A health worker administers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a teenager in Surat. (PTI)Coronavirus News highlights: Over one crore children in the 15-18 group are now fully vaccinated in India, news agency ANI quoted Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya as saying. Earlier, the Rajya Sabha was informed that as many as 142,55,22,208 doses of Covishield, 23,85,86,688 doses of Covaxin and 12,09,124 doses of Sputnik V have been administered to eligible beneficiaries till February 3. As of February 3, 2022, a total of 89.73 crore (95.6 per cent) adult population aged 18 years and above have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 71.80 crore (76.5 per cent) have got both the doses, Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply.
Meanwhile, India reported 71,365 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Wednesday, taking the country’s active case load to 8,92,828. The number of daily cases on Wednesday is higher than Tuesday’s 67,597 new infections. Over 1.72 lakh people recovered from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 4,10,12,869 and India’s recovery rate to 96.7 per cent.
China said on that it was considering a “coordinated” arrangement for the return of foreign students, but remained non-committal on a definite timeline to allow them, including over 23,000 Indians, who are stuck back home for the past two years due to Beijing’s Covid-19 visa bans. To a question on when China will permit the stranded Indian students and what is hindering Beijing to allow them, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian merely reiterated what his ministry has been saying for over a year that Beijing wants an orderly return of the students as per the safety protocols of Covid-19.
A woman crosses the street in front of vehicles parked as part of the trucker protest. (AP)
Tamil Nadu recorded 3,917 new Covid-19 cases and 28 deaths today. Among districts, Chennai reported 742 fresh infections, followed by Coimbatore (726). Currently, the state has 77,607 active cases.
West Bengal reported 884 new Covid-19 cases and 28 deaths today. Of these, Kolkata registered 102 infections. The state has 15,395 active Covid patients at present.
Maharashtra logged 7,142 fresh Covid-19 cases and 92 deaths on Wednesday. The state currently has 82,893 active cases. 20,222 patients recovered from Covid-19 today. The Pune region recorded the highest fresh infections with 2398 cases, followed by Mumbai region (966). Mumbai city has 441 Covid-19 cases.
Karnataka reported 5,339 fresh Covid-19 cases today. Of these, 2,161 infections are from Bengaluru. With today's numbers, the positivity rate fell to 4.14 per cent in the state, and 3.55 per cent in Bengaluru. The state also recorded 48 deaths.
Delhi on Wednesday reported 1,317 fresh Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths, health bulletin said. While 62,556 samples were tested, today’s positivity rate stood at 2.11 per cent.
Daily COVID-19 cases in Kerala which saw a slight increase a day ago, again decreased with the state on Wednesday recording 23,253 fresh infections which raised the total caseload to 63,46,631.
The southern state had reported 29,471 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
Kerala today also reported 854 deaths which raised the total fatalities in Kerala to 60,793, according to a government release. (PTI)
Describing the new COVID-19 variants as the "wild card", a top World Health Organisation official has warned that the Omicron will not be the last one and the possibility of other new variants is really high.
During a question and answer session live streamed on WHO's social media platforms on Tuesday, the WHO COVID-19 Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove said that the global health agency is tracking four different versions of Omicron. (PTI)
Jharkhand continued to register a decline in fresh COVID-19 cases as 264 people tested positive for the infection on Wednesday, 16 less than the previous day, taking the state's caseload to 4,32,169, a health bulletin said. The death toll rose to 5,314 as one more patient succumbed to the infection in Dhanbad, it said. (PTI)
Over one crore children in the 15-18 group are now fully vaccinated in India, news agency ANI quoted Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya as saying.
Over one crore youngsters between 15-18 age group are now fully vaccinated against #COVID19: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2022
AIIMS, Delhi today announced that it would discontinue the routine Covid-19 testing before inpatient hospitalisation and surgeries.
Researchers in Canada have developed a computer model that simulates many variables affecting the transmission of COVID-19 to suggest the best ways to slow the spread of variants.
The model created by researchers at the University of Waterloo takes raw data already in use to forecast case numbers and hospitalisations, and then adds other factors, such as vaccination rates, mask use and lockdowns, and the number of breakthrough infections.
The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is based on Canadian province Ontario's recent experience with COVID-19 and data from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. PTI
The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to lift the night curfew amid a decline in Covid cases in the state, an official spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state decreased to 4,812 on February 8 from 9,672 on February 1, government data showed. The decision to lift the night curfew was taken during the cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur here on Wednesday, he added.
The state government imposed the night curfew on January 5 from 10 pm to 5 am and revised it on January 31 from 10 pm to 6 am to check the spread of COVID-19. However, there will be some restrictions on gatherings, the official said.
All social, religious, cultural, political and other congregations, including marriages and funerals, will be permitted with 50 percent of the capacity of both the indoor the and outdoor areas, he added. PTI
Only five hospitals in Afghanistan still offer Covid-19 treatment, with 33 others having been forced to close in recent months for lack of doctors, medicines and even heat. This comes as the economically devastated nation is hit by a steep rise in the number of reported coronavirus cases.
Afghanistan's health care system, which survived for nearly two decades almost entirely on international donor funding, has been devastated since the Taliban returned to power in August following the chaotic end to the 20-year US-led intervention. Afghanistan's economy crashed after nearly $10 billion in assets abroad were frozen and financial aid to the government was largely halted.
The health system collapse has only worsened the humanitarian crisis in the country. Roughly 90% of the population has fallen below the poverty level, and with families barely able to afford food, at least a million children are threatened with starvation. (AP)
Combining the antiviral remdesivir or molnupiravir with the experimental drug brequinar blocks the reproduction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, that causes Covid-19, in lung cells and in mice, according to a study.
The research, published recently in the journal Nature, suggests that these drugs are more potent when used in combination than individually.
Though they have not yet been tested in clinical trials, the combinations of drugs identified in the study have the potential to become very promising Covid-19 treatments, the researchers said. (PTI)
Canadian lawmakers have expressed increasing worry about the economic effects of disruptive demonstrations after the busiest border crossing between the US and Canada became partially blocked by truckers protesting vaccine mandates and other Covid-19 restrictions.
The blockade at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, prevented traffic from entering Canada while some US-bound traffic was still moving, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday, calling the bridge 'one of the most important border crossings in the world'. It carries 25 per cent of all trade between Canada and the United States.
Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said such blockades will have serious implications on the economy and supply chains. (AP)
The Covid-19 death toll climbed to 5,05,279 with 1,217 fresh fatalities, health ministry data updated at 8 am stated. The 1,217 new fatalities include 824 from Kerala and 57 from Maharashtra.
A total of 5,05,279 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,43,155 from Maharashtra, 59,939 from Kerala, 39,447 from Karnataka, 37,809 from Tamil Nadu, 26,010 from Delhi, 23,343 from Uttar Pradesh and 20,884 from West Bengal.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and its partner Canadian biotech firm SaNOtize Research launched Nitric Oxide nasal spray for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19, who have a high risk of progression of the disease. The partners have introduced the product in India under the brand name FabiSpray.
The Mumbai-based drug firm had earlier received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for the Nitric Oxide nasal spray (NONS) as part of the accelerated approval process.
FabiSpray is designed to kill the COVID-19 virus in the upper airways. (PTI)
Amid trucker protests, Ottawa-based High Commission of India issued an advisory and started a helpline number for Indian citizens who are in Canada or scheduled to visit the country.
Over 1.72 lakh people recovered from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 4,10,12,869 and India's recovery rate to 96.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the daily and weekly positivity rates stand at 4.54 percent and 7.57 percent respectively.
India reported 71,365 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Wednesday, taking the country's active case load to 8,92,828. The active cases are now 2.11 percent of the total Covid-19 cases.
The number of daily cases on Wednesday is higher than Tuesday's 67,597 new infections.