Covid LIVE: Maharashtra scraps RT-PCR test for fully vaccinated travellers

Coronavirus live updates: Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya denies vaccine shortage in states as Delhi is said to be running low in its reserves.

3:58 PM

IIT-Hyderabad makes India's first Rapid Electronic Covid-19 RNA test kit for home use

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) have developed COVIHOME, an artificial intelligence-powered Covid-19 test that allows self-testing at home.

 

On obtaining ICMR approvals, and after commercialisation, the kit developed by Prof Shiv Govind Singh, Department of Electrical Engineering, will be available in the market at an affordable price.

 

This test kit can produce results within 30 minutes for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The major benefit of this testing kit is that it does not require RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction), an expert human resource, and a BSL 2 lab facility for the extraction of RNA, so it has potential for one to take the test at home without expert supervision.

3:48 PM

Covid LIVE: Delhi sees 72 new cases

The national capital recorded 72 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death on Thursday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.10 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here.

 

The single new fatality has pushed the death toll in the city to 25,022, according to the latest bulletin.

 

On Wednesday, Delhi had recorded 77 cases and one death, while on Tuesday the daily infection tally was 76 with two deaths. On February 16, ninety-four people were diagnosed Covid positive while the daily tally was 96 on January 27, according to official figures.

3:38 PM

Maharashtra Class 10 results tomorrow

3:36 PM

Twenty children in Puducherry hospitalised after testing positive for Covid

Twenty children hailing from Puducherry were hospitalised on Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19, Director of Health and Family Welfare services S Mohan Kumar said. They were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College Hospital at Kadirkamam near here.

 

Kumar told PTI that details of their age were being collected.

3:31 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi sees 72 new cases, 1 death in last 24 hours

3:30 PM

India Coronavirus Dispatch: Kerala's case rise may not be start of 3rd wave

Kerala’s rising Covid cases may not be the start of India’s third wave

 

Health experts say the recent rise in Covid infections in Kerala may not be signalling the start of the third wave in India, a report in IndiaSpend said. Experts pointed to the absence of a steep rise in infections. Cases are increasing at a slow rate in Kerala, despite the relaxation of lockdown restrictions and the rise of the more transmissible Delta variant in the state, they tell us. “Mobility is up, people are mixing and with Delta [variant dominating], the numbers should be shooting up, not stabilising,” Rajeev Sadanandan, the chief executive of Health Systems Transformation Platform, a New Delhi-based nonprofit, and Kerala’s former additional chief secretary of health, told IndiaSpend. Read More...

3:25 PM

Odisha logs 2,110 new COVID-19 cases, 66 fresh fatalities.

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload on Thursday mounted to 9,47,859 after 2,110 more people tested positive for the infection, while 66 fresh fatalities pushed the toll to 4,861, a health department official said. Of the 2,110 new cases, 1,213 were reported from quarantine centres, and the rest detected during contact tracing, the official said.

 

Five districts logged more than 100 fresh cases each.

 

Khurda district, of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of new infections at 458, followed by Cuttack at 323, Balasore at 168, Kendrapara at 132 and Puri at 113.

2:47 PM

Odisha's cases rise to 947,859

Odisha's Covid-19 cases on Thursday increased to 947,859 after 2,110 more people tested positive. As many as 66 fresh pushed the toll to 4,861, PTI reported quoting a health department official. Of the 2,110 new cases, 1,213 were reported from quarantine centres.

2:44 PM

ImmunityBio goes on booster trial in South Africa

ImmunityBio Inc.'s hAd5 T-cell Covid-19 vaccine won approval from South Africa’s health products regulator for a trial as a booster shot in a study of 480,000 health workers in the country who have received Johnson & Johnson’s inoculation, Bloomberg reported.

2:30 PM

Virus spreads in South Korean regions with lighter restrictions: Report

South Korea reported a near-high in coronavirus infections Thursday as a weekslong surge extends beyond the capital region and the country''s toughest pandemic restrictions. The surge, increasingly fueled by the more contagious delta variant, is a worrisome development in a country where 70% of the population is waiting for their first vaccine dose, reported the Associated Press.

2:16 PM

Mizoram reports 581 new cases

Mizoram reported 581 testing people positive for Covid-19, pushing the state's tally to 25,751, a health department official said on Thursday. The toll climbed to 116 after a 74-year-old woman from Aizawl district succumbed to the infection, the official told PTI.

1:36 PM

Coronavirus patient attacks doctor in Maharashtra hospital

A coronavirus patient attacked a doctor with a saline stand when he was asked not to remove his oxygen mask, said police about the incident at a government hospital in Alibaug in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. Dr. Swapnadeep Thale was hospitalised for treatment of injuries, PTI reported quoting the police.

1:24 PM

Andaman reports 3 new cases, all at airport

Andaman and Nicobar Islands Covid-19 tally rose to 7,499 as three more persons tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Thursday.

All the three cases were airport arrival, PTI reported quoting a civl servant.

12:52 PM

Delhi HC refuses to consider plea to reduce Covishield dosage interval

The Delhi High Court refused to entertain a plea seeking reduction of the 12-16 week interval for the second dose of Covishield vaccine to eight weeks for persons over 50 years of age and those having comorbidities. "We are not inclined to issue notice. We will dismiss with costs," said a bench, according to PTI.

12:28 PM

Arunachal reports 465 new cases

Arunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 tally rose to 41,279 as 465 more people tested positive for the infection, while two new fatalities pushed the death toll to 195, PTI reported quoting a senior health official.