Coronavirus Live Updates: The active cases now comprise 0.06 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate has been recorded at 98.75 per cent, the Health Ministry's website said.Coronavirus News Highlights: Maharashtra, on Friday, reported 926 new Covid-19 cases with three deaths. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, while reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the country, asked the states to identify hotspots and ramp up testing to curtail the spread of the virus. He also asked the health ministers of all the states to visit hospitals to check if the infrastructure is ready.
This comes on a day when India recorded 6,050 fresh Covid cases, the highest in 203 days, while the active cases have increased to 28,303, according to Union health ministry data. With 14 new fatalities, the death toll has increased to 5,30,943. While three deaths were reported from Maharashtra, two each were reported from Karnataka and Rajasthan.
The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 3.39 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 3.02 per cent, it said. According to official data, the total tally of Covid cases stands at 4.47 crore (4,47,45,104). The active cases now comprise 0.06 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate has been recorded at 98.75 per cent, the Health Ministry’s website said.
Odisha on Friday registered 104 new COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 13,37,377, a health department official said.
The cases were detected among 5,526 samples that were tested, he said. (PTI)
Delhi reported 733 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday with a positivity rate of 19.93 per cent. Two deaths, wherein Covid was found to be incidental, have been reported, the government health bulletin said.
The city's active caseload now stands at 2,331. Currently, 1,491 Covid patients are under home isolation, while 91 are admitted in hospitals.
Amid rising cases of coronavirus, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta on Friday urged the Centre to provide at least 50,000 COVID vaccine doses to continue with the immunisation drive in the state.
Gupta raised the issue in a review meeting conducted by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya virtually. (PTI)
Himachal Pradesh registered 108 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday with a weekly positivity rate of 6.6, according to Health officials.
The state's active caseload currently stands at 1,933, they said.
A 19-year-old woman died of the virus in Mandi district on Friday, taking the state's total death toll to 4,198. (PTI)
In May 2021, during the second wave of Covid-19, Suyash Sharma lost his coach Suresh Batra. The family also ran out of patience as the teenager had been consistently ignored by the DDCA. Kartar Nath, the former first-class cricketer, came to the rescue of Suyash. Read how
The coronavirus situation in Gujarat was under control and 20,000 to 22,000 tests to detect the infection were being carried out every day, state minister Rushikesh Patel told a review meeting called by the Union government on Friday.
Patel, who joined through video conferencing the meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukha Mandaviya, also said Gujarat was among the top states in the country in terms of per million tests. (PTI)
Mumbai on Friday recorded 276 coronavirus infections, marking the fourth straight day when new cases stayed above 200, the civic body said in a statement.
The number of cases jumped by 60 over the previous day but no deaths on account of the virus were reported as per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). (PTI)
Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar on Friday said the state government should look into the COVID-19 situation immediately, as cases have been on the rise and apprise citizens.
As per the state health department, Maharashtra had on Thursday recorded 803 fresh coronavirus cases and three fatalities that raised the tally of infections to 81,47,673, which includes 1,48,454 deaths. (PTI)
Nearly 4,000 prisoners, mostly undertrials, currently out on bail, will surrender to Delhi prisons Friday. They were among those granted interim bail to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in overcrowded prisons when the pandemic started. Know more here
They city of Mumbai logged 276 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday. No deaths were reported. While Maharashtra reported 926 new cases, three deaths were reported in the state.
Addressing a review meeting Friday, amid the rise in Covid-19 cases, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya asked the state health ministers to conduct mock drills of all hospital infrastructure on April 10 and 11 as well as review the health preparedness with district administrations and health officials on April 8 and 9. (PTI)
As part of its multi-pronged strategy to become a developed nation by 2047, India has made rapid strides in both health and healthcare. We are witnessing a digital boom, which has been a game changer — especially where universal health coverage is concerned. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (launched by the government nearly two years ago) is moving quickly to ensure that every person at the last mile has access to quality healthcare. ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) is slated to revolutionise the healthcare sector and significantly improve the overall healthcare experience. The push for healthcare digitisation, infrastructure, coverage and other inputs is showing a clear improvement in multiple healthcare metrics.
Universal health coverage requires that health services are not only available, affordable and accessible but also that they are rendered to every person in an acceptable, compassionate and respectful manner — which is a determinant of the quality of care. Abundant research has established that “healthcare” is not just about treatment of the disease or availability of infrastructure to enable treatment, but also about the overall wellness of the person. There are several instances that reveal how respectful healthcare played a vital role in fast-tracking the recovery of a patient, adding grist to the belief that patient experience has to be at the centre of all solutions in an industry as personal and service-oriented as healthcare. Read Swati Piramal and Kartik Varma's opinion here
In light of the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Goa government on Friday resumed in-patient testing at state-run hospitals using antigen testing kits, a minister said.
Goa had on Thursday recorded 162 new cases of coronavirus infection, which raised the active tally in the state to 872. (PTI)
More than 3,000 cases of Covid have been recorded in Delhi in the past one week, while the tally of active cases has increased by over 121 per cent in the same period, according to official data. (PTI)
Amid rising cases of coronavirus, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday held a review meeting and advised states to stay alert and be prepared for COVID-19 management.
In the meeting with state health ministers and principal and additional chief secretaries held virtually, Mandaviya stressed on identifying emergency hotspots by monitoring trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases, ramping up testing and vaccination and ensuring readiness of hospital infrastructure.
Along with enhancing genome sequencing and ramping up whole genome sequencing of positive samples, he also emphasised on creating awareness about following Covid-appropriate behaviour. (PTI)
India has logged 6,050 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest in 203 days, while the active cases have increased to 28,303, according to Union health ministry data updated on Friday.
On September 16 last year, 6,298 cases were recorded.
The death toll has increased to 5,30,943 with 14 deaths — three reported from Maharashtra, two each from Karnataka and Rajasthan, one each from Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, and one was reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. Know more here
The Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, on Friday, asked states to stay alert and prepared for COVID-19 management. He also asked the health ministers of all the states to visit hospitals for reviewing mock drills across all health facilities. (PTI)
A team of researchers in China have released an analysis of the samples that were taken from the Wuhan market in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, local media reported Friday. While it stopped short of providing a definitive answer to the mystery of how the pandemic started, it provides valuable details that could aid Covid-origin studies.
The findings, published in Nature magazine on April 5, are the first peer-reviewed analysis of biological evidence taken from the Wuhan wet market. “First peer-reviewed analysis of the Chinese swabs confirms animal DNA was present in samples that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2,” the magazine said. Read here
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday urged the Centre to provide fresh stocks of Covid vaccine vials so that administering of jabs, which is currently on hold, could be resumed. Talking to reporters here on the sidelines of a function, he also asserted that his government was "alert" in view of rising incidence of Covid cases in some parts of the country, though Bihar was not one of them.
"Our testing rate is much higher than the national average, which is six lakh tests per one million people. We are conducting eight lakh tests. Bihar accounts for about one fourth of the total number of tests conducted across the country", claimed Kumar. He underscored that the current spike was noticed in those parts of the country which were the worst affected when the coronavirus had caused a global pandemic.
"In Bihar cases are very few but we are alert, nonetheless. In places like hospitals wearing of masks is being reinforced. We were also carrying out vaccination till our supply dried up. We hope the Centre would do the needful soon", added Kumar. The JD(U) leader also took a veiled dig at his former ally BJP when he was asked about riots in some parts of the state during Ram Navami festivities.
"All the guilty would be exposed and brought to book. In 2018, we did not spare even the son of a Union minister", said Kumar, referring to Ashwini Choubey's son Arijit Shashwat who was arrested in connection with riots that had then erupted in Bhagalpur. (PTI)
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, on Friday said the Centre has been regularly issuing guidelines to the states and Union Territories amid a nationwide upward spiral in the Covid-19 cases.
Speaking to ANI, Pawar said, "The Centre has been issuing guidelines to states and UTs regularly in view of the spike in Covid cases. PM Modi also held a review meeting with all states and UTs to assess their Covid preparedness." "Today, Health Minister Dr Mandaviya will hold a review meeting with health ministers of states and UTs," MoS Health Dr Pawar added.
On Wednesday, the Covid Empowerment Working Group also conducted a review meeting featuring Dr Rajiv Bahl, DG, ICMR and other senior health officials. According to sources, the objective of the review meeting was two-fold -- to take stock the prevailing Covid situation in the country and assess the preparedness of healthcare facilties to deal with the spike in cases. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) also attended the meeting.
"We need to remain alert but there is no need to worry. Currently, the sub-variant of Omicron, which is circulating in the country, hasn't led to an increase in the rate of hospitalisation," Mandaviya said earlier on Covid19 situation in the country.
India on Thursday recorded 5,335 fresh Covid cases in a span of 24 hours, with a daily positivity rate at 3.32 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.89 per cent. The fresh cases marked the highest single-day rise in infections in the last nearly six months, the ministry stated on Thursday.
Covid cases in the country have seen an upward trend in the past few days, with the daily fresh infections recorded at 2,994 on April 1, 3,824 on April 2, 3,641 on April 3, 3,038 on April 4 and 4,435 on April 5. (ANI)
Scientists have found that humans create antibodies targeting the same viral regions repeatedly, despite their ability to create a diverse repertoire of antibodies, and this, they say, could help explain a lot of reinfection patterns observed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The team of investigators, led by those at Brigham and Women's Hospital (US), said that these "public epitopes", or the viral protein locations where the antibody recurrently attaches itself, suggested the ability of a virus to mutate a single amino acid to reinfect a population of previously immune hosts.
"Our findings could help inform immune predictions and may change the way people think about immune strategies," said corresponding author Stephen J. Elledge, professor of Genetics at the Brigham. Their findings have been published in the journal Science.
The investigators said that the studies so far had presented hints that people's immune systems didn't target epitopes at random, and that there was a method to it. They found in isolated examples a recurrent antibody responses across individuals. This meant that people recreated antibodies to home in on the same epitope, they said. Antibodies are the Y-shaped sniffer dogs of the immune system that can find and flag foreign invaders.
For this study, investigators analysed 569 blood samples from participants in the US, Peru, and France using VirScan, which can detect thousands of viral epitopes and give a snapshot of a person's immunological history from a single drop of blood. (PTI)
The Puducherry administration on Friday made mask wearing compulsory in the union territory with immediate effect owing to the rise in number of Covid-19 cases.
District Collector E Vallavan said with the union territory currently witnessing a surge in coronavirus positive cases, the territorial administration has enforced with immediate effect a slew of precautionary measures "to minimise the risk of increase in transmission of Covid-19 in the coming days."
Vallavan, who is Member-Secretary of the Executive committee of the Disaster Management Authority here, told reporters "public shall compulsory wear masks in public places, on the beach road, parks and theatres." He said the government has also issued an order enforcing the "precautionary measures in the whole of the Union Territory of Puducherry with immediate effect and there would be focus on test, track, treat and vaccination." Vallavan said the public "should adhere to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour of wearing masks maintaining hand hygiene and physical distancing enforced in the while of the Union Territory of Puducherry." Wearing of mask is compulsory in public places, on beach road, parks and theatres, he added.
Staff working in hospitals, hotels, bars, restaurants, liquor shops, hospitality and entertainment sectors, government offices and commercial establishments should compulsorily wear masks, the Collector said.
"Hundred per cent vaccination should be ensured in all government offices and private establishments." Vallavan said "all educational institutions in the Union Territory should scrupulously follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and ensure cent per cent vaccination. Students, teachers and other staff should wear masks compulsorily." "Since Class X public examinations are being held currently, the authorities concerned should ensure that the examination halls are properly sanitised. Sanitisers should be available at each examination hall for the use by students," he added.
Meanwhile, Director of Health G.Sriramulu said in a release on Friday that the number of active cases in the union territory stood at 206 (seven patients in hospitals and 199 in home isolation), He said the test positivity rate today was 9.65 per cent. One woman patient hailing from Karaikal who had brain tumour as co-morbidity died of Covid-19 at JIPMER here a few days ago. (PTI)
Amid a nationwide upward trend in the Covid cases, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya is currently chairing a review meeting with the health ministers of all states and Union Territories.
On Wednesday, Covid empowerment working group also conducted a review routine meeting. Dr V K Paul, Dr Rajiv Bahl, DG, ICMR and other senior health officials attended this meeting.
According to the sources, this was a review meeting to know the Covid situation and preparedness in the country. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) also attend the meeting.
On World Health Day, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today said that 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' is India's heritage and the country has fulfilled its responsibility by providing medicines and vaccines to more than 180 countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"On the occasion of World Health Day, I wish for the health of the whole world. The concept of Vasudev Kutumbakam is our heritage and in this series, the country is fulfilling its responsibility for the world in the health sector under the leadership of Modi ji. During the Corona period, we had seen that there was a shortage of medicines all over the world, then our country made medicines available to more than 180 countries, and along with it vaccines were also made available," the Health Minister told ANI.
Mandaviya arrived at Delhi's Vijay Chowk to take part in the walkathon on the occasion of the World Health Day. The medical staff and paramedical staff walk from Vijay Chowk to Nirman Bhawan. India today recorded 6,050 new cases in 24 hours while the active case tally stood at 28,303.
Mandaviya has called a review meeting with the health ministers of all the states on Friday amid the surge in Covid-19 cases across the country. He would meet with health ministers of all the states through video conferencing. The health minister will discuss the upward trend in Covid cases in all states.
On Thursday, India reported 5,300 covid-19 cases with 13 deaths, which is the highest in 195 days, according to Union Health Ministry. The last time over 5,000 cases was recorded was in September last year. On September 23, 2022, a total of 5,383 cases were reported. On Thursday, India reported 5,300 covid-19 cases with 13 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry.
Several states have witnessed an uptick in Covid-19 cases. Maharashtra reported a spike of 41 per cent in new infections in just 24 hours on Thursday. While on Tuesday, active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu crossed the four-digit mark with 1,086 patients, when 198 new Covid-19 cases were reported. Delhi on Thursday reported 606 new Covid-19 cases and 340 recoveries in past 24 hours. (ANI)
The Sikkim government on Thursday issued an advisory asking people to wear face mask in public places in view of surge in Covid-19 cases in the state and in the country. The Himalayan state reported 23 new Covid-19 cases during the day, taking the tally to 44,390, a health department bulletin.
"Always wear a face mask. Maintain hand hygiene/frequently wash hands. Cover your nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing. Avoid overcrowded and poorly ventilated places. In case of any symptoms, isolate yourself and get tested", the advisory issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department said.
The people have also been asked to avoid crowded and poorly ventilated places to reduce the risk of contracting the virus, it said. In case of any symptoms, the people of Sikkim have been advised to isolate themselves and get tested for Covid-19. The people should also maintain social distancing in public places by keeping a gap of six feet with each other.
Sikkim currently has 42 active Covid-19 cases, while 43,064 people have recovered from the virus so far, the health bulletin said. A total of 500 people have succumbed to the disease so far, while 784 others have migrated to other states, the bulletin said. In the last 24 hours, a total of 165 samples have been tested for COVID-19 while the daily positivity rate is 13.9 per cent, it added. (PTI)
The newly emerged recombinant coronavirus variant XBB.1.16 has been observed in different parts of the country, accounting for 38.2 per cent of the infection till date, according to the latest INSACOG bulletin. The bulletin of March 27, which was released on Thursday, said among the samples collected till the third week of March 2023, XBB continued to be the most commonly circulating Omicron sublineages.
Noting that Omicron and its sublineages continue to be the dominant variants in India, the bulletin said an increase in infection rate has been observed, especially in western, southern and northern parts of India. “A newly emerged recombinant variant XBB.1.16 has been observed in different parts of India, accounting for 38.2 per cent of the infection till date,” the bulletin said.
The bulletin further said a few BA.2.10 and BA.2.75 sublineage was detected in some part of the country whereas XBB was the most prevalent sublineage of the Omicron variant. The INSACOG said globally, nearly 3.7 million new cases and 26,000 deaths have been reported in the last 28 days.
During the week nine of the year 2023, there has been a continued increasing trend in the proportions of recombinant lineages globally, it said. India has logged 5,335 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest in 195 days, while the active cases have increased to 25,587, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday. (PTI)
A new analysis of genetic data collected from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, has linked coronavirus to raccoon dogs, adding evidence to the belief that the pandemic might have originated from the infected animals sold at the site.
An international team of experts said so on March 16, including Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona; Kristian Andersen, a virus expert at the Scripps Research Institute in California; and Edward Holmes, a biologist at the University of Sydney.
According to the Associated Press, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “These data do not provide a definitive answer to how the pandemic began, but every piece of data is important to moving us closer to that answer”. Read more
Nashik in Maharashtra on Thursday reported 23 COVID-19 cases, which took the tally in the district to 4,82,768, an official said.
The death toll stood unchanged at 8,904, while the recovery count increased by 29 to touch 4,73,791, he said.
The active tally in Nashik is 73, he added. (PTI)
Scientists say that the contaminated sewage flowing through the sewerage system of the Huanan Seafood Market (HSM) could have played a role in advancing the high environmental presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, leading its extensive distribution.
The scientists from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), China, along with those from other institutes, say that one of the possibilities included infected people and/or animals in the market contaminating the sewage.
They are part of a team investigating the potential introduction of SARS-CoV-2 to the market and have published their findings in the journal Nature.
They also found that none of the animal samples, including those from stray animals at the market, tested positive for the virus.
Human cases with COVID-19 were first reported in late December 2019, in Wuhan, China, as pneumonia of unknown etiology (PUE). (PTI)
Sikkim reported 23 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the virus tally to 44,390, a health department bulletin said on Thursday.
The Himalayan state now has 42 active COVID-19 cases, while 43,064 people have recovered from the virus, it said.
A total of 500 people have succumbed to the disease so far, while 784 others have migrated to other states, the bulletin said.
In the last 24 hours, a total of 165 samples have been tested for COVID-19 while the daily positivity rate is 13.9 per cent, it added. (PTI)
Amid a steep spike in Coronovirus cases in India, experts are once again stressing the need to follow hygiene protocols to keep the virus at bay, especially by those afflicted with long-Covid. According to Dr Pramod V Satya, consultant – Internal Medicine, Manipal Hospital, Millers Road, Bangalore, while the present Covid-19 strain is mild, the infectivity is very high, which calls for people to be cautious at all times. “We have come across many patients in our OPD with non-specific symptoms, such as loose stool, and body pains who, after investigation, are being diagnosed with Covid. However, the virulence is very low in this year’s strain and almost all the infections are self-limiting — which means within 3-4 days, the body pain, and other ILI (Influenza-Like Illness) symptoms like a runny nose and throat pain will go away without leaving any residue,” Dr Satya told indianexpress.com. Read more
Haryana on Wednesday reported 243 new Covid-19 patients, including 140 in Gurgaon, taking the total positive cases in state to 951. The number of active Covid-19 cases reached 500 in Gurgaon, the highest in any district and making uip for more than half of the total active cases in Haryana.
The tested 3,760 samples, taking the daily positivity rate to 5.77 per cent, as per the daily health bulletin. Read more
As cases of Covid-19 is witnessing significant spike in Gujarat, the state government has sought stock of 3 lakh vaccines and is expected to get the first stock of 2 lakh vaccines soon. Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said this while addressing mediapersons in Gandhinagar Wednesday.
Patel admitted that currently there is “no” or “negligible” stock of vaccine available in the state. Patel said that for precaution dose, the state government has already sought three lakh vaccines (Covaxin, Covishield and Corbevax). Read more
The Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Shelly Oberoi on Wednesday reassured the public that MCD is fully prepared to deal with any COVID-related situation in Delhi.
The Mayor stated that all the MCD hospitals have fully equipped facilities related to COVID-19, from reserved beds to oxygen cylinders, and all arrangements are available. Moreover, RT-PCR and antigen tests are also being provided.
Mayor Shelly Oberoi went for an inspection at Hindu Rao Hospital in the morning and took stock of the situation there. While the inspection, She also interacted with the doctors and patients at the hospital and enquired about the facilities being provided there.
Following the inspection, she held a meeting with all the HODs and Additional Commissioners of the MCD's Health Department, and all of the medical superintendents and HODs of all MCD Hospitals to check the preparedness against COVID-19. (ANI)
Jharkhand reported 12 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of active cases to 51, the Health Department said on Thursday.
Lohardaga recorded the highest number of cases at five, while East Singhbhum district registered three cases, it said. Of 24 districts in the state, seven have active cases.
Two persons were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday after recovery. With the detection of fresh infections, the total number of cases rose to 4,42,661. Of them, 4,37,278 people have recovered, while 5,332 persons died. (PTI)
India recorded 5,335 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, according to the latest update by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With this, the active caseload has risen to 25,587. The death toll has increased to 5,30,929 with 13 deaths — two each reported from Karnataka and Maharashtra, one each from Kerala and Punjab, and seven reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
Delhi registered 509 new Covid cases on Wednesday and zero virus-related death. The positivity rate in the national capital increased to 26.54%, while 1,918 covid tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.
The number of active cases in the city stands at 1,795.
Mumbai registered 211 new Covid cases on Wednesday and one pandemic related death.
Two more patients succumbed to coronavirus in Maharashtra on Wednesday, while 569 people tested positive for the infection, said the state health department.
The state had recorded 711 cases and four coronavirus-linked deaths on Tuesday.
Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Wednesday said all civic-run hospitals are "fully prepared" to deal with the coronavirus situation and appealed to people not to panic.
The mayor was interacting with reporters at the Civic Centre a day after Delhi recorded 521 COVID-19 cases -- the highest single-day rise since August 27 last year -- and one fatality.
"This morning I visited the MCD-run Hindu Rao Hospital and took stock of the arrangements there, including on Covid beds, oxygen availability, testing facility and stock of medicine. Later, a meeting was also held with doctors and others from the hospital administration department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on the Covid situation," she said. (PTI)
Nashik district in Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 24 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 4,82,745, health officials said. The COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 8,904 as no fresh fatality was reported. (PTI)
Stressing that while there is “no need to panic”, experts urge individuals with co-morbidities to be “particularly cautious” in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases across the country. That is because co-morbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses, weaken the immune system, making it more difficult to fight off respiratory infections like Covid-19, said Dr J Harikishan, senior general physician, Kamineni Hospitals, Hyderabad.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that older people and those with underlying medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer are more likely to develop serious illnesses on exposure. “Anyone can get sick with Covid-19 and become seriously ill or die at any age,” it reads. (Read More)
Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh on Wednesday said the government is prepared to deal with any situation arising out of a rise in Covid cases. Currently, there is no Covid patient in ICU or on ventilator support in the state, Singh said and assured that the situation is under control. "Our oxygen plants are functional. Our staff, wards, emergency system, all are active," he said and asserted that "our entire system is fully geared up".
Singh also reviewed the arrangements at the government-run Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. The minister advised people to wear masks while going out, particularly in crowded places. He advised immunocompromised patients not to go out and asked those showing symptoms of cough and fever to get themselves tested for Covid. (PTI)
In view of the spurt in Covid-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has urged the people of the state to follow covid appropriate behaviour and wear masks at crowded places to check the spread of the virus, a statement issued on Wednesday said.
The state government has been closely monitoring the situation and the society has to learn to live with coronavirus, he said while presiding over a conference on "Strengthening role of Himachal Pradesh Legislators for improving health services during and post pandemic period in India" on Tuesday, according to the statement.
The conference was organised by the Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD).
The CM said the state government was bringing reforms in the health sector to provide specialised medical care services to the people, adding that the positive results of these reforms would be visible in the coming times.
India on Wednesday recorded 4,435 new COVID-19 infections, the biggest single-day jump in 163 days (five months and 13 days), while the number of active cases increased to 23,091, according to Union health ministry data.
A total of 4,777 cases were recorded on September 25 last year.
With the fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 4.47 crore (4,47,33,719). The death toll increased to 5,30,916 with 15 deaths, the data updated at 8 am stated. Read more
Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may significantly accelerate dementia in patients already suffering from the neurodegenerative condition, according to a study conducted in West Bengal.
The research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, found that participants with all subtypes of dementia experienced rapidly progressive dementia following infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Insights into the impact of COVID-19 on human cognition has so far remained unclear, with neurologists referring to it as "brain fog." The researchers investigated the effects of COVID-19 on cognitive impairment in 14 patients with preexisting dementia who had suffered further cognitive deterioration following the infection with SARS-CoV-2. (PTI)
Stressing that while there is “no need to panic”, experts urge individuals with co-morbidities to be “particularly cautious” in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases across the country. That is because co-morbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses, weaken the immune system, making it more difficult to fight off respiratory infections like Covid-19, said Dr J Harikishan, senior general physician, Kamineni Hospitals, Hyderabad. Read More
After a lull of more than a year, the industrial city of Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune is witnessing a rise in Covid positive cases. The city has seen at least 20 cases a day in the last 15 days and there were 203 active cases by Tuesday. Till March 9, the city did not have a single active case. Read More
Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday took note of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country and said the Supreme Court is willing to hear lawyers via video conferencing.
Referring to recent media reports, a bench comprising the CJI and Justice J B Pardiwala said the court is more than willing to permit lawyers to appear through the hybrid mode.
"We can hear you through video conferencing mode also," the CJI said, news agency PTI reported.
The health bulletin released by the Chandigarh Health Department also stated that the positivity rate on Tuesday was 5.42 per cent, with the overall positivity rate in the last seven days hovering around the 4.96 per cent mark.
On Tuesday, the UT Health Department issued a third Covid advisory for the public, advising them to wear masks in crowded places and closed settings, avoid overcrowded and poorly ventilated places, and if tested positive for Covid, self-isolate for seven days. Read More
Amid an increase in Covid cases in some parts of the state during the last few days, Haryana on Tuesday reported 193 fresh infections and one coronavirus-related fatality.
According to the state health department's bulletin, of the fresh infections, Gurugram reported 98, followed by 42 in Faridabad and 25 in Panchkula.
The death was reported from Yamunanagar district, which saw nine fresh cases of the viral infection, as per the bulletin, news agency PTI reported.
Delhi’s Covid case count touched 521 Tuesday, the highest in more than seven months. The last time a higher case count was reported was on August 27 last year. On Tuesday, the positivity rate stood at 15.64%.
While one death was reported, the government’s health bulletin stated that the primary cause of death was not Covid and the detection of the infection was incidental. Read More
AMID a surge in Covid cases in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, Punjab has witnessed an uptick in the number of daily positive cases by 13 times in just three weeks. The number of active cases have also increased 8.4 times from just five positive cases on March 12 to 73 new Covid cases on Tuesday. Read More
Delhi Tuesday reported 521 Covid-19 cases, with the positivity rate being 15.64 per cent. The national capital also saw one related death.
Maharashtra Tuesday recorded 711 new Covid-19 cases, a nearly 200 per cent jump from the 248 cases it registered yesterday. The state also witnessed 4 Covid-related deaths, 2 in Satara and 1 each in Pune and Ratnagiri. The state has seen 11 deaths in the last seven days. The case fatality rate in the state is currently 1.82 per cent. There are 3,792 active cases in the state - a 62 per cent rise in a week.
Can Metformin, a widely-used clinical drug for controlling Type 2 diabetes, prevent long Covid in patients? According to a recent study published as a pre-print in The Lancet, researchers found that there was a 42 per cent lower chance of being detected with long Covid among people who had taken this oldest and most commonly used anti-diabetes drug. Treatment with Metformin during acute Covid-19 infection prevented over 40 per cent of long Covid cases, says the study.
Although the drug has shown promise as a therapeutic option for cancer and ageing, can it be considered for pandemic protocols? Noted endocrinologist Dr Shashank Joshi says it’s early days yet. “The study looks attractive but this is experimental evidence. Metformin is still not in any standard of care,” he says. Read More
Rajasthan former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. Sharing the news on Twitter, she said: “My report has come back positive in the investigation of Covid. I am in complete isolation on the advice of doctors. Those who have been in contact with me, get yourself tested and take precautions.”
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Tuesday that he has tested positive for Covid-19 and was under home quarantine. Sharing the news on Twitter, he said: “In the last few days, Covid-19 have been spreading across the country. I myself have tested positive and have mild symptoms. As per the advice of the doctors, I will continue working from my residence for the next few days. All of you take care and follow Covid protocols.”