Covid LIVE: Centre to give Rs 1,300 cr to NE states for emergency response

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Kerala reported 12,294 new infections, Maharashtra 4,145, Andhra Pradesh (909), Tamil Nadu (1,851), Karnataka (1,065) and Delhi (27). Stay tuned for corona-related news

3:49 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Health Minister reviews Covid situation in NE states

3:30 PM

Assam exempts fully vaccinated travellers from mandatory Covid testing

The Assam government on Tuesday exempted fully vaccinated incoming people carrying the latest Covid-19 negative report from mandatory testing for the virus on arrival in the state. The order will come into immediate effect, but the exemption will not be applicable for symptomatic passengers, a notification issued by the Health and Family Welfare department said. Read here

3:21 PM

Authorities in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir seal coaching centre for violating Covid guidelines

Authorities in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir seal coaching centre for violating Covid guidelines: Officials

2:23 PM

Covid-19: Weekly markets permitted to operate, Delhi govt tells HC

The Delhi High Court was informed on Tuesday by the AAP government that DDMA has permitted all authorised weekly markets to operate during the Covid-19 pandemic. The high court reiterated that vendors operating at the weekly markets shall ensure that, if not vaccinated already, they get themselves vaccinated at the earliest. (PTI)

2:13 PM

Hong Kong lengthens quarantines for 16 countries

Hong Kong will tighten entry restrictions for travelers arriving from the United States and 15 other countries beginning Friday, extending the quarantine period to 21 days. Previously, the 15 countries, which also include Malaysia, Thailand, France and the Netherlands, were classified as medium-risk, with travelers able to serve only 7 days of quarantine if they were fully vaccinated and tested positive for antibodies prior to leaving for the city. (AP)

2:04 PM

New Zealand to enter lockdown after single virus case found

New Zealand's government took drastic action Tuesday by putting the entire nation into a strict lockdown for at least three days after finding a single case of coronavirus infection in the community. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern invoked some of the stirring rhetoric she used early in the pandemic by urging the team of 5 million New Zealand's population to go hard and early in trying to eliminate the latest outbreak. "We have seen what happens elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it," Ardern said. We only get one chance. (AP)

1:59 PM

Claim and counter-claim: Health insurance key point of debate in pandemic

Anubhab Datta is grieving and waiting. Grieving for his father who died of Covid in May this year, when the second wave was peaking, and waiting for the insurance agency to reimburse the hospital bills and death claims. Closure after such a monumental personal tragedy is still a long way off. But Dutta said he is also still recovering from the shock that the medical insurance policy of his father, ironically a life-long insurance professional who planned ahead for the sake of the family, did not work as he thought it would. Read here

1:53 PM

Retail sales touch 72% of pre-pandemic levels

Retail sales across the country continued to recover in July, reaching 72 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels of July 2019, and businesses are pinning hopes on the festive seasons for a further boost, Retailers Association of India (RAI) said on Tuesday. According to the retailer's body, the rate of recovery was 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in June 2021. In its latest business survey, RAI retail businesses in south India have indicated a very sharp comeback in July 2021 with sales at 82 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels (July 2019), as against 50 per cent sales in June 2021. (PTI)

1:32 PM

Petrol demand above pre-Covid levels, diesel just a fraction behind

The month of August had brought the country a step closer to reaching pre-Covid levels of sales of auto fuels, a sign that fuel demand recovery is progressing in line with general economic recovery being seen in the country.

 

While sales of petrol has already crossed pre-Covid levels more than a month ago, diesel sales has begun inching up and is just 8 per cent short of touching pre-Covid levels as of August 15.

 

State-owned fuel retailers have sold 0.94 million tonnes (mt) of petrol between August 1-15, 2021. This is 9.4 per cent increase over dales seen in same period of previous year and 3.7 per cent above 0.95 mt sales in first half of August, 2019.

1:00 PM

Maharashtra: 80% samples for genome sequencing test positive for Delta variant

Out of the total samples sent for genome sequencing of COVID-19 positive patients in Maharashtra, 80 per cent of samples have tested positive for Delta variant, according to the state health department.

 

Maharashtra is conducting genome sequencing tests of COVID-19 positive patients' samples on a regular basis to ascertain the extent of spread of mutants of the virus.

 

According to a state health department, as many as 76 patients have been found to be positive with Delta Plus variant, out of which five have died so far and 71 have recovered. As of now, no patient infected with Delta Plus variant is under treatment.

 

To intensify its efforts to identify virus mutants, Maharashtra Health Department has selected five laboratories and five hospitals as sentinel centres. Every fortnight, each centre sends 15 samples to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for genome sequencing.

12:43 PM

UP Assembly: SP holds protest against BJP govt over Covid situation

Wearing oxygen masks and carrying placards, Samajwadi Party MLAs and MLCs on Tuesday protested against the BJP government outside the Uttar Pradesh Assembly here over its "mismanagement" of the COVID-19 situation, price rise and other issues.

 

On the first day of the Monsoon session of the House, SP members also staged a dharna at the Chowdhury Charan Singh statue inside the assembly premises and raised slogans against the government.

 

SP MLC Rajpal Kashyap told PTI, "We are protesting against the government that is anti-people. The SP always stands with the people and raises their voices. Unemployment, woes of farmers, women's security, price rise, corruption and mismanagement of the Covid situation are some of the issues that we are raising."

12:42 PM

Physical hearing of cases to resume in Uttarakhand HC from Aug 24

Physical hearing of cases in the Uttarakhand High Court, which were suspended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will resume from August 24.

 

Only important cases have been heard during the period via video conferencing.

 

A notification issued on Monday by the Registrar General of the High Court, Dhananjay Chaturvedi contains detailed guidelines to be followed after the resumption of physical hearing of cases.

10:43 AM

Do I need a Covid-19 booster shot? Answers on how to stay protected

The increasing prevalence of new coronavirus variants is raising questions about how well protected those who’ve already had their COVID-19 shots are against evolving forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here, microbiology and infectious disease specialist William Petri of the University of Virginia answers some common questions about COVID-19 booster shots.

 

1. What is a booster shot?

Boosters are an extra dose of a vaccine given to maintain vaccine-induced protection against a disease. They are commonly used to bolster many vaccines because immunity can wear off over time. For example, the flu vaccine needs a booster every year, and the diphtheria and tetanus vaccine every 10 years.

 

Boosters are often identical to the original vaccine. In some cases, however, the booster shot has been modified to enhance protection against new viral variants. The seasonal flu vaccine, most notably, requires an annual booster because the flu virus changes so rapidly.

 

2. Do I need to get a COVID-19 booster?

Only if you’re immunocompromised. As of August 2021, the U.S Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend adding a third shot to the normal vaccination course for people who are severely immunocompromised. Read on...

10:34 AM

UP jail inmates can now meet visitors with Covid protocol

Jail inmates in Uttar Pradesh can now meet their family members after a gap of almost six months when meetings were banned due to the second wave of the pandemic.

 

The state prison department has allowed the meeting from Monday across the state.

 

The visitors are required to come with a recent negative RT-PCR test report for Covid-19. Nearly 300 visitors met inmates in various Uttar Pradesh jails on Monday.

 

According to a press statement issued by the prison department, over 600 people reached various jails on Monday in order to meet their relatives or family members lodged in jails.

10:09 AM

Covid-19 vaccine: India looking at $11 bn market opportunity

India's pharmaceutical sector is looking at an opportunity to the tune of $10 to 11 billion in the form of Covid-19 vaccine supply, in both domestic and export markets in the next three years, rating agency Care Ratings has said in a report.

 

However, the Indian vaccine makers are unlikely to get the premium pricing being enjoyed by US-based multinational companies which is anywhere between USD 15 and 25 per dose, their average realization could remain anywhere between USD 3.25 and USD 3.50 per dose, it said. On an aggregate level (i.e., domestic plus export), CARE Ratings expects supply opportunity of at least around USD 10-11 billion during the next three years for the Indian vaccine manufacturers, the report said.