Covid LIVE: Kerala sees over 11k new cases in a day, TPR comes down to 11%

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Kerala recorded 11,699 cases, Maharashtra 2,432, Delhi 32, Karnataka 504, Andhra Pradesh 618 cases in the last 24 hours. Stay tuned for corona updates

6:38 PM

Active Covid-19 cases fall below 12,000 in Andhra Pradesh

The number of active Covid-19 cases dropped below the 12,000 mark to 11,912 in Andhra Pradesh as 771 fresh infections, eight deaths, and 1,333 recoveries were reported in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday.

The gross positives now touched 20,48,230, recoveries 20,22,168 and deaths 14,150.

The new cases, from 45,592 tests, ranged from zero to 153 in 13 districts of the state, according to the latest bulletin.

6:00 PM

Mizoram logs highest single-day spike of 1,846 new Covid-19 cases

Mizoram's COVID-19 tally mounted to 90,539 on Tuesday as a record 1,846 more people, including 324 children, tested positive for COVID-19, a health official said.

The northeastern state's coronavirus death toll rose to 302 as one more patient succumbed to the infection.

On September 21, the state had reported its previous highest single-day spike of 1,731 COVID-19 cases.

5:55 PM

Odisha reports 545 new Covid cases; 74 in 0-18 year age group

Odisha registered 545 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday and 74 of them are in the age group of 0-18 years, the state health department said.

Odisha also reported seven fresh fatalities taking the total number of coronavirus deaths to 8,187, while its caseload has gone up to 10.25 lakh.

The number of active cases is now 5,587, as 653 more recoveries took the number of cured people to 10.11 lakh, the department said in a report.

5:37 PM

Scheduled international commercial flights services suspension extended till Oct 31

5:22 PM

Diabetes drug linked to reduced risk of severe Covid-19 outcomes: Study

A type of drug already used to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes is associated with a reduced risk of hospitalisation, respiratory complications and death in COVID-19 patients with Type 2 diabetes, when taken six months prior to diagnosis with the viral disease, according to a study.

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine in the US analysed electronic medical records of nearly 30,000 patients with type 2 diabetes who had a positive laboratory test for SARS-CoV-2 between January and September 2020.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes on Tuesday, concluded that the drugs, called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, should be further evaluated for potential protective effects against COVID-19 complications.

4:56 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 771 new Covid-19 cases

4:18 PM

UP govt eases Covid-19 restrictions; allows weddings, events

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday eased COVID-19 restrictions amid a dip in the number of cases in the state and permitted wedding ceremonies and other events to be held in open spaces.

However, the number of people allowed to attend the ceremony will depend on the area, stated the Uttar Pradesh Home Department.

"The Uttar Pradesh government has given permission for wedding ceremonies and other events in open places, according to the area. Along with this, compliance with COVID-19 protocol and setting up of COVID-19 help desk at the entrance will be mandatory," said the State Home Department in a tweet from its official Twitter handle today.

3:31 PM

Sanofi ditches mRNA coronavirus vaccine amid rivals' success

Sanofi is dropping plans for its own mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine because of the dominant role of the BioNTech-Pfizer alliance as well as Moderna in the fight against the pandemic, the company said on Tuesday.

 

The move highlights the challenges of competing in particular with pioneer BioNTech, which rose from obscurity through its alliance with pharma major Pfizer last year.

3:25 PM

Nasal microbiota may help predict Covid infection, severity

The microbiota in the nose and upper throat likely contains biomarkers for assessing how sick an individual infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19, may get, suggests a study that may help develop new treatment strategies against the infectious disease.

This nasopharyngeal microbiota is generally considered a frontline protection against viruses, bacteria and other pathogens that enter these natural passageways, said Sadanand Fulzele, geriatric researcher in the Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

3:04 PM

Russia records 21,559 Covid-19 cases in past 24 hours

Russia recorded 21,559 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, down from 22,236 the day before, bringing the cumulative total to 7,464,708, the federal response center said on Tuesday.

"Over the past day, 21,559 COVID-19 cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 1,709 cases (7.9 per cent) without clinical symptoms," the center said, adding that the rate of increase fell to 0.29 per cent.

2:43 PM

Japan to end Covid-19 emergency measures nationwide this week: Suga

The Japanese government will end this week the COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and 18 prefectures as well as the quasi-state of emergency in other areas, as the number of infections declined steadily, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday.

 

Japan's coronavirus advisory panel has approved a government plan to end the state of emergency and quasi-measures on Thursday as scheduled.

 

It would be the first time since April 4 that none of Japan's 47 prefectures is under either a state of emergency or a quasi-state of emergency.

2:29 PM

WHO's emergency use authorisation for Covaxin further delayed: Report

The emergency use authorisation (EUA) for Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has once again been delayed by the World Health Organisation, ANI reported.

The ANI sources further said that the UN public health agency has asked for more data from Bharat Biotech for Covaxin.

This delay will affect Indians especially students and who have international travel plans. The EUA is important because without it Covaxin will not be accepted by most countries.

2:04 PM

Over 47.7 million people vaccinated so far in Madhya Pradesh

More than 47.7 million people have been administered COVID-19 vaccine doses in Madhya Pradesh so far out of the eligible population of 54.9 million, a state health official said on Tuesday.

Among these beneficiaries, 12,03,612 people were inoculated on Monday during a mega vaccination drive in the state, he said.

1:32 PM

Brisk Covid vaccination rate primes Indian economy for acceleration

India’s economy showed signs it’s ready to accelerate, thanks to its services sector resuming expansion and manufacturing activity retaining growth momentum in August.
 

Two of the eight high-frequency indicators tracked by Bloomberg News gained speed last month, while five held steady and one slowed. The needle on a dial measuring so-called animal spirits, however, remained unchanged from the July level, as the gauge uses three-month weighted average to smooth out volatility in single-month readings.

 

The monthly expansion in services and manufacturing activity coincided with relatively low new Covid-19 cases and a pick up in the pace of vaccinations -- more than 834 million doses have been administered so far in the nation of 1.3 billion people. That said, less than a fifth of the population is fully vaccinated and risks of a third wave of infections persist. Read on...

1:11 PM

After Covid-19, more women are considering scaling back at work: US survey

Pandemic burnout is nipping at the slow, but steady, progress women have made up and down the corporate ladder over the last five years, a McKinsey & Co. report conducted in partnership with LeanIn.Org released Monday finds.

In an annual survey of 65,000 workers across 423 organizations, one-third of women said they were considering scaling back their careers or leaving the workforce altogether. That figure jumped almost 10 percentage points from the beginning months of the pandemic. Women, the survey found, were more likely to report experiencing burnout than men — a gap that’s widened in the last year, too.

 

“Our concerns are the impact of pandemic burnout on women long-term, and what companies need to do in response,” said Rachel Thomas, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lean In. Read on...