The ICMR-National Institute of Virology has been regularly undertaking studies to understand the protective efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against emerging variants.
Apart from such advisory, IT biggies such as TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech among others have been pursuing 'remote working' model to overcome the situation.
Ameen Khwaja shares simple ways to keep your beloved gadgets germ-free!
India's limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka has been delayed by five days after two COVID-19 infections were detected in the home team contingent, BCCI said on Saturday.
Amid growing concerns over the spurt in COVID-19 cases in China and some other countries, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the focus is to ensure that no unknown variant of the virus enters India and at the same time there is no impediment to travelling.
As concerns mounted and some people wondered whether this could possibly turn out to be another Covid, pulmonologist Anurag Agrawal said he doesn't expect to see a massive wave.
More than 16,000 cases have now been reported from 75 countries and there had been five deaths so far as a result of the outbreak.
With respect to the cancelled flights, customers can opt for a full refund or alternative travel dates free of cost.
China, besides denying the United States allegations that COVID-19 has emerged from a bio-lab in Wuhan, also rejected that it emanated from a wet market in the central Chinese city from bats or pangolins before infecting humans.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland have reached 80,881 by the end of Monday.
A 39-year-old man tested positive for the Nipah virus, which was transmitted to him through direct contact with an infected person who died on August 30, State Health Minister Veena George said in Kozhikode on Friday.
The government has ordered monoclonal antibody from Indian Council of Medical Research to treat the child. It is the only available anti-viral treatment for Nipah virus infection, though it has not been clinically proven yet.
The answer to that depends on whether the globe is able to contain the virus spread, says Samie Modak.
Behind the scenes, sponsors who have pumped billions of dollars into the Tokyo Olympics have grown increasingly nervous about how the coronavirus outbreak will impact the tournament.
B N Singh has been removed for his failure in carrying out work to control the spread of coronavirus, he said, adding that he wrote a leave application and leaked it to the media, which amounts to indiscipline.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has welcomed measures being taken to tackle the mosquito-borne Zika virus and believes the spread of the virus across South America will not adversely affect the Rio de Janeiro Games in August.
One of those infected with the virus was a nine-year-old boy.
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the United Nations World Food Programme for its efforts to combat hunger. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the WFP had acted "as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict". Here's what you need to know about the Rome-based organisation:
The Asian Development Bank has downgraded India's economic growth forecast for the current financial year to 10 per cent on Tuesday, from 11 per cent projected in April, on account of the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic. India's GDP growth recovered to 1.6 per cent in the last quarter of fiscal year ended March 2021, narrowing contraction in the whole fiscal year from 8 per cent estimated in April to a revised 7.3 per cent, the multilateral funding agency said in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) Supplement. "Then a second wave of the pandemic induced many state governments to impose strict containment measures.
'The fortunate part is that the severity is less. New strains are continuously forming and the virus is getting less severe.'
''We had three positive cases, but our success was the three not going up to 30 or 100.' 'Also, all the three survived the virus,' says Kerala's Health Minister K K Shailaja.
India opener Rohit Sharma on Monday advised people to be be smart and proactive in their fight against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Various state governments in the country have ordered closures of schools, malls, cinema halls in a bid to avoid gatherings while also asking people to practice social distancing.
Payments can be made till April 21; for motor the relaxation is only for third-party insurance.
As many as five plagues have come out of China in the last 20 years and at some point it has to stop, United States National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien has said, holding the country responsible for the origin of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 250,000 people globally.
Top Indian shuttler P V Sindhu will not be shaking hands during next week's All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham and use the traditional 'Namaste' greeting instead following the coronavirus outbreak, the 24-year-old said. Seven Indian badminton players have pulled out of the Birmingham tournament over coronavirus fears.
"We continue to call on China to be transparent in sharing data and to conduct the necessary investigations and share the results. Understanding how the pandemic began remains both a moral and scientific imperative," Ghebreyesus said.
'We lost our place in being first in the epidemic, when it hit India so hard, but we were actually the epicentre of the epidemic from essentially April 2020, for almost an entire year. We had such high cases. We were the country that had the most mixed response.'
According to these experts, a monkeypox outbreak can effectively be tackled by strong surveillance.
A sense of disquiet prevailed in Beijing as officials announced the capital's first death from the deadly virus, a grim reminder that the epidemic has begun to take toll outside Hubei province.
The transmission of dengue is closely associated with three key factors -- rainfall, humidity and temperature -- that dictate the geographies in which it spreads and the transmission rate of the viral infection caused by the dengue virus (DENV), and transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
ICC Cricket Committee chairman Anil Kumble says the inexperience of local umpires, who are expected to officiate in Test matches once action resumes post the COVID-19 pandemic, is the reason behind recommending an extra review, which according to him will give a level playing field to both the teams.
All the evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine at a medical facility.
However, the growth during the next financial year would be higher at 8.1 per cent in case of a second wave of the coronavirus and bit slower at 7.9 per cent if the virus recedes and remains under control.
Sport is now the last thing on Harbhajan Singh's mind and as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, the cricketer is spending time tracking updates on the unprecedented crisis and hoping that this too shall pass.
The complete lack of live action due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a 'good break' for modern cricketers spending most of their time on the road, feels legendary Pakistan batsman Zaheer Aabbas. He was supposed to be with his wife in London, but got stuck in Karachi due to the travel ban in the wake of the virus outbreak.
'India had done the right thing to go for a nationwide lockdown, but the major problem for the country could surface when the monsoon season arises as people's immunity levels go down.'
Curtailment of flights between India and China will help Air India and other airlines to boost their seat occupancy and market share.
11 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 13 deaths were reported on the Chinese mainland on Friday, NHC said, adding all of the deaths were in the Hubei Province, the epicentre of the disease.
'Our boxers are mature and strong enough to withstand these kinds of shocks.'
The plant is now running at full capacity and is able to produce 50 lakh masks and three lakh bottles of disinfectants per day.
