Covid-19 Cases in India: The recovery rate is 97.45 per cent.
India logged 41,195 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,20,77,706, while the active cases increased to 3,87,987, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The number of deaths climbed to 4,29,669 with 490 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The active cases increased after registering a decrease for five consecutive days. They now comprise 1.21 per cent of the total infections, the ministry said, adding the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.45 per cent.
An increase of 1,636 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
As many as 21,24,953 tests were conducted on Wednesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 48,73,70,196.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.94 per cent. It has been less than three per cent for the last 17 days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.23 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,12, 60,050, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.
Cumulatively, 52.36 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.
Here are the highlights on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
WHO Urges China To Share Raw Data On Early COVID-19 CasesThe WHO on Thursday urged China to share raw data from the earliest Covid-19 cases to revive the pandemic origins probe -- and release information to address the controversial lab leak theory.
The World Health Organization stressed it was "vitally important" to uncover the origins of the worst pandemic in a century, which has killed at least 4.3 million people and battered the global economy since the virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.
Bengal Reports 747 New COVID-19 Cases, 10 Fresh FatalitiesWest Bengal on Thursday reported 747 new COVID-19 cases which pushed the tally to 15,36,446, a bulletin issued by the health department said.
Ten new COVID-19 fatalities pushed the death count to 18,268, it said.
Of the 747 new cases, 88 were recorded in North 24 Parganas followed by 77 in Kolkata and 74 in Darjeeling.
Covid Jabs May Not Provide Absolute Protection But Reduces Risk Of Death, Complications: WHO Chief ScientistWHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Thursday said even though vaccines may not be able to provide absolute protection against different variants of SARS-CoV2, it can certainly reduce the risk of death and complications.
The World Health Organisation's chief scientist said there will be a need to be on guard in the months to come as well.
She called on Science and Technology minister Jitendra Singh and discussed various aspects of the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as a wide range of other issues.
Coronavirus News: Zero Covid Deaths In Delhi In 24 Hours For 8th Time Since Second WaveFor the second consecutive day today and the eighth time since the second wave, Delhi recorded zero Covid-related deaths, data shared by the city health department showed, reported news agency PTI. The national capital's positivity rate now stands at 0.07%.
Covid Jabs May Not Give Absolute Protection: WHO Chief Scientist
Emphasising the importance of mass Covid vaccination through easy availability and accessibility, WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan today said even though vaccines may not be able to provide absolute protection against different variants of SARS-CoV2, it can certainly reduce the risk of death and complications, reported news agency PTI.
Coronavirus News: 453 Coronavirus Cases In 24 Hours In Telangana With 3 Deaths
Telangana today registered 453 Covid cases, taking the tally to over 6.51 lakh while the death count stood at 3,836 with three more casualties, reported news agency ANI.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation accounted for the highest number of cases with 69 new infections, followed by Karimnagar district, a state government bulletin said.
The number of active cases now stands at 8,137.
Coronavirus News: No New Covid Cases In Mumbai's Dharavi For Second Day In A RowMumbai's Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, did not report any Covid cases for the second consecutive day today, due to which its overall infection count remained unchanged at 6,992, a senior civic official said, reported news agency PTI.
No new case was reported in the slum colony on Wednesday. Earlier, on August 3 and August 8, Dharavi did not report any case, the official said.
Karnataka Coronavirus
1,857 Covid cases in Karnataka in 24 hours - marginally more cases than yesterday; positivity rate rises to 1.15%
Health Minister Discusses Covaxin Approval At Meeting With WHO Chief ScientistUnion Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today met WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan and held discussions over the global health body's approval for Bharat Biotech's Covid vaccine Covaxin.
"Held a meeting with Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist of @WHO. We had a productive discussion on WHO's approval of @BharatBiotech's COVAXIN. @DoctorSoumya also appreciated India's efforts for the containment of #COVID19," Mr Mandaviya tweeted.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 10 more test positive for COVD-19 in Ladakh
Ladakh recorded 10 more COVID-19 cases on Thursday and the active cases have risen to 82 in the union territory, officials said.
All the 10 persons testing positive for the virus were from Leh district, they said.
The total number of cases in the UT has gone up now 20,421, the officials said.
Two more patients were discharged from hospitals in the past 24 hours, raising the number of cured persons to 20,132, they said.
No death due to COVID-19 was reported in Ladakh in the past 24 hours, the officials said.
Over 54.04 crore Covid vaccine doses provided to states, UTs so far: Government
More than 54.04 crore Covid vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far, and 1,09,83,510 additional doses are in the pipeline, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.
Of this, the total consumption, including the wastage, is 52,00,96,418 doses, according to data available at 8 am.
A total of 2,55,54,533 COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states, Union Territories and private hospitals to be administered, the ministry said.
The Union government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country.
The new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21, 2021.
Coronavirus: No Adverse Reaction To COVID-19 Jab During Home Vaccination Encouraging, Says Bombay High CourtThe Bombay High Court on Thursday said it was encouraging to note that not a single bed-ridden person, who was administered the COVID-19 vaccine at home by the Mumbai civic body, showed any adverse reaction to the jab.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni said it was satisfied that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was moving in the right direction with regard to reaching out to bed-ridden people to give them the vaccine, and said all other civic bodies and district councils in the state should follow suit.
The door-to-door vaccination drive began as a pilot project in Mumbai on July 30.
The BMC on Wednesday submitted an affidavit in the HC, saying 4,889 bed-ridden people registered for home vaccination so far and out of them, 1,317 were given the jabs.
COVID-19 may become a mostly childhood disease in few years: Study
COVID-19 may behave like other common-cold coronaviruses in the next few years, affecting mostly young children who have not yet been vaccinated or exposed to the virus, according to a modelling study published on Thursday.
The US-Norwegian team noted that because COVID-19 severity is generally lower among children, the overall burden from this disease is expected to decline as the SARS-CoV-2 virus becomes endemic in the global population.
"Following infection by SARS-CoV-2, there has been a clear signature of increasingly severe outcomes and fatality with age," said Ottar Bjornstad from the University of Oslo in Norway.
"Yet, our modelling results suggest that the risk of infection will likely shift to younger children as the adult community becomes immune either through vaccination or exposure to the virus," he said.
BKC jumbo COVID-19 vaccination centre closed for vaccination for August 12-13.
It's been 100 days since I have received my 1st dose of vaccine, says Mahesh Joshi.
Update| More than 54.04 crore (54,04,78,610) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far. Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 52,00,96,418 doses (as per data available at 8 am today): Union Health Ministry
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Thane logs 253 new COVID-19 cases, 7 more deaths
With the addition of 253 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 5,47,408, an official said on Thursday.
These new cases were reported on Wednesday, he said.
The virus also claimed the lives of seven more people, which pushed the death toll in the district to 11,150, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.03 per cent.
In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,33,835, while the death toll has reached 3,220, another official said.
Update| 41,195 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 7.4% higher than yesterday
Update| The total number of samples tested up to 11th August is 48,73,70,196 including 21,24,953 samples tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Clotting From Covid Shots Is Rare But "Potentially Devastating": Study
Researchers say they're making progress in understanding a clotting disorder linked to Covid-19 vaccines that they describe as very rare but potentially "devastating."
The blood-clotting syndrome affected about 1 in 50,000 people under the age of 50 who received the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Almost a quarter of those patients who definitely or probably had the condition died.
The chances of death rose to 73% among those with a very low platelet count and other factors, U.K. researchers found. Cases of the disorder, called immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis, have declined since age restrictions were introduced in the rollout, scientists said Wednesday.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Sydney Seeks To Tighten COVID-19 Curbs, Canberra To Enter Lockdown
Extra Australian military personnel may be called in to ensure compliance with lockdown rules in Sydney, the New South Wales state government said on Thursday, as the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant spreads into regional areas.
The move comes as Australia's capital, Canberra, 260 km (160 miles) southwest of Sydney, announced a snap one-week lockdown from Thursday evening after reporting its first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in more than a year.
Australia is battling to get on top of the fast-moving Delta strain that has plunged two of its largest cities - Sydney and Melbourne - into hard lockdowns.
New Zealand To Let In Vaccinated Travellers From Low-Risk Countries Next Year: PMNew Zealand plans to allow quarantine-free entry to vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries from early next year as part of a phased reopening of its borders that were shut last year due to the pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday.
Ardern said the government will move to a new individual risk-based model for quarantine-free travel from the first quarter of 2022 that will establish low-, medium- and high-risk pathways into the country.
Total COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered In India Crosses 52 Crore: CentreThe cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed the 52 crore mark, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
India took 85 days to touch the figure of 10 crore. It then took 45 days to cross the 20 crore-mark, and 29 days more to reach 30 crore. The country took 24 days to reach 40 crore from 30 crore and then 20 more days to cross 50 crore vaccinations on August 6. It surpassed the 51 crore-mark on August 9.