Coronavirus live updates: China reports most new Covid-19 cases since January amid Delta surge

China reported on Wednesday the most new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases since January as some cities stepped up restrictions, cut flights and increased testing to get to grips with an outbreak driven mainly by the Delta variant. The travel restrictions and closures led Nomura to downgrade China's July-September economic growth forecast, as well as its full-year prediction, saying the zero-tolerance approach to the virus was becoming increasingly costly. Since late July, the highly transmissible Delta variant has been detected in at least a dozen Chinese cities, including the capital, Beijing, and Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus emerged in late 2019. Read more

Vaccines targeting the highly transmissible Delta variant may now be needed, given its ability to infect people with fading immunity and potentially increased severity, researchers leading a large English study of Covid shots said. A third wave of English cases has been driven by the Delta strain among both unvaccinated people -- especially those aged 12 to 24 -- as well as some people who had received Covid shots, according to authors of a study of samples from about 98,000 people in England. The effectiveness of vaccines at stopping infection during the study period fell to 49%, the researchers estimated, down from 64% in a month earlier. Vaccines’ protection against development of Covid symptoms was 59%, down from 83%. Read more

Odisha’s capital has administered both doses of vaccine to over 95% of the targeted population. As per records, 8.1 lakh people have got both the jabs out of an estimated 8.5 lakh eligible population aged above 18. The number of first dose recipients in Bhubaneswar, pegged at 10.7 lakh, is more than the target because the city has also been giving vaccines to the floating population, the ones who come from the districts.

Raising an alarm against increasing number of new cases in some states, the Centre on Tuesday highlighted specific indicators including a reproduction number of 1.2 — the number indicates how many persons a single Covid patient can infect — along with high positivity rates to warn that the pandemic is far from over. The increase is mainly driven by Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Karnataka and Puducherry where the Rnumber is increasing. Read more

Even though Kerala’s high Covid numbers have prompted questions about the much-lauded Kerala model of Covid management, public health experts seem to agree that the state’s health system seems well in control of the situation. However, they also feel the state needs a more scientific approach towards opening up instead of weekend lockdowns or restricted opening of shops, which only leads to overcrowding and higher chances of Covid spreading. Read more

South Korea has reported two cases of highly transmissible delta plus variant of the coronavirus. It is the first time that the country has reported the delta plus variant, considered a sublineage of the Delta variant, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday citing the country's Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The KDCA said one of the Delta plus cases is a man in his 40's who has never been overseas. The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus was first detected in India last October. The "subvariant" strain is considered to be even more contagious, possibly capable of infecting people even after inoculation.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 3,571 to 3,777,446, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday. The reported death toll rose by 25 to 91,704, the tally showed.

New York City will soon require proof of Covid-19 vaccinations for anyone who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, see a performance or go to the gym, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced, making it the first big city in the US to impose such restrictions. The new requirement, which will be phased in over several weeks in August and September, is the most aggressive step the city has taken yet to curb a surge in cases caused by the delta variant. People will have to show proof that they have had at least one vaccine dose.

Japan's government was acting pre-emptively to ensure there are sufficient beds for seriously ill Covid-19 patients, its health minister said on Wednesday, warning infections have entered a "new phase" with a spike in Delta variant cases. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Monday only Covid-19 patients who are seriously ill and those at risk of becoming so will be hospitalised, while others isolate at home, a shift in policy some fear may lead to an increase in deaths.

With an eye on a likely third Covid-19 wave, Delhi government has been ramping up oxygen production, storage and transportation infrastructure in the city. On Tuesday, the cabinet approved the Medical Oxygen Production Promotion Policy, 2021, which aims at making the capital self-reliant in oxygen production, along with a provision for incentives.