Page 14 - Coronavirus Tests

China to reopen borders, abandon quarantine even as Covid-19 cases rise

Zero-Covid policy over: Quarantine for travellers to end starting Jan 8

World shares advance after China relaxes more Covid-19 restrictions

World shares advanced Tuesday after China announced it would relax more of its pandemic restrictions despite widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 that are straining its medical systems and disrupting business. China's National Health Commission said Monday that passengers arriving from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, starting Jan. 8. They will still need a negative virus test within 48 hours of their departure and to wear masks on their flights. But it was the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures that have severely limited travel to and from the world's No. 2 economy. With economic activity floundering, and multinationals questioning the viability of China as a sourcing location, policymakers have as so many times in the past adopted a very business-like approach," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. Companies welcomed the move as an important step toward reviving slumping business activity. Germany's DAX gained 0

Corporate India gears up to hedge China supply risk amid Covid surge

The sectors in India that import from China include pharmaceutical (pharma), automotive (auto), textile, engineering, and electronic goods

Deja-vu moment as govt hospitals start mock drills to test Covid infra

The move comes even as India has only 3,421 active Covid-19 cases currently, and reported 157 fresh cases in the past 24 hour

'Living with Covid': UK to stop publishing data, China back to work

The data is considered "no longer necessary" as the country moves to a phase of living with the virus with the help of vaccines and medicines

Karnataka makes masks mandatory in public places, increases Covid testing

State govt tells revellers to end New Year celebrations before 1 am; Centre readies for mock drills today

Indigo, SpiceJet: After a dismal 2022, will aviation stocks soar in 2023?

Indigo and SpiceJet shares must surpass these key hurdles to embark on a new trend.

Statsguru: Covid-19 fears return; vaccination rates still low in India

Around 50 per cent of people over 60 years of age are fully vaccinated. Vaccination is significantly lower for the rest of the country

Covid cases rising in many countries, be vigilant, wear mask: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked people to be vigilant and take precautions against COVID-19, as he noted that the virus is spreading in many countries. In his last 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast of the year, Modi said many people are on a vacation or will go on one during Christmas and New Year and urged them to follow protocols like wearing masks and washing hands to ensure that their enjoyment is not affected adversely by the virus. The central government has stepped up measures against the virus, with the cases on a rise, especially in China where the lifting of zero-Covid policy has caused a spread of the pandemic. Modi has also chaired meetings and his government has written to the states to put in place adequate measures to deal with any spurt. The prime minister said the outgoing year, 2022, has been inspirational to India in many ways. India carved out a special place for itself in the world with its incredible vaccination doses of over 220 crore and the country ...

China stops publishing daily Covid-19 cases amid fresh surge: Report

China's National Health Commission, which used to issue the country's Covid-19 case figures on a daily basis, starting Sunday stopped publishing the update, according to The Global Times

Agra man who returned from China tests positive for Covid-19: CMO

A 40-year-old man, who returned from China two days back, has tested positive for COVID-19 following which he has been isolated at his home here, Chief Medical Officer Arun Srivastava said on Sunday. His samples will be sent to Lucknow for genome sequencing, he said. "The man has been isolated at his home and teams of the health department have been asked to conduct tests of his family members and those who came in contact with him," Srivastava added. The man returned to Agra from China via Delhi on December 23 following which he was tested at a private lab. The report came out positive for Covid, he added. This the first Covid positive case in the district detected after November 25, officials said. Amid a surge in Covid cases in some countries, including China, the Centre has ramped up its anti-coronavirus measures. The Centre had said RT-PCR test would be made mandatory for passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand and asked states to conduct a mock dri

Travellers in a fix over govt announcement of mandatory RT-PCR testing

The rule applies to passengers arriving from five nations and calls for quarantine of infected/symptomatic flyers; travellers fear list may soon include more countries

India's move to carry RT-PCR tests unlikely to disrupt holiday travel plans

India's move to conduct RT-PCR test on a limited scale on passengers arriving from abroad has raised concerns among travellers but it's unlikely to have disruptive impact on the travel plans of most holidaymakers, including from the diaspora, the community members said on Sunday. The Indian government on Saturday ramped up anti-Covid measures in the wake of a surge in the number of cases in some countries including neighbouring China and made the RT-PCR test mandatory for passengers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. With the reduction in cases and more widespread vaccination, India had discontinued mandatory RT-PCR tests for international passengers by November. From Saturday, random coronavirus testing of international passengers started at airports including those in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Indore and Goa under new guidelines that require testing of two per cent of the passengers arriving in each international .

FPIs invest Rs 11,557 crore in equities during Dec; Covid to drive flows

Foreign investors have infused a net Rs 11,557 crore in Indian equities in December so far despite a market correction and increasing concerns over re-emergence of COVID in China and some other parts of the world. Going ahead, macro data from the US and COVID news will drive FPI flows and the markets in the near term, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. According to data with the depositories, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) invested a net sum of Rs 11,557 crore in equities during December 1-23. This comes following a net investment of over Rs 36,200 crore in November primarily due to weakening of the US dollar index and positivity about overall macroeconomic trends. Prior to this, foreign investors pulled out Rs 8 crore in October and Rs 7,624 crore in September, data with the depositories showed. "Despite correction in the markets, increasing concerns over re-emergence of COVID in some parts of the world and recession worries in the

Restaurants pull out the masks and gloves to keep new Covid wave at bay

Sanitisers find their way back at entry points; Christmas and New Year bookings sold out, no cancellations so far

Delhi authorities to check hospitals' readiness, increase Covid testing

In view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in some countries, officials will physically visit all government hospitals in Delhi and ascertain their preparedness to deal with any eventuality, authorities said on Sunday. In pursuance of the central government's directions, a mock drill will be conducted across all city government hospitals on Tuesday. Delhi Health Secretary Amit Singla chaired a meeting with all district magistrates on Sunday morning and directed them to visit all hospitals and prepare an inventory of beds and equipment available there, a district official said. "From Monday onwards, we are going to physically assess the situation at the government hospitals with regard to the availability of beds, oxygen cylinders, ventilators etc. These details will be available on a Delhi government portal for public viewing from Tuesday," another official said. The Delhi government's coronavirus dashboard was last updated on December 12. "Real-time data will be available on the portal

LIVE: Covid rising in many nations; be careful, wear masks, says PM Modi

Catch all the live updates from across the globe here

110 international passengers randomly tested for Covid-19 at Delhi airport

The recent 'Guidelines for International Arrivals' were followed accordingly, and 110 international passengers were tested randomly on day 1 at the Delhi IGI, Genestrings Diagnostic Centre said

India has developed herd immunity; BF.7 variant may not be serious: CCMB

The severity of BF.7 variant of coronavirus in India may not be as serious as it is currently prevailing in China as Indian have already developed "herd immunity" a top official of CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here said. Vinay K Nandicoori, Director CCMB, stressing the need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, said there is always a concern that all these variants have the ability to escape the immunity and can infect people who are vaccinated and even sometimes infected with the previous variants of Omicron. "The severity of the infection is not as much as they used to be with Delta. That's because of the fact that we do have herd immunity to an extent. Actually we have herd immunity because we are exposed to the other viruses," he told PTI. Media reports indicate that India reported four cases of BF.7 variant of coronavirus. "We (India) have seen the Delta wave which is a big one. Then we have got vaccination done. And then the Omicron wave came and we

India reports 227 fresh Covid-19 cases; active tally rises to 3,424

) India recorded 227 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 3,424, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,77,106) . The death toll stands at 5,30,693 with two fatalities with one reconciled by Kerala and one death reported in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry. An increase of 27 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,42,989, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.05 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed