Vaccines Covishield and Covaxin work against SARS-CoV-2 variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, while effectiveness tests against the Delta Plus variant is ongoing, the government said.
'As of this moment, we have 1,173 ventilators, 2,695 ICUs and about 10,408 plus isolation beds.' 'But this number keeps changing with every passing hour as we incorporate more private as well as government hospitals in our fight against the pandemic.'
The US will lift all restrictions for fully vaccinated international travellers, including from India, from November 8 but they will have to show proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight to the country, the White House has announced.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of chief secretaries of all states and the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister. The districts where lockdown was announced include 10 districts each in Maharashtra and Kerala, six districts each in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, five each in Karnataka and Haryana, three each in Tamil Nadu and Punjab.
'In the first lockdown, my mother used to feed me everything possible.' 'After all, she is an Indian mother.' 'Sometimes laddoos, sometimes parathas.' 'I gained almost 10 kg.' 'When Maharani fell into my lap, the weight was a perfect match for the character.'
Egypt's Olympic bronze medallist Hedaya Malak says she imagines her living room is a taekwondo hall as she tries to adjust to training from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and keep in shape for her third Games. The 27-year-old, who finished third in the -57kg category at the Rio Olympics four years ago, has already qualified for the Tokyo Games, which were postponed for a year to 2021 in March.
According to the circular, the bodies of persons who have died of COVID-19 will be cremated irrespective of their religion.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics must acknowledge the coronavirus crisis which forced their postponement and incorporate it into next year's opening ceremony, executive producer Marco Balich said. Balich, an Italian with great experience in producing Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, said the Japanese had almost completed preparations for this year.
Pollution levels spiked to severe levels in Delhi with thick haze blanketing the city on Tuesday, reducing visibility drastically and affecting flights and trains, prompting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to describe the national capital as a "gas chamber".
Here's a presentation of some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by.
As the number of cases crossed 2,56,000 with more than 7,100 fatalities, according to Union health ministry figures, and the country made a calibrated exit from the lockdown in non-containment zones, shop shutters in many malls went up for the first time since March 25 but the sprawling retail places were eerily empty.
The death toll due to the coronavirus infection rose to 7,466 and the cases mounted to 2,66,598 in the country.
It came to light that the three deceased and the other police personnel currently undergoing treatment for coronavirus disease were above the age of 50
About 9 million people in Mumbai live in areas where homes are hardly two metres apart. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com reports on the lurking dangers in the city's slums in the times of the coronavirus.
The AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships is taking place in an indoor stadium from Thursday through to November 24 but teams are complaining about a toxic smog hanging over the city, caused by seasonal burning of crop stubble and emissions from vehicles and industry.
Following a six-day schedule, reducing class size, setting up isolation facilities on campus, and COVID-19 screening of students, faculty and staff are among the guidelines announced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for reopening of universities and colleges closed since March in view of the pandemic.
T20 World Cup-winning cricketer Joginder Sharma, Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning boxer Akhil Kumar and Asian Games champion kabaddi player Ajay Thakur are all full-time police officers, jobs which they got thanks to their sporting accomplishments.
India displayed its military might and vibrant cultural heritage on Rajpath on Wednesday with the grandest flypast with 75 aircraft to mark the 'Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' celebrations being the highlight of the 73rd Republic Day Parade, which was drastically scaled down in view of the Covid pandemic.
No religion or God says that you have to visit pandals and temples and mosques to pray, Vardhan underlined.
In his first of the two election speeches on the eve of the November 3 elections, Biden asserted that he has a plan to successfully fight against COVD-19 if voted to power.
The country in the last 24 hours reported 1,136 deaths due to the pathogen taking the overall toll to 79,722.
In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.
'From the start, we have sought to put in the right measures at the right time. We will not hesitate to go further if that is what the scientific and medical advice tells us we must do'
'Your body will be able to deal with Omicron at any time, but it depends (on when) if you are vaccinated.'
Cruise ship Diamond Princess, carrying 3,711 people, arrived at the Japanese coast early last week and was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the novel virus on the ship. Around 60 people tested positive of the virus on Monday, taking the total number of those infected on the ship to 130.
The police do not have it in them to confront the Hindutva groups in a country ruled by a Hindutva party. No wonder Munawar Faruqui feels this is the end for him, asserts Jyoti Punwani.
Almost each of these companies has a different technology to show for the effectiveness against microbes.
The officials revealed that hospital admissions, particularly in London which was way ahead in terms of the infection than other parts of Britain, is continuing a downward trend and the number of people in critical care is also falling across the board.
A notice issued to the foreign journalists on Wednesday said they can get the Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine, developed by Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group. Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine has been granted conditional market approval by China's National Medical Products Administration.
'Anything that couldn't be stolen they destroyed.' Saloni Dhumne and Atreya Raghavan speak to members of the Indian community in Durban -- the largest congregation of Indians outside India -- who were targeted in last month's horrific riots.
"Zero is an unlikely figure. The virus is mutating and it is difficult to predict it's future behaviour,
Javed Khan has been operating an auto ambulance in Madhya Pradesh's capital city since a month.
Liquor shops reopened across the country in the non-containment zones after 40 days from Monday with people queuing up in large numbers, giving social distancing norms a toss at some places.
Our government has failed the country on several counts. All this must change for India to redeem itself in six months, says Naushad Forbes.
Online booking of tickets will be encouraged but box office will be open for single-screen theatres.
The state is following surveillance, containment, increasing testing facilities, and ensuring essentials at people's doorstep, among other strategies, reports T E Narasimhan.
The Bill was supported by the members across party lines, however, some suggested to add in its purview hospital sanitary staff, ASHA (accredited social health activist) workers and 'Corona warriors' in emergency services such as police and personnel from other departments.
In a video issued by the Health Ministry, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) answered commonly asked questions regarding the dosage of the vaccine saying that two doses of the vaccine will have to be taken 28 days apart and protective levels of antibodies generally would develop two weeks after the second dose.
'Frankly, no one is prepared for Begin Again or whatever this is called.'
The Wuhan lockdown was lifted even as epidemiologists warned that it is not the time to completely lower the guard and ease on full-scale restrictions, considering the looming asymptomatic patients and possible rebound in infections, the official media reported.
