The reality is, the worldwide toll could have been checked within time if China had been more transparent and had warned countries regarding the new strain of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-like infection, which originated at a 'wet market' in its province of Hubei late last year.
Coronaviruses, like other RNA viruses, can develop mutations in three different ways: by mistake from copying errors during viral replication, through interactions with other viruses infecting the same cell, or they can be induced by RNA modification systems which are part of host immunity, the researchers explained.
'Your body will be able to deal with Omicron at any time, but it depends (on when) if you are vaccinated.'
As 32 states and Union Territories imposed complete lockdown till March 31, the Centre asked them to clamp curfew wherever necessary in the wake of people defying lockdown orders.
Three new categories -- all asymptomatic healthcare workers working in non-COVID hospitals/areas of COVID hospitals/blocks, asymptomatic frontline workers such as surveillance workers deployed in containment zones and paramilitary/police personnel involved in COVID-19 related activities -- have now been included.
Not only Mumbai, Pune and Thane, but several cities and towns in Maharashtra, including Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, have been witnessing spike in cases. Lockdown or restrictions have been imposed in several cities or districts in the state in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus.
Rediff reader Ashok Gupta, 60 from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh shares his advice on how to keep COVID-19 away.
The action against Kumaran Silks in the heart of the city came after a video purportedly showing a huge crowd in the shop went viral, with many on social media platforms expressing concern over it.
A person who returned to Kerala from abroad and was hospitalised after showing signs of monkeypox tested positive for the disease, state Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday.
To cater to the antiviral fabrics and antimicrobial segment, almost all the Indian big textiles brands, including Reliance, Arvind, Aditya Birla, Donear Group, Raymond, and Siyaram have entered the market. Companies started their journey with reusable masks and PPE kits, and today, they are offering a range of PPE clothing along with fashion and casualwear.
The 606 positive cases includes 43 foreign nationals, the ministry said. On Tuesday, the number of cases was 519.
Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions in Asia's largest slum pose big challenges to containment.
The 'antisera' has been developed by the ICMR in collaboration with a Hyderabad-based bio-pharmaceutical firm. "With Biological E Limited we have developed an horse 'antisera' and we have just got clearance for conducting clinical trials for that," ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said at press briefing.
The data puts the number of the fatalities in this age group at 77 per cent of the 171 deaths (out of the total 178 up to Tuesday) or 132 in absolute numbers.
"This antibody is both highly neutralising (meaning it works very well at low concentrations) and broadly neutralising (meaning it works against all variants)," said Michael S Diamond, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, US.
The WHOS has long held that the coronavirus is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Satav died on Sunday, days after recovering from the coronavirus infection, hospital sources said.
Modi urged the country to show patience during the vaccination drive as it had shown till now in fighting the pandemic.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.44 per cent.
Modi said India has taken an important step forward in protecting its youth population against the disease.
A viral video showed the sword-wielding mob barging out of the gurdwara, breaking the barricades put up by police and attacking the policemen.
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, as the trial sponsor, said that they cannot disclose further medical information but confirmed that independent investigations concluded that the trials were safe to restart.
The "unknown pneumonia in Kazakhstan caused 1,772 deaths in the first six months of the year, including 628 people in June alone", the Chinese embassy in the central Asian country said in a statement.
Neutralising antibodies are important in potentially protecting a person from re-infection of the same virus.
'Unfortunately, during this pandemic, everybody started saying that well, these are desperate times and desperate times need desperate solutions.' 'Purely out of fear, anxiety, panic, this knowledge that people started acquiring from WhatsApp University and social media, it pushed science completely to the backseat.'
Here is all you need to know about the virus, its symptoms and how you can prevent it.
The prime minister also tweeted a photo outlining "basic protective measures" to be taken to halt the spread of the infection.
Long-term exposure to chronically high PM2.5 levels weakens the ability of the lungs to fend off infections, therefore making people more susceptible to COVID-19, the scientists said.
The diagnostic test kit developed by the Thiruvananthapuram institute can detect coronavirus in 10 minutes, and the sample to result time will be less than two hours, Vardhan tweeted. A total of 30 samples can be tested in a single batch on a single machine, he said.
'While I am talking to you, I have no idea whether I'm infected or not.' 'I just want to go back home safely.'
About 3.2 million people could have died from Covid in India by September last year, six-seven times higher than reported officially, according to a study based on one independent and two government data sources.
Sheela Jaywant invites you to explore The GoaWriters Group's interesting look at the lockdown.
The Agra administration on Tuesday ordered an enquiry after a video clip surfaced in which the owner of a private hospital in Agra is purportedly heard saying that he conducted a 'mock drill' in which oxygen supply was cut off for Covid patients for 5 minutes.
The Drugs Control General of India has permitted emergency use of Covid vaccine Sputnik V with certain conditions, clearing the way for a third vaccine in addition to Covishield and Covaxin. Besides, the government on Tuesday also fast-tracked emergency approval for other jabs. Here is what the vaccines are all about:
The number of active cases has gone up to 408920, accounting for 1.29 per cent of the total number of cases, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.37 per cent, the data showed.
The cases reported on Wednesday include a couple and their two-year-old daughter in Rajasthan who had recently returned from Italy. The patients belong to Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu and had returned from Italy on March 8.
The number of active cases has declined to 4,05,513, accounting for 1.3 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.36 per cent, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.
The finding underscores the importance of hand washing or using a sanitiser to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The findings, published in the Journal of Medical Virology, indicate that some of these products might be useful for reducing the viral load, or amount of virus, in the mouth after infection.
'India needs to do what India can do, which is to keep the number of cases down.' 'If it manages to keep the cases down, it will save lives.'
