Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi may see 15K new cases per day in winters, says NCDC
Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,480,489 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 734,427, Karnataka 668,652, Tamil Nadu 635,855 and UP 420,937. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE update
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WHO awaits China's nod on list of experts to probe origin of coronavirus
The World Health Organization (WHO) has given Beijing a list of global experts to be part of the international investigation team to be sent to China to probe the origin of the coronavirus and is awaiting its approval, according to a media report on Thursday.
In May, the annual meeting of World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the Geneva-based WHO currently headed by India, passed a unanimous resolution to probe the origin of the virus. China also backed the resolution.
In August, a two-member team from the WHO which visited China completed the groundwork for the probe into the animal source and reservoirs of the COVID-19 which first emerged in Wuhan in December last year and later became a global pandemic, creating the worst health crisis across the world.
Indian-origin researchers use bovine adenovirus to develop Covid vax
A team of Indian-origin researchers in the US is working to develop a unique Covid-19 vaccine that uses a bovine adenovirus that will protect all segments of the population, especially older adults.
Bovine Adenovirus, also known as BAdV, is a member of the Adenoviridae family that causes disease in cattle.
"Adenoviral vectors have emerged as a promising gene-delivery platform for a variety of therapeutic and vaccine purposes during the last two decades," said study author Suresh Kuchipudi from Penn State University in the US.
Amit Shah appeals to everyone to follow PM's public movement against Covid-19
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to everyone to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public movement against Covid-19 and said a global pandemic can be fought only when all the countrymen come together.
Shah also said there are only three mantras to protect ourselves from the coronavirus -- wearing a mask, practising two meters of social distancing and washing hands frequently -- as suggested by the prime minister.
Covid-19: UP, Bihar fared better than Delhi, Maharashtra
The analysis of Covid-19 shows rich states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka have done worse than poor states like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan, according to a research by State Bank of India.
The report said that on an average, rich states having better health infrastructure have done worse than poor states having even poor health infrastructure.
The results are significant and shows that states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka have badly managed the Covid-19 situation as per SBI model estimated number of cases after taking population into account are less than actual cases.
Restrictions for rallies relaxed, masks mandatory: MP minister
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday said in its fresh set of Covid-19 guidelines, the Union Home Ministry has relaxed the restriction on gathering of more than 100 people at political rallies.
Speaking to reporters here, the minister, however, said use of masks, sanitisers and social distancing will continue as before.
"As per the Union Home Ministry, the restriction on gathering of more than 100 persons at a political rally has been relaxed. But use of masks, sanitisers and social distancing will continue as usual," Mishra said.
Govt to map out cold chain storage facilities for Covid-19 vaccine delivery
With the likelihood of a vaccine against coronavirus being available within months, the government has begun a massive exercise to map out cold chain storage facilities to ensure the vaccine is delivered quickly across the country.
A national expert group is talking to public and private sector entities in the pharmaceutical sector, food processing industry and agro businesses as well as food delivery start-ups such as Swiggy and Zomato to identify cold storages or fridges at the taluka level that can stock and distribute the vaccine, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions said.
A draft scheme for the vaccine distribution is likely to be released around the middle of next week, they said.
UP CM inaugurates UP's biggest oxygen plant to aid medical supplies
Covid-19: Karnataka CM to hold meeting to discuss school reopening issue
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Primary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss the reopening of school amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the Chief Minister's Office, there will be no sudden decision to reopen schools, and a final decision will be taken only after the assigned committee submits a report with suggestions to reopen schools.
The meeting will further discuss how district administrations are handling the coronavirus.
Symptoms poor marker for Covid-19 infections, UK study finds
Nearly 86 per cent of people who tested positive for Covid-19 during lockdown did not have any of the known coronavirus symptoms such as cough, fever and loss of taste or smell, a new UK study revealed on Thursday.
The University College London (UCL) authors behind the analysis, published in Clinical Epidemiology', conclude that a more widespread testing programme is therefore needed to catch silent transmission.
The fact that so many people who tested positive were asymptomatic on the day of a positive test result calls for a change to future testing strategies. More widespread testing will help to capture silent' transmission and potentially prevent future outbreaks, said Professor Irene Petersen, from UCL Epidemiology & Health Care.
Europe buys 500,000 courses of Gilead's remdesivir amid supply worries
35 states/UTs conducting more than 140 COVID-19 tests/day/million population; positivity rate at 8.19%: Govt
Thirty-five states and Union territories in the country are performing more than 140 COVID-19 tests per day per million population, while 22 states and UTs have Covid-19 positivity rate less than the national average, the health ministry said on Thursday.
The cumulative positivity rate stands at 8.19 per cent, it said.
The national average of Covid-19 tests per day per million population is 865, the ministry said, asserting that the country has demonstrated an exponential increase in the Covid-19 testing infrastructure since January 2020.
"As evidence has revealed, higher number of testing on a sustained basis has aided in bringing down the positivity rate. The sharp decline in national cumulative positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of infection is being contained," the ministry underlined.
The country's testing capacities have multiplied manifolds. More than 15 lakh samples can be tested every day, it said.
European Commission reaches deal for remdesivir
The European Commission says it has sealed a deal with pharmaceutical company Gilead to buy 500,000 treatment courses of remdesivir.
No treatment has yet proved able to prevent serious illness after a coronavirus infection but the antiviral drug also known by its commercial name Veklury has helped some Covid-19 patients recover faster.
Hard-hit Peru's costly bet on cheap Covid-19 antibody tests
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the harried health officials of Peru faced a quandary. They knew molecular tests for COVID-19 were the best option to detect the virus yet they didn't have the labs, the supplies, or the technicians to make them work.
But there was a cheaper alternative -- antibody tests, mostly from China, that were flooding the market at a fraction of the price and could deliver a positive or negative result within minutes of a simple fingerstick.
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First Published: Oct 08 2020 | 6:21 AM IST
