People not wearing masks at Janpath market despite rise in Covid cases in Delhi. (Express/Praveen Khanna)Coronavirus News Live Updates Today:India reported 2,527 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am Saturday, marginally higher than 2,451 infections recorded a day before, the Union Health Ministry’s data showed. With 1,656 patients recovering from the infection, 838 active cases have been recorded across the country in the last 24 hours. The total number of active cases of the country now stands at 15,079. As many as 33 deaths were reported Saturday, taking the death toll to 5,22,149.
A total of 35,636 precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in those aged 18-59 years till 7 pm on Friday, taking the total precaution doses given in this age-group to 3,08,380 so far, according to the Union health ministry data.
As the fear of getting fined for not wearing masks set in after the DDMA order, people in the national capital have again started masking up in public places, especially at busy markets, railway stations, Metro, buses and ISBTs. The inspection by the Delhi Police and authorities at these places has also intensified again. Delhi Friday reported 1,042 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 4.64 per cent while two persons died due to the infection, according to data shared by the city health department on Friday.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday cited rising Covid-19 cases in Delhi and said people can continue wearing masks like him voluntarily though the state government had now made it optional. In Chennai, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that people who fail to wear masks in public places will be penalised Rs 500 and the district collectors have been asked to monitor them.
Thane district of Maharashtra recorded 11 new coronavirus positive cases, which took its infection count to 7,08,953, an official said on Saturday. These cases were reported on Friday, he said.
As no fresh fatality linked to the infection was recorded in the district during the day, its death toll remained unchanged at 11,889. The Covid-19 mortality rate of the district is 1.67 per cent, he added. (PTI)
All vaccinated travellers arriving in Singapore via air or sea checkpoints will no longer need to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test as restrictions for controlling the spread of the coronavirus are eased. The Ministry of Health (MOH) also announced that from July 1, all long-term pass holders aged 13 and above travelling to Singapore will have to be fully vaccinated before entering the country, unless they are medically ineligible for vaccines.
This is a change from the present rule, which states that long-term pass holders aged between 13 and 17 can travel into Singapore even if they are not fully vaccinated. The ministry said in a statement on Friday that it is now requiring vaccinations for this group "given the increased availability of vaccines globally for those aged between 13 and 17". (PTI)
Delhi's R-value, which indicates the spread of Covid-19, was recorded at 2.1 this week, implying that every infected person is infecting two others in the national capital, according to an analysis by IIT-Madras. The 'R' or reproductive value indicates the number of people an infected person can spread the disease to, and a pandemic is considered to end if this value goes below one.
The preliminary analysis by computational modelling was done by IIT-Madras' Department of Mathematics and Centre of Excellence for Computational Mathematics and Data Science headed by Prof Neelesh S Upadhye and Prof S Sundar. This was shared with PTI and according to it, Delhi's R-value this week was recorded at 2.1. India's R-value, at present, stands at 1.3, the analysis found. (PTI)
Punjab reported 31 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Friday, pushing the state's infection tally to 7,59,386, according to a medical bulletin issued here. No new Covid-related death was reported in the state, and the toll stands at 17,744, the bulletin showed.
Punjab has reported 293 cases of the coronavirus and two deaths due to the disease in April so far, it said. The number of active cases in the state is 145, the bulletin stated. Of the fresh cases, Mohali reported nine, and Hoshiarpur and Patiala five each. (PTI)
A common anti-inflammatory drug has been found to be an effective antiviral agent in the treatment of mild and moderate Covid-19 patients. The drug, indomethacin, is widely used to treat various types of inflammation-related conditions. The study on Covid patients, by IIT Madras, has been published in Nature Scientific Reports.
The drug: Indomethacin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug available as capsules and a liquid suspension, to be taken orally. According to the US National Library of Medicine, indomethacin works by stopping the body’s production of a substance that causes pain, fever, and inflammation. It is used to relieve moderate to severe pain, tenderness, swelling, and stiffness caused by various kinds of arthritis, and pain in the shoulder caused by inflammation. Read the full explainer here
Twenty five more students of IIT Madras tested positive for Covid-19 Saturday morning taking the tally to 55 till now. Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, who termed the spread as a small cluster, visited the campus alongside other health department officials to oversee the RT-PCR tests being carried out for those residing on the campus.
Gujarat added 11 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, taking the overall tally to 12,24,216, while no fresh death linked to the infection was reported in the state, the health department said. The death toll remained unchanged at 10,943. A release by the health department said 11 coronavirus patients recovered during the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative count of recoveries to 12,13,184.
Gujarat now has 98 active cases, it said. Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 12,24,216; new cases 11, deaths 10,943, discharged 12,13,184; active cases 98; people tested so far - figures not released. (PTI)
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday cited rising Covid-19 cases in Delhi and said people can continue wearing masks like him voluntarily though the state government had now made it optional. During the day, Delhi logged 1,042 COVID-19 cases at a positivity rate of 4.64 per cent, while two people died of the infection, taking the tally there to 18,72,699 and toll to 26,164.
This was a rise from the 965 cases and one death recorded a day earlier there. 'The danger of COVID-19 is not over completely. The situation in Delhi is changing. And once the virus spreads in one state, it won't take much time for it to spread in other states,' Pawar told reporters here. (PTI)
Unvaccinated children aged five to 11 travelling with a fully vaccinated adult will no longer need a COVID-19 test to enter Canada beginning Monday, the federal government said. Pre-entry tests will still be needed for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers over the age of 12 who are eligible to travel to Canada.
Children under five years of age don't currently require a COVID-19 test to enter Canada.Government officials announced several other small changes to ease restrictions for international travellers taking effect on Monday. Fully vaccinated travellers, and children under 12 accompanying them, will no longer need to provide their quarantine plans when they enter the country. (AP)
With 1,656 patients recovering from the infection, 838 active cases have been recorded across the country in the last 24 hours
India reported 2,527 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said. With 1,656 patients recovering from the infection, 838 active cases have been recorded across the country in the last 24 hours.
A UK patient with a severely weakened immune system had Covid-19 for almost a year and a half, scientists reported, underscoring the importance of protecting vulnerable people from the coronavirus. There’s no way to know for sure whether it was the longest-lasting Covid-19 infection because not everyone gets tested, especially on a regular basis like this case.
But at 505 days, “it certainly seems to be the longest reported infection,” said Dr. Luke Blagdon Snell, an infectious disease expert at the Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Read more
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