Coronavirus live updates: Impact of Covid will be felt for decades to come, says WHO chief

Read: Risk of disease spread bigger in era of globalisation, says Harsh Vardhan

In an era of globalisation, the risk of the spread of a disease is even bigger since it does not distinguish between the boundaries of countries, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday. ​​Vardhan urged the WHO members to forge multi-sectoral collaboration to galvanise global response and cooperation to fight communicable and non-communicable diseases more effectively.

EU reserves 300 mn doses of potential Sanofi virus vaccine, reports AFP.

17 people arrested for violating Covid-19 curbs in Noida and Greater Noida, reports PTI.

Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Bhushan takes charge as health secretary, reports PTI.

He will succeed Preeti Sudan, who was given a three-month extension in April and demitted office on Friday. "Rajesh Bhushan, IAS (Bihar:1987) took charge as Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on superannuation of Preeti Sudan, at Nirman Bhawan today," the health ministry said.

In line with centralPuducherry CM V Narayanasamy announced that the lockdown now in force here has been extended till August 31 but with relaxation in restrictions.

Read: Panel gives nod to Serum Institute for phase 2, 3 human clinical trials of Oxford vaccine

A subject expert committee on Covid-19 on Friday recommended to the country's drug regulator that permission be granted to Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting the second and third phases of human clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate. The recommendations of the committee at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) have been sent to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for approval, highly-placed sources told PTI.

West Bengal's Covid-19 tally crosses 70,000-mark with record 2,496 new cases, death toll rises to 1,581: Health department

Read: Impact of coronavirus will be felt for decades to come, says WHO

The global coronavirus outbreak is the sort of disaster whose effects will last far into the future, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday. "The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come," Tedros told a meeting of the WHO's emergency committee, according to remarks released by the agency.

Drug regulator gets committee approval for nod to clinical trials by Serum Institute for Oxford Covid-19 vaccine, reports ANI.

Bihar Covid-19 tally breaches 50,000-mark with highest one-day spike of 2,986 cases, reports PTI.

Special Secretary Social Welfare Department Tasaduq Jeelani passes away due to Covid. He was admitted on 14th July: Principal, Jhelum Valley Medical College, Srinagar

Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally rises to 4,22,118 with 10,320 new cases; 265 deaths take toll to 14,994: Health department

Uttarakhand reported 118 new Covid cases today, taking active cases to 2,897. 80 patients have died of the disease so far: State health department

116 new Coronavirus cases and one death reported in Manipur in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 2,621 out of which 931 cases are active. Five people have so far succumbed to the disease, reports ANI quoting state government

At 2.18%, India's Covid-19 fatality rate among lowest; just 0.28% patients on ventilator: Dr Harsh Vardhan

India's Covid-19 case fatality rate is progressively declining and now stands at 2.18 per cent, one of the lowest globally, while just 0.28 per cent of the total active patients are on ventilator, Union minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday.

Covid-19 pandemic likely to be more serious by October-November, holding Bihar polls then will endanger people's lives: LJP to EC