Coronavirus News Highlights India reports 41,383 new cases, active cases go up With 41,383 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India's daily positivity rate remained less than 3% for 31 consecutive days. With the new cases reported in the last 24 hours, as many as 3,12,57,720 cases have been reported in the country so far, Union Health Ministry informed on Thursday. As many as 38,652 recoveries were witnessed in the last 24 hours, taking the number to 3,04,29,339 so far. There are currently 4,09,394 active cases in India. Testing capacity substantially ramped up as 45.09 crore samples have been tested. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 44,91,93,273 samples have been tested up to July 20, out of which, 18,52,140 samples were tested yesterday. The Union Health Ministry has informed that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered under the nationwide vaccination drive has reached 41,78,51,151.
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West Bengal on Thursday reported 793 new COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths, the Health Department said in a bulletin. The state recorded a positivity rate of 1.81 per cent as the new cases were detected after testing 43,809 samples, it said.
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Gujarat on Thursday recorded 34 fresh cases of COVID-19 that raised the tally of infections to 8,24,608, an official from the state health department said. At least 53 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 8,14,162, while the toll stood at 10,076 with no fresh casualties, the official said. (PTI)
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Karnataka reported 1,653 new cases of COVID-19 and 31 deaths, taking the caseload to28,89,994 and death toll to 36,293, the health department said on July 23.
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Telangana on Thursday reported 648 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to over6.39 lakh, while the death toll rose to 3,774 with three more deaths.
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Maharashtra reported 7,302 new COVID-19 cases and 120 fatalities on Thursday, taking the infection tally of the state to 62,45,057 and death toll to 1,31,038, a health department official said. As many as 7,756 patients were discharged from hospitals, pushing the number of recovered cases to 60,16,506.
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The Department of Posts lost 1,163 personnel due to Covid-19 and family members of 97 deceased have been given government job or engagement, Parliament was informed on Thursday. According to the data shared by Minister of State For Communications Devusinh Chauhan, the Department of Posts (DoP) lost 508 departmental employees and 655 gramin dak sevaks (GDS) due to the Covid-19. (PTI)
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Fifty-three more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, bringing the infection count to 17,08,057 on Thursday, while the death toll climbed to 22,743 with one fresh fatality, a health bulletin said
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Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 24,341 on Thursday as 294 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the Himalayan state's coronavirus death toll to 328, a health bulletin said. The positivity rate in the state stood at a high of 17.7 percent.
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Uttarakhand reports 56 new COVID-19 cases, 48 recoveries, and 02 deaths today. Active case are at64 while death toll is at 7,359, as per state government.
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As more than 15 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine are still available with the Gujarat government, a special vaccination drive will be conducted on July 25 for shopkeepers and those associated with other commercial activities, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said on Thursday. Earlier this month, the state government had announced that people associated with the business of hotels, malls, shops, salons and restaurants are required to get their first dose of vaccine by July 31.
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Goa reports 97 new cases of COVID-19, 5 deaths and 129 recoveries; active case tally at 1,376
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1,843 new COVID19 cases, 12 deaths recorded in Andhra Pradesh in the past 24 hours; active cases reach 23,571
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A total of 645 children lost their parents to COVID-19 from April to May 28 this year during second wave: Women and Child Development Ministry
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Extending support to combat Covid-19, ACT Fibernet, one of India's largest fiber broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider), pledged 50,000 free vaccines for citizens and has joined hands with the Government of Karnataka to drive this campaign
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Hospitality firm OYO on Thursday said it has launched an initiative 'Samarthan by OYO' to provide several welfare benefits to the families of its hotel partners and homeowners who fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bereavement support to the families of the partners includes measures such as funding the education of up to two children for five years, and extending medical coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh for the spouse and one child for a period of three years. (PTI)
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I will go for 2-3 days (to Delhi). I have been given time to meet with President, Prime Minister, I will meet them. I have also got requests from political leaders. I will try to accommodate. Centre has had no discussions on third COVID wave: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee(ANI)
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The Delhi High Court Thursday said it may on experimental basis resume from August 16 its physical functioning which was restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An administrative order of the high court said this will be done in a restricted manner subject to further orders based on evaluation of the situation of the pandemic in Delhi. (PTI)
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The national capital recorded 49 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death due to the disease on Thursday, while the positivity rate dropped to 0.08 per cent, according to the data shared by the health department.The single new fatality has pushed the death toll in the city to 25,040, according to the latest bulletin.
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President Joe Biden expressed pointed frustration over the slowing COVID-19 vaccination rate in the U.S. and pleaded that it's "gigantically important for Americans to step up and get inoculated against the virus as it surges once again.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Covishield at Delhi govt vax centres to be reserved for 2nd dose only till July 31
On account of limited supply of Covid vaccine, the Delhi government on Thursday issued an order to reserve Covishield shots only for beneficiaries whose second dose is due, across all its vaccination centres till July 31. The order issued by the Directorate of Family Welfare said, all slots, booked online or availed through walk-in shall be reserved.
"Vaccination of 18-44 cohort began on May 1, 2021 and with the completion of the 84-day interval for second dose of Covishield, many of them would now become eligible for the second dose in coming weeks," reads the order. "In view of limited supply of vaccine, all slots, both for online booking and walk-in vaccination in the sessions being planned in government CVCs administering Covishield vaccine will be reserved for second dose of Covishield with immediate effect till July 31," it said.
Both Covishield and Covaxin vaccines are administered at Covid vaccination centres (CVCs) run by the city government. Over 95 lakh Covid vaccine doses have been administered in the national capital till July 21, according to a vaccination bulletin issued by the city health department on Wednesday.
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Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Delhi govt issues fresh order reserving Covishield jabs only for 2nd dose takers
Delhi government on Thursday announced that all COVID vaccination slots for Covishield vaccine would be reserved for the second doses till 31 July. The decision has been taken in the view of limited supply of vaccine. The city government said, In view of the limited supply of vaccine, all slots, both for online booking and for walk-in vaccination in the sessions being planned in Govt CVCs administering COVISHIELD vaccine will be reserved for second dose of COVISHIELD with immediate effect till 31 July 2021.
Delhi government notified on Wednesday that it received 85,810 doses of Covid-19 vaccine Covishield on Tuesday, taking the total number of shots available in the city to 1,08,300. The total number of Covaxin doses available stands at 1,84,390. Only 20% of Covaxin stock can be used for the first dose, since its stock is limited and has irregular delivery cycles. Wednesday's vaccine bulletin also notified, more than 95 lakh coronavirus vaccine shots were administered in the national capital.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Govt should consider re-opening travel for fully vaccinated people: EaseMyTrip CEO Nishant Pitti
In a bid to help India’s tourism industry recover from the impact of COVID-19, the government should consider easing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people, EaseMyTrips’s chief executive officer and co-founder Nishant Pitti told Moneycontrol in an interview. The government should set up funds, and not just provide guarantees for loans as there is a lot of joblessness in the sector currently, Pitti said. In the past year, his company has worked towards improving its operating margins and commissions, and has also reduced operational expenses, Pitti added.
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Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Family locks themselves for 15 months in Andhra Pradesh with fear of getting COVID-19 infected
Andhra Pradesh police on Wednesday rescued a family, who confined themselves to a tent house for almost 15 months in Andhra Pradesh's Kadali village in fear of getting infected by COVID-19. According to Kadali village sarpanch Choppala Gurunath, Ruthamma (50), Kanthamani (32), and Rani (30) locked themselves almost 15 months ago when one of their neighbour died due to COVID-19.
The matter came to light when a village volunteer went to get their thumb impression for allowing a housing plot for them under a government scheme. The volunteer informed the matter to village sarpanch and others. Speaking to ANI, Gurunath said, "The family of Chuttugalla Benny, his wife, and two children, have been residing here. They were afraid of Corona and locked themselves in the house for almost the past 15 months. They confined themselves to the house and locked it from inside. Any volunteer or ASHA worker who went to that house used to return as nobody was responding. Recently some of their relatives informed that three persons are locked down themselves in that house and their health is in bad condition."
"Coming to know the matter, we rushed to this place and informed the police. Rajole Sub Inspector Krishnamachari and the team came here and rescued them. Their condition was very pathetic when they came out. Their hair was grown without any grooming, they did not bathe for many days. We immediately rushed them to Government Hospital. Now they are undergoing treatment at the hospital," he added.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Fourth COVID wave to impact French hospitals in second half of August: Scientist
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Over 41.76 crore vaccine doses administered in India so far: Health Ministry
The total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 41.76 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. More than 20.83 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Wednesday, according to a 7 pm provisional report. The ministry said that on Wednesday, beneficiaries in the age group of 18 to 44 years got 10,04,581 vaccine jabs as first dose and 95,964 as second dose.
Cumulatively, 13,04,46,413 people in the age group of 18 to 44 years across all states and Union Territories have received their first dose and 53,17,567 their second dose since the start of phase three of the vaccination drive. Three states -- Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh -- have administered more than 1 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the age group 18-44 years.
Also, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have administered the first dose of Covid vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18 to 44 years, the ministry said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Russia, Kerala government discuss Sputnik V manufacturing facility: Report
Russian authorities are in talks with the Kerala government for land to set up a facility to manufacture the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. "Talks are on between the Russian government and Kerala regarding the setting up of a manufacturing unit of Sputnik V in our state," Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev told the Business Standard.
The state government may consider areas around Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district, for the facility, the report said. "Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is spearheading the talks. The initial plan is to submit a letter of intent, and KSIDC is preparing a draft," Rajeev said. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the COVID-19 vaccine, had not commented on the matter when contacted by the newspaper.
Outside Russia, Sputnik V is currently manufactured at plants in South Korea, Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. In India, the RDIF has formed manufacturing partnerships with domestic firms such as Serum Institute of India (SII), Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen. The Indian government recently told Parliament that 188 crore doses are required to inoculate the entire adult population, which is projected at 94 crore. This number would reduce if single-dose jabs are approved.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | MP High Court asks Centre to supply enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to inoculate state's entire adult population by September end
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has asked the Centre to supply enough COVID-19 vaccines to the state to ensure that the entire adult population in the region gets at least one dose by September-end. The division bench of Chief Justice Mohammed Rafiq and Justice Satyendra Kumar Singh made the observation on Monday while hearing in a suo motu case about the state government's preparedness in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, senior advocate Naman Nagrath told PTI on Thursday.
“This court in this connection requires the Central government to ensure supply of vaccines in sufficient quantity to Madhya Pradesh, keeping in view the required demand of 1.5 crore vaccines per month regularly, so that the target of vaccination of first dose to all people in the 18 plus population in the state is achieved by the end of September,” the bench said.
The second dose can also be administered as per the priorities fixed with reference to people already vaccinated with the first dose, it stated. The court's observation came after the National Health Mission's Madhya Pradesh managing director Chhavi Bhardwaj submitted that the Centre had supplied approximately 37 lakh vaccine doses in May, 54 lakh doses in June and by July 19, the state had received approximately 60 lakh doses, which is likely to increase to 70 lakh by the end of the month.
Bhardwaj further stated that they are expecting the supply to increase to one crore by the end of August, as both vaccine makers – Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech Pvt Ltd – were progressively increasing their manufacturing capacity. The state will require 40 lakh vaccine doses per week on an average and 1.50 crore doses per month to achieve the target of 100 per cent vaccination of the entire adult population of the state by the end of September, she said. Senior counsel Nagrath said the case has been listed for next hearing on August 10.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Odisha logs 1,948 new COVID-19 cases, 67 fresh fatalities
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 9,61,934 on Thursday as 1,948 more people tested positive for the infection, while 67 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 5,308, a health official said. As many as 1,120 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while the remaining 828 infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.
Khurda district, under which Bhubaneswar falls, recorded the highest number of fresh infections at 480, followed by Cuttack (279) and Jajpur (115). Khurda also registered the highest number of fresh fatalities at 20, followed by Balasore (eight) and Bargarh (seven). Odisha now has 19,623 active cases, while 9,36,950 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 1,943 on Wednesday.
Fifty-three other coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities thus far. Odisha's daily test positivity rate (TPR) stands at 2.45 per cent as 79,372 samples were tested for COVID-19, taking the cumulative tests to over 1.53 crore. The state''s cumulative positivity rate stood at 6.26 per cent. However, high TPR is being reported in districts like Jajpur (24.65 per cent), Kendrapara (6.34 per cent), and Cuttack (4.65 per cent).
Khurda, on the other hand, is showing a decline in TPR which currently stands at 3.94 per cent, the official said, adding that TPR has dipped below 2 per cent in most of the districts. The state has thus far administered over 1.47 crore doses, including 1.21 lakh on Wednesday. As many as 8,699 pregnant women have been inoculated to date. The vaccination drive is underway at 1,128 centres across the state on Thursday, he added.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | COVID-19 claimed lives of 56 Air India employees: Govt
As many as 56 Air India employees have died due to COVID-19 till July 14, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Thursday. "A total of 3,523 employees of Air India Limited have been affected by COVID-19. Out of this, 56 employees succumbed to this pandemic till July 14, 2021," he stated in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
The minister said the national carrier has taken various measures to safeguard the interests of COVID-affected employees and their families. He stated that the carrier paid a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of each permanent employee who died due to COVID-19. When a fixed-term contractual employee died due to COVID-19, Air India paid his or her family a compensation of Rs 5 lakh, he noted.
Employees infected with COVID-19 were granted a paid quarantine leave of 17 days, he said. "Reimbursement of vaccination charges are being provided to employees and their families if paid by them," he said. The minister said medical facilities were also being provided to Covid-positive employees.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Tokyo Olympics: Amid COVID gloom, could it be 'India Shining' in Tokyo? All indications say yes
There is palpable tension, a sense of dread actually, but the COVID-hit Olympic Games starting Friday or the ''Games of Hope'' as the IOC desperately wants the world to believe, could prove to be a watershed for the biggest ever Indian contingent with shooters, boxers and wrestlers expected to lead an unparalleled medal rush. The Games were postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic which hasn''t slowed down as much as the world would have wanted despite the advent of multiple vaccines.
The fear of the virus is omnipresent at one of the globe''s most densely populated cities, playing host to thousands of athletes, their support staff and officials while logging over 1,000 daily COVID-19 cases. Only a tiny bunch of them are Games-related but they have been enough to ensure that fear remains a constant in the event. Spectators were barred weeks back, taking away the very idea of festivities that fuel the Olympic spirit.
The International Olympic Committee is trying its best to focus on hope though and wants everyone else to do the same -- just try and look at the brighter side. "It is a recipe...for overcoming a crisis and addressing a crisis, and after the Games, that message of hope will translate into a message of confidence," said IOC President Thomas Bach on Wednesday night.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | COVID fears: Most Indian athletes opt out of Olympic opening ceremony; about 30 to participate
Indian athletes from seven sports, including shooting, badminton, archery and hockey, will skip the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday because of COVID-19 concerns and competitions lined up the next day, leaving just about 30 in attendance at the event. From hockey, only flag-bearer, men''s team captain Manpreet Singh, will participate in the ceremony.
"Archery, Judo, Badminton, Weightlifting, Tennis, Hockey (men and women), Shooting, the above are not participating due to matches on 24th, practice sessions on 24th and staying safe," Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra said. "The march past will be in Japanese alphabetical order and India''s number is 21st," he added.
IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta had earlier stated that no more than 50 will attend the ceremony. Only six officials from each country are being allowed take part in the march-past. "We won''t like to create a situation where our athletes are in danger of getting infected. So a decision has been taken to limit the number of athletes and officials participating in the opening ceremony within 50," Mehta told PTI.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Those who have taken two doses of vaccine should be allowed to go out: Ajit Pawar
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Wednesday that he was of the view that those who have received both the jabs of coronavirus vaccines should be allowed to "go out". He was going to discuss this issue with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, he told reporters here. "In my opinion those who have received two shots of COVID-19 vaccines should be allowed to go out, in a phased manner. I will speak with the CM on this subject in the next two days," he said.
Pawar, however, did not elaborate on what exactly he meant by `going out'. While restrictions induced by the pandemic vary across the state, there is no curfew. In Pune and some other districts people are not allowed to visit tourist spots. The deputy chief minister conceded that not everyone may agree with him. "Different institutes put forth their views, people from the medical fraternity have different views. Some people say the next 100 to 120 days are very crucial and everyone should follow the rules in true letter and spirit during this period," he said.
Asked about the tardy pace of vaccination in Pune district, Pawar said the pace had not slowed down but it depends on the availability of the vaccines and it is the Union government which supplies them. "The CM in every video conference with the prime minister raises the demand for supply of vaccine doses in proportion with the state's population," he said.
Earlier it was told (by the Centre) that the production of vaccines would be ramped up and the states will receive the doses in sufficient quantity in July, but this has not happened so far, Pawar claimed. People are now coming forward to take the vaccine and there is no `vaccine hesitancy' which was a good development, he said.
Speaking about the Pegasus spyware row, Pawar said measures such as phone tapping could be used against a person who is a threat to national security, but under the protection of laws enabling them, innocent people are being targeted. People must know what exactly happened and in whose tenure, the NCP leader said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Australian PM Scott Morrison apologises for COVID-19 vaccine delays as cases spike
Australia’s prime minister apologised for a sluggish COVID-19 vaccination programme on Thursday, while the country’s most populous state reported its biggest one-day spike in infections in 16 months and warned cases would likely rise further. Australia was widely lauded for containing the pandemic in 2020, but it has struggled this year to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant even with more than half its 25 million population under a weeks-long lockdown.
The curbs, which Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said was costing the economy about A$300 million ($220 million) daily, and the likelihood that they will stay in place with less than 15% of the adult population fully vaccinated have stoked public anger. ”I’m sorry that we haven’t been able to achieve the marks that we had hoped for at the beginning of this year,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
Australia has been administering less than 150,000 vaccines each day, well behind other developed nations. The government says it will meet its target to inoculate its adult population by end-2021 as millions of vaccine doses arrive from Pfizer and Moderna in the coming weeks.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Given robust system of reporting, missing out on COVID-19 deaths unlikely: Govt
Refuting media reports that alleged India''s COVID-19 death toll was "vastly undercounted", the government on Thursday said the reports assume that all excess mortality figures are Covid deaths, which is not based on facts and totally fallacious. Given the robust and statute-based death registration system in India, while some cases could go undetected as per the principles of infectious disease and its management, missing out on the deaths is unlikely, the Union Health Ministry said.
There have been some recent media reports alleging that India''s toll of excess deaths during the pandemic could be in millions, terming the official COVID-19 death toll "vastly undercounted", the ministry said in a statement. In these news reports, quoting findings from some recent studies, the US and European countries'' age-specific infection fatality rates have been used to calculate excess deaths in India based on the sero-positivity.
"The extrapolation of deaths has been done on an audacious assumption that the likelihood of any given infected person dying is the same across countries, dismissing the interplay between various direct and indirect factors such as race, ethnicity, genomic constitution of a population, previous exposure levels to other diseases and the associated immunity developed in that population," the statement said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Over 41.76 crore vaccine doses administered in India so far: Health Ministry
The total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 41.76 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. More than 20.83 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Wednesday, according to a 7 pm provisional report. The ministry said that on Wednesday, beneficiaries in the age group of 18 to 44 years got 10,04,581 vaccine jabs as first dose and 95,964 as second dose.
Cumulatively, 13,04,46,413 people in the age group of 18 to 44 years across all states and Union Territories have received their first dose and 53,17,567 their second dose since the start of phase three of the vaccination drive. Three states -- Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh -- have administered more than 1 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the age group 18-44 years.
Also, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have administered the first dose of Covid vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18 to 44 years, the ministry said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Russia, Kerala government discuss Sputnik V manufacturing facility: Report
Russian authorities are in talks with the Kerala government for land to set up a facility to manufacture the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. "Talks are on between the Russian government and Kerala regarding the setting up of a manufacturing unit of Sputnik V in our state," Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev told the Business Standard.
The state government may consider areas around Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district, for the facility, the report said. "Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is spearheading the talks. The initial plan is to submit a letter of intent, and KSIDC is preparing a draft," Rajeev said. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the COVID-19 vaccine, had not commented on the matter when contacted by the newspaper.
Outside Russia, Sputnik V is currently manufactured at plants in South Korea, Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. In India, the RDIF has formed manufacturing partnerships with domestic firms such as Serum Institute of India (SII), Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen. The Indian government recently told Parliament that 188 crore doses are required to inoculate the entire adult population, which is projected at 94 crore. This number would reduce if single-dose jabs are approved.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Majority of prisoners in Kerala have received first jab of vaccine: State govt to HC
Majority of the prisoners in Kerala prisons have received the first dose of vaccine and special initiatives have been taken to immunise the inmates of all age groups, the state government has told the High Court here. The submission by the Kerala government was made before a bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Anu Sivaraman during hearing of a PIL initiated by it with regard to vaccination status of prisoners in the prisons in the state.
The government told the bench that there are only around 4,808 prisoners in prisons in Kerala and a majority of them have been given the first dose of vaccination. It also told the court that special initiatives have been taken to vaccinate the prisoners in different age groups. The court, thereafter, directed the state government to file a statement or an affidavit, along with supporting documents, with regard to the submissions made by it.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | 80% people in Goa got one dose of COVID-19 vaccine: CM Pramod Sawant
Eighty percent of people eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in Goa have received their first dose, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, and also expressed hope that students of Classes 10 and 12 could have physical classes in schools before August 15. Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Sawant also said his government will write to the Centre to reduce the gap between two doses of vaccines against COVID-19 for teachers in the state so that they are safe when the government decides to reopen schools.
He said the state is marching towards achieving its goal of administering at least one dose of the vaccine to all people aged 18 and above by July 31. "We have vaccinated 80 percent of the population with the first dose. There are around one lakh people who are yet to take the first dose. I am appealing them to come forward and take it," he said.
The CM said the state education department has been asked to conduct a study and ascertain when students can be physically called to schools, which are closed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I am expecting that students of Classes 10 and 12 should be able to attend physical classes before August 15," he said. The new academic session in schools of Goa has already started from last month.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Maharashtra's Thane logs 396 new COVID-19 cases, 10 more deaths
Thane has reported 396 new cases of coronavirus, raising the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 5,41,655, an official said on Thursday. These new cases were reported on Wednesday, he said. The virus claimed the lives of 10 more people, pushing the death toll in the district rose to 10,934, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.01 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,28,909, while the death toll has reached 3,083, another official said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | How nations are learning to 'let it go' and live with COVID
England has removed nearly all coronavirus restrictions. Germany is allowing vaccinated people to travel without quarantines. Outdoor mask mandates are mostly gone in Italy. Shopping malls remain open in Singapore. Eighteen months after the coronavirus first emerged, governments in Asia, Europe and the Americas are encouraging people to return to their daily rhythms and transition to a new normal in which subways, offices, restaurants and airports are once again full. Increasingly, the mantra is the same: We have to learn to live with the virus.
Yet scientists warn that the pandemic exit strategies may be premature. The emergence of more transmissible variants means that even wealthy nations with abundant vaccines, including the United States, remain vulnerable. Places like Australia, which shut down its border, are learning that they cannot keep the virus out.
So rather than abandon their road maps, officials are beginning to accept that rolling lockdowns and restrictions are a necessary part of recovery. People are being encouraged to shift their pandemic perspective and focus on avoiding severe illness and death instead of infections, which are harder to avoid. And countries with zero-COVID ambitions are rethinking those policies. “You need to tell people: We’re going to get a lot of cases,” said Dale Fisher, a professor of medicine at the National University of Singapore who heads the National Infection Prevention and Control Committee of Singapore’s Health Ministry. “And that’s part of the plan — we have to let it go.”
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | India reports 41,383 new cases, active cases go up
With 41,383 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India's daily positivity rate remained less than 3% for 31 consecutive days. With the new cases reported in the last 24 hours, as many as 3,12,57,720 cases have been reported in the country so far, Union Health Ministry informed on Thursday. As many as 38,652 recoveries were witnessed in the last 24 hours, taking the number to 3,04,29,339 so far.
There are currently 4,09,394 active cases in India. The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 4,18,987 with 507 fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours. Testing capacity substantially ramped up as 45.09 crore samples have been tested. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 44,91,93,273 samples have been tested up to July 20, out of which, 18,52,140 samples were tested yesterday. The Union Health Ministry has informed that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered under the nationwide vaccination drive has reached 41,78,51,151.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | More than 3.20 crore vaccine doses currently available with states, UTs, private hospitals: Centre
More than 3.20 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are currently available with states, union territories and private hospitals for inoculation, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. States and union territories have so far received a total of 43,79,78,900 vaccine doses through all channels and a further 7,00,000 doses are in the pipeline, it said.
The total consumption, including wastage, so far is 40,59,77,410 doses, the ministry said, citing data available at 8 AM on Thursday. More than 3.20 crore -- 3,20,01,490 -- balance and unutilised doses are still available with states, UTs and private hospitals to be administered, the ministry said. The Union government is committed to accelerating the pace of vaccination and expanding its scope, it said.
The new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21, 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance projections of vaccine availability to states and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the supply chain. As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting states and UTs by providing them COVID-19 vaccines free of cost, the ministry said. Under the new phase of vaccination, the Centre procures and supplies to states and UTs 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by manufacturers.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Over 22.77 lakh jabs administered in India on July 21
More than 22.77 lakh vaccine doses were administered in India on July 21, the Union Health Ministry's latest provisional report suggested. With that, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 41.78 crores. On the 187th day of the vaccination drive on July 21, a total of 22,77,679 lakh jabs were administered across the country.
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have administered more than a crore cumulative doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the age group 18-44 years, the Health Ministry said. Also, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have vaccinated more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years for the first dose of COVID vaccine, it added.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Gland Pharma on track to start production of Sputnik V jabs by November
Gland Pharma, a generic injectable focused pharmaceutical company, said it is on track to begin production of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines from October-November. Technology transfer of the drug substance to its manufacturing facility is under way, the company said. A dedicated manufacturing unit at Pashamylaram near Hyderabad is ready for commercial production.
Gland Pharma is investing Rs 300 crore on setting up dedicated manufacturing facilities to make COVID-19 vaccines. The company said it has invested about Rs 121 crore so far on vaccine manufacturing infrastructure. The company plans to repurpose a vaccine manufacturing facility later for contract manufacturing of biosimilars.
Gland Pharma entered into a partnership with Russia’s sovereign fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, in March to manufacture and supply up to 252 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. As per the agreement, Gland Pharma will supply the vaccines to RDIF at a fixed price till the end of next year. Gland also signed an agreement to carry out the fill-finish of Hetero’s Sputnik V vaccine at its Pashamylaram site. Hetero has signed up with RDIF to produce 100 million doses of Sputnik V vaccines. Fill-finish refers to processes including formulation, vial filling, testing, stability testing and release of licensed products.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Prevalence of COVID-19's Delta variant among specimens sequenced over past 4 weeks exceeded 75%: WHO
The prevalence of the highly-transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 among specimens sequenced over the past four weeks exceeded 75 percent in many countries worldwide, including India, China, Russia, Israel and the UK, the WHO has said. In the COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update published July 20, the World Health Organisation said that despite efforts to extend vaccination coverage, many countries across all six WHO regions continue to experience surges in coronavirus cases.
Over the past week, the highest numbers of new cases were reported from Indonesia (350,273 new cases; a 44 percent increase), the UK (296,447 new cases; 41 percent increase), Brazil (287,610 new cases; 14 percent decrease), India (268,843 new cases; 8 percent decrease) and the US (216,433 new cases; 68 percent increase).
The update noted that as of July 20, a total of over 2.4 million SARS-CoV-2 sequences have been submitted to GISAID, the global science initiative and primary source that provides open access to genomic data. Over 220,000 (9 percent) of SARS-CoV-2 sequences submitted to GISAID are confirmed as the Delta variant.
“According to GISAID data, as of 20 July, the prevalence of Delta among the specimens sequenced over the past 4 weeks exceeded 75 percent in many countries worldwide including Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Israel, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore South Africa and the United Kingdom,” the update said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates | Rishabh Pant recovers from COVID-19 infection, joins team bio-bubble
India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has joined the team bio-bubble after recovering from COVID-19 ahead of the marquee Test series against England. Pant, who had tested positive for the virus, has completed 10 days of isolation period, followed by two RT-PCR negative reports and proper cardio check-up which are mandatory before joining the team.
"Hello @RishabhPant17, great to have you back," the BCCI said in a tweet, along with Pant''s photo, on Thursday. Pant had tested positive while he was staying at Southall at an acquaintance''s place. He had developed mild symptoms and was found to be COVID-19 positive when he got tested. According to sources, Pant might have picked up the Delta 3 variant while visiting a dentist for a toothache problem, contrary to earlier reports that his presence at the Euro Championships could have led to him catching the infection.
After Pant tested positive, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had sent a cautionary letter to the Indian contingent, asking the players to avoid crowded gatherings like Wimbledon and Euro matches. The Indian team is currently playing a warm-up match against a County XI side here, before the first Test of the five-match series begins on August 4 at Nottingham.
