Page 17 - Coronavirus

Another Covid surge

Authorities should keep an eye on the new variant

Kerala Covid-19 update: 1,634 active cases, 1 death reported in state

Health Minister Veena George said that 1,957 oxygen beds, 2,454 ICU beds, and 937 ICU beds with ventilators have been arranged in Kerala

Centre's guidelines on new Covid-19 variant implemented in MP: CM Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said his government has implemented guidelines issued by the Centre in connection with a new variant of COVID-19, amid an uptick in the viral infection cases in some states. Yadav on Monday night visited Hamidia Hospital, the largest state government hospital in Bhopal, to take stock of the arrangements. "The health department is working with full efficiency to deal with COVID-19 as well as all other diseases," Yadav told reporters after visiting the medical facility. "We have implemented guidelines issued by the Centre regarding a new variant of COVID-19 in the entire state," he said. Yadav said the country got victory over the pandemic earlier also under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CM also interacted with the attendants of patients during the visit to the hospital. On Monday, the Centre asked states and Union Territories to maintain constant vigil amid the rise in COVID-19 cases and the detection of the first

India on alert as JN.1 Covid variant emerges, active cases surge to 1,828

MoH issues advisories to states. Karnataka brings back mask rule for senior citizens after Kerala sees spike in cases

Covid-19: Karnataka asks people over 60 years of age to mask up

Covid-19 cases: Authorities in Karnataka have been on a state of vigil as reports suggested that the number of active coronavirus cases in Kerala rose to around 1,144 on Sunday

Masks return as Singapore sees Covid-19 uptick, rise in hospitalisations

Covid-19 cases: The Singapore government stated that the dominant strain causing these infections has been identified as JN.1, a sublineage of BA.2.86

JN.1 detected in Kerala: All you need to know about the Covid variant

The JN.1 sub-variant of Covid-19, first identified in Luxembourg and since spreading to several countries, is a descendant of the Pirola variant (BA.2.86)

Covid-19 variant JN.1 in Kerala: 4 deaths reported, Karnataka on alert

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao ruled out the need to restrict movement on the border at present amid the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in neighbouring Kerala

WHO urges members to continue surveillance amid rising respiratory diseases

In the wake of the surge in respiratory diseases and new JN.1 COVID sub-variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the virus is evolving and changing and urged the member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing.The global body also shared a video of its COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, who explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be taken."Dr @mvankerkhove talks about the current surge in respiratory diseases #COVID19 and JN.1 subvariant. WHO continues to assess the situation. Follow WHO's public health advice to keep your families and friends safe during this holiday season," WHO posted on X (formerly Twitter).Maria Van Kerkhove also took to the social media platform and said that a number of pathogens have led to the rise in respiratory diseases across the world."Respiratory diseases are increasing around the world due to a number of pathogens incl #COVID19, #flu, rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumonia & ...

Kerala reports 4 Covid deaths as cases spike, MoHFW conducts mock drill

Nothing to worry about, says state health minister

India records 339 fresh Covid-19 cases, active caseload rises to 1,492

India recorded a single-day rise of 339 new COVID-19 infections while the active caseload rose to 1,492, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll was recorded at 5,33,311 (5.33 lakh), the data updated at 8 am showed. The country's Covid case tally currently stands at 4,50,04,481 (4.50 crore). The number of people who have recuperated from the disease is currently at 4,44,69,678 (4.44 crore) while the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The case fatality rate is at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry website, 220.67 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far.

Sub-strain of Coronavirus JN.1 detected in Kerala woman on Dec 8: Official

A case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 was detected in Kerala on December 8, official sources said on Saturday. The sample from a 79-year-old woman had returned a positive result in an RT-PCR test on November 18, they said, adding that she had mild symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) and had recovered from COVID-19. More than 90 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in India at present are mild and they are in home isolation, the sources said. Earlier, an Indian traveller was also detected with JN.1 sub-variant in Singapore. The person was a native of Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirapalli district and had travelled to Singapore on October 25. No increase in cases were observed in Tiruchirapalli district or other places in Tamil Nadu following the strain being detected in them. No other case of JN.1 variant has been detected in India," the source said. The JN.1 sub-variant -- first identified in Luxembourg and since spreading to several countries -- is a descendant of the Pirola variant (BA.2.86

Singaporeans encouraged to wear face mask following spike in Covid cases

As Singapore's COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it "strongly encourages" people to wear a face mask in crowded places even if they are not ill, especially indoors or when visiting vulnerable people. The ministry said on Friday that the estimated number of COVID-19 cases from December 3 to 9 increased to 56,043, a 75 per cent jump compared with 32,035 cases in the previous week. The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations rose from 225 to 350. The average daily cases in the intensive care unit rose from four to nine, Channel News Asia reported. The vast majority of cases are infected by the JN.1 variant, a sublineage of BA.2.86. "Based on the available international and local data, there is currently no clear indication that BA.2.86 or JN.1 are more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other circulating variants," MOH said in a media release. Urging the public to exercise personal and social responsibility, the ministry said people who a

Delivering Covid vax to respiratory tract may give better protection: Study

Delivering the COVID-19 vaccine directly to the respiratory tract -- the primary site of entry inS-CoV-2 infection -- may lead to improved protection against the disease, a study in monkeys has found. The global COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved an estimated 20 million lives, researchers said. However, while current COVID-19 vaccines provide protection against developing severe disease, they do little to prevent infection and transmission, they said. "The failure of the current generation ofS-CoV-2 vaccines delivered by the intramuscular (IM) route to block infection likely relates to their inability to induce robust mucosal immune responses at the portal of entry," said study corresponding author Dan H. Barouch, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), US. "In this study, we demonstrated that novel immunisation strategies can markedly increase mucosal immunity in non-human primates and improve protective efficacy against a mucosal virus challenge," Barouch said. The .

Is MGNREGA work demand real sign of distress or problem lies elsewhere?

In FY23, around 87.5 million people worked under the scheme, according to the MGNREGA website. Till December 12 in FY24, approximately 72.6 million people had worked under the scheme

Hospital industry set to grow at 12% CAGR driven by post-pandemic recovery

This surge in growth has led to an increase in capital expenditure within the hospital industry

Air passenger traffic continues to grow, reaches 98.2% of pre-Covid levels

Domestic traffic for Oct '23 was also up 33.7% when compared with the same period last year. This was driven by the triple-digit percentage growth in China

DGCA gives women wings: Plans 2024 framework to boost participation

About 15 per cent of Indian pilots are women, the highest globally. Vikram Dev Dutt noted that within the DGCA, 11 per cent of the workforce consists of women

Link between Covid-19 vaccines and heart attacks? Here's what govt said

A study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has observed that COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India, the government informed Parliament on Friday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said post hospitalisation due to COVID-19, the family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden deaths. The minister was responding to a question on whether there has been any reported instance of a linkage between Covid vaccination and incidents of heart attacks in the country. Sudden deaths have been reported in some people after they contracted Covid, but sufficient evidence is not available to confirm the cause of such deaths, Mandaviya said. To ascertain the facts regarding the apprehension of a rising number of cardiac arrest cases after Covid, the ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) ...

Chronic fatigue syndrome more common than some past studies suggest: CDC

Health officials on Friday released the first nationally representative estimate of how many US adults have chronic fatigue syndrome: 3.3 million. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's number is larger than previous studies have suggested, and is likely boosted by some of the patients with long COVID. The condition clearly "is not a rare illness, said the CDC's Dr. Elizabeth Unger, one of the report's co-authors. Chronic fatigue is characterized by at least six months of severe exhaustion not helped by bed rest. Patients also report pain, brain fog and other symptoms that can get worse after exercise, work or other activity. There is no cure, and no blood test or scan to enable a quick diagnosis. Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause, although research suggests it is a body's prolonged overreaction to an infection or other jolt to the immune system. The condition rose to prominence nearly 40 years ago, when clusters of cases were reported in Incline Village, ...