Coronavirus News Highlights: India’s brutal second wave of COVID-19 pandemic is receding but the cases of Delta plus variant, classified as a variant of concern (VOC), are increasing in the country. So far, the country has recorded over 3.02 crore confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 3,96,730 deaths. A total of 2,93,09,607 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far. There are 5,72,994 active COVID-19 cases in the country, which comprises 1.89 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's recovery rate now stands at 96.8 percent. Globally, more than 18.10 crore people have been infected by the coronavirus and 39.21 lakh have died so far. India has begun the third phase of the vaccination drive in which everyone above 18 years of age will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. India's drug regulator has granted restricted emergency use approval for three vaccines - Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 32.36 crore, according to the Union Health Ministry.
Data from a new Oxford study on mixing two-dose schedules of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines supports the decision of some European countries that offered alternatives to AstraZeneca as a second shot after the vaccine was linked to rare blood clots (Reuters)
Zero ICU beds in Ambedkar Nagar Hospital after de-escalation and no change in ICU beds at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital after Delhi govt decides to de-escalate the number of COVID beds in both hospitals and COVID Health Centres in view of reduction in COVID cases.
All private hospitals/nursing homes having a total capacity of 100 beds or more are allowed to reduce their reserved capacity for COVID-19 oxygenated beds to 30% of their total bed capacity or three times of occupancy as on June 16 or whichever is more: Delhi Govt
Madras HC holds that lockdown arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be used as a 'magic wand' to make defaults in repayments on all occasions.
Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik says out of 21 people detected with Delta Plus variant of coronavirus so far in the state, only one had taken the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Union minister Jitendra Singh says COVID-19 has strengthened the public-private partnership model in India's healthcare system with a win-win situation for both
India’s cumulative vaccination coverage exceeds 32.85 crores, more than 48.01 lakh vaccine doses administered till 7 pm on June 28. More than 8.95 crores vaccine doses administered in the age group 18-44, so far: Union Health Ministry
People who received the AstraZeneca vaccine first, followed four weeks later by a Pfizer dose, produced antibody levels nine times higher than those given two doses of the Oxford jab.
Telangana reports 993 new COVID-19 cases, 1,417 recoveries, and nine deaths in the past 24 hours. Active cases in the state stand at 13,869 as of June 28. Total COVID-19 recoveries in Telangana is 6,04,093, while the death toll is 3,644.
After a lockdown for one and a half months, the Nagaland government on Monday decided to begin a 10-day unlock period in the state from July 1, senior minister Neiba Kronu said.Addressing a press conference at the State Civil Secretariat here, government spokesperson for COVID-19 and Minister for Planning & Coordination, Land Revenue and Parliamentary Affairs, Kronu said, "As the way forward, the High Powered Committee (HPC) on COVID-19 has decided to go for Unlock 1 from July 1 to 10".The decision to this effect was taken during a virtual meeting of the HPC on COVID-19, headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, as an outcome of the June 26 video conference interaction of the COVID-19 War Room, headed by Chief Secretary J Alam, with the District Task Force (DTF) on the prevailing coronavirus situation.The ongoing lockdown was scheduled to end on June 30, he said.The 10-day period from July 1 with more relaxations will be an observation period for unlocking and reducing COVID-19 curbs in the state, Kronu said. (PTI)
Almost 60 per cent of entrepreneurs in India predict a long-term positive impact of COVID-19 on their businesses, a UK study reports on Monday.The report by researchers from the University of Strathclyde and King’s College London found that, despite nearly a third of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) being forced to lay off staff, more than half were able to capture new business opportunities during lockdown.The researchers surveyed 107 entrepreneurs to discover the short and long-term consequences of COVID-19 on small business in India, as part of a larger global study carried out across 23 countries.“Our survey paints a picture of short and long-term opportunities but also vulnerability of Indian SMEs and entrepreneurs in the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr Sreevas Sahasranamam, Chancellor’s Fellow at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde Business School, the lead author of the report.
Over two lakh Covid vaccine doses were administered in Delhi on Monday, according to the CoWIN portal, an online platform used for monitoring the delivery of jabs nationwide.This is the second time in the last three days that the number of daily vaccinations crossed the two-lakh mark.According to the Centre's CoWIN portal, 2.02 lakh vaccine doses were given on Monday, while 2.07 lakh beneficiaries were inoculated on Saturday.Only 9,563 doses were administered in the national capital on Sunday as government vaccination centres remained closed.Since the beginning of the inoculation drive in the national capital on January 16, more than 75 lakh vaccine doses have been given. Over 17 lakh people have received both doses of vaccine.According to the Delhi government's vaccination bulletin, the city had 7.06 lakh vaccine doses with it till Monday morning.On Sunday, AAP MLA Atishi said the Delhi government has informed the Centre that the city needs 45 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines in July to keep up the current vaccination rate of 1.5 lakh jabs daily."More than 45 lakh doses will be needed if the pace of vaccination increases," she had said.
Delayedsecond and thirddosesof the AstraZeneca vaccine boost immunity against COVID-19, astudyby Oxford University, which developed thejabwith the British-Swedish firm, said on Monday.An interval of up to 45 weeks between the first and second dose of theAstraZenecavaccine led to an enhanced immune response, rather than compromisingimmunity, thestudysaid.Giving a third dose of thejabmore than six months after the second dose also leads to a "substantial increase" in antibodies and induces a "strongboost" to subjects' immune response, said the pre-printstudy, meaning that it has yet to be peer-reviewed.
