Omicron Coronavirus Live News, Coronavirus Vaccination Statistics Latest Updates, Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in India Recent Updates, Covid Restrictions Live Updates:
Citing the academic journal Science, Congress leader P Chidambaram took to twitter on Thursday and said the official number of deaths due to Covid-19 in India is suspect. The reputed journal estimates that the Covid toll in India between “1-6-2020 and 1-7-2021 was 3,200,000 – eight times the official death toll of 400,000”, Chidambaram said on Twitter. “Of these deaths, 2,700,000 occurred in the months of April, May and June 2021,” he added.
Speaking of official numbers, India’s Covid case tally rose to 4,29,45,160 with 6,561 people testing positive for the infection in a day while active cases declined to 77,152, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll has climbed to 5,14,388 with 142 more people succumbing to the disease, the official data suggested. India has recorded less than one lakh daily COVID-19 cases.
As per a scientific brief released by the World Health Organization on Wednesday, global prevalence of anxiety and depression in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased by 25%. The brief is based on a comprehensive review of existing evidence about the Covid-19 impact on mental health. It shows that the pandemic has affected the mental health of youngsters and they are at risk of self-harming behaviour. It also says that women have been more severely impacted than men and that people with pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma, cancer and heart disease, were more likely to develop symptoms of mental disorders.
“The information we have now about the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s mental health is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This is a wake-up call to all countries to pay more attention to mental health and do a better job of supporting their populations’ mental health.”
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Coronavirus Omicron Live News:
South Korean star Park Seo-joon, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, has “fully recovered his health” after his release from quarantine last week. The 33-year-old actor, known for Oscar winning film “Parasite”, and K-dramas such as “Itaewon Class” and “What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?”, left for Hungary on Thursday to shoot his new movie “Dream” (working title). According to Korean website Soompi, Park's agency Awesome ENT said the actor is planning to return to Korea after wrapping up filming in March. “Park Seo Joon left for Hungary this morning to shoot the movie 'Dream'. After being released from quarantine last week, he fully recovered his health, so the filming is unlikely to be disrupted. (PTI)
A study conducted in urban slums of Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Telangana revealed that 67 per cent of girls attended online classes and 56 per cent did not get time for recreational activities during the Covid-induced lockdown in 2020. The study by NGO “Save The Children” in February last year also found that 68 per cent of girls, aged between 10 and 18 years, faced challenges in accessing health and nutrition services in these states. Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and Telangana represented the four geographical zones — east, west, north and south. (PTI)
Hong Kong's subway operator, bus and ferry companies, and one of its biggest supermarket chains, are cutting back services due to a worsening COVID-19 outbreak that has seen daily infections explode this year. Authorities reported a new daily record of 56,827 new infections and 144 deaths in the Chinese-ruled city on Thursday, an exponential rise from around 100 in early February and a clean three-month streak of zero cases at the end of 2021. (Reuters)
Hong Kong reported a record daily high of 56,827 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday and 144 deaths, as a worsening outbreak overwhelms healthcare facilities and sees authorities scramble to contain cases in the Asian financial centre. (Reuters)
A World Health Organization (WHO) panel on Wednesday backed the use of Merck & Co Inc's COVID-19 antiviral pill for high-risk patients. The expert panel conditionally recommended the pill, molnupiravir, for patients with non-severe disease who are at high risk of hospitalisation, such as the immunocompromised, the unvaccinated, older people and those with chronic diseases. (Reuters)
The union territory of Puducherry added seven new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 1,65,738, a senior Health department official said on Thursday. The seven cases were identified at the end of the examination of 608 samples and were spread over Puducherry (five) and Karaikal (two), Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release here. The other two outlying regions-Mahe and Yanam- however, did not report any fresh infections, he added. (PTI)
Ladakh reported 16 fresh Covid cases in a day which took the tally of infections in the Union Territory to 28,061 while the number of active cases has declined to 138, officials said on Thursday. No death was reported in the Union Territory in the last 24 hours. It has so far recorded 228 Covid-related deaths of which 168 were reported in Leh and 60 in Kargil, officials said. (PTI)
Limited supplies remain a problem, but experts say other challenges now include unpredictable deliveries, weak health care systems and vaccine hesitancy. Most countries with low vaccination rates are in Africa. As of late February, 13 countries in Africa have fully vaccinated less than 5% of their populations, according to Phionah Atuhebwe, an officer for the World Health Organisation's regional office for Africa. Other countries with extremely low vaccination rates include Yemen, Syria, Haiti and Papua New Guinea. (AP)
New Zealand police said Thursday they will review hours of cellphone footage taken by themselves, the media and the public to identify lawbreakers, while crews begin the cleanup of Parliament's grounds after a protest there against coronavirus vaccine mandates ended in violence. A day earlier, police moved in on several hundred protesters who had been camped out on the grounds and surrounding streets for more than three weeks. As protesters retreated, they set fire to tents, mattresses and chairs, and hurled stones and wood at officers. (AP)
Hong Kong's ambition to become a hub for green and sustainable business is under threat as its persistent tough border controls against COVID-19 make the task of attracting senior specialists harder for financial institutions. Bankers and advisers said the risks of Beijing's “zero-COVID” policy, which has already caused a talent crunch in the Chinese territory, are growing as most other nations cut back coronavirus curbs. Flight bans, lengthy and expensive quarantine norms, limited access to public services and the threat of separation from family members who test positive have all spooked potential talent. (Reuters)
A South Korean pharmaceutical company manufacturing Russia's COVID-19 vaccine says it's bracing for business complications as the U.S.-led West escalates sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. Recently expanded U.S. sanctions include targeted measures against the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund run by a close ally of President Vladmir Putin that globally markets the Sputnik vaccines. Kim Gi-young, an official from Seoul-based GL Rapha, said the sanctions won't directly impede its production of the shots as the measures aren't aimed at essential medical supplies. However, the company is concerned about potential problems rising from the financial side as South Korea joins the United States and many European countries in a move to cut off key Russian banks from global payment systems. “Right now, we are watching how the situation develops,” Kim said. (AP)
It is still too early for China to consider easing its stringent coronavirus restrictions, with the highly infectious Omicron strain still capable of causing large numbers of deaths, said Liang Wannian, head of an expert group on COVID-19 prevention. Describing China's so-called 'dynamic clearance' strategy as a “magic weapon”, Liang said in an interview with China's state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday that “coexisting” with the virus was still not an option. He said Omicron was still significantly more deadly than influenza and capable of putting great strain on the country's medical resources. (Reuters)
Japan set to extend coronavirus limits, ease border rules (Reuters)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sought to cool simmering resentment over the slow unlocking of the country's pandemic restrictions on Thursday, a day after police cleared a weeks-long Canada-style protest outside parliament. Police in riot gear battled protesters late into the night on Wednesday, finally bringing an end to the occupation which, despite acts of violence and extremist elements, helped rally some support for its calls to end pandemic restrictions. In a special session of parliament to discuss the protest, the most violent in decades in the normally peaceful city, Ardern promised things would change, but gave no timeframe for easing curbs. “Our people are coming home. Soon, tourists will return. Vaccine passes, mandates, restrictions – they will all change. There is reason to feel hopeful,” she said. (Reuters)
➡️ More than 178.48 Cr vaccine doses provided to States/UTs.
➡️ More than 15.19 Cr doses still available with States/UTs to be administered.https://t.co/InYMLmsTCT pic.twitter.com/fn68HrnI6l
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 3, 2022
In view of less positivity rate #covid16 cases, the expert committee has advised resuming economic activities with 100% capacity. The govt will take the decision by tomorrow & will resume the activities including casinos: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant (ANI)
With the addition of 34 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 7,08,366, an official said on Thursday. These new cases were reported on Wednesday, he said. The death toll remained unchanged at 11,876, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in the district stood at 1.67 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,63,398, while the death toll stands at 3,392, another official said. (PTI)
Australia was fully open to vaccinated travellers after Western Australia on Thursday became the last state to lift border restrictions. Western Australia, which covers one third of the nation's land area, closed its borders to most international and interstate travelers in 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the state lifted restrictions on Thursday four months after Sydney began its staged reopening of quarantine-free travel and more than week after all vaccinated tourists became eligible for visas. (AP)
Hong Kong transport operators, supermarkets cut services as COVID cases surge (Reuters)
Australia was fully open to vaccinated travellers after Western Australia on Thursday became the last state to lift border restrictions. Western Australia, which covers one third of the nation's land area, closed its borders to most international and interstate travellers in 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the state lifted restrictions on Thursday four months after Sydney began its staged reopening of quarantine-free travel and more than week after all vaccinated tourists became eligible for visas. (AP)
COVID-19-related restrictions on people's movements and interactions may be linked to a sharp decline in cases of mosquito-borne dengue fever in 2020, offering new insight into how it might be controlled, according to a study. The study in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal found nearly 750,000 fewer cases of dengue than were expected occurred globally in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began. The study's results are surprising, senior author Oliver Brady said, because they show a significant drop in dengue cases when people could not freely leave their homes to visit other places, such as schools. Dengue is not transmitted human to human, but only by the Aedes mosquito, which bites during the day. However, scientists had previously thought that most transmission happened in and around homes, rather than elsewhere. (Reuters)
