Corona roundup: Russia to supply 100 million vaccine doses to India, Covid anxiety & more

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Sep 16, 2020, 21:00 IST

NEW DELHI: Russia's sovereign wealth fund has agreed to supply 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik-V, to Indian drug company Dr Reddy's Laboratories, the fund said on Wednesday, as Moscow speeds up plans to distribute its shot abroad.
The deal comes after the Russian Direct Investment Fund reached agreements with Indian manufacturers to produce 300 million doses of the vaccine in India, which is a major consumer of Russian oil and arms.

Russia to sell 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to India

Here are the top developments:
INDIA

The Covid pandemic has taken anxiety among Indians to record levels with a recent survey showing one in every four persons is so stressed that he or she actually requires medical intervention. Every second Indian shows some signs of anxiety, reveals the survey conducted on a web-based platform by the department of mental health and behavioural sciences at Max Healthcare, Saket.

Every second Indian hit by Coronanxiety

A record 82,961 new Covid-19 recoveries were reported on Wednesday, almost a quarter of them from Maharashtra alone, pushing the overall figures close to 39.5 lakh and the recovery rate to 78.53 per cent, health ministry data showed. It said that nearly 59 per cent of the new recoveries came from five states -- 23.41 per cent from Maharashtra (19, 423 recoveries); and a cumulative 35.5 per cent from Andhra (9,628 recoveries), Karnataka (7,406), UP (6,680) and Tamil Nadu (5,735).

Record 82,961 recoveries in a day, a quarter from Maharashtra alone; recovery rate 78.53%

India has become the second country in the world after the US to record 5 million Covid-19 cases, with the last 1 million coming in a world-record time of 11 days.

India’s Covid cases cross 5 million, last million came in 11 days

The government said more than 30 vaccine candidates for coronavirus have been supported, and three of them are in advance stages of trials now, while four are in advanced pre-clinical development stage. Union minister Nityanand Rai also told the Rajya Sabha that 13 clinical trials of repurposed drugs have been undertaken to build a portfolio of therapeutic options for Covid-19 patients.

Over 30 vaccine candidates supported, 3 in advance trials, 4 in advanced pre-clinical stage: Govt

Drugs Controller General of India gave permission to Serum Institute of India to resume clinical trial of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the country while revoking its earlier order of suspending any new recruitment for phase two and three trial.

Serum Institute of India gets DCGI nod to resume clinical trial of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine

Mass immunization under which large sets of the country’s general population (excluding high-risk vulnerable groups) will be able to access the vaccine -- in all likelihood -- only in the second half of 2021.

Covid-19: Vaccine shots will reach most only in late 2021, say experts

STATES

Delhi: Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. He was unwell for over a week and under isolation. Gupta has advised people, who recently came in his contact, to go for Covid test.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta tests positive for Covid-19

Kerala: A single-day highest ever spike of 3,830 Covid-19 cases in Kerala took the state's infection count to 1,17,863, the government said. The state also recorded 14 deaths, taking the toll due to the disease to 480.
Odisha: In the highest single-day spike so far in Odisha, 4,270 more people tested positive for Covid-19, raising the total virus case load in state to 1,62,920. Eleven more died raising the virus death toll to 656.

In highest one day spike, 4,270 test positive for Covid-19 in Odisha

Gujarat: The Gujarat high court has asked the state government to "stop playing on the back foot", after noting that it has been caught unawares by the rise in Covid-19 cases in certain cities.
Karnataka: State home minister Basavaraj Bommai tweeted that he has tested positive for Covid-19. Bommai in the tweet said he is asymptomatic and confined himself in home isolation.

Goa: The upward swing of mortalities continued with 11 Covid deaths reported, taking the count to 315 in the state. In the last two days, 25 people have lost their lives due to the novel coronavirus.

Spike continues with 11 Covid deaths, 613 test positive in Goa

J&K: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 1,590 fresh Covid-19 cases, while 18 deaths took place in the last 24 hours, officials said. The total number of cases in the Union territory has now risen to 58,244 and the death toll increased to 932.
UP: The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 4,690 in Uttar Pradesh with 86 more fatalities, while 6,337 fresh cases pushed the infection tally in the state to 3,30,265, officials said. The state now has 67,002 active Covid-19 cases.
Ladakh: The Union territory of Ladakh reported 80 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, taking the cumulative figures to 3,499 infections and 44 fatalities, officials said. There are 938 active coronavirus cases in the Union territory now.

Ladakh reports 80 new Covid-19 cases, 3 more deaths

HP: The Covid-19 death toll in Himachal Pradesh rose to 90 with one more fatality, while 76 fresh cases pushed the infection tally in the state to 10,412. One Covid-19 death was reported from Kangra district.
Rajasthan: After exploiting all available options, the state government has now requested the Centre to supply 100 kilolitres of oxygen daily for treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Rajasthan govt to Centre: Supply 100KL of oxygen for Covid patients

Andamans: The Covid-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,574 as 17 more people tested positive for the infection. The fresh infections have taken the number of active coronavirus cases in the archipelago to 204.
Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh state Covid-19 control special officer Dr C Prabhakar Reddy put up a post on social media. Called ‘treatment for Covid-19 with just Rs 300 worth of medicines’, the post mentions treatment details to be used by Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms. The post has gone viral across several social media platforms.

Special officer’s Covid-19 prescription goes viral

Tripura: Tripura's Covid-19 tally rose to 20,172 as 454 more people tested positive for the infection, while 10 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 217. Tripura now has 7,497 active Covid-19 cases, while 12,435 people have recovered from the disease.
Uttarakhand: A government hospital in Uttarakhand allegedly issued OPD slips to people certifying that they have no symptoms of Covid-19, without conducting an RT-PCR test, prompting the administration to launch an inquiry into the matter.
Puducherry: Puducherry recorded 518 fresh cases of coronavirus and 13 related deaths, taking the aggregate to 21,111 in the Union territory. With the death of 13 more people, the toll rose to 418.
Telangana: Telangana reported 2,273 new Covid-19 cases and 12 related fatalities, pushing the tally of infections to 1.62 lakh in the state. With 12 more deaths, the overall toll rose to 996.
Maharashtra: A total of 247 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths were reported in Maharashtra Police in the last 24 hours. The total count of cases in the police force has gone up to 20,003. Maharashtra has 2,92,174 active cases of Covid-19.

WORLD

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 936,095 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December. At least 29,633,590 cases of coronavirus have been registered. Of these, at least 19,787,400 are now considered recovered.
US President Donald Trump said that a coronavirus vaccine may be available within a month -- an acceleration of even his own surprisingly optimistic predictions -- but added that the pandemic could go away by itself. "We're very close to having a vaccine," he told a town hall question-and-answer session with voters in Pennsylvania.

Coronavirus vaccine could be ready in a month, says Donald Trump

Nepal reported a record 1,539 new Covid-19 cases in a single day, taking the national tally to 58,327. There are currently 16,242 corona active patients undergoing treatment at various isolation centres across Nepal. Eight people died in the last 24 hours, taking the number of fatalities to 379.

Nearly 96 per cent of Pakistan's coronavirus patients have made a successful recovery, a report issued by the country's nerve centre said. According to the National Command and Operations Centre, 290,760 people recovered so far across Pakistan, making it a significant count" and showing that 95.93 per cent of the patients recovered, with 303,089 total cases, of which 5,936 were active ones.

Nearly 96% of Pakistan's Covid patients have recovered: Report

The British government plans to ration coronavirus testing, giving priority to health workers and care home staff after widespread reports that people around the country were unable to schedule tests. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday will face questions about his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in the House of Commons and before a key committee amid the outcry over the shortage of testing.
Singapore's Covid-19 cases reached 57,515 on Wednesday after 27 new coronavirus infections, including six who arrived from India, were recorded, according to the health ministry. With 82 more Covid-19 patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Tuesday, a total of 56,884 have fully recovered from the infection.
Russia has registered 5,670 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, which brings the cumulative total to 1,079,519, the country's coronavirus response center said on Wednesday. In the past 24 hours, Russia recorded 132 Covid-19 fatalities, bringing the death toll to 18,917.
Jerusalem's Great Synagogue will be closed for the first time over the Jewish New Year due to the novel coronavirus, authorities said Wednesday, as Israelis braced for a second lockdown. Israel has registered the world's highest coronavirus infection rate over the past two weeks, according to an AFP tally. It is set to be the first country to enforce a second nationwide shutdown.