Coronavirus News Highlights: Uttarakhand reports second case of Delta Plus Covid variant

With the North East emerging as the new worry on the Covid-19 front, the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday wrote to six out of seven northeasternstates, asking them to improve testing, containment measures and vaccination in order to ensure that the pandemic does not spiral in these states.

. Theworldpassedthe "tragic milestone" of four million recorded Covid-19 fatalities on Wednesday, theWorldHealth Organization said, adding that the pandemic's true toll was probably higher.

. Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic begun, the virus has been mutating and challenging the scientific community, who have been busy building an effective vaccine against the infection.

. Online classes will start from July 12, according to Andhra Pradesh Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh.

. India expects to receive 30 to 40 lakh doses of the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 shots through the COVAX facility by August, two sources said, as it tries to expand inoculations to prevent another surge in infections.

. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had communicated to all States/ UTs that they will receive more than 12 crore doses of Covid vaccine in the month of July 2021. Till today morning, over 2.19 crore doses have already been supplied to all States/ UTs from July’s supply.

. Cycling used to be considered a crazy idea in Kohima, a hilly city with narrow streets in northeast India. Nowadays, riding a bike is a fashion statement, according to the official leading local efforts to champion pedal power.

. The highly contagious Delta variant has become the dominant coronavirus strain in the US, accounting for more than 51 per cent of Covid infections in the country, according to new data released by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

. Resentment among the people over the prolonged lockdown restrictions in Kerala is coming out in the open, with the state witnessing protests like mock marriage receptions by catering workers to protest against the restrictions on marriages, and traders shutting shops to protest against the restriction on working hours and days.

. People who receive Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are up to 91 per cent less likely to develop the disease, according to a US study which also suggests that the preventives reduce the severity of symptoms and duration in those who still get an infection.

The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on June 30, is among the first to show the benefits of mRNA vaccines even among those who experience breakthrough infections -- testing positive after immunisation. - PTI

. The GAVI vaccine alliance hopes the Serum Institute of India (SII) will resume exports of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from this quarter, it told Reuters, earlier than the firm's forecast of the end of this year.

GAVI co-leads the COVAX facility for equitable distribution of Covid-19 shots around the world. COVAX suffered a big jolt in April when big vaccine producer India stopped all overseas shipments to meet local demand as infections rose dramatically. - Reuters

. Singapore is to further ease coronavirus restrictions from next Monday following an improvement in theCOVID-19 situation as more residents get vaccinated, according to media reports on Wednesday.

Larger groups of five people will be allowed to dine in at eateries from next Monday, up from the current two. Social gatherings at the workplace can also resume – subject to the five-person limit – but working from home will remain as the default, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

(PTI)

. Indonesia on Wednesday reported a daily record of 1,040 coronavirus deaths while fresh infections topped 34,000 as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with its deadliestCovid-19 wave since the pandemic began.

(AFP)

. The Goa cabinet on Wednesday approved a scheme for providing one-time financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to workers from marginalised and unorganised sectors who have lost their livelihood due to theCovid-19 pandemic.

(PTI)

. Odisha on Wednesday reported the highest single-dayCovid-19 fatality as 59 people died, taking the toll to 4,358, a Health Department official said.

(PTI)

. Goa has achieved the milestone of administering 10 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the coastal state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said. In a tweet on Tuesday, the CM said that a total of 10,06,824 doses were administered in the state till July 6.

(PTI)

. China administered around 1.325croredoses of Covid-19 vaccine on July 6, taking the total to 133 crore doses, data from the National Health Commission showed on Wednesday.

(Reuters)

. More than1.67crorebalance and unutilisedCovid-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states, UTs and private hospitals to be administered, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

. Arunachal Pradesh'sCovid-19 tally rose to 37,879 as 348 more people tested positive for the infection, while two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 181, a senior health official said here on Wednesday.

(PTI)

. Indonesia expanded nationwide coronavirus curbs Wednesday to battle its deadliestCovid-19 wave yet, as the death toll rocketed with the government warning that the worst may be yet to come.

The new restrictions would apply to dozens of cities and extend from Sumatra island in the west to easternmost Papua as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the Southeast Asian archipelago after battering densely populated Java.

(AFP)

. The Uttar Pradesh government will allow the annual Kanwar Yatra in the state from July 25 and officials have been asked to coordinate with neighbouring states to ensureCovidguidelines are followed, a senior official said on Wednesday.

'Kanwariyas' (devotees of Lord Shiva) collect water from River Ganga at Haridwar to offer at Shiva temples in their areas as part of the yatra.

(PTI)

. The DCGA's Subject Expert Committee is likely to take a call this week on Emergency Use Approval (EUA) for its vaccine Corbevax, according to an Economic Times report .

. As the Delta variant sweeps the world, researchers are tracking how well vaccines protect against it — and getting different answers.

. India on Wednesday logged 43,733new Covid-19 cases and 930 deaths,data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed.

. The World Health Organization's global appeal for funding for coronavirus vaccines, treatments, diagnostics and equipment is still $16.8-billion short — almost half its total needs, the WHO said Tuesday.

. New Zealand said on Wednesday that its health regulator Medsafe has given provisional approval for a coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen, the pharmaceutical unit of Johnson & Johnson.

. More than five million Sydney residents will spend at least another week in coronavirus lockdown, Australian authorities said Wednesday, after detecting another 27 new cases.

Stay-at-home orders have already been in place in the country's biggest city for two weeks, as authorities try to curb an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.

(AFP)

. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the Centre has failed to meet the vaccine requirements of the state, forcing her dispensation to make purchases on its own, and described Narendra Modi as "a shameless prime minister" who has his picture pasted everywhere - from hoardings to inoculation certificates.

. Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Tuesday requested the Centre to allot 1.5 crore Covid-19 vaccines per month to the state.

. The government and the medical fraternity need to think of ways to mitigate the virulence of the Coronavirus in the potential next wave. While personal hygiene, wearing of masks, maintaining social distance and universal vaccination are inevitable, the idea of herd immunity has once again gained prominence in the trending debate over whether to rely on herd immunity or on lockdowns.

Coronavirus News Highlights: Uttarakhand reports second case of Delta Plus Covid variant

Health Ministry asks 6 northeastern states to step up Covid-19 measures

World passes 'tragic milestone' of four million Covid deaths: WHO

Karnataka reports 2,743 fresh Covid-19 cases, 3,081 patient discharges, and 75 deaths in the past 24 hours - ANI

Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 confirmed in one of the samples that were sent for testing, to Delhi last month. This first case of Delta Plus variant was found in Udham Singh Nagar district: Uttarakhand Health Secretary Amit Negi - ANI

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