Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Delhi Nod to Chhath Puja With Riders; 12 State Health Mins Part of Meeting With Centre

Ocugen, Bharat Biotech’s US partner for COVID19 vaccine Covaxin, on Wednesday said it has submitted Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct clinical trials. The development comes a day after the World Health Organisation sought more details from Bharat Biotech to consider its COVID19 vaccine Covaxin for Emergency Use Listing.

The Karnataka government has issued fresh travel guidelines and made negative RTPCR report mandatory for those coming to the state from abroad, in view of the new superspreader AY.4.2 Delta variant of COVID19, which is spreading in some foreign countries. Releasing the guidelines for international arrivals, the government said the global trajectory of the COVID19 pandemic continues to decline with certain regional variations.

It, however, noted that the need to monitor the continuously changing nature of virus and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern must still remain in focus. The new guideline makes it mandatory for travellers to submit a self-declaration form regarding the authenticity of the COVID negative report on the online portal ‘Air Suvidha’ before the scheduled travel, since a fake report will be liable for criminal prosecution.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya holds a meeting with health ministers of states and UTs to discuss scaling up the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country.

Four players of Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad have tested positive for COVID-9 and their replacements have been picked. Four players from the senior team have tested positive, they are Shams Mulani, Sairaj Patil, Prashant Solanki, and Sarfaraz Khan, a well-placed source told.

As many as 41 pregnant women have so far succumbed to COVID-19 in Kerala after the virus infection broke out in the southern state one and half years ago, state Health Minister Veena George said. The number of the COVID positive persons, who had committed suicide in the state, stood at 149, she told the state Assembly during the question hour. The minister was replying to a question in this regard raised by Congress legislator T J Vinod. “As per the figures reported from the districts, 41 pregnant women have succumbed to the disease in the state. Besides, 149 patients affected with the viral infection have committed suicide,” George said.

The number of Delta AY.4.2 variant of coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly in some foreign countries, has increased to seven in Karnataka with three more people found to be infected with it in the city. Speaking to reporters here, State Health and Family Welfare Commissioner D Randeep said, “There are seven cases (of AY.4.2) in the state — three in Bengaluru and four in different parts of the state.” Maintaining that the COVID-19 cases are under control in the state, Randeep said the government is making a negative RT-PCR test report, obtained 72 hours before arrival, mandatory for those coming from abroad to the state.

Children as young as 3 will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated and authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks. China becomes one of the very few countries in the world to start vaccinating children that young against the virus. Cuba, for one, has begun a vaccine drive for children as young as 2. The U.S. and many European countries allow COVID-19 shots down to age 12, though the U.S. is moving quickly toward opening vaccinations to 5- to 11-year-olds.

acebook and Instagram have removed from their platforms a live broadcast that Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro delivered in which he said people in the U.K. who have received two coronavirus vaccine doses are developing AIDS faster than expected. Facebook’s press office confirmed in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that the content was removed Sunday night because it violated Facebook policy regarding COVID-19 vaccines.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said actual vaccinations and not the “jumla (rhetoric) version” of the COVID-19 vaccine story would save lives and pointed out to the large number of people who are yet to be vaccinated in the country. He shared an article by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a newspaper that lauded Indian scientists and researchers on achieving the 100-core vaccination milestone but pointed out to the large number of people and children who are yet to be inoculated against COVID-19. “Jumla-version of the vaccine story won’t save lives. Actual vaccination will,” he said on Twitter using the hashtag “#DutyToVaccinate”.

Single-day recoveries surpassed fresh COVID-19 cases in Mizoram on Wednesday, as 1,059 more patients were discharged and 740 new infections reported, a health department official said. The tally rose to 1,18,949, while eight fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 422. The northeastern state now has 7,766 active cases, and 1,10,761 people have so far recovered from the disease.

When first wave of COVID-19 hit, the world didn’t have (Corona) medicines. We not only brought our own situation under control, met our own medicine requirements but also supplied medicines to over 150 nations, said Chemical & Fertilisers Min Mansukh Mandaviya.

– 13.45k new cases, 585 new deaths, 14.2k new recoveries, 1.16k dip in active cases

– New cases below 15k for the 3rd day

– Kerala reports 7.16k new cases, Maharashtra 1.2k, Tamil Nadu 1.09k

– Kerala reports 482 new deaths (including backlog), Maharashtra 32, Tamil Nadu 15, West Bengal 15

– 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 -1% (world average is +3%)

– 55.89 lakh new vaccinations. 103.53 crore total. 22.25 lakh received their first dose yesterday, 33.64 lakh second dose

– 13.05 lakh new tests. Test positivity rate: 1.03% (1.10% the previous day)

– Test positivity rate below 1.5% for the 11th day

– Test positivity rate (weekly average): Kerala 10.95%, Mizoram 9.25%, Sikkim 4.72%

New Zealand’s government said Tuesday it will expand a vaccine mandate to include thousands of workers who have close contact with their customers, including employees at restaurants, bars, gyms and hair salons. The changes will mean that about 40 per cent of all New Zealand workers will need to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or risk losing their jobs, up from about 15 per cent previously. Speaking with reporters, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she didn’t believe the new rules were an overreach of government power.

All fully-vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to leave the country without a special exemption from Nov. 1, authorities said on Wednesday, as Australia eases coronavirus restrictions amid a rise in vaccination rates.

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 7,92,784 on Tuesday with the addition of 27 cases, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,523, an official said. The recovery count stands at 7,82,162, leaving the state with 99 active cases, he said. With 52,182 samples being examined during the day, the number of tests in MP went up to 2,00,06,707, he added. An official release said 6,91,07,513 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in MP so far, including 1,36,819 on Tuesday.

The European Medicines Agency said that a booster dose of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine “can be considered” in people aged 18 and above. In a statement, the EU drug regulator said its analysis had shown that a third dose given of Moderna’s vaccine — which is usually given in a two-dose schedule — at least six months after the second dose, led to an increase in antibody levels in adults whose levels were waning. The booster dose consists of half the dose normally given to adults.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan expressed concerns over rising coronavirus cases and deaths registered in the state over the last 30 days to his West Bengal counterpart Narayan Swaroop Nigam. Bhushan flagged Kolkata as one of the primary districts of concern, where the daily average caseload and weekly positivity rate has been increasing in the last few weeks. This comes a day after Nigam told News18 that there is indeed an increase and all necessary steps are being taken to keep the virus from spreading further. READ MORE