Gurugram: A healthworker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a beneficiary at a vaccination centre, in Gurugram, Monday, May 9, 2022. (PTI Photo)Covid-19 live updates: India witnessed a slight dip in new cases, with 2,827 new Coronavirus infections registered on Thursday. Meanwhile, 24 patients succumbed to the infection since yesterday.
PM Narendra Modi is set to participate in the second Global Covid Virtual Summit on May 12 at the invitation of US President Joe Biden. During the opening session, PM Modi will deliver his remarks on the theme — ‘Preventing Pandemic Fatigue and Prioritizing Preparedness’, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The European Union will no longer require masks to be worn at airports and on planes starting next week amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions across the bloc, authorities said Wednesday. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it hoped the joint decision, made with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, would mark “a big step forward in the normalisation of air travel” for passengers and crews, AP reported.
A healthcare worker collects a swab sample from a passenger for Covid-19 testing amid a surge in coronavirus cases, at a railway station in Prayagraj, Tuesday. (PTI)
With 2,827 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 4,31,13,413, while the active cases dipped to 19,067, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The death toll climbed to 5,24,181 with 24 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was 98.74 per cent, the ministry said.
A decrease of 427 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. (PTI)
President Joe Biden will appeal for a renewed international commitment to attacking Covid-19 as he convenes the second global Covid-19 summit at a time when faltering resolve at home jeopardizes that global response.
Eight months after he used the first such summit to announce an ambitious pledge to donate 1.2 billion vaccine doses to the world, the urgency of the US and other nations to respond has waned. Momentum on vaccinations and treatments has faded even as new, more infectious variants rise and billions across the globe remain unprotected.
Congress has refused to meet Biden’s request to provide another $22.5 billion in what he has called critically needed aid funding. Read more.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday participate in the second global virtual summit on Covid-19, being hosted by US President Joe Biden, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. The MEA said the summit intends to galvanise new actions to address the challenges of the pandemic and build a stronger global health security architecture. Modi participated in the first global virtual summit on Covid-19, hosted by Biden on September 22 last year. Read more.
Delhi reported 970 fresh Covid cases and one more death on Wednesday while the positivity rate declined to 3.34 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here. It is for the first time since April 15 that the positivity rate in Delhi has gone down below four per cent.
The city had recorded 366 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero death on April 15, while the positivity rate was at 3.95 per cent. With the new cases, Delhi's Covid-19 infection tally has risen to 18,97,141 while the death toll reached 26,184, according to the latest health bulletin. As many as 29,037 tests to detect Covid-19 were conducted in Delhi a day before, it stated. Delhi reported 1,118 fresh coronavirus cases and one death on Tuesday, while the positivity rate was 4.38 per cent. (PTI)
West Bengal reported 25 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, officials said. The positivity rate dipped to 0.27 per cent from 0.68 per cent on Tuesday. The new cases were detected after testing 9,303 samples, they said.
There are 395 active cases in the state at present, which was 22 less than Tuesday's count as more people recovered in the last 24 hours. The state reported 47 new recoveries. West Bengal has so far reported 20,18,671 Covid-19 cases. The death toll remained at 21,203 with no new fatalities. (PTI)
More than two years after a deadly strain of coronavirus was first identified in the central city of Wuhan, China remains locked in a Covid crisis.
Around 400 million people are currently thought to be living under some form of lockdown across the country. One of China's largest cities, Shanghai, has been paralysed for the past month, with many of its residents hemmed in by hastily erected metal fences. The capital, Beijing, is now striving to avoid a similar fate.
The extraordinary story of China's ongoing, and increasingly desperate, struggle against Covid-19 combines hubris at its own early public health successes with a failure to sufficiently vaccinate its elderly people, and is fuelled by rising anti-Western sentiment over the last five years. The result is that China now faces a dilemma: either the high numbers of deaths and overwhelmed health services that would result from a rampant virus, or the rapidly mounting social and economic costs of prolonged lockdowns and stay-at-home orders nationwide. (PTI)
A United Nations Weibo post on the World Health Organization chief's comments that China's zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy is not sustainable was removed from the Chinese social media platform on Wednesday morning shortly after being published.
WeChat, another Chinese social media platform, disabled the sharing function of a similar post by the United Nations. Addressing a media briefing on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We don't think that it is sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus and what we now anticipate in the future."
His remarks were posted in Chinese by the United Nations on its social media accounts. The United Nations and Weibo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The item on WeChat carried the explanation: "This article has been prohibited from sharing because it has violated relevant laws and regulation." Tedros's remarks generated much buzz on China's heavily censored internet, as a prolonged lockdown in Shanghai and increasing curbs on mobility in Beijing and other cities caused mounting frustration among people. (Reuters)
China stocks rose on Wednesday as investors took comfort in signs of lower domestic Covid-19 infections, while U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to consider eliminating Trump-era tariffs on Beijing further listed risk appetite.
The CSI300 index was up 2% at 4,000.00 points, by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.6% to 3,085.43 points. The Hang Seng index added 1.7% to 19,971.18 points. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 2.4% to 6,818.91.
Shanghai said on Wednesday half the city had achieved "zero-Covid" status, but uncompromising restrictions had to remain in place under a national policy. Meanwhile, new infections detected in Beijing dropped to the lowest level since April 26. The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday China's zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy is not sustainable given what is now known of the virus. "Over the past week, the Covid situation has continued to improve at the national level," said Nomura in a note. "However, the turning point for economic fundamentals and most financial assets in coming weeks (or months) depends mainly on Beijing's stance on zero-Covid strategy instead of daily cases." (Reuters)
With 2,897 coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's tally of cases rose to 4,31,10,586, even as active cases have decreased to 19,494, according to Union health ministry data updated on Tuesday. The death toll has climbed to 5,24,157 with 54 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.05 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.74 per cent, it said. The data showed that a decrease of 143 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 0.61 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.74 per cent, according to the health ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,25,66,935, while the case fatality rate has been recorded at 1.22 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the Covid-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 190.67 crore, the ministry said. India's Covid-19 tally had crossed two crore cases on May 4 and three crore cases on June 23 last year. (PTI)
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Tuesday he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms. Via Twitter, the billionaire philanthropist said he will isolate until he is again healthy. “I'm fortunate to be vaccinated and boosted and have access to testing and great medical care,” Gates wrote. The Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the most influential private foundation in the world, with an endowment of about $65 billion. (PTI)
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