iran reported 466 deaths and 29,700 new cases of coronavirus patients in a single day. That brought the total pandemic death toll to 97,208, and total confirmed cases to 4,389,085.Last week, Iran hit a record in both its single-day death toll and confirmed new cases of COVID-19, with 42,541 new coronavirus cases and a daily death toll of 588.
Nepal is set to receive nearly four million doses of coronavirus Moderna vaccines, financed by the World Bank, through the Covax cost-share option, local media reported on Saturday
Active Covid-19 cases fell by 556 to 18,210 in Andhra Pradesh as 2,075 patients got cured in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday. The state registered 1,535 fresh cases and 16 deaths in a day, the latest bulletin said.The cumulative positives inched up to 19,92,191, recoveries to 19,60,350 and toll 13,631, it said. East Godavari reported 299, Chittoor 237, SPS Nellore 211, West Godavari 177, Guntur 173, Krishna 109 and Prakasam 107 new cases in 24 hours.The remaining six districts added less than 70 new cases each, with Kurnool logging just eight.
Iran is to impose a one-week lockdown and a ban on road travel amid a fifth COVID-19 surge in the worst-hit country in the Middle East, state television reported on Saturday. All non-essential businesses and offices will have to close under the nationwide lockdown from Monday to Aug. 21, in an effort to curb the highly contagious Delta variant. Authorities are also imposing a driving ban from Sunday until Aug. 27, except for essential vehicles. "All roads will be closed except for trucks carrying food and essential goods and ambulances. This traffic ban will be very strictly imposed," Alireza Raisi, spokesman for the national coronavirus task force, told the television. Authorities will only allow open-air gatherings for ongoing Shi'ite Muslim mourning ceremonies, Raisi said. The Health Ministry reported 29,700 new cases on Saturday, and 466 daily deaths, down from a record daily toll of 588 fatalities on Monday. Total deaths have reached 97,208, according to official figures. Social media users have accused the government of mismanagement over slow vaccinations with only 3.8 million people fully inoculated in a population of 83 million. Officials have blamed U.S. sanctions for hampering efforts to buy foreign vaccines and for delays in deliveries.
Gold plunged to a near five-month low on optimistic US economic releases, a strong US dollar, and firm global equities which faded its safe-haven appeal. Higher US treasury yields and concerns over physical demand from key Asian counties due to the spread of the virulent Delta variant of Covid-19 also cast doubts on the prospects of the commodity.The benchmark London spot prices tested a five-month low in August after an encouraging US payroll number. It lost more than 8 percent in the first week but slightly recovered later. Domestic gold too lost its momentum, but a weak currency and seasonal demand limited the losses.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered an increase in number of Covid tests to at least 60,000 per day.His statement comes amid projections that cases will double in about 64 days at the current growth rate.At present, the Covid tests are in the range of 45,000 to 49,000 per day.Reviewing the state's preparation for an imminent third wave, Singh directed the health department to undertake priority sentinel testing for patients at government and private hospitals, travellers at entry points, government offices, industries and labour colonies etc.Based on this, districts should formulate strategies for micro-containment zones, he said in a statement.Also, the CM virtually inaugurated a Children's Covid ward as well as PSA (Pressure swing adsorption) oxygen plants in Ludhiana and Faridkot.The Covid paediatric ward at Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, has five Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) and eight multisystem inflammatory syndromes in Children (MISC) beds.
Guatemala has declared a new state of emergency and will impose an overnight curfew from Sunday to contain a surge in Covid infections due to the Delta variant, President Alejandro Giammattei said.The 30-day state of emergency is being implemented due to a rebound in cases attributed to the "more aggressive" Delta variant, Giammattei said in a televised address on Friday."The Delta variant is highly contagious. It is causing new outbreaks and many governments have had to impose new restrictions on their populations as a mitigation measure. Guatemala cannot be the exception," he said.Guatemala, with about 17 million inhabitants, has been recording more than 4,000 new infections a day, with 407,564 cases and 11,006 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The government is expecting first doses of the single-shot vaccine of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to arrive in November or December, a top government source said, after the government had last week granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the foreign vaccine manufacturer.The next vaccine that the government is expecting to arrive after Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik is Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine which may get the approval from the drug regulator soon. “We expect two crore doses monthly from Zydus Cadila,” the source said.
