Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Fewer Deaths in Vaccinated Group Due to Delta Variant, Says ICMR Study; India Records 36,401 Cases in 24 Hrs

Covid Still Hanging Over People's Heads Like Sword, Cautions Maharashtra CM | Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday warned that coronavirus is still hanging over people’s heads like a sword of Damocles and the threat is far from over. The chief minister was speaking at the virtual function to inaugurate the district headquarters building complex in Palghar, and civic and government-run health facilities in Virar and Vasai. “Coronavirus is still hanging over our heads like a sword of Damocles and the threat is far from over. It is good that oxygen plants are being installed while setting up COVID-19 hospitals to prevent casualties," Thackeray said.

Delhi reports 25 new #COVID19 cases, 2 recoveries and 2 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Total cases 14,37,217
Total recoveries 14,11,690
Death toll 25,079
Active cases 448

Positivity Rate 0.04 % pic.twitter.com/olideWyNl6

— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2021

US President Joe Biden Says Will Get Covid Vaccine Booster Shot Next Month | President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill will both be getting a Covid vaccine booster shot, with the extra dose becoming available to all US adults from next month. “We’re gonna get the booster shots," he told ABC News in an interview that aired Thursday. With fears that the coronavirus vaccines may be wearing off and even more infectious strains like the Delta virus emerging, Biden on Wednesday announced that all American adults will be able to get a booster shot eight months after their last vaccination. The boosters will become available in the week of September 20.

Over 3.86 Crore People Didn't Get 2nd Covid Jab Within Stipulated Time: Govt | Over 3.86 crore people did not get their second dose of anti-Covid vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin — within the stipulated period of time, the government has said in response to an RTI query. According to information on the CoWIN portal, as of Thursday afternoon 44,22,85,854 people have received their first dose, while 12,59,07,443 have also taken their second. READ MORE

Kerala reports 21,116 new Covid cases, 19,296 recoveries and 197 deaths in the last 24 hours.

• Active cases - 1,79,303
• Death toll -19,246
• Samples tested -1,30,768
• Test positivity rate -16.15%

Covid Cases in Bengaluru Children: As Reports Show Uptick, Govt Rushes to Better Immunity, Set up Centres | Bengaluru has reported a worrying number of Covid-19 cases in the past few days. Now, health officials in the Karnataka capital are rushing to protect children in the city against the deadly coronavirus disease, even as the upcoming reopening of schools makes for concern among parents. READ MORE

Andhra Pradesh records 1,501 new #COVID19 cases, 1,697 recoveries and 10 deaths in the last 24 hours

Active cases: 15,378
Total cases: 19,98,603
Death toll: 13,696 pic.twitter.com/DcT95uTxm7

— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2021

'State, Centre Could Have Ideological Differences, But We Work Together For Nation': Jharkand Health Minister

If a vaccine for children is developed soon, it will be great...There could be ideological differences between State and the Centre, but when it comes to the nation, we work together: Jharkhand Health Min Banna Gupta on ICMR saying "may have COVID-19 vaccine for children by Sep" pic.twitter.com/5LEB48WQTz

— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2021

Pfizer, Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccines Effective Against Delta Variant, UK Study Finds | Obtaining two vaccine doses remains the most effective way to ensure protection against the COVID-19 Delta variant of concern (VOC), first identified in India and now dominant in the UK, one of Britain's largest studies of its kind concluded on Thursday. The study by scientists at the University of Oxford, involving more than 700,000 randomly selected people from within the community, found that the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines still offer good protection against new infections. READ MORE

23-25 cases of recovered COVID19 patients contracting TB have been found in Karnataka. As a precautionary measure, we have thought of conducting TB screening for all COVID recovered persons: Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar pic.twitter.com/yIdvsCIQCp

— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2021

School May be Closed if Covid Situation Worsens, Attendance not Must: UP Govt | The Uttar Pradesh government, which has decided to open schools for physical classes, on Thursday said the attendance for students will not be compulsory and schools may be closed again if the Covid situation worsens. Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma told this to the state legislative council while replying to a question by teacher constituency member Dhruv Kumar Tripathi. "In basic education, attendance is not compulsory. We have also not made attendance mandatory for classes from 9 to 12," Sharma said.

READ | Fine for No Mask, Surprise Visits in Markets: BBMP's New Covid Guidelines for Bengaluru Ahead of Festivals

In view of the festival season, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued fresh Covid-19 guidelines to control crowding at market places, and instructed officials to conduct surprise…

Arunachal Pradesh Logs 144 New COVID-19 Cases, 2 More Deaths | Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 51,799 as 144 more people tested positive for the infection, a senior health department official said. The COVID-19 death toll in the frontier state increased to 254, as two more persons succumbed to the infection in the last two days, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. The Capital Complex Region recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 29, followed by Papumpare (24) Lower Subansiri (18), West Kameng (12), Upper Siang (9) and Anjaw at 8, Jampa said, adding that fresh infections were also reported from other districts of the state.

READ | Covid R-value Drops Below 1 in Country, Including Kerala and NE; Signals Decrease In Infection Rate

After breaching the value of one in the first week of August, the R number, which reflects how rapidly the coronavirus pandemic is spreading, has been steadily ebbing in the country including Kerala…

Sri Lankan health workers carry the dead body of a person to test for COVID-19 before handing over them to families in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Biden to Require COVID Vaccines for Nursing Home Staff | President Joe Biden announced that his administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden unveiled the new policy Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for ways to use mandates to encourage vaccine holdouts to get shots.

READ | Vaccine Effective Against Delta, No Need for Booster, Says Gagandeep Kang as US, UK Okay Extra Shot

COVID-19 vaccines are working against the Delta variant and people should not rush for booster shots, celebrated clinical scientist Dr Gagandeep Kang said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka Banks on Vaccination to See it Through Delta Surge | Manjula Wijesuriya had COVID-19, but his friends and family say that's not what killed him. When the 51-year-old tutor suffered a heart attack in late July, his loved ones rushed him to a nearby hospital in a suburb of Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. But as his condition deteriorated over the next few hours, they found it impossible to get him a bed in an intensive care unit.

Japan Expands Virus Emergency, Weighs Legal Penalties | Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially expanded and extended the nation's coronavirus state of emergency, as government advisers recommended legal changes that would allow penalties for violations. The measures, approved by a government task force, add seven prefectures to the six areas already under a state of emergency and extend it to Sept. 12.

Disney World Tweaks Face Mask Policy, Optional for Outdoors | Walt Disney World is tweaking its face mask policy. Starting Thursday, the theme park resort in Florida will allow visitors to choose whether or not to wear face coverings in outdoor lines, outdoor theaters and outdoor attractions. Masks had been required previously. Face coverings will remain optional in outdoor common areas. They will still be required for visitors age 2 and up at all indoor locations, such as restaurants, theaters and transportation with the exception of ferry boats.

READ | Signs of Ebbing? India's 7-Day Average of Covid-19 Cases, R-Value Lowest in Nearly 5 Months

The seven-day rolling average of daily covid-19 cases in India fell below 35,000 on Wednesday for the first time in nearly five months.

Andaman & Nicobar Reports One New COVID-19 Case | The union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded only one new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, pushing the tally to 7,550, a health official said. The new COVID-19 case was detected during testing at the airport. All passengers arriving by flight have to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR test before they are allowed entry into the islands. The archipelago now has only two active COVID-19 cases and both patients are in the South Andaman district. The other two districts - North and Middle Andaman and Nicobar - are COVID-19 free, the official said.

Mizoram Reports 487 New COVID-19 Cases, 2 More Fatalities | Mizoram's COVID-19 tally crossed the 50,000 mark as 487 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said. The 487 new cases pushed the COVID-19 tally to 50,437, the official said. The COVID-19 death toll in the state rose to 188 as two more persons succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, he said. Fifty-two new cases were detected through RT-PCR test, 418 through Rapid Antigen Test and 17 through TrueNat test, the official said. The single-day positivity rate was 4.35 per cent as the fresh cases were detected from 11,175 samples, the official said.

READ | Himachal Pradesh Tightens Covid Curbs: E-registration Mandatory for Entry to State

Given the continued increase in the number of daily Covid-19 cases, the Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday ordered more stringent checks on those entering the state directing monitoring of all…

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body at the forefront of formulating COVID-19 testing protocols in India has achieved the milestone of conducting 50 crores tests yesterday

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body at the forefront of formulating COVID-19 testing protocols in India has achieved the milestone of conducting 50 crores tests yesterday

— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2021

READ | Covid Vaccines Effective Against Delta, No Need for Booster, Says Gagandeep Kang as US, UK Okay Additional Shot

COVID-19 vaccines are working against the Delta variant and people should not rush for booster shots, celebrated clinical scientist Dr Gagandeep Kang said on Wednesday.

Thane Logs 207 New COVID-19 Cases, 7 More Deaths | With the addition of 207 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 5,48,779, an official said.  The virus also claimed the lives of seven more people, raising the death toll in the district to 11,207, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.04 per cent.

Today's Data Highlights 

- 36.4k new cases, 530 new deaths, 39.2k new recoveries, 3.3k dip in active cases

- Deaths above 500 after 5 days

- New cases below 40k for the 6th day

- Kerala reports 21.4k new cases, Maharashtra 5.1k, Tamil Nadu 1.8k

- Kerala reports 179 new deaths, Maharashtra 158, Odisha 65

- 13 states/UTs report rise in active cases

- Difference between new cases reported in the last 7 days and the preceding 7 days in India is -8% (world average is +0.8%%)

- 56.36 lakh new vaccinations. 56.65 crore total. 42.23 lakh received their first dose yesterday, 14.13 lakh second dose

- 18.73 lakh new tests. Test positivity rate: 1.94% (1.96% the previous day)

- India crosses 50 crore tests mark at 3.56 lakh tests per million population 

- Test positivity rate below 2% for the 3rd day

- Test positivity rate: Kerala 14.64%, Manipur 12.89%, Sikkim 11.77%

Here's State-wise Distribution of Cases

36,401 New Cases in India in Last 24 Hours | India records 36,401 new cases in the last 24 hours. Active cases account for 1.13% of total cases; lowest since March 2020. India's Active caseload stands at 3,64,129; lowest in 149 days