Covid LIVE: Restrictions announced in Dehradun for tourists till Sept 21

Coronavirus live updates: India administers 75 million Covid-19 vaccine doses; China's southeastern Fujian experiences another outbreak.

6:14 PM

UK panel recommends Covid-19 booster jabs for over-50s, healthcare workers

Britain's expert advisory panel on Tuesday recommended that a third booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine would be beneficial for people aged over 50 and frontline healthcare workers to boost their protection against the deadly virus over the winter months, PTI reported.

 

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's (JCVI) recommendation notes that six months after a second COVID vaccine dose is the optimum timing to boost immunity with another dose, with the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines among those ideal for use as a third jab.

 

"Getting a dose too early may mean they do not need it as they still have a high level of protection, and as we've seen with the gap between the first and second dose, you don't want to have it too early," JCVI Chair Professor Wei Shen Lim told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.

6:05 PM

Kerala HC speaks tough on Covid rule breaches

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday expressed their displeasure in the way Covid protocols were violated last week at the famed Sree Krishna Temple Guruvayoor during the wedding of business magnate Ravi Pillai's son, IANS reported.

 

The court, seeing the pictures which appeared in the various media, took suo moto cognisance of the violations and directed the administrator of the Guruvayoor Devaswom Board -- the body that runs the temple -- to explain.

 

The court pointed out that there was a crowd, clearly indicating there were more people than the prescribed numbers and the 'nadapanthal' (the portion in front of the temple) was decorated with cut-outs and flowers.

5:10 PM

UK delays post-Brexit border checks, citing pandemic impact

Britain announced Tuesday it is delaying the start of post-Brexit border checks on food imports from the European Union, saying trade disruption from the coronavirus pandemic has already piled pressure on businesses, AP reported.

 

The delay means checks on EU agricultural and animal products that were due to start from October won't be introduced until next year.

 

The U.K. said the pragmatic new timetable would ease pressure on businesses grappling with supply chain disruptions from the pandemic. It said customs declarations and controls will be introduced on Jan. 1, but safety and security declarations won't be required until July 1.

5:10 PM

Odisha logs 428 fresh Covid-19 cases, lowest in five months

The daily COVID-19 caseload maintained its downward curve in Odisha, which recorded 428 infections on Tuesday, the lowest single-day spike in five months, a health department official said, according to PTI.

 

The state's coronavirus tally stood at 10,17,261, while four more fatalities pushed the death toll to 8,108, he said.

 

On Monday, it had reported 471 fresh cases.

 

5:03 PM

Severe Covid can increase self-attacking antibodies: Study

Hospitalised Covid-19 patients are substantially more likely to harbour autoantibodies -- antibodies directed at their own tissues or at substances their immune cells secrete into the blood -- than people without Covid-19, according to a new study emphasising the need for vaccination, IANS reported.

 

Autoantibodies can be early harbingers of full-blown autoimmune disease.

 

"If you get sick enough from Covid-19 to end up in the hospital, you may not be out of the woods even after you recover," said PJ Utz, professor of immunology and rheumatology at the Stanford University in the US.

4:17 PM

Covid lockdown extended in Aus capital

The Covid-19 lockdown in Australia's capital city of Canberra has been extended by a month as the country continues to battle the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, IANS reported.

 

Andrew Barr, chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said on Tuesday that Canberra will remain in lockdown until October 15, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Restrictions were due to end on Friday after 36 days in lockdown but Barr said the risk to the community remained high.

4:16 PM

Mizoram reports 1,502 fresh cases

3:36 PM

Night curfew to be imposed in 8 Gujarat cities from Sept 15-25

3:35 PM

Indian study finds big drop in Covid antibodies within four months of vaccination

3:08 PM

Our attention at this moment should be to vaccinate all adults, says V K Paul

3:08 PM

Hope WHO takes decision on Covaxin nod quickly: V K Paul

3:05 PM

WHO nod for Covaxin expected before Sept-end, says V K Paul

2:56 PM

Putin to self-isolate as Covid cases detected in his entourage

President of Russia Vladimir Putin said coronavirus cases have been detected in his entourage, forcing him to self-isolate for "a certain period", RIA news agency reported.

 

Putin will no longer travel to Tajikistan this week for regional security meetings, but will take part in them through video conference, the news agency reported.

2:37 PM

All schools in Himachal Pradesh to remain shut till Sept 21

2:21 PM

Majority of Australians support Covid vax mandate: Poll

A new poll revealed on Tuesday that a majority of Australians are in favour of Covid-19 vaccine mandates, IANS reported.

 

According to the Guardian Essential poll of 1,100 voters, more than 80 per cent of Australians think vaccines should be mandatory for health and disability care workers, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Three-quarters of respondents supported compulsory inoculations for air travellers and teachers and teacher's aides.