Sunday, December 22, 2024 | 08:28 PM ISTEN Hindi

Covid LIVE: WHO chief urges halt to booster shots for rest of the year

Covid live updates: India says it had given 700 million vaccine doses by Tuesday, with 76% of its population getting first of two shots.

BS Web Team New Delhi

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Photo: Bloomberg

6:25 PM

Kerala reports 30,196 new cases

5:47 PM

Oxygen generation plant set up at Delhi's Batra Hospital which faced crisis during Covid 2nd wave

An on-site oxygen generation plant has been set up on the premises of Batra Hospital that faced a severe shortage of the life-saving gas during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi, PTI reported.

The company which installed the 500 litres per minute (LPM) oxygen generation plant, said on Wednesday that it is expected to serve around 150 hospital beds.

"This is the first on-site plant at the nearly 500-bed capacity hospital, a prominent destination for both national and international patients," it said in a statement.

5:20 PM

Facebook's new campaign urges people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour

Facebook on Wednesday launched a new campaign highlighting the importance of taking continued precautions to curb the spread of the Covid-19, IANS reported.

The campaign, #MyStory, includes 10 short films, each focusing on narrating personal and relatable stories about the impact of Covid-19 on our lives, the social media giant said in a statement.

The films were conceptualised as part of a behavioural change campaign with the insight that personal and relatable stories lead to "normalisation" and, in turn, greater acceptance of Covid-appropriate behaviours and vaccination.

5:19 PM

Kerala to set up vaccine manufacturing zone in Thiruvananthapuram district

4:58 PM

Fridge-free Covid vaccines developed using viruses from plants, bacteria

Scientists have used key ingredients from plant and bacterial viruses to develop new COVID-19 vaccine candidates that do not need to be refrigerated, PTI reported.

The fridge-free vaccines, described in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on Tuesday, triggered high production of neutralising antibodies in mice against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

If they prove to be safe and effective in people, the vaccines could be a big game changer for global distribution efforts, including those in rural areas or resource-poor communities, the researchers noted.

4:25 PM

Can't scrap existing policy: SC on plea seeking door-to-door Covid vaccination

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination is not feasible and it cannot pass a general direction to scrap the existing vaccination policy, IANS reported.

A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising justices Vikram Nath and Hima Kohli asked the petitioner Youth Bar Association, to present its suggestions before a competent authority.

The plea had urged the top court to pass a direction allowing door-to-door COVID-19 jab for the disabled and people belonging to weaker sections of society. The bench responded that the vaccination drive is already in progress and over 60 per cent of the population has been administered the first dose.

4:24 PM

Odisha for stricter implementation of Covid norms in schools amid surge in infection among children

The Odisha government has issued a fresh guideline calling for stricter implementation of COVID norms in schools amid a surge in infection among children, PTI reported.

Of the 762 new COVID-19 patients in the state, 102 are in the 0-18 age group. However, the infection rate among the children slightly dipped to 13.38 per cent on Wednesday from 14.57 per cent on the previous day.

The fresh infections reported in 29 of the 30 districts pushed the state's caseload to 10,13,567. Eight fresh fatalities took the state's coronavirus death toll to 8,070, a health official said.

4:22 PM

Kerala's higher education institutions to open from Oct 4, says min

3:39 PM

Delhi reports 41 new cases

3:22 PM

Covid pushed back progress made on HIV, TB and malaria: Report

The Covid-19 pandemic have had a devastating impact on the fight and progress made against HIV, TB and malaria worldwide in 2020, according to a new report released by the Global Fund on Wednesday, IANS reported.

In 2020, the number of people treated for drug-resistant TB in the countries dropped by a staggering 19 per cent, with those on treatment for extensively drug-resistant TB registering an even bigger drop of 37 per cent.

The number of HIV-positive TB patients on antiretroviral treatment as well as TB treatment dropped by 16 per cent.

3:21 PM

Public celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi not allowed in Delhi amid Covid: DDMA

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Wednesday issued an order that the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations will not be allowed at public places here in view of COVID-19. As per the directive, people were advised to celebrate the festival at home, ANI reported.

Ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, the DDMA order stated that the celebrations may not be allowed in public places.

"No idol of Lord Ganesha shall be set up in the Tent, pandal, public places, nor any kind of permission shall be granted for the procession and the public shall encourage or advised to celebrate the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival at their homes. The crowd should not be gathering in any religious, social places in any manner," said a statement released by DDMA.

2:45 PM

Cabinet increases MSP for Rabi crops for marketing season 2022-23

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi crops for Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2022-23, a statement from the government said.

The highest absolute increase in MSP over the previous year has been recommended for lentil (Masur), rapeseed and mustard (Rs.400 per quintal each) followed by gram (Rs.130 per quintal). In case of safflower, there has been an increase of Rs.114 per quintal, in comparison to last year, the statement said.

2:40 PM