Covid-19 Cases in India: India on Wednesday reported 38,353 fresh Covid cases.
Only those who have received both doses of Covid vaccines will be allowed to enter malls in Mumbai and other cities of Maharashtra, the state government has decided. Speaking to the media after a cabinet meeting today, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the government will further relax the Covid restrictions from August 15.
"People with double doses can board local trains. The state government has given instructions to issue monthly and quarterly passes to people," he said.
The minister added that restaurants will be allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity till 10 pm. Shops too can stay open till 10 pm, he said.
India on Wednesday reported 38,353 fresh Covid cases, which is 36 per cent higher than 28,204 reported yesterday. The country also reported 497 deaths, taking the cumulative death count to 4,29,179.
The daily positivity rate stands at 2.16 per cent, which has been less than 3 per cent for last 16 days.
Meanwhile, a study on mixing Covishield and Covaxin, the two main vaccines used in India's COVID-19 vaccination programme, has been given a go-ahead by the Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI), say sources. This study and its clinical trials, sources add, will be conducted by Vellore's Christian Medical College.
Here are the highlights on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
Canada Planning Covid Vaccine Passport For International TravelCanada is working to create a digital vaccine passport that would allow citizens to travel abroad and it should be available in the next few months, government officials said on Wednesday.
Before the passport can be created Ottawa needs to agree on a common approach with the 10 provinces and three northern territories, which are responsible for inoculations against COVID-19.
It "is a key step forward in ensuring Canadians will have the documents they need once it is safe to travel again," Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters.
Delhi Records Zero Covid-19 Deaths, 37 Fresh CasesDelhi recorded zero COVID-19 fatality and 37 fresh cases of the infection on Wednesday, with the positivity rate declining to 0.06 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
Forty-seven patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 14,11,280 in the national capital.
The city reported 52 fresh COVID-19 cases and one more fatality due to the disease on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent.
Maharashtra Records 5,560 Covid Cases, 163 Related Deaths In 24 HoursMaharashtra reported 5,560 new coronavirus cases and 163 fatalities in 24 hours Wednesday while 6,944 patients were discharged from hospitals, a health department official said. On Tuesday the state had reported 5,609 new cases and 137 fatalities.
The caseload in the state has risen to 63,69,002, while the death count has reached 1,34,364, he said.
The number of recovered coronavirus patients increased to 61,66,620 on Wednesday, leaving the state with 64,570 active cases.
Negative COVID-19 Report Or Full Vaccination Must To Visit Himachal Pradesh From August 13The Himachal Pradesh government has made negative COVID-19 report or full vaccination mandatory for all people intending to visit the hill state from August 13.
In a late night order on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh stated, "All persons intending to visit State shall carry their COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate (double doses) or a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours or RAT negative report not older than 24 hours w.e.f. 13th August, 2021."
Kerala received 60% more vaccine doses than proposed: Centre
The Central Government informed the Kerala High Court on Wednesday that the Centre has provided the state with 60 per cent more vaccine doses than the proposed allocation.
The statement was filed after the High Court sought a reply from the Union Government in a plea, filed by petitioners KP Aravindan and Dr Praveen G Pai, challenging the Liberalized Pricing and Accelerated National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy.
The Centre said, "It supplied adequate doses of COVID vaccines to Kerala under the National COVID-19 Vaccination programme. Vaccines were supplied to States and Union Territories on a proportional basis of the eligible population, the progress of vaccination, and vaccine wastage."
Oxygen requirement will be criterion for imposing lockdown: Uddhav Thackeray
The daily oxygen requirement for COVID-19 patients will be the deciding factor for imposing lockdown in future, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Wednesday.
If the oxygen requirement reaches 700 metric tons, lockdown will be imposed again, he said in a statement.
The daily oxygen production capacity in the state is 1,300 metric tons, he said.
"During the second wave, when the number of COVID-19 cases showed a steep spike, the demand for oxygen was also very high. Some 500 metric tons of oxygen had to be procured from other states. If the demand goes up to 700 metric tons daily, which is the quantity needed for nearly 30,000 patients, the state will be once again brought under lockdown," Mr Thackeray said
UP adds 27 COVID-19 cases, one death
Uttar Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 17,088,36 on Wednesday as 27 more people tested positive for the contagious disease, while the deaths climbed to 22,776 with another fatality, a health bulletin issued here said.
The new fatality was reported from Kushinagar, it said.
The COVID-19 recovery count reached 16,85,555 in the state, the statement said. The number of active novel coronavirus cases stands at 555, it said.
So far, over 6.81 crore samples have been tested for the detection of COVID-19 in the state. These include 2.39 lakh samples tested the previous day, it said.
In the past 24 hours, no fresh case of COVID-19 was reported in 59 of total 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh, the statement added.
Delhi's COVID-19 vaccine stock to last for three days: Report
With 1,40,843 vaccines administered on the previous day, Delhi's present stock of coronavirus vaccines will last for three days only, according to the city government's vaccination bulletin issued on Wednesday.
The national capital, as on Wednesday morning, had a balance stock of 6,34,660 anti-coronavirus vaccines, out of which 3,26,720 doses are of Covishield and 3,07,940 of Covaxin, data shared by the government showed.
A total of 1,40,843 vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday, of which 84,244 were first doses and 56,599 second doses.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the national capital has crossed 1.09 crore, including 30,57,205 second doses.
Delhi's current vaccination capacity stands at 1,77,496 doses per day, the bulletin said.
Gujarat logs 16 COVID-19 infections, 28 recoveries; active cases below 200
Gujarat reported 16 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 8,25,101, while no fresh death due to the infection was recorded, the state health department said.
With 28 patients getting discharged during the day, the number of recovered cases in the state rose to 8,14,830, it said.
The COVID-19 deaths in the state remained unchanged at 10,077 as no new fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, the department said in a release.
With this, the state's COVID-19 recovery rate now stands at 98.76 per cent, it said.
Gujarat now has 194 active cases of which three patients are critical, the release said.
Ahmedabad reported the highest number of new cases at seven, followed by Surat and Vadodara three each, and Gir Somnath, Jamnagar, and Navsari one case each, the department said.
World Health Organization tests three potential Covid-19 treatments
The World Health Organization on Wednesday announced major international trials of three drugs to see if they improve the condition of hospitalised Covid-19 patients.
Artesunate, imatinib and infliximab will be tested on patients in more than 600 hospitals in 52 countries.
"Finding more effective and accessible therapeutics for Covid-19 patients remains a critical need," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Artesunate is a treatment for severe malaria; imatinib a drug used for certain cancers and infliximab a treatment for immune system disorders such as Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis.
COVID-19: Maharashtra adds 20 new cases of Delta plus variant, tally reaches 65
As many as 20 new cases of the Delta plus variant of COVID-19, considered highly infectious, were detected in Maharashtra on Wednesday and seven of them were in Mumbai, the state government said.
With this, the number of patients found infected with the Delta plus variant has increased to 65, said a statement issued by the state health department.
Out of the newly detected cases, seven were in Mumbai, three in Pune, two each in Nanded, Gondia, Raigad, Palghar, and one each in Chandrapur and Akola districts, the statement said.
Out of the 65 such patients found in the state so far, the highest cases, 33, were in the 19 to 45 age group and 17 in the 46 to 60 age bracket, it said.
The Delta plus variant was also found in seven children and eight senior citizens, the statement said.
Telangana logs 482 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
Telangana on Wednesday reported 482 new COVID-19 cases taking the tally to over 6.50 lakh while the deaths stood at 3,833 with two more deaths.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation accounted for the highest number of cases with 82 followed by Karimnagar-61, a state government bulletin said. Active cases stood at 8,137.
The total number of cases was at 6,50,835 and recoveries at 6,38,865 with 455 people being cured.
Over 88,000 samples were tested on Wednesday and cumulatively, over 2.30 crore samples have been tested.
COVID-19:Karnataka logs 1,826 new cases, 33 deaths
The Dakshina Kannada district bordering Kerala, continues to top the daily COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, as the state reported 1,826 new cases and 33 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 29,22,875 and deaths to 36,881, the health department said on Wednesday.
The day also saw 1,618 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 28,63,117.
With 422 new cases, Dakshina Kannada outnumbered the state capital Bengaluru Urban which reported 377 cases today.
On Tuesday too Dakshina Kannada recorded the highest 378 daily cases, while in Bengaluru Urban it was 315.
Active cases now stood at 22,851.
Nashik reports 105 new coronavirus cases, two deaths
The COVID-19 tally in Nashik district of Maharashtra rose to 4,03,636 on Wednesday with the single-day addition of 105, health officials said.
The virus claimed two more lives in the district, which pushed the deaths to 8,541, they said.
A total of 69 patients got discharged from hospitals during the day, taking Nashik's overall recovery count to 3,94,009, the officials said.
As many as 23,54,236 swabs have been tested till date in the district, of which 8,229 were tested on Wednesday alone.
Delhi records zero COVID-19 fatality, 37 fresh cases
Delhi recorded zero COVID-19 fatality and 37 fresh cases of the infection on Wednesday, with the positivity rate declining to 0.06 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
Forty-seven patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 14,11,280 in the national capital.
The city reported 52 fresh COVID-19 cases and one more fatality due to the disease on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent.
Maharashtra's Raigad district sees 187 COVID-19 cases, 15 deaths, 185 recoveries
Raigad district in Maharashtra reported 187 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths, taking the tally of infections to 1,62,052 and the deaths to 4,065, an official release said on Wednesday.
These new additions and deaths were reported on Tuesday.
A total of 185 patients were discharged, taking the number of recoveries in the Raigad district so far to 1,55,787, as per a release issued by the district collector's office.
The case positivity rate in the district now stands at 2.52%, it said.
A total of 7,25,551 people have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine so far in the district. 2,22,919 people have received the second dose.
The overall number of people who are vaccinated in the Raigad district is 9,48,490 including 5,51,747 men, 96,629 women and 114 belonging to ''other'' categories, the release said.
No new COVID-19 infection in Dharavi for 3rd time in August; active cases at 25
Mumbai's slum colony Dharavi did not report any fresh coronavirus case for the third time in August so far on Wednesday, keeping the tally unchanged at 6,992, a senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.
Earlier on August 3 and 8, no new case was detected in the slum- dominated area, once a COVID-19 hotspot.
In June and July, too, Dharavi had witnessed no new COVID-19 infections on a few days.
Dharavi has a cumulative COVID-19 caseload of 6,992, of which 6,596 patients have already recovered and discharged from hospitals, the official said.
He said currently the densely-populated slum locality has 25 active COVID-19 cases.
Sikkim reports 157 new COVID cases, positivity rate at 12.5%
Sikkim reported 157 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths on Wednesday, as per the Health Department.
West Sikkim registered the highest number of new cases at 81, followed by 47 in East Sikkim, 26 in South Sikkim and three in North Sikkim. The state at present has 2,543 active cases, while 278 patients have migrated out.
So far, 24,995 people have recovered from COVID-19 in the state. Sikkim has so far reported 28,175 cases and 359 deaths.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Ladakh reports 7 new Covid cases
Ladakh recorded seven fresh COVID-19 cases taking the union territory's tally to 20,407, while active cases stood at 74, officials said on Wednesday. Ladakh has registered 207 Covid-related deaths -- 149 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Odisha reports 1,078 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
Odisha reported 1,078 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally in the state to 9,90,075 the state health department informed on Wednesday.
The state also reported 1,319 recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the recovery tally to 972,710. As per the state data, 6,630 people have died till date of which 65 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Pondy records 114 new cases of coronavirus, tally touches 1.21 lakh
Puducherry posted 114 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, raising the total infection count to 1,21,880.
One more person succumbed to the viral infection, pushing up the death count to 181, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Over 53.24 COVID-19 vaccine doses provided to states, says Centre
More than 53.24 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far and a further 72,40,250 doses are in the pipeline, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
Of this, the total consumption including wastage is 51,56,11,035 doses, PTI reported.
COVID-19 News Updates: Active cases in country lowest in 140 days
India logged 38,353 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,20,36,511, while the active cases have declined to 3,86,351, the lowest in 140 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death count has climbed to 4,29,179 with 497 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 2 new cases push COVID-19 tally of Andamans to 7,548
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 7,548 on Wednesday as two more people tested positive for the infection, PTI reported.
Single day rise of 38,353 COVID-19 infections, 497 fatalities push India's tally of cases to 3,20,36,511, death count to 4,29,179: Centre
Coronavirus Live Updates: 210 new COVID-19 cases in Thane, 10 more deathsThane has reported 210 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 5,47,153, an official said on Wednesday.
Besides these new cases recorded on Tuesday, 10 more people also dies due to the viral infection, which raised the death count in the district to 11,143, PTI reported.
Coronavirus Updates: Australia's second-largest city extends lockdown
Five million people in Australia's second-largest city will remain under stay-at-home orders for at least another week after authorities extended a lockdown Wednesday after failing to curb Melbourne's latest Covid outbreak.
The city entered its sixth pandemic lockdown last Thursday after a fresh Delta variant cluster emerged at a Melbourne school and quickly spread.
Daniel Andrews, the premier of the state of Victoria, said lockdown rules will be extended until at least August 19, after 20 new cases were detected overnight including several "mystery" cases.
"There are too many cases, the origins of which are not clear to us... for us to safely come out of lockdown now," he said.
In Sydney, more than five million people are enduring their seventh week under stay-at-home orders, currently scheduled to remain until the end of August.
Mohan, a flower vendor in Madurai makes floral masks exclusively for brides, grooms to raise awareness about COVID-19.
"Despite govt orders, people don't wear masks at weddings. I make these floral masks to encourage brides, grooms to wear them," he said.
Germany to end free Covid tests to boost jab take-up
Germany will end free coronavirus tests in October, regional leaders and the federal government agreed on Tuesday, in a push to incentivise more people to get vaccinated.
With Covid-19 tests or proof of vaccination or recovery to be a requirement to access facilities including restaurants, cinemas or gyms, people who refuse to get jabbed will have to pay to prove they are infection-free come autumn or risk being shut out.
Global Eradication Of COVID-19 More Feasible Than For Polio: Study
The global eradication of COVID-19 is more feasible than it is for polio, but considerably less so than it was for smallpox, according to an analysis published in the journal BMJ Global Health on Tuesday.
Public health experts from the University of Otago Wellington in New Zealand noted that vaccination, public health measures, and global interest in achieving this goal all make eradication of COVID-19 possible.