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India Coronavirus Dispatch: Study finds virus mutating faster in Bengaluru
The link between obesity and Covid fatality rate, half of Hyderabad's population have antibodies, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19
India reported 18,327 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,11,92,088, according to a report in the Scroll. The country saw 108 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 1,57,656, according to central health ministry data. The active caseload is at 1,80,304, while the total recoveries have surged to 1,08,54,128. As many as 1,94,97,704 people have been inoculated since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 14,92,656 received their shots on Friday. Read more here
Covid-19 virus mutating faster in Bengaluru, reveals IISC study
The coronavirus is mutating at a faster pace in the southern city of Bengaluru than in the rest of the country, a report in The Hindu said that cites a study by the city-based Indian Insitute of Science. The researchers found 27 mutations in three isolates of SARS-CoV-2 with over 11 mutations per sample. This compares to a national average of 8.4 mutations per sample and a global average of 7.3. Read more here
Half of Hyderabad, Secunderabad's population have antibodies: Study
More than half of the population of Telangana's twin cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits are indicated to have antibodies against Covid-19, a report in The Hindu said. The report cited a new sero-surveillance survey carried out by city-based scientific institutions. About 54 per cent of the population has either been exposed or infected by coronavirus, according to the survey, whose sample size is about 9,000 participants. The study was conducted by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL). Read more here
Strong link between obesity and Covid fatality rate: Study
The fatality rate from the Covid-19 pandemic is about 10 times higher in countries where half or more of the population is obese, an article in Al Jazeera said that cites a report from the World Obesity Federation. The report titled "COVID-19 and Obesity: The 2021 Atlas" shows that being obese is a “highly significant predictor” of developing complications after contracting the disease such as hospitalisation, intensive care and mechanical ventilation. Being overweight is also a “predictor of death” from the disease the report said. Read more here
Covid protocols in place to control size of crowd at Kumbh Mela
Several curbs have been put in place to control the size of the crowd at this year's Kumbh Mela that will be celebrated on the ghats of Ganga in Haridwar next month, a report in The Indian Express said. RT-PCR test results are mandatory to be allowed entry into the Mela area. Devotees will also have to compulsorily register themselves on the Kumbh Mela portal before embarking on their travel. Only after verification of uploaded documents, the devotees will be issued an e-pass to enter the Mela area. Read more here
Colleges in Mumbai return to online classes as cases surge again
Weeks after colleges started to take baby steps towards reopening campuses, the recent spike in Covid-19 cases has compelled the institutes to put off such plans, a report in the Hindustan Times said. While there were no clear instructions from the government, some institutes had opted to restart physical practical sessions for students in their final year. Some had also scheduled a mix of online and offline preliminary examinations for their final year students. Such plans have now been put on hold and only online lectures are being held. Read more here
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