Coronavirus News highlights: Nepal extends Covid-19 lockdown in Kathmandu Valley till August 11

The authorities in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley on Tuesday extended the ongoing lockdown till August 11 to contain theCovid-19 pandemic.

The current round of lockdown expires on Wednesday midnight local time and the three districts in the valley -- Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur -- decided to extend it by another seven days starting from Thursday.

. Israel warned on Tuesday against travel to the United States and other countries and said it would tighten quarantine measures for inbound travelers as part of efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant.

NewCovid-19 cases have surged in highly-vaccinated Israel since the emergence of the highly contagious Delta variant, prompting health officials this week to begin administering vaccine booster shots to people over 60.

(Reuters)

. Britain on Tuesday reported 138 deaths within 28 days of a positiveCovid-19 test, and another 21,691 infections.

The reported deaths is higher than Monday's 24 but that figure has previously been elevated on Tuesdays, owing to reporting patterns in hospitals after the weekend. The number of new cases is in line with Monday's 21,952.

(Reuters)

. Gujarat on Tuesday recorded 17 fresh cases ofCovid-19 that took the tally of infections to 8,24,939 in the state, an official from the health department said.

The state did not report a singleCovid-19 death for the 16th day in a row, keeping the toll steady at 10,076, the official said. With the addition of 42 patients who were discharged from hospitals during the day, the count of recoveries rose to 8,14,637, leaving the state with 226 active cases, he said, adding that the recovery rate stands at 98.75 per cent.

(PTI)

. Jammu and Kashmir recorded 140 freshCovid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the number of infected people to 321865, while three fatalities due to the disease in the last 24 hours pushed the toll to 4,384, officials said.

Out of the fresh cases, 70 were from the Jammu division and an equal number from the Kashmir division of the Union Territory, the officials said.

(PTI)

. The Chhattisgarh government on Tuesday made it mandatory for passengers arriving in the state by air to produce a negative RT-PCR report ofCovid-19 test conducted within 96 hours of boarding the flight, officials said.

(PTI)

. New York City will soon require proof ofCovid-19 vaccinations for indoor activities, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday, making it the first big city in the US to impose such restrictions.

The new requirement, which will go into effect August 16, applies to indoor dining, gyms and indoor entertainment venues.

(AP)

. Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday reported 18 newCovid-19 cases which pushed its caseload to 7,91,880, a health department official said.

No fatality on account of the pandemic was reported during the day, so the death toll remained unchanged at 10,513, he added.

(PTI)

. Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 6,005 fresh coronavirus positive cases and 177 fatalities, taking the tally of infections to 63,21,068 and the toll to 1,33,215 while 6,799 patients recovered, the state health department said.

With the new additions, the tally of recoveries in Maharashtra now stands at 61,10,124, leaving the state with 74,318 active cases with a recovery rate of 96.66 per cent.

(PTI)

. Uttar Pradesh'sCovidtally rose to 17,08,562 with 65 fresh cases, while two new fatalities took the death toll to 22,765, a bulletin by the Health Department said on Tuesday.

One death each has been reported from Maharajganj and Chandauli districts, it said.

(PTI)

. The United States has now donated more than 100 million doses ofCovid-19 vaccine to other countries, the White House said Tuesday.

It said this is more than that donated by all other countries combined and marks "just the beginning" of President Joe Biden's efforts to ship the live-saving medicine around the world.

The United States has shipped 111,701 doses to 60 countries, mostly through the international vaccine distribution system known as Covax, but also in conjunction with organizations such as the African Union and the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM.

(AFP)

. The Carnival Mardi Gras docked Tuesday in Puerto Rico — the first time a cruise ship has visited the US territory since the pandemic began.

Some cautiously celebrated the arrival. It comes as Puerto Rico has reported an increase inCovid-19 cases blamed on the Delta variant but also as it seeks to restart its crucial tourism sector, which depended largely on record numbers of cruise ship passengers in recent years.

Carlos Mercado, executive director of Puerto Rico's Tourism Company, told The Associated Press that the government took several precautions to prevent the spread ofCovid-19, including allowing only those who are fully vaccinated to disembark.

(AP)

. All departments of the Odisha government will function with the full strength of employees as theCovid-19 situation in the state has improved and most of the staffers have been vaccinated, an official release said on Tuesday.

Earlier, all government offices were directed to function with 50 per cent of staffers. “... since most of the employees are now fully vaccinated, they shall mandatorily attend offices regularly,” the General Administration Department said in the order.

(PTI)

. The United Arab Emirates will on Thursday lift a ban on transit flights including from India and Pakistan, said the National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority

. Jharkhand'sCovid-19 tally rose to 3,47,223 on Tuesday as 23 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said.

The state's coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 5,129 as no fresh fatality was reported, it said.

(PTI)

. Andhra Pradesh registered 1,546 freshCovid-19 cases in 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday. It also reported 1,940 recoveries and 18 deaths in the period, a health department bulletin said.

The stateCovid-19 chart showed 19,71,554 total positives, 19,37,956 recoveries and 13,428 deaths.

(PTI)

. The Ministry of Science and Technology has allocated over Rs 1,600 crore forCovid-19 related research and product development, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and its public sector undertaking Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) have allocated approximately Rs 1,300 crore forCovid-19 related research and product development, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said in a written response to a question.

(PTI)

. Night curfew and otherCovid-related curbs in Uttarakhand have been extended for a week till August 10 without any further relaxation despite a fall in positive cases.

The order issued by Chief Secretary Sukhbir Singh Sindhu late on Monday night said the night curfew will remain in force till 6am on August 10. All relaxations given while extending the curfew last week will continue, it said.

(PTI)

. Kerala on Tuesday reported 23,676 freshCovidcases pushing the total infection count to 34.49 lakh, with the number of people succumbing to the virus touching 17,103 after 148 additional deaths.

On Monday, the state had reported 13,984 cases after recording more than 20,000 cases for six consecutive days.

(PTI)

. Half of the European Union's population has now been fully vaccinated againstCovid-19, an AFP tally showed Tuesday, as China's Wuhan said it would test all 11 million residents after the virus returned to where it first emerged.

The highly contagious Delta variant has been driving surging infections across the world, even in places which had long touted their successes in overcoming the worst of the pandemic.

(AFP)

. Ladakh recorded five freshCovid-19 cases, taking the tally to 20,345, while the number of active cases in the Union Territory stood at 57, officials said.

Ladakh has so far registered 207 coronavirus-related deaths -- 149 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. A total of 20,081 patients in the UT have recovered from the infection till date.

(PTI)

. Spain's cabinet approved Tuesday the extension of measures to protect the most vulnerable from economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including a moratorium on home evictions until November.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's coalition government first approved the package of social measures in March 2020 during the height of the first wave of the pandemic in Spain, one of Europe's hardest-hit nations.

(AFP)

. Iran announced more than 39,000 newCovidcases on Tuesday, the highest in a single day in the Middle East country worst hit by the pandemic.

The health authorities in Iran said another 378 people died of coronavirus and 39,019 tested positive in the past 24 hours.

According to official figures widely believed to underestimate the real toll, the virus has killed 91,785 people in the Islamic republic out of 3,979,727 cases of infection.

(AFP)

. TheCovid-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands remained unchanged at 7,539 as no fresh infection was reported in the archipelago on Tuesday, a health bulletin said.

One more person was cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 7,404.

(PTI)

. The government on Tuesday said India's reproductive number that denotes the spread ofCovid-19 is more than one in eight states, including Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Reproduction or reproduction number is a measure that highlights the number of people a coronavirus positive person infects, thereby reflecting the severity of its spread. A number of one or below one indicates a slowly spreading virus while any number above 1 indicates a rapid spread.

(PTI)

. Bangladesh extended its strict lockdown on Tuesday and announced plans to vaccinate at least 10 million people in a week as the country battles a majorCovid-19 surge.

The vaccination drive from August 7 will be led by tens of thousands of health workers at 14,000 health centres, senior minister A.K.M Mozammel Haque said.

"More than 10 million people will be vaccinated in a week. Elderly people, workers and shopkeepers will be given the priority," Haque said.

(AFP)

. Sikkim'sCovid-19 tally rose to 27,125 on Tuesday as 245 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the Himalayan state's coronavirus death toll to 348, a health bulletin said.

West Sikkim district registered the highest number of new cases at 103, followed by South Sikkim (73), East Sikkim (68) and North Sikkim (one).

(PTI)

. Amid a fall inCovid-19 cases, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation on Tuesday allowed shops and establishments, including malls, to operate till 8 pm on weekdays, from the earlier deadline of 4pm, and till 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, an official said.

The order issued by civic chief Radhakrishnan B, however, stated that places of worship, coaching classes, swimming pools, cinema theatres and multiplexes will remain closed, and social, cultural, political gatherings and marriages will be allowed with the attendance being limited to 50 per cent of the venue or 50 people, whichever is less, and that too only till 4pm.

(PTI)

. The risk of heart attack and stroke is increased three-fold in the first two weeks followingCovid-19, according to a study published in The Lancet journal.

The study compared the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction or heart attack, and stroke in 86,742Covid-19 patients with 348,481 control individuals in Sweden from February 1 to September 14, 2020.

(PTI)

. No recommendation has been made so far on mixing anti-coronavirus vaccines, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday.

Covid-19 vaccines have been developed recently. Therefore, scientific evidence about mix and match studies of different vaccines is still evolving, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply.

To a question on the issue, she said no recommendation has been made so far to mix the first and second doses ofCovidvaccines by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization or the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration forCovid-19.

(PTI)

. South Korean health workers staffingCovid-19 testing centres in the summer heat can now take a minute to peel off their heavy protective suits and cool down in government-provided 'recovery buses' equipped with air conditioning, cold water and snacks.

South Korea has been battling its largest wave of infections so far, though vaccinations among vulnerable populations and key workers have limited serious cases.

(Reuters)

. Eli Lilly and Co and partner Incyte Corp on Tuesday said additional results from a late-stage study showed that theirCovid-19 drug baricitinib reduced the risk of death in patients on mechanical ventilation.

(Reuters)

. India's production capacity of Remdesivir increased from 38.8 lakh vials per month in mid-April to 122.49 lakh vials per month in June 2021, and as on date, there is no shortage of the antiviral drug in any state or union territory, the Rajya Sabha was told on Tuesday.

Shortages of Remdesivir injections in the market were noticed in April and May 2021 due to a sudden surge in the demand for the drug for managingCovid-19 patients, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply.

(PTI)

. The supply crunch of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, one of India's main vaccines to fight Covid-19, is because the inaugural batches at the company's newest Bengaluru facility were not of the right quality, member of Centre's Covid-19 task force N K Arora told NDTV .

To meet its ambitious target of vaccinating all adults by December this year, the government was expecting a much higher supply from the vaccine maker, but Arora said that quality issues set the company back. Read more

. Authorities in China's Wuhan said Tuesday they would test the city's entire population for Covid-19, as the virus returned to the place where it first emerged and the highly contagious Delta variant drove tightening lockdowns worldwide.

A resurgent virus has returned with a vengeance, buoyed by stalling vaccination rates and deadly new mutations even in places which had long touted their successes in overcoming the worst of the pandemic. ( AFP )

. France's pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, which has lagged behind rivals in developing new generation mRNA Covid-19 vaccines, on Tuesday said it has purchased a US firm specialising in the technology.

Sanofi will buy Translate Bio, with which it has been working to develop an mRNA Covid jab, for $3.2 billion (2.7 billion euros), the company said in a statement.( AFP )

. India reported 30,549 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said. The number of active cases has gone up to 4,04,958, accounting for 1.28 per cent of the total caseload, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.38 per cent, the data showed. Read more

. Among people infected by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, fully vaccinated people with "breakthrough" infections may be just as likely as unvaccinated people to spread the virus to others, new research suggests. The higher the amount of coronavirus in the nose and throat, the more likely the patient will infect others. Read more

. The US has finally reached President Joe Biden's goal of getting at least one Covid-19 shot in the arms of 70 per cent of American adults – a month late and amid a fierce surge by the delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country.

(AP)

. Germany will start offering coronavirus vaccinations for all children and teenagers aged 12 and older, top health officials said Monday.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said after a meeting with the 16 German state health ministers that “we keep our promise: everybody who wants can get vaccinated in the summer — we have enough vaccines for all age groups.”

(AP)

. Credit: PTI Photo

. As Bengaluru is witnessing a gradual surge of daily Covid-19 cases in the past few days, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the city police have geared up for stringent enforcement of the night curfew orders.

Coronavirus News highlights: Nepal extends Covid-19 lockdown in Kathmandu Valley till August 11

Nepal: Covid-19 lockdown extended in Kathmandu Valley till Aug 11

Israel issues travel warning for US over Covid-19 concerns

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