Coronavirus LIVE: Govt extends ban on international flights till Feb-end

Coronavirus live updates: Globally, more than 101.4 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,182,155

1:10 PM

COVID IMPACT | India's gold demand hits 25-yr low in 2020 amid lockdowns, high prices: WGC

Demand for gold in India in calendar year 2020 dropped to a 25-year low of 446 tonnes as compared to 690.4 tonnes in 2019, as per the latest report released by World Gold Council (WGC). “The last time the demand hit such levels was in 1995 at 462 tonnes,” said Somasundaram PR, managing director for India, World Gold Council.

 

Total jewellery demand, too, during the period under review in India slipped 42 per cent at 315.9 tonnes as compared to 544.6 tonnes in 2019. In value terms, jewellery demand in 2020 came in at Rs 133,260 crore – down 22 per cent as compared to 2019, WGC data show. Read on...

12:49 PM

Received 500,000 Covid-19 vaccines provided by India today: Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka

Received 500,000  Covid-19 vaccines provided by people of India today. Thank you, PM Narendra Modi & people of India for the generosity shown towards people of Sri Lanka at this time in need: Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka

12:36 PM

Pandemic-battered gold demand in India expected to rebound in 2021

Gold consumption in India, the world’s second-biggest buyer, is expected to rebound in 2021 after plunging to the lowest in more than two decades, according to the World Gold Council.
 

Demand is expected to jump closer to the 690 tons bought in 2019 as the country’s economy shows signs of recovery, P R Somasundaram, managing director at the council for India, said in an interview. Goldsmiths had one of the worst years in 2020, when demand slumped by more than a third to 446.4 tons, the lowest since 1994, as coronavirus-related lockdowns, curbs on movements, record high prices and lower incomes slashed spending on jewelry, WGC data showed. Read on...

11:49 AM

Vaccine rollouts support stable outlook for A-Pac sovereign ratings: S&P

S & P Global Ratings expects most Asia Pacific sovereign credit ratings to remain unchanged in the next one to two years despite the continued pressures posed by Covid-19.

 

A year since its outbreak, Covid-19 remains the key risk facing Asia Pacific sovereigns. The successful development of a few Covid-19 vaccines brings optimism that the pandemic will soon be beaten.

 

However, achieving a level of vaccination high enough to stop the disease may not happen anytime soon. In the meantime, rebounds in infection rates can weaken credit metrics further, according to a report published on Thursday.

11:35 AM

Covid-19 takes a toll on physicians' happiness, says report

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected the mental and emotional well-being of doctors, with female physicians and those in critical care and infectious disease reporting among the highest rates of burnout during the pandemic, according to findings from a new report.

 

The 'Death by 1,000 Cuts: Medscape National Physician Burnout and Suicide Report 2021' shows that although burnout rates were stable from the previous year's report, at 42 per cent overall, the level in women increased from 48 per cent to 51 per cent during the pandemic, while burnout in male physicians overall remained unchanged from 2019.

10:41 AM

DATA STORY: Delhi adds 96 Covid cases, first sub-100 spike since May 1

India has so far vaccinated 2,355,979 people. That is 22.01 per cent of its total caseload, and 0.1698 per cent of its population. Read on...

10:12 AM

UK records another 25,308 coronavirus cases, 1,725 deaths

Another 25,308 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 37,15,054, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

 

The country also reported another 1,725 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus deaths in Britain now stands at 101,887, the data showed.

 

The latest data were revealed one day after Britain passed the grim landmark of 1,00,000 coronavirus deaths. These figures only include the number of deaths of people who had had a positive test result for Covid-19 and died within 28 days of the first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.

9:48 AM

US could reach 514,000 Covid-19-related deaths by Feb 20

The United States could have up to 514,000 Covid-19-related deaths by February 20 under the current trajectory of decreasing cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday.

 

"If we continue on the current trajectory, the CDC's most recent national ensemble forecast predicts that 479,000 to 514,000 Covid-19 deaths will be reported by February 20, 2021," Walensky said in a virtual White House coronavirus press briefing.

 

Walensky also highlighted recent data showing downward trends in the number of US deaths, cases and hospitalizations.

9:36 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 173,740 (Net reduction: 2,758)

Deaths: 153,847 (Net increase: 123)

Cured: 10,373,606 (Net increase: 14,301)

Total cases: 10,701,193 (Net increase: 11,666)

Total vaccination: 2,355,979 (Increase over previous day: 326,499)

9:23 AM

Flight carrying the first consignment of Covid-19 vaccine to Sri Lanka from Mumbai has departed

Mumbai: Flight carrying the first consignment of Covid-19 vaccine to Colombo, Sri Lanka from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, has departed.

9:11 AM

Starbucks sales miss as coronavirus spike keeps customers at home

Starbucks on Tuesday reported a larger-than-expected fall in quarterly sales as the renewed surge in coronavirus cases in the United States kept customers at home.

 

The world's largest coffee chain’s global same-store sales fell 5 per cent in its first quarter, which ended December 27, more than analysts' estimates of a 3.4 per cent decline, according to Refinitiv IBES data. 

8:57 AM

Path of US economy depends on course of coronavirus: Jerome Powell

The path of American economy continues to depend significantly on the course of coronavirus, US Federal Reserve Board Chariman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday as the Fed announced to keep interest rates near zero and maintain its sizeable asset purchases.

 

Powell told reporters that the pace of recovery has moderated in recent months with the weakness concentrated in the sectors of economy most adversely affected by the resurgence of the virus and greater social distancing.

 

We have not won this yet. We haven't succeeded in doing this yet and we need to stay focused on it as a country and get there, Powell said.

8:45 AM

Germany counts over 2.16 mn Covid-19 cases in one year, 1.7 mn vaccinated

South African Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday a million coronavirus vaccine doses will arrive from India in the country on February 1.

 

After the arrival of the vaccine doses via Dubai, these will undergo some processes for 10 to 14 days, after which these will be distributed among provinces, he said during a virtual press conference.

 

Mkhize had earlier announced that South Africa would receive the first batch of a million vaccine doses form India by the January-end and a further 500,000 doses in February. Read on...

8:43 AM

India to send 1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to South Africa on Feb 1

South African Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday a million coronavirus vaccine doses will arrive from India in the country on February 1.

 

After the arrival of the vaccine doses via Dubai, these will undergo some processes for 10 to 14 days, after which these will be distributed among provinces, he said during a virtual press conference.

 

Mkhize had earlier announced that South Africa would receive the first batch of a million vaccine doses form India by the January-end and a further 500,000 doses in February. Read on...

8:35 AM

Mexico's new daily record of almost 28,000 coronavirus cases, 1,623 deaths

Mexico posted its highest one-day total of newly confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday, with 27,944 infections, and a near-record 1,623 confirmed deaths.

 

That brings the country's total so far to just over 1.8 million cases and 153,639 deaths. However, Mexico has an extremely low rate of testing, and estimates of excess deaths suggest the real toll is over 195,000.

 

A group of over a dozen of the country's top universities and medical institutes also recommended Wednesday that the use of face masks be made mandatory in Mexico, a move that President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador and his advisers have long opposed.

 

The president himself seldom wears a mask, and over the weekend tested positive for Covid-19. Read on...