Covid LIVE: Kerala sees 26,701 new cases, 74 deaths in last 24 hours

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8:44 AM

UK records another 42,076 coronavirus cases

Another 42,076 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 6,904,969, according to official figures released Friday.

 

The country also reported another 121 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 133,041. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

8:44 AM

Number of COVID-19 cases in Brazil rises by 25,565

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 25,565 to 20,856,060 within the past 24 hours, the national Ministry of Health said on late Friday.

 

According to the ministry, the death toll has risen by 756 to 582,670 people within the same period of time.

 

More than 19.82 million patients have recovered since the start of the outbreak.

8:36 AM

Florida deaths at record

Florida reported 2,345 additional Covid-19 deaths in its latest weekly report, the most ever in a similar period.

 

Kids were much more likely to be hospitalized as the delta variant became widespread, two studies from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday found. But children did not appear to contract more serious illness, requiring intensive care, for example, than in previous viral surges.

 

8:20 AM

Three doses of Covid vaccine will offer full protection: Dr Anthony Fauci

Three doses of the vaccine against Covid can likely confer full protection, US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said, as the US is soon expected to officially roll out the booster dose.

 

There was good reason to believe that a third dose "will actually be durable, and if it is durable, then you're going to have very likely a three-dose regimen being the routine regimen", the CNN quoted him as saying at a briefing on Thursday.

 

8:19 AM

Ladakh reports 6 new COVID-19 cases, 9 recoveries

Ladakh recorded six fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the tally of infections to 20,573, while the count of active cases in the union territory stood at 68, officials said.

 

Ladakh has registered 207 Covid-related deaths so far -- 149 in Leh and 58 in Kargil.

 

Nine more patients were cured and discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recoveries to 20,298 till date, the officials said.

8:14 AM

Efforts grow to stamp out use of parasite drug ivermectin for COVID-19 in US

Health experts and medical groups are pushing to stamp out the growing use of a decades-old parasite drug to treat COVID-19, warning that it can cause harmful side effects and that there's little evidence it helps.

 

With a fourth wave of infections, more Americans are turning to ivermectin, a cheap drug used to kill worms and other parasites in humans and animals.