Coronavirus LIVE: Bharat Biotech's vaccine gets nod for phase 3 trials

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,625,197 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 796,000, Karnataka 782,773, Tamil Nadu 700,000 and UP 463,858. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE updates

8:49 AM

Coronavirus update: India's cumulative Positivity Rate is 7.81% and the daily figure is 3.8%

Several states/UTs are exhibiting Positivity Rate higher than the national average indicating a need for aggressive and widespread testing: Ministry of Health

8:45 AM

Coronavirus update: ICMR issues advisory for use of Feluda paper strip test

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday issued an advisory for the use of indigenously developed Feluda paper strip test, which is based onCRISPR-Cas9 technology for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, by the laboratories.

 

The paper-strip uses cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in less than an hour.

 

As claimed by the manufacturer, no further RT-PCR based confirmation is required for samples that are confirmed as positive or negative by the CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 test, the advisory stated.

8:41 AM

India crosses 100 million-mark in conducting coronavirus tests: ICMR

India has crossed the 10 crore-mark in conducting tests for the detection of Covid-19 as on Thursday with an average testing of more than 10 lakh samples per day in the last 17 days, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.

 

Till now, 74,000 tests per million population have been conducted.

 

India has conducted last 5 crore sample testing in only 45 days, LokeshSharma, scientist and media coordinator at ICMR said. Read on...

8:37 AM

Global coronavirus update: Moscow's Covid-19 death toll rises to 6,249

Moscow has registered 62 deaths of patients infected with Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the Russian capital's death toll to 6,249, the city's coronavirus response centre said in a statement on Thursday.

 

"Another 62 patients, who were diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus infection, died in Moscow," the centre said.

 

In the previous day, 66 people infected with the coronavirus died in Moscow.

8:10 AM

Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to be tested on 100 Indian volunteers

The Russian Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 will be tested in India on 100 volunteers, the Indian Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's Drug Controller General (DCGI) told Sputnik on Thursday.

 

DCGI has granted permission to pharmaceutical giant Dr Reddy's Laboratories for conducting tests. However, the date and time of the test will be determined by the company.

 

Sputnik quoted the organisation as saying that the vaccine will be tested in the second phase of its clinical trials before moving on to phase 3.

8:06 AM

French PM Macron says 2nd coronavirus wave is here, vastly extends curfew

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Thursday a vast extension of the nightly curfew that is intended to curb the spiraling spread of the coronavirus, saying the second wave is here.

 

The curfew imposed in eight regions of France last week, including Paris and its suburbs, is being extended starting Friday at midnight to 38 regions and Polynesia, Castex said. It is to last six weeks before a review, he said. Read on...

8:03 AM

Assam coronavirus update: 508 Covid-19 cases, seven more deaths reported

7:57 AM

Major airline groups push for end to coronavirus quarantines, travel bans

The United States, state governments and some foreign countries should replace quarantines and travel bans on airline passengers with Covid-19 testing of travelers before departure and upon arrival, airline and business groups said on Thursday.

 

They said the move would boost U.S. international air travel, which is down 78% year-over-year for the most recent seven-day period, according to airline industry data.

 

The groups, which include the International Air Transport Association, Airlines for America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, airline unions and the U.S. Travel Association, called on the Trump administration, state governors and international partners "to pursue a risk-based and data-driven approach to Covid-19 testing which would obviate the need for quarantines and travel bans so that the travel network can be safely re-opened."

 

The groups added that "travel quarantines are decimating our industry."

7:56 AM

Worldwide coronavirus update: France reports new daily record in Covid-19 cases with over 41,000 cases

France on Thursday reported a new record rise in Covid-19 cases with 41,622 new infections registered over the past 24 hours alone, according to figures from the Sante Publique agency heading the coronavirus response in the country.

 

This takes the total number of Covid-19 patients to 999,043.

 

The death toll from the disease has increased by 165 since the last update, taking the total to 34,210, according to the Sante Publique. Read on...

7:54 AM

Coronavirus update: ICMR issues advisory for use of Feluda paper strip test

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday issued an advisory for the use of indigenously developed Feluda paper strip test, which is based onCRISPR-Cas9 technology for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, by the laboratories.

 

The paper-strip uses cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in less than an hour. Read on...

7:47 AM

Need to enumerate, identify and register migrant workers: Sandeep Chachra

We could have planned our response to the pandemic better, says Sandeep Chachra, executive director of ActionAid Association. Click here to read his interview with Business Standard's Uddalok Bhattacharya, as he speaks of the lockdown, the tasks ahead and the changes in the foreign contribution law. 

7:45 AM

Kolkata prepares for scaled-down Durga puja amid Covid-19 disruptions

“The buffet table has been laid and people are hungry. The challenge will be in keeping them from getting to the food,” said the organiser of a prominent puja in South Kolkata. Going by the footfall so far, his fears may seem unfounded, though.

 

Perhaps the organiser was going by the queue, which stretched some 100 metres, in front of his pandal on Sunday. The decoration, the theme — all significantly toned down from last year — were still getting finishing touches. But some over-enthusiastic visitors kept pleading for a glimpse of the preparations. Finally, the lights had to be switched off rudely. “It was the only way to ward them off,” said the organiser. Read on...

7:28 AM

Maharashtra coronavirus update: 832 new Covid-19 cases in Pune district

Pune district reported 832 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 3,17,608 on Thursday, a health official said.

 

With 41 fresh fatalities, the death toll in the district reached 7,600 he added.

 

Also, 818 patients were discharged from hospitals in the district in the last 24 hours," the official said.

 

"Of the 832 cases, 369 were detected in the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, which has recorded 1,58,756 cases so far. Read on...

7:16 AM

Coronavirus treatment: US gives full approval for antiviral remdesivir drug

US regulators have given full approval for the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat the Covid-19 patients in hospitals.

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Veklury, the drug's brand name, cut the recovery time on average by five days during clinical trials.

 

"Veklury is the first treatment for Covid-19 to receive FDA approval," the FDA said in a statement, the BBC reported on Friday.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week remdesivir had little to no effect on patients' survival..

7:13 AM

Learning to live with coronavirus? We’re dying with it: Joe Biden during US Presidential debate