U.S.-biotech firm Moderna Inc is likely to price its coronavirus vaccine at $50 to $60 per course, according to a Financial Times report. Moderna's proposed price would apply to the United States and other high-income countries.
In India, Serum Institute of India chairman Cyrus Poonawalla has said that SII, which has partnered with vaccine developers Oxford University and AstraZeneca, is aiming to sell the vaccine for under ₹1,000 per dose in India.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Lockdown in Thiruvananthapuram extended
The district administration has extended the ongoing lockdown in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limit until further orders. There are, however, a number of relaxations to the existing restrictions.
In one of the major relaxations, hotels and restaurants have been allowed to function for parcel services from take-away counters. No in-house dining is permitted. Home delivery is permitted in non-containment zone.
All shops could remain open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., adhering to COVID-19 protocols. All shops have to keep a time slot from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. dedicated only to senior citizens.
Public transport including taxis and autorickshaws have been allowed with 50% carriage capacity in non-containment zones.
Transportation inside, outside and through Corporation is permitted in non-containment wards. However, only transit will be allowed through containment wards.
Manipur reports first COVID-19 death
Manipur reported its first COVID-19 death as a 56-year-old man succumbed to the disease at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).
This is the first COVID-19 death in the state, Director of RIMS, Ahanthem Santa Singh told PTI.
The deceased, a resident of Khongjom Sapam village in Thoubal district was admitted to the institute on May 22 for the treatment of serious kidney problem and hypertension. The patient tested COVID-19 positive on Sunday and died in the early hours of Wednesday.
TN Governor on 7-day isolation
Banwarilal Purohit
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has gone into seven-day isolation as a precautionary measure after three people in Raj Bhavan tested positive for COVID-19.
The Governor is "fit and healthy", a Raj Bhavan press release said. - Dennis R. Jesudasan
Licence for stocking and sale of hand sanitiser no longer required: govt.
The Union Health Ministry has done away with the requirement of a licence for stocking and sale of hand sanitiser to make it more widely available for the public amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to an official notification, the ministry granted the exemption under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, but said retailers have to ensure that such products are not sold or stocked after the date of expiry.
India’s COVID-19 tally crosses 15-lakh mark
India’s COVID-19 tally went past 15 lakh on Wednesday, two days after it crossed the 14-lakh mark, with 48,513 fresh cases recorded in a day while the recoveries surged to 9,88,029, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The total coronavirus cases climbed to 15,31,669, while the country’s death toll due to the disease rose to 34,193 with 768 deaths being reported in a 24-hour span, the data updated at 8 am showed.
There are 5,09,447 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country presently. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has risen to 64.51%.
This is the seventh consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 45,000. - PTI
Pandemic surging beyond cities in Gujarat
Gujarat on Tuesday recorded 1,108 infections and 24 deaths increasing its cumulative numbers to 2,372 fatalities and 57,982 cases even as the pandemic is surging beyond cities as almost 50% of cases are now being reported from rural districts.
The State has now 13,198 active cases, out of whom 87 patients are on ventilator. On Tuesday, 473 cases were reported from rural districts while in July, almost 50% of the cases are from rural districts.
MP minister Tulsi Silawat, his wife test COVID-19 positive
Madhya Pradesh Water Resources Minister Tulsi Silawat and his wife have tested coronavirus positive.
The information was shared by the minister himself on his Twitter handle on Tuesday. In the tweet, he appealed to those who had come in his contact to get themselves tested.
State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had last week tested COVID-19 positive.- PTI
57% of Mumbai slum population has developed antibodies: Study
A sero-surveillance study done in Mumbai has revealed that 57% of slum population and 16 per cent of non-slum residents in three civic wards had developed antibodies, indicating many people would already be affected by COVID-19 than the official tally suggests.
The sero-surveillance started on June 3 and 6,936 samples out of an estimated 8,870 were collected from slum and non-slum population of three civic wards — R-North, M-West and F-North — in the first half of July.
Moderna aims to price coronavirus vaccine at $50-$60 per course
Moderna Inc is planning to price its coronavirus vaccine at $50 to $60 per course, at least $11 more than another vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources.
Moderna's proposed price for a two-dose course sold to governments compares with $39 for two doses under a deal that Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech struck with the U.S. government.
Moderna's proposed price would apply to the United States and other high-income countries, according to the report. Pfizer, Moderna and Merck & Co have said they plan to sell their vaccines at a profit, while some drugmakers, including Johnson & Johnson have announced plans to price their vaccines on a not-for-profit basis. - Reuters
Global air passenger traffic will not return to pre-COVID levels until 2024: IATA
Global air passenger traffic will not return to pre-COVID levels until 2024, a year later than previously projected, as international travel curbs remain in place in most countries due to the coronavirus pandemic, IATA said Tuesday.
Moreover, the overall domestic passenger traffic was 86.5% less in June 2020 than what was observed a year ago, the global airlines body added.
The IATA, which has around 290 airlines as its members, said the international passenger traffic in June was 96.8% less than the figures of June 2019. - PTI
Bi-weekly lockdown in West Bengal extended till August 31
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced extension of two-day complete lockdown every week in the State till August 31. She said the lockdown restrictions would also continue.
For seven days in August, there will be a complete lockdown, which, the CM said, was essential to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19.
She said there would be a complete lockdown on August 16, 23 and 30. The State would also observe lockdown on August 5, 8, 17 and 24.