As the number of COVID cases rise in Bihar, data indicates that the state is slowing down on testing. It is also relying more on the Rapid Antigen Test than the more accurate RT-PCR test.
The average Tests Per Million Per Day have increased from 237 in the second week of July to 758 in the first week of September.
The number of recoveries from COVID-19 exceed active cases by more than 10 lakh.
The report came at the time when British-based health data firm Airfinity, said that the infections in China are likely to be more than one million a day with deaths at more than 5,000 a day.
As India witnessed the highest number of Covid cases in over four months, former All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday said the new XBB.1.16 variant could be driving the recent rise but emphasised there was no need for panic as long it does not cause severe illness and deaths.
On the COVID-19 tests, the Home Ministry also said from Thursday tests will be done with the new Rapid Antigen method approved by the Indian Council for Medical Research and Delhi will be given priority for these tests. It said 169 testing centres have also been set up across the national capital.
'Serial testing is much more valuable than a single test which reflects just a point in time.'
President Asif Ali Zardari has not suffered a stroke and his condition is improving rapidly, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said, as he refuted rumours that Pakistani head of state has offered to resign.
Sasikala, admitted to the Bowring Hospital on Wednesday, is presently in the dedicated COVID-19 Centre of the Victoria Hospital in the city and her condition was stable, hospital sources added.
The India Army has treated 53,082 flood victims in Jammu and Kashmir, where 80 medical teams of the Armed Forces Medical Services are already operating in full swing.
In the past 24 hours, about 1,80,596 samples were tested on July 5 in the country with a total of 1,00,04,101 samples have been tested till date, said an official.
India procured around 5 lakh rapid antibody test kits from the two Chinese firms, Guongzhou Wondfo Biotech and Livzon Diagnostics, and they were distributed to several states reporting rising cases of the coronavirus infection.
'Our government's claim that there are no undetected cases of infection that happened within our bustling cities because of exposure to infected international travellers are not credible,' notes Rahul Jacob.
All-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the postponement of Tuesday's second T20 International between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo.
'In countries like Japan, one out of 11.7 tests turns out to be positive, which is among the highest in the world. Italy tests 6.7 persons for one positive test while the USA tests 5.3 persons and the United Kingdom 3.4'
The ICMR has approved over 200 labs (both public and private) for COVID-19 testing through-PCR machines.
As COVID-19 cases in China continue to rise, Beijing will soon start distributing Pfizer's Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to the community health centres in forthcoming days, CNN reported citing state media on Monday.
Two United States Senators, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, his campaign manager and three White House journalists have tested positive for COVID-19, joining several officials working at the presidential palace to have contracted the infection.
According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the US has reported nearly 1.9 million cases and over 1,09,000 deaths while the total number of coronavirus cases in India and China stand at 2,36,184 and 84,177 respectively. India has so far conducted over 4 million coronavirus tests, according to the health ministry.
Mumbai's municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Wednesday asked civic officials to ramp up coronavirus testing immediately on a war-footing and keep the staff of jumbo field hospitals on alert in the wake of a "tremendous" rise in fresh Covid-19 cases in the city over the past few weeks.
The government decided to enhance surveillance and containment effort within the state by tracking and quarantining the primary and secondary contacts of the COVID-positive persons.
'We have to accept that the infection is now in the community and we can't isolate everyone who gets it.' 'Instead, what we need to do is to find out those who are most at risk of death, isolate them and save them from the rest.'
Pune's Mylab Discovery Solutions' CoviSelf, which gives results in 15 minutes, gets ICMR nod
In a video message posted on social media, the British prime minister said that he will continue to lead the United Kingdom government's response to the deadly virus, which has claimed 578 lives.
Experts feel the figures are modest for a count of the size of 1.3 billion and "much more number of tests" are needed to combat COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
35 districts have been reporting high active COVID-19 caseload and fatality rate. These 35 districts comprise all 11 districts in Delhi, Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and 24 South Parganas in West Bengal; Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Raigad, Jalgaon, Solapur, Satara, Palghar, Aurangabad, Dhule and Nanded in Maharashtra; Surat in Gujarat; Pondicherry in Puducherry and East Singhbhum in Jharkhand.
The ministry on Sunday wrote to the Delhi government, saying the bodies of suspected COVID-19 cases should be handed over to their relatives without waiting for laboratory confirmation but the mortal remains should be treated as per the government guidelines.
The spending on a typical RT-PCR test would take up 23 per cent of the monthly income of an average Indian, compared to 2 per cent in China. This is one of the deepest cuts in the pocket of an individual, in comparison to 14 other countries, reports Abhishek Waghmare.
Rahul down with fever ahead of first Test
The ICMR is working on a war footing to develop the testing ecosystem -- especially for the screening blood tests. NIV, Pune, is in the process of validating antibody-based screening kits.
The ICMR-NICED authorities said it could be possibly because the kits "have not been standardized"
Of the 171 Mumbai scribes tested on April 15, 53 tested positive on April 20. Of the 53 tested positive, 31 were treated and discharged on April 26. A large number of positive cases and later a quick recovery within less than a week have baffled many. Amritha Pillay reports.
Seven players - Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Chahar, Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan, and Krishna Gowtham - who were in close contact with Krunal Pandya were identified as close contacts and hence will not play the remaining two T20Is.
The Bombay high court on Friday extended till February 5, the date of surrender for poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case who is currently on medical bail, before Taloja prison authorities in Maharashtra.
The move comes in the backdrop of a Radio Free Asia report that nearly 250 million people in China may have been affected by COVID-19 in just 20 days after the 'zero-COVID policy' was diluted in the first week of the month.
With the COVID-19 cases under subsidence in the country, the viral infection has risen significantly due to the emergence of a new virus for which the experts are continuously advising to take precautions.
The move comes a day after China lifted the 76-day lockdown in Wuhan, where the pandemic originated. China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday reported 63 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 61 imported ones taking the total to 1,104 cases.
Earlier on Wednesday, the prime minister also chaired a meeting to review the availability and supply of oxygen and medicines in the wake of the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Abnormal weight gain or loss, excessive fatigue and prolonged confusion are some of the early sign of thyroid issues, warns Nohita Cheva.
The BCCI and Cricket South Africa have mutually agreed that the upcoming Test and ODI series between the two teams will continue even if there is an isolated case of COVID-19 among players or support staff and close contacts will not be forced into isolation, CSA's medical officer Shuaib Manjra said.
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