Coronavirus live updates: India's active Covid cases below 8L in 1.5 months

Odisha reports 2,196 new Covid infections, pushing total case tally to 2,66,345, reports ANI.

Read: Post trials’ data, need to revise treatment regimen for Covid-19, experts say

Results of the global `Solidarity Trial’ which declared the widely-prescribed anti-viral drug, Remdesivir ineffective for saving lives or shortening duration of hospital stay, will lead to curbing its indiscriminate use for Covid-19 patients in India. With interim results of the largest global trial by the WHO published on Thursday, there is now a need for a fresh treatment protocol by the apex medical body, ICMR, explaining the effectiveness of drugs being used, doctors told TOI.

Read: India's Covid-19 infection tally crosses 74 lakh with 62,212 new cases

The fatality rate due Covid-19 was recorded at 1.52 per cent.

The active cases of coronavirus infection dropped below eight lakh for the first time in one-and-half months, the ministry said.

US hoping for two Covid-19 vaccines by end of November, reports AFP.

Two American companies expect to apply for emergency approval for their Covid-19 vaccines by late November, welcome news as the US crossed eight million confirmed cases amid a third surge of its coronavirus epidemic. Pfizer said Friday it hopes to move ahead with its vaccine after safety data is available in the third week of November, weeks after the November 3 presidential election.

Corona-Kavach policies cross 1 crore milestone.

The market for Corona-Kavach policies has grown 10-fold in a month to 1.1 crore from 15 lakh. A record sales figure that makes it the hottest selling insurance product in decades. Irdai chairman S C Khuntia announced the figure while addressing a CII meeting on Thursday. “Growth in corona-specific policies are driven by rising Covid-19 cases, with continuous uncertainty and a surge in related medical expenses,” said Subrata Mondal, EVP and head underwriting, IFFCO Tokio General Insurance.

Read: Four repurposed drugs have little to no effect on Covid, says WHO

The multi-country solidarity trial led by the World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded that none of the four repurposed drugs that it examined — Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), Lopinavir and Interferon — have any benefits on the patients of Covid-19, as indicated by overall mortality, initiation of ventilation and duration of hospital stay. At present, the clinical management protocol for Covid-19 in India recommends use of Remdesivir as an investigational therapy and HCQ as an off-label repurposed therapy for treatment.

The Covid-19 death toll has followed a similar pattern. In the first half of October, 13,474 fatalities were recorded, an 18.9% dip from the previous fortnight. The death count had dropped for the first time in the second half of September, although the fall was just 0.2%.

This was the second straight fortnight when coronavirus cases had shown a decline. In the previous fortnight (September 16-30), when the pandemic numbers had dipped for the first time, fresh cases had dropped by 2.9%.

India recorded 10,55,068 Covid-19 cases in the first 15 days of this month, the lowest fortnightly count since the second half of August, as per daily data collated from state governments. The number was 18.4% less than the case count in the second half of September.

In the sharpest fortnightly dip in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the country, the first half of October saw an 18% fall in new infections from the previous 15-day period while deaths fell by nearly 19%.

India scales an unprecedented peak. Active cases drop below the 8L mark for the first time in 1.5 months: Health Ministry

Fastest-ever growth in global virus cases as Europe tightens screws

Fresh restrictions loomed for millions of Europeans at the weekend after the highest-ever worldwide number of coronavirus infections in a single day, while pharma giant Pfizer said Friday it could apply for emergency US authorisation for its vaccine next month. An AFP tally based on official data showed that more than 400,000 new cases were reported across the world on Thursday, a figure only partly explained by increased testing since the first wave of the pandemic in March-April.

Panel recommends granting permission to Dr Reddy's for phase 2 trials of Russian Covid vaccine

An expert panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday recommended granting permission to Dr Reddy's Laboratories for conducting phase 2 clinical trials of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in India, sources said. The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm had on October 13 reapplied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission to conduct combined phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the vaccine in the country.

Sabarimala temple: 250 people are allowed darshan per day, Covid-19 negative certificate is mandatory for visiting the temple

Chandigarh: 55 fresh cases take COVID-19 tally to 13,532; death toll reaches 206