Covid LIVE: Govt suggests night curfew to Kerala, Maha in areas of high TPR

Coronavirus India update: Kerala recorded 31,445 fresh Covid-19 cases and 215 fatalities in a day. Meanwhile, Maharashtra reported 5,031 cases and 216 deaths. Stay tuned for corona-related news

4:14 PM

58% of country's 46,000 new cases from Kerala: Govt

3:59 PM

1,539 new cases in Andhra

3:07 PM

Amid Covid surge, Centre to virtually meet officials of Kerala, Maharashtra

1:27 PM

China study tracks how quickly Covid spreads

People infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 are most contagious two days before and three days after they develop symptoms, according to a study in China. The research, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, also found that infected individuals were more likely to be asymptomatic if they contracted the virus from a primary case -- the first infected person in an outbreak -- who was also asymptomatic, PTI reported.

1:05 PM

Arunachal Pradesh daily new cases up by 116

Arunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 tally rose to 52,525 after 116 more people tested positive for the disease in 24 hours, a civil servant told PTI. The Covid-19 death toll in the state remained at 259, as no new fatality was reported.

12:45 PM

China's says it has administered 1.988 bn vaccine doses in total

China administered about 12.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines on Aug. 25, bringing the total number of doses administered to 1.988 billion, data from the National Health Commission showed on Thursday.

12:12 PM

As Covid-19 second wave wanes, credit card spending rises in India

Indians are spending on their credit cards like before the coronavirus pandemic hit the country late 2020 as restrictions are eased on public movement and businesses, shows data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 

Credit card spending dipped to Rs 52,131 crore in May this year. It increased to Rs 62,746 crore in June—a number higher than in February but marginally below levels seen in January. READ ON...

11:16 AM

Odisha reports 849 new Covid-19 cases

Odisha on Thursday reported 849 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours, as per a release by the state government.

 

721 patients have recovered, while 66 people succumbed to the infection during the same time duration.

 

The total number of active cases in the state stands at 8,288 and total fatalities due to the infection are 7,628.

 

9,88,090 people have recovered from the infection, the release further said.

10:56 AM

Coronavirus update: The situation in Kerala is grave, says Union Minister V Muraleedharan

The situation in Kerala is grave. The state, instead of using scientific methods to contain the spread, is trying to use pandemic for political objectives. I urge it to follow ICMR guidelines. Kerala's home quarantine (plan) has miserably failed: Union Minister V Muraleedharan

10:30 AM

Oil prices fall first day in four as virus concerns return

Oil fell on Thursday for the first session this week as renewed concerns about demand recovery amid rising Covid-19 infections cut short a three-day rally.

Brent crude was down 37 cents, or 0.5%, at $71.88 a barrel by 0440 GMT, having risen 1.7% on Wednesday.

 

U.S. oil was down 50 cents, or 0.7%, at $67.86 a barrel, after gaining 1.2% in the previous session.

 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that American crude inventories fell last week for a third consecutive week and overall fuel demand increased to the most since March 2020, boosting prices around 10% through Wednesday.

But the demand picture is not entirely bullish.

 

"For now, U.S. consumers appear to be shrugging off the spread of the Delta variant ... However, it seems likely that we are near the peak in U.S. demand, which will act as a lid on oil prices," Capital Economics said in a note.

10:17 AM

Coronavirus vaccine update: Moderna withholds 1.63 mn Covid-19 vaccine doses in Japan due to contamination

Moderna Inc said on Wednesday it has withheld supply of about 1.63 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in Japan after a report of contamination of vials with particulate matter, which it suspects involves a production line in Spain.

 

Although Moderna said no safety or efficacy issues had been identified, the suspension is a fresh setback for the firm, whose partners had production delays last month that disrupted supplies to countries, including South Korea.

 

That has prompted some Japanese companies to cancel worker vaccinations planned for Thursday, as most of doses in question have been supplied to mass vaccination sites and workplaces in Japan.

 

"Moderna confirms having been notified of cases of particulate matter being seen in drug product vials of its Covid-19 vaccine," Moderna said in a statement.

 

"The company is investigating the reports and remains committed to working expeditiously with its partner, Takeda, and regulators to address this," it added, referring to Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical.

 

It said the contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue in one of the production lines at its contract manufacturing site in Spain.

It was not immediately clear whether the issue impacted supplies to other countries.

 

Moderna did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. Spain's Rovi, which bottles or "fills and finishes" Moderna vaccines for markets other than the United States, was not immediately available to comment.

 

The vaccine lot with complaints had 565,400 doses and Moderna said that "out of an abundance of caution" it had put the lot on hold and two adjacent ones.

10:15 AM

Coronavirus India update: Test positivity rate rises to 2.58%

10:09 AM

Coronavirus LIVE update: Australia state easing rules as vaccine goal met

Authorities in Australia's New South Wales state say they will ease pandemic restrictions for vaccinated adults next month even as they reported a record 1,029 coronavirus infections and three deaths from Covid-19.
 

The record reported Thursday surpassed the previous high for a 24-hour period of 919 infections just a day earlier.
 

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the slight easing of restrictions is coming because the state reached 6 million vaccine doses in a population of 8.2 million.
 

Beginning Sept 13, families in the highest-risk parts of Sydney will be allowed to leave their homes for an hour of recreation as long as any adults are fully vaccinated. The recreation hour is in addition to the hour people are already allowed out to exercise.

9:32 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Summary of MoHFW data (August 26)

Active cases: 333,725 (Net increase: 11,398)

Deaths: 436,365 (Net increase: 607)

Cured: 31,788,440 (Net increase: 34,159)

Total cases: 32,558,530 (Net increase: 46,164)

Total vaccination: 603,846,475 (Increase over previous day: 8,040,407)

9:08 AM

Coronavirus global update: Sydney surge worsens; Singapore reopening tested

Sydney’s outbreak of delta variant cases is worsening, with new daily infections in New South Wales state passing 1,000 for the first time. Singapore is set to welcome Thursday the first short-term visitors from Hong Kong under the air travel pass program, even as its reopening plan is tested by rising cases.
 

Some doses of Moderna Inc.’s Covid vaccine in Japan were halted after reports of foreign particles in the vials. The company completed the application process for full approval of its vaccine in the U.S. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are seeking full clearance for a booster shot, and Johnson & Johnson said its booster provided a rapid and strong increase in antibodies.
 

The European Union will discuss whether to reimpose curbs on visitors from the U.S. as new coronavirus cases soar. The World Health Organization has backed a proposal to set up a $10 billion fund to plug the financial gap in the global health-care system exposed by the pandemic.

Key Developments:
 

Global Tracker: Cases top 213.8 million; deaths pass 4.46 million

Vaccine Tracker: More than 5.06 billion doses administered

Waning Covid cases helped India’s economy steady in July

Embattled WHO virus origins team says window is closing for probe

As Australia’s vaccine rate soars, so do delta cases