Covid LIVE: 'Final decision' on Covaxin clearance next week, says WHO

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Kerala recorded 12,297 cases, Maharashtra 2,692, Delhi 34, Karnataka 397, Tamil Nadu 1,531 cases in the last 24 hours. Stay tuned for corona updates

11:00 AM

Assam reports 333 new Covid-19 cases, 9 deaths

A total of 333 Covid-19 positive cases and nine deaths reported in Assam on Monday, informed Keshab Mahanta, state Health Minister.

 

As of Monday, the recovery rate of the state stood at 98.33 per cent, added the minister.

 

While the overall Positivity Percentage was 0.66 per cent.

 

A total of 333 Covid-19 positive cases had been detected out of 50,424 tests that were done on Monday.

 

"Summary of October 4, 2021, Today's Total 333, Overall Positivity Percentage (333 cases out of 50,424 tests done = 0.66 per cent), Kamrup(M) 69, Death 9, Recovery Rate 98.33 per cent," tweeted Mahanta on Monday.

10:49 AM

European Medicines Agency approves Covid booster doses for adults

The Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for all people aged 18 and over.

 

The EMA said in a statement on Monday that data for the vaccine had shown a rise in antibody levels when a booster shot is administered approximately six months after the second dose in people aged 18 to 55, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

It recommended that the booster doses "may be considered at least six months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older".

 

Meanwhile, the EMA also recommended an extra dose of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for those with severely weakened immune systems. Read on...

10:21 AM

Global Covid-19 caseload tops 235.3 million

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 235.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.80 million and vaccinations soared to over 6.31 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and the total number number of vaccine doses administered stood at 235,382,458, 4,808,399 and 6,316,827,977, respectively.

10:14 AM

Maharashtra: Thane sees 192 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death

With the addition of 192 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 5,60,367, an official said on Tuesday.

 

These new cases were reported on Monday, he said.

 

The virus also claimed the life of one person, which raised the death toll in the district to 11,421, he said, adding that the Covid-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.03 per cent.

 

In neighbouring Palghar district, the Covid-19 case count has gone up to 1,36,859, while the death toll stands at 3,277, another official said.

10:00 AM

Covid-19 pandemic: EU panel backs booster shots of Pfizer, Moderna

A European Union advisory committee endorsed extra shots of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine for all adults, as well as extra doses of Moderna Inc.’s for those with severely weakened immune systems.

Those ages 18 and older can get a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine, developed with BioNTech SE, at least six months after their second shot, the European Medicines Agency said in a statement Monday. For the immunocompromised, extra doses of Pfizer or Moderna can be given at least 28 days after the second.

 

The recommendation on the Pfizer shot is slightly broader than in the U.S., where it’s been recommended for those ages 65 or older, those in long-term health-care facilities and those ages 50 to 64 with underlying medical conditions. Read on...

9:38 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Summary of MoHFW data (October 5)

Active cases: 252,902 (Net reduction: 11,556)

Deaths: 449,260 (Net increase: 263)

Cured: 33,150,886 (Net increase: 29,639)

Total cases: 33,853,048 (Net increase: 18,346)

Total vaccination: 915,465,826 (Increase over previous day: 7,251,419)

9:26 AM

UP administers 110 million vaccine doses, sets a record

Uttar Pradesh has become the first state to have administered over 11 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took to social media to congratulate the health team engaged at various levels of the Covid-19 immunisation programme.

 

As per data updated till 9 p.m. on Monday, the total number of doses administered in the state was 11.07 crore.

9:15 AM

Australia won't welcome international tourists until 2022

International tourists won't be welcomed back to Australia until next year, with the return of skilled migrants and students given higher priority, the prime minister said on Tuesday.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was expected to reach the vaccination benchmark on Tuesday at which the country could begin to open up: 80 per cent of the population aged 16 and older having a second shot.

 

Last week, he outlined plans to allow vaccinated citizens and permanent residents to fly overseas from November for the first time since an extraordinarily tough travel ban took effect in March last year.

 

But Morrison on Tuesday said that after Australians, the next priority would be skilled migrants and international students entering Australia before tourists.

 

Australian immigration has been at its lowest since World War II because of pandemic restrictions. The pandemic has also had a disastrous effect on Australian universities that rely heavily on fees paid by international students. The education sector fears that students will enroll in other countries unless Australia opens its border to them soon.

8:58 AM

Punjab reports 18 new cases, 1 death

One more Covid-related death was reported in Punjab on Monday, while 18 new cases took the infection count to 6,01,739, according to a medical bulletin. The death toll due to coronavirus in the state rose to 16,521. Among the new cases, Jalandhar reported three, followed by two each in Amritsar, Kapurthala and Patiala, as per the bulletin.

 

The number of active cases is 272.

 

Thirty-more people recovered from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 5,84,946, the bulletin said. Chandigarh reported six cases, raising its tally to 65,243. No fresh death was reported in the past 24 hours, and the toll stood at 819. The number of active cases in the city was 38, while the number of cured persons was 64,386.

8:49 AM

Asian stocks fall to near 1-year low as oil prices stoke inflation worries

Asian shares suffered heavy losses early on Tuesday following a broad sell-off on Wall Street, as markets fretted about the impact of multi-year high oil prices at a time when supply chain disruptions are already putting pressure on economic activity.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped as much as 1.3%, falling for a third consecutive session. Japan stocks were down 2.8%, South Korea gave up 2.5% and Australia shed 1%. "Investors are clearly worried about inflation due to supply chain disruptions and the rally in energy prices," said Vasu Menon, executive director of investment strategy at OCBC Bank. The drop in markets took MSCI's main benchmark to 619.87, the lowest since November 2020. It has shed more than 5% this year, with Hong Kong and Japanese markets among the big losers.

 

"We have seen tech stocks outperform value stocks, so if inflation remains a worry, then tech stocks tend to get hit," Menon said.

8:42 AM

Global aviation to lose $201 bn between 2020-22 due to Covid: IATA DG

The global aviation industry will lose $201 billion between 2020 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 crisis before returning to profitability in 2023, said Willie Walsh, Director General of global airlines body IATA.

 

"We are past the deepest point of the crisis. While serious issues remain, the path to recovery is coming into view," Walsh said during his speech here at the 77th annual general meeting of International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Monday.

 

He stated that nearly two years after the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, there is no rationale for blanket border restrictions imposed by various governments.

 

We are seeing improvements in finances, he stated.