Covid LIVE: India third nation after US, Brazil to record 300,000 deaths

Coronavirus LIVE updates: India has set a record of conducting the highest Covid-19 testing in a single day with more than 2.12 mn fresh tests. Stay tuned for corona-related news

7:55 AM

Black Fungus declared an epidemic in Bihar

The Bihar government on Saturday evening declared Mucormycosis or Black Fungus as an epidemic disease under Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897. The Chief Minister's office (CMO) tweeted and informed about the decision taken by the Chief Minister of Bihar.

 

"Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced black fungus as an epidemic," said CMO.

 

Earlier, health minister Mangal Pandey said, "Following instructions from chief minister Nitish Kumar, Black Fungus has been made a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Disease Act. Government and private hospitals will have to inform the health department through a civil surgeon. Patients will get free medicine.

7:50 AM

2,044 children contracted Covid-19 in Uttarakhand in May this year

7:49 AM

Assam reports 79 more Covid deaths, 5,980 fresh cases in last 24 hours

Assam reported 79 COVID-19 fatalities on Saturday taking the death toll to 2,667, while 5,980 new cases pushed the tally to 3,65,620, the National Health Mission (NHM) said. Currently, the state has 54,058 active cases, it said.

 

Altogether 4,659 patients were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 3,07,548 in the state. Of the fresh fatalities, 19 were reported from Kamrup Metropolitan district and nine from Kamrup. The remaining deaths were registered in several other districts. READ...

7:40 AM

India's cumulative vaccine coverage exceeds 19.49 crore: Govt

7:32 AM

No consensus yet on Covid-19 vaccine passport issue at WHO level: Govt

The WHO is yet to reach a consensus on the vaccine passport issue for allowing international travel to those fully vaccinated against the coronavirus infection, the government said on Saturday and noted that discussions are still on. So far there's no consensus at the level of WHO over this, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said. "Discussion is still being done if vaccinated people will be allowed. READ MORE...

7:30 AM

AstraZeneca vaccine 80% effective against B1.617.2 variant: UK study

Two doses from either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or the Pfizer vaccine are over 80 per cent effective in preventing infection from the B1.617.2 variant of COVID-19, first discovered in India, a new UK government study has reportedly found.

 

The Oxford/AstraZeneca two-dose vaccine is also being produced by the Serum Institute of India as Covishield and being administered among the adult population in India to protect against the deadly virus.

 

The UK findings are said to be based on data from Public Health England (PHE) and have also revealed that the two doses provide 87 per cent protection from the B.117 variant, first discovered in Kent region of England and also considered highly transmissible. READ ON...

7:28 AM

Covid: Govt invites R&D proposals on innovations in oxygen concentrators

The Central government has invited research and development (RandD) proposals from scientists for the invention of oxygen concentrators in order to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

This initiative will soon catalyse R and D on critical components and innovations concerning Make-in-India oxygen concentrators to meet the emerging healthcare requirements to combat the Covid-19, the government said. READ ON...

7:25 AM

White fungus case reported in Jabalpur, doctor says it's common, curable

A 55-year-old man who had recovered from COVID-19 has been diagnosed with 'white fungus' , a a type of fungal infection, in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh even as the state is dealing with an outbreak of mucormycosis or 'black fungus' among coronavirus patients or survivors, a health official said.

 

Though it was said to be the 'first reported case' in the state during the ongoing second wave of coronavirus pandemic, a senior doctor said white fungus is quite common and curable.

 

Known as Aspergillus Flavus infection in medical parlance, it is not a new disease, nor is it as fatal as mucormycosis, and is curable with commonly available medicines. READ MORE...

7:24 AM

Covid-19 vaccines are all highly protective against death, study shows

Current Covid shots provide a high level of protection against hospitalization and death, according to a summary of the efficacy of eight vaccines that showed the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE jab may better at stopping at least two worrisome coronavirus variants.

 

Efficacy against Covid-linked disease averaged about 85% after a full course, rising to almost 100% protection against severe disease, hospitalization or death, Julia Shapiro, Natalie Dean, Ira Longini and colleagues said in a paper released Friday before peer-review and publication. The University of Florida researchers compared data from journal articles and media reports for products that have gone through double-blinded, placebo-controlled, late-stage vaccine trials, as well as observational studies. READ ON...

7:22 AM

People selling Remdesivir illegally booked under NSA: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said those indulging in black-marketing of Remdesivir injections in the state are being booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

 

He also said properties of those hoarding or black-marketing life-saving medicines will be seized.

 

Adityanath, who was on a visit to Kanpur, said efforts are being made to ensure that the pace of COVID-19 vaccination picks up across the state next month. The state government will contain the second wave of COVID-19 by the end of this month. READ MORE...

7:21 AM

Welcome to the Business Standard's LIVE blog on coronavirus

Welcome to the Business Standard's LIVE blog on coronavirus. Stay tuned.