Coronavirus India Highlights: India reports 3,275 fresh cases, 55 deaths

India on Thursday strongly objected to the use of mathematical models by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for projecting excess mortality estimates linked to the coronavirus pandemic in view of the availability of authentic data, saying validity and robustness of the models used and methodology of data collection are questionable.

In a report released on Thursday, the WHO estimated that nearly 15 million people were killed either by the coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems in the past two years, more than double the official death toll of 6 million. Most of the fatalities were in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas. Read full story here

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said that India’s successful Covid-19 management and vaccination drive are being studied by experts globally and with the two successes, India has provided a health sector model to the world at large.

Mandaviya was inaugurating the 14th conference of Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) at Tent City, near Statue of Unity at Kevadia. 

The union minister said that India managed the third wave “best”, and emphasised that the three-day conference is aimed towards strengthening the health sector in India through federal cooperation while keeping the next 25 years in mind.

With health ministers from 25 states of India in attendance at the conference, which has also been labelled as a health sector ‘chintan shibir’, Mandaviya said, “India is a big country of 1.3 billion population with huge diversity. In such a situation 97.5 per cent first dose administration is a huge accomplishment for India and the world is seeing that this is India’s model. It is not the time that we follow the global model. Today India too has given its model to the world and the world is studying it. Today, world’s experts are coming and studying India’s Covid-19 management and vaccination drive and in the coming days we have to further strengthen our health sector.” (ENS)

The World Health Organization is estimating that nearly 15 million people were killed either by the coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems in the past two years, more than double the official death toll of 6 million. Most of the fatalities were in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas.

In a report released on Thursday, the U.N. agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the figure as “sobering,” saying it should prompt countries to invest more in their capacities to quell future health emergencies.

Scientists tasked by WHO with calculating the actual number of COVID-19 deaths between January 2020 and the end of last year estimated there were between 13.3 million and 16.6 million deaths that were either caused directly by the coronavirus or were somehow attributed to the pandemic’s impact on health systems, like people with cancer unable to seek treatment when hospitals were full of COVID patients. --AP

As cases in China rise, Shanghai remains under lockdown and 12 of Beijing's 16 districts are undergoing mass testing. Videos circulating on social media showed Chinese authorities forcibly testing citizens. The authenticity of these videos is yet to be verified.

The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus is intrinsically as severe as previous variants, unlike assumptions made in previous studies that it was more transmissible but less severe, a large study in the United States has found.

"We found that the risks of hospitalisation and mortality were nearly identical between periods," said four scientists who conducted the study based on records of 1,30,000 Covid-19 patients, referring to times in the past two years when different variants were dominant across the world. (Reuters)

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that even as Omicron sub-variant BA.2 remains dominant in most parts of the world, sublineages BA.4 and BA.5 are driving a new surge in South Africa. He further cautioned, “In many countries we’re essentially blind to how the virus is mutating. We don’t know what’s coming next."

"In many countries we’re essentially blind to how the [#COVID19] virus is mutating. We don’t know what’s coming next."-@DrTedroshttps://t.co/jIBCrlB6x6

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 4, 2022

Experts say a new form of the Omicron sub-variant, BA.2.12.1, is spreading rapidly and will likely in the next weeks become the dominant form of the virus in the United States. There’s no indication yet that causes more severe disease.

In the week ending Saturday, BA.2.12.1 made up about 36% of all new cases in the United States, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 26% of cases the week before, and 16% of infections during the second week in April.

First detected in the United States by New York state health officials in April, BA.2.12.1 is spreading more rapidly than the first versions of the omicron variant, which caused a huge surge in cases over the winter. Read full New York Times report

With a daily positivity rate of 1.6 per cent, the daily Covid 19 cases in Mumbai continue to remain above 100. The test positivity rate (TPR) — is the number of positive cases detected when compared to the total tests conducted. On Wednesday, 117 new coronavirus cases were recorded. A day prior 100 cases were detected, after 56 on Monday, owing to a drop in the daily tests.

Following the third wave, the positivity rate had gone below 1 per cent on February 12. Currently, the number of tests being conducted a day is below 10,000 in Mumbai. On Wednesday 7035 tests were conducted.

Currently, there are no active containment zones, sealed buildings or floors in the city.

Mumbai continues to be the worst performer in vaccination of teenagers among the 35 districts in Maharashtra, state data reveals. 25 per cent of the estimated population of 4 lakh children in the 12-14 age group have taken the first shot of the vaccine. 

Only 35 per cent of the elderly population has taken the booster dose as opposed to the nation’s average of 41.6 per cent. Meanwhile, only 51 per cent of the 12-14 age group children in the state have taken their first dose as opposed to the nation’s average of 58 per cent.

Amid a spike in cases of Covid-19 in Delhi, north corporation has taken a slew of measures to contain the spread of infection, including setting up separate registration counters for suspected coronavirus patients at its health facilities, officials said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) also said it is "all set to provide one month's advance medicines to patients suffering from chronic diseases". In view of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the city, the corporation has stepped up its preparedness to control the spread of the virus.

"The civic agency has made elaborate arrangements at its hospitals and health centres like setting up separate registration counters for suspected Covid patients, separate waiting rooms, separate queues for medical consultations, dedicated lab testing facilities and separate counters for free distribution of medicines besides making people aware through IEC (information education communication) activities," it said. (PTI)

Mumbai's slum colony Dharavi reported a new coronavirus case on Wednesday, its first infection since March 17, a Brihanmumbai Municipal corporation (BMC) official said. The official said the slum-dominated area, once a coronavirus hotspot, has witnessed the first coronavirus infection since March 17. With this, Dharavi's overall tally of Covid-19 cases reached 8,653, while its death toll stood at 419, according to the BMC official. (PTI)

India reported 3,275 new Covid-19 cases and 55 deaths in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on Wednesday, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Active cases presently stand at 19,719, the ministry said. 

#COVID19 | India reports 3,275 fresh cases, 3,010 recoveries, and 55 deaths in the last 24 hours. Active cases 19,719 pic.twitter.com/bWoJhbmqMV

— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2022

Telangana on Wednesday recorded 39 new COVID-19 cases taking the statewide tally to 7,92,147. Hyderabad reported the highest number of cases with 22.

A health department bulletin said 21 people recuperated from the viral infection and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 7,87,682.

The recovery rate stood at 99.44 per cent. No fresh fatality occurred due to the infectious disease and the death toll continued to be 4,111. The bulletin said 12,449 samples were tested on Wednesday. The number of active cases was 354, it said. (PTI)

COVID-19 cases in the Americas increased by 12.7% last week from the prior week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday, as infections continued to rise in Central and North America. The Americas reported more than 616,000 new cases last week, while the death toll was down by less than 1% in the same comparison to 4,200, the organization said.

PAHO's director, Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, called for stronger measures to tackle the pandemic as cases and hospitalizations rise. "COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in far too many places, which should prompt us to strengthen our measures to combat the virus, including surveillance and preparedness," Etienne told a news conference.

"We must reach those who remain unvaccinated with the full COVID-19 vaccine primary series, and ensure access to boosters, especially to the most vulnerable," she added. According to PAHO, cases were up for the fifth consecutive week in North America, rising 19.5%. That was driven by a 27.1% increase in the United States as new infections declined in Canada and Mexico. (Reuters)

Seven districts, including Chennai, accounted for 37 new COVID-19 infections in Tamil Nadu, pushing the overall caseload to 34,54,095. Among those tested positive include 24 men and 13 women, the health department said on Wednesday.

The death toll remained unchanged at 38,025 with zero fatalities getting reported in the last 24 hours. The recoveries increased to 34,15,603 with 58 more people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, leaving 467 active infections, the medical bulletin said.

Chennai accounted for the majority of new coronavirus cases with 23, Chengalpet six, Kancheepuram three, Tiruvallur two, while Ranipet, Thanjavur and Tirupathur recorded one case each. (PTI)

Delhi reported 1,354 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 7.64 per cent and one fatality due to the disease on Wednesday, according to data shared by the city health department. A total of 17,732 Covid tests were conducted in the city on Tuesday, it showed.

On Tuesday, the national capital had reported 1,414 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 5.97 per cent and one death due to the disease. Delhi had on Monday reported 1,076 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 6.42 per cent. On Sunday, it saw 1,485 cases of the disease as the positivity rate stood at 4.89 per cent.

With the new cases reported on Wednesday, the national capital's overall COVID-19 infection tally rose to 18,88,404, while the death toll climbed to 26,177. There are 5,853 active cases of the disease in the city now, down from 5,986 the previous day. The number of containment zones has risen to 1,343, the data showed. (PTI)

US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has set up its global drug development centre at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Research Park here, at an outlay of over Rs 150 crore.

The centre, which employs 250 scientists and technicians, would develop innovative formulations, small molecules and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

According to company, the centre would develop and support products in global markets and Pfizer's manufacturing centres, worldwide. The facility is among 12 centres established worldwide, and the first in Asia. (PTI)

With the addition of 34 new cases of coronavirus, the tally of infections in Madhya Pradesh reached 10,41,574 on Wednesday, an official from the state health department said.

At least 21 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 10,30,623, while the toll remained unchanged at 10,735, as no fresh fatality was reported, the official said.

The state currently has 216 active cases, with the positivity rate of 0.4 per cent, he said. As many as 7,617 swab samples were examined during the day, taking the number of tests conducted in the state to 2,91,12,238, the official added. (PTI)

A COVID-19 patient died in Jaipur on Wednesday, taking the death toll from corona infection to 9,553 in Rajasthan, according to an official report.

At the same time, 63 new persons were tested positive for the coronavirus in the state, it said. Of the 63 fresh cases, 48 are from Jaipur, 7 in Dholpur, 2 in Alwar and Udaipur each, one each in Ajmer, Bhilwara, Jodhpur and Sikar.

So far, a total of 12,83,888 persons have been tested positive, while 12,73,867 patients have recovered. The number of active cases is 468, the report said. (PTI)

Gujarat on Wednesday reported 18 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 12,24,404, an official from the state health department said.

With 16 patients getting discharged, the count of recoveries reached 12,13,351, while the toll stood at 10,943, as no new casualties were reported during the day, the official said. The state is now left with 110 active cases, with two patients on ventilator support, he said.

Of the latest infections, Ahmedabad recorded eight, Vadodara seven and Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar and Morbi saw one case each, the official said. As many as 38,215 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday, increasing the total number of doses administered so far to 10.80 crore. (PTI)

Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot on Wednesday handed over cheques of Rs 1 crore each to the family members of nursing officer ChinniChing and safai karamchari Seema, who lost their lives to COVID-19, an official statement said.

Gahlot said both used to work at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital here.

"Both the 'Covid warriors' put their lives at risk and served the citizens of Delhi during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the ex-gratia amount cannot compensate the loss caused to the families, I hope that with this financial assistance from the Delhi government, the family members will get some help in building their lives ahead," the minister said in the statement. (PTI)

Moderna Inc on Wednesday forecast higher vaccine sales for the second half of the year than in the first six months, as it expects the virus that causes COVID-19 to follow a more seasonal pattern requiring booster shots in the fall.

The U.S. vaccine maker is developing a potential next generation booster targeted at both the Omicron variant as well as the original strain of the coronavirus in hopes of producing broader protection.

"The desired features for a northern hemisphere fall winter booster we think will be that it improves the durability of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron," said Moderna President Stephen Hoge. (Reuters)

Mumbai on Wednesday reported 117 new coronavirus positive cases, its highest one-day tally since February 25, which took its overall count to 10,60,187, the city civic body said.

The death toll in the metropolis remained unchanged at 19,563 as nobody succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in its bulletin.

This is for the second consecutive day that the country's financial capital witnessed the number of cases running into three digits. On Tuesday, the city had logged 100 new cases. Last week also, Mumbai had reported more than 100 infection cases in a row - on April 26 and 27. (PTI)

Dehradun's Welham Girls' School was declared a micro-containment zone on Wednesday as 16 students tested positive for COVID-19. "Six of these students tested positive on Tuesday and the rest over the past one week," Dehradun District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar said.

The girls who have contracted the viral infection have been kept in isolation in a Covid cell built inside the school premises, he said. Welham Girls' School is a famous residential school in Panchpuri colony of Dalanwala, Dehradun.

It was converted into a micro-containment zone at the recommendation of Dehradun's chief medical officer, officials said. On Wednesday, Uttarakhand reported 23 new Covid cases, with Dehradun alone accounting for 14 of them. Covid infections had dropped to single digit in the state in recent months. (PTI)

Jammu and Kashmir reported one new Covid case on Wednesday, taking the infection tally in the Union Territory to 4,54,073, officials said. The lone case was reported from the Jammu district, they said.

Jammu and Kashmir has 59 active cases of the viral disease while the number of recoveries has reached 4,49,263, the officials said. The COVID-19 death toll in the Union Territory stands at 4,751 as no fresh fatality was reported.

The officials said there were 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis commonly known as black fungus. (PTI)

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 188 fresh coronavirus positive cases, but did not report any fatality linked to the infection, the health department said.

With fresh cases, the state's COVID-19 tally rose to 78,78,363, while the death toll remained unchanged at 1,47,845. On Tuesday, the state had recorded 182 cases and one fatality. Mumbai reported 117 fresh cases of the infection during the day.

There are 1,049 active cases in the state, but Sangli, Jalgaon, Nandurbar, Beed, Latur, Hingoli, Osmanabad, Amravati, Akola, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia district do not have any active case. (PTI)

China's capital Beijing on Wednesday shut down several metro stations besides schools, restaurants and businesses and ordered daily COVID-19 testing of its 21 million people as it ramped up measures to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant which has brought the financial hub Shanghai to halt for over a month.

Beijing reported 53 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to over 500 cases as the capital continues enforcing strict anti-virus measures and postponed school reopening for a week as a precautionary measure.

The capital city on Wednesday closed over 40 subway stations, about 10 per cent of the total, and 158 bus routes. (PTI)

Cognitive impairment as a result of severe COVID-19 is similar to that sustained with 20 years of ageing, between 50 and 70 years of age, and is the equivalent to losing 10 intelligence quotient (IQ) points, according to a study.

Cognitive impairment occurs when a person has trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their everyday life.

The latest findings, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, suggest that the effects are still detectable more than six months after the acute illness, and that any recovery is at best gradual. Researchers at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, UK, noted that there is growing evidence that COVID-19 can cause lasting cognitive and mental health problems. (PTI)

Odisha recorded 10 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the health department said.

There are 92 active cases in the state at present with eight more patients recovering in the last 24 hours, it said. The positivity rate was 0.06 per cent as the new cases were detected after testing 17,628 samples, it said.

The toll remained at 9,126 with no new deaths reported, it added. So far, the state reported 12,88,085 cases. (PTI)

The Omicron subvariants may burn themselves out in the next couple of months and there could be another outbreak of Delta or a different coronavirus strain this summer, according to a modelling study conducted in Israel.

The findings, published last week in the journal Science of the Total Environment, suggests that while Delta wiped out the variants that preceded it, Omicron has not eliminated the deadly variant which could re-emerge.

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel developed sensitive arrays that can differentiate variants from each other in wastewater which continues to give indications of where the coronavirus is active, even when PCR and rapid testing of people declines. (PTI)

Amid a rise in coronavirus cases in the national capital, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said the number of hospital admissions is still very less and the Covid-19 situation in the city is not so serious at present.

Asked if restrictions are needed given the spike in cases, he told reporters at a press conference at the party office that the government is keeping an eye on the situation, and the current scenario doesn't warrant major restrictions. Delhi conducts a large number of tests. As the eligible population of Delhi has got vaccinated, the number of hospital admissions is very less despite the daily cases count in the 1,200-1,500 range in the last few days and the positivity rate standing in the bracket of five-six per cent.

"We have reserved 10,000 beds in hospital for Covid cases, but less than 200 of those are occupied. So, this is satisfying. And the situation is not so serious at present," he said. (PTI)

The organisers of the Cannes Film Festival have announced plans to do away with Covid restrictions this year, ANI reported. According to a report by Variety, participants will not be tested before attending the ceremony. A mask mandate will not be imposed, as per reports. 

India recorded 3,205 new Covid-19 cases and 31 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s latest update. Active cases presently stand at 19,509, the ministry said. The death toll has risen to 5,23,920.

New data released Tuesday by the office of the Registrar General showed that 81.16 lakh deaths were registered in the country in 2020, about six per cent higher than the previous year’s number, which is consistent with the recent trend of increasing registrations of births and deaths in the country.

Data from the civil registration system (CRS) showed that while the number of registered births in 2020 had declined from 2.48 crore in 2019 to 2.42 crore, the death registrations had increased from 76.41 lakh in 2019 to 81.16 lakh now. These are not the actual number of births and deaths in India in 2020, but only those births and deaths which got registered.

Registration of births and deaths have been steadily increasing in recent years. The registration of deaths, in particular, has seen a sharp jump in the last three years. In 2019, for example, 92 per of all deaths had been registered, a significant increase from 79 per cent registrations just two years earlier (2017). Almost 95 per cent of all births are now registered. Read more. 

Tamil Nadu on Tuesday registered 39 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the total positives to 34,54,058.

The cumulative recoveries went up to 34,15,545 including the 56 people who were discharged in the last 24 hours. The toll continues to remain at 38,025 as no fresh fatality was reported in the state. Among those who tested positive today were 21 men and 18 women, a bulletin from the state health department said.

The active cases dipped to 488 from 505 a day ago. Chennai accounted for the maximum of 24 new infections followed by Chengalpattu with 12 while Coimbatore recorded 2 cases, Kancheepuram reported one case, the bulletin said. (PTI)

The lasting impact of a severe Covid-19 infection on the brain in areas such as memory, attention, or problem solving may be equivalent to 20 years of ageing, a UK study reports.

The new research, led by a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, suggests that cognitive impairment as a result of severe Covid-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points.

"Cognitive impairment is common to a wide range of neurological disorders, including dementia, and even routine ageing, but the patterns we saw - the cognitive 'fingerprint' of Covid-19 - was distinct from all of these," said Professor David Menon, from the Division of Anaesthesia at the University of Cambridge, the study's senior author. (PTI)

Mumbai on Tuesday reported 100 Covid-19 cases, a return to three-figure addition to the tally for the first time after April 27, when 112 people were detected with the infection, a civic official said.

It took the tally to 10,60,070, while the death toll remained unchanged at 19,563, he said.

The addition to the tally on Monday was 56 and the figure for Tuesday was a rise of 78 per cent, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official pointed out. (PTI)

The central Chinese city of Zhengzhou announced it would impose new COVID-related movement curbs for May 4-10.

Schools in the main city district will go online, while employees with government organisations and companies in the area must work from home during that period, according to a statement on the city's official WeChat account.

The new measures would be subject to adjustment after May 10, in accordance with the Covid-19 outbreak situation, the notice said. (Reuters)

A day after its Covid shot Covovax was included on the CoWIN portal for inoculation of children aged 12-17 years at private vaccination centres, the Serum Institute of India (SII) reduced the price of each dose of the vaccine from Rs 900 to Rs 225, excluding taxes.

India's drug regulator had approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28 last year and in the 12-17 age group, subject to certain conditions, on March 9. (PTI)

Some of Shanghai's 25 million people managed to get out on Tuesday for short walks and shopping after enduring more than a month under a Covid-19 lockdown, while China's capital, Beijing, focused on mass tests and said it would keep schools closed.

Beijing is desperate to prevent an outbreak now numbering in the dozens of new cases a day from spiralling into a crisis like the one in Shanghai.

Most people in the financial hub of Shanghai are still unable to leave their homes after more than a month of confinement. But a gradual easing of curbs in five of its 16 districts from Sunday, home to about a fifth of the city's population, allowed some to get out briefly. (Reuters)

The spurt in Covid cases and test positivity rate in Delhi over the last few weeks does not suggest the onset of a new wave, but people should keep basic mitigation measures in place to prevent the spread of the infection, experts said.

Eminent epidemiologist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya said the test positivity rate is stagnant and it means the infection is spreading at the same rate and there is no wave. There is a subtle change in the hospitalization rate which also proves that there is no wave, Lahariya said. Absolute numbers have no meaning. The number of cases will be more if you do more tests, he said. (PTI)

Pfizer Inc maintained its sales forecasts for its Covid-19 vaccine and pill for the first time since the U.S. drugmaker launched them, in a sign that the rapid demand in the past few quarters has slowed.

The company said it expects $22 billion in sales of its Covid pill Paxlovid this year, compared with analysts' average expectation of $26.1 billion.

"Overall, we expect the recent trends to expand access (to Paxlovid), as well as inquiries received from governments as the virus mutates and causes spikes in infections around the world, to result in increased orders in the coming months," said Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla.

The company also reiterated its forecast of $32 billion in sales from the vaccine it developed with BioNTech.

At the request of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, several drug companies have adjusted their forecasts to include expenses from milestone payments and acquisitions. (PTI)

Nearly half of COVID positive cases covered in a survey went unreported in April as many people opted for home antigen testing, LocalCircles claimed.

The survey conducted by LocalCircles claimed that 42 per cent of Delhi-NCR residents that had symptoms and took a COVID test in the last 30 days only took the self rapid antigen test.

Only one in three respondents covered in the survey from Delhi-NCR took an RT-PCR test in the last 30 days, while the majority opted for at-home antigen testing pointing to a sizable undercounting of daily caseloads, the survey contended.

The survey received 16,000 responses from residents from across the districts of Delhi-NCR. Over 62 per cent respondents were male while 38 per cent were female. "Residents of Delhi and NCR cities of Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad have been writing on LocalCircles how most people in their family, friends are just opting for the at-home antigen test and not even taking the RT-PCR test anymore," it said. (PTI)

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain met the family members of Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, who died battling Covid, and provided an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 crore to them.

Dr Kumar, who was a pediatrician at the Maharishi Valmiki Hospital, passed away on March 3, 2021, 1 days after being hospitalised due to Covid-19.

The Delhi government has so far given a 'Samman Rashi' of Rs 1 crore each to the families of 37 Covid warriors, who lost their lives due to the infection while serving the people during the pandemic.

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— Satyendar Jain (@SatyendarJain) May 3, 2022

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel says he has tested positive for Covid-19. Kimmel took to Twitter to share his diagnosis, assuring fans that he was feeling fine as he is "double vaxxed and boosted".

"Our daughter brought us covid (even though we specifically asked her not to)," he wrote.   

Kimmel was due to interview Tom Cruise and comic Iliza Shlesinger along with musical guest Parquet Courts on his show. He said comedian Mike Birbiglia will take care of the hosting duties till he recovers.

Our daughter brought us covid (even though we specifically asked her not to) All feeling fine, I am double vaxxed and boosted but the show must not go on. Apologies to @TomCruise & @iliza and thanks to Mike Birbiglia @birbigs who'll be filling in for me starting tomorrow night

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 2, 2022

Taiwan announced on Tuesday it was cutting to seven days from 10 mandatory quarantine for all arrivals, its latest relaxation of the rules to try to live with COVID-19 and resume normal life even as the number of domestic infections spikes.

Taiwan has kept its quarantine rules in place as large parts of the rest of Asia have relaxed or lifted them completely, though it had already reduced the time spent in isolation from two weeks to 10 days in March.

Taiwan has reported some 125,000 domestic cases since the beginning of the year, driven by the more infectious Omicron variant, but with more than 99% of those exhibiting no or mild symptoms, the government has relaxed rather than tightened restrictions in what it calls the "new Taiwan model". (Reuters)

The district disaster management authority has decided to make the RT-PCR test for Covid-19 detection mandatory for patients before undergoing any surgery here in Maharashtra, an official said on Tuesday.

Hospital authorities in Aurangabad have also been asked to check the patient's Covid-19 vaccination status, Collector Sunil Chavan said in a release, but did not specify any reason for these decisions which were taken after a meeting to review the pandemic situation here.

Medical facilities have been asked to make a note of the patient's vaccination status on his/her case papers, which will be checked by authorities, the collector said.

Aurangabad did not report any new COVID-19 case on Monday. As of now, there is only one active COVID-19 case in Aurangabad and the patient is in home isolation, a district administration official said. (PTI)

Puducherry added four new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday raising the overall caseload in the Union Territory to 1,65,794, a senior health department official said.

Director of Health G Sriramulu, in a release, said the four fresh cases were identified at the end of examination of 338 samples in the last 24 hours.

He said three patients recovered from the viral infection and the overall active cases were nine with all affected persons recuperating in home quarantine. There was however no new death in any of the four regions of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam in the UT and the fatality toll remained unchanged at 1,962, Sriramulu added.

The health department has so far examined 22,34,639 samples and found 18,79,468 samples out of them to be negative. The test positivity rate was 1.18 per cent while fatality and recovery rates remained 1.18 per cent and 98.81 per cent, respectively. (PTI)

India recorded 2,568 Covid-19 infections on Monday, down from the previous day’s 3,157, along with 20 Covid-related deaths. Active Covid-19 cases in the country fell down to 19,137 in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Tuesday. As many as 2,911 recoveries were recorded.

#COVID19 | India reports 2,568 fresh cases, 2,911 recoveries and 20 deaths in the last 24 hours. Active cases 19,137 pic.twitter.com/zh9viRBAER

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2022