With its political colour dominated by less than democratic trends, BRICS currently leaves some of us wondering -- where in this grouping is there an assurance that human freedom will be respected unconditionally? It would be nice to see the new members of BRICS drawn from the ranks of countries wedded to preserving and guarding human freedom, observes Shyam G Menon.
Check your body for signs of breast cancer, osteoporosis.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday confirmed the UK's first death from the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the first known fatality from the highly transmissible variant of Covid-19 in the world.
The economic impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on emerging economies will depend on a mix of government restrictions, public comfort with social interactions, and capacity of governments and central banks to provide additional policy support to the private sector, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday. The emergence of the new variant poses new risks to the global economic growth and inflation outlook, as concerns mount about the variant's health risks and several countries have imposed new travel restrictions in recent days. These restrictions will likely increase over the coming weeks until scientists learn more about the variant, it said.
The active cases further declined to 11,21,671 comprising 3.83 per cent of the total infections.
Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for 24 consecutive days.
71 districts reported Covid case positivity rate of more than 10 per cent in the week from June 23 to 29, the government said, adding that the second wave of COVID-19 is not over.
The nation recorded a spike of 80,472 new cases and 1,179 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
India' total COVID-19 infections had surpassed the one crore mark on December 19 after which it took around 136 days to cross the two crore mark on May 4.
The daily positivity rate was recorded 3.24 per cent. It has been less than 5 per cent for 11 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 3.80 per cent.
Amid a spurt in cases, the cabinet secretary held a meeting chief secretaries, health and urban development secretaries of all states through a video link and they were asked to also pay special attention to the emerging epicentres of COVID-19 cases and undertake stringent containment measures to check the contagion, the ministry said.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,75,04,126, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.22 per cent, the data stated.
India reported less than one lakh new coronavirus infections after a gap of 63 days, while the daily positivity rate dropped to 4.62 per cent, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Tuesday.
The number of active cases has reduced to 17,13,413, accounting for 6.02 per cent of the total number of cases.
The reason is that because of the hybrid immunity after three waves of natural infection and a large proportion of adults receiving both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the susceptible pool has come down drastically, Lahariya said.
The Consulate General of India in New York said in a tweet that the 'assault on two Sikh gentlemen in Richmond Hills, New York' is deplorable.
He said in the last 8-10 days, the active cases in the state stood in the range of 5,000-6,000.
The alleged use of the Pegasus software to spy on journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and others in a number of countries including India triggered concerns over issues relating to privacy.
Stray dogs have the right to food and citizens have the right to feed community canines, the Delhi high court has said while observing that in exercising this right care and caution should be taken to ensure that it does not impinge upon others and causes no harassment or nuisance.
In a letter to the states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan advised implementing strategic interventions for containment like imposition of night curfew, strict regulation of large gatherings, curtailing numbers in marriages and funerals besides increasing testing and surveillance.
The COVID-19 vaccines can be "tweaked" to provide protection against new variants of the virus, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Director Dr Randeep Guleria said.
Dharavi, which is located in India's commercial capital Mumbai, is spread over an area of 2.5 square kilometres and has a population of 650,000. People live in shanties and dilapidated buildings with narrow lanes and open sewers.
After his wide-ranging talks with Modi on the second and final day of his India visit, Johnson said the new defence and security partnership will enable India to strengthen its domestic defence industry as well as help the two countries protect vital shared interests in the Indo-Pacific.
He further said that only a marginally high proportion of COVID-19 patients are of younger age and that the average of patients in the first wave was 50 years and in this wave, it is 49 years. He also said that the older population continues to be more vulnerable to be admitted in the hospital in the current wave.
Though Covid cases are rising in Delhi and its satellite towns, the focus should be on hospital admissions that have remained the same or changed just marginally, say several scientists, underscoring that the uptick is not an indication of a fourth wave in the country at this point.
The experts said there is a need to relook at the testing strategy in a way that it results in guiding the public health response and effectively limiting the spread of the disease.
The number of active cases dropped to 14,01,609.
The Omicron variant carries 'concerning' mutations that may make it more transmissible and allow it to evade immunity, scientists said on Monday, stressing that the one certainty in the uncertainty of the many things unknown is this -- COVID is not a short-term crisis and vaccines are still a critical tool.
The active cases have reduced to 16,35,993 comprising 5.73 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 93.08 per cent.
Addressing a virtual Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson acknowledged the divided views on lifting all lockdown restrictions to declare that his update does not imply that the pandemic "is over".
This smartwatch is to Android what the Apple Watch is to the iPhone, says Khalid Anzar.
The active cases have further reduced to 22,28,724 with a decline of 1,14,428 cases being recorded in the active caseload. It now comprises 8.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 90.80 per cent.
China still faces an enormous challenge with a lack of immunity among a majority of Chinese, Dr Zhong Nanshan said.
Exercise at least 45 minutes every day -- brisk walking, running, cycling or any other form of physical activity is beneficial, says Dr Naresh Trehan.
The software was able to detect 97.2 per cent of the users correctly. It can also detect stress level of the user by the speed and rhythm of his typing for example people press a key shorter on average but they hit it hard and for long when stressed, journal New Scientist reported.
According to SOP, those testing positive will be isolated in a separate unit of an institutional facility.
NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said, "COVID-19 situation is turning from bad to worse. In last few weeks, especially in some states, it is a huge cause for worry. No state, no part of the country or district should be complacent."
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,48,93,410 and the case fatality rate has increased to 1.16 per cent
BSF troops guarding over 180 km of IB with Pakistan have strengthened their observation posts and 'listening posts' to keep a close watch against any intrusion by drones.
