Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 108 new cases push Odisha’s COVID-19 tally to 3,34,958
Odisha’s COVID-19 tally mounted to 3,34,958 on Saturday as 108 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said. The state’s coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 1,906 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last five days, he said. Fifty-three coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities so far. The state now has 1,175 active cases, while 3,31,824 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said.
Odisha has so far tested over 76.85 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 25,213 on Friday, he said. As many as 2,07,200 health workers have been vaccinated in the state till Friday.
Mumbai Local Trains To Open For Public From February 1: Check Timings
There will be timing restrictions to manage the crowd in Mumbai local trains amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | No more institutional quarantine in Delhi for UK passengers testing negative for COVID-19
Passengers arriving from the United Kingdom will not be sent to mandatory institutional quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19, NDTV reported on January 30 citing an announcement from the Delhi government. The passengers who test negative in the RT-PCR test will now have to be quarantine at home for all 14 days.
Earlier, it was mandatory for passengers coming from the UK to go through a seven-day mandatory institutional quarantine followed by a seven-day home quarantine. This protocol was put in place amid concerns that the new coronavirus strain found in the UK is more infectious. Read the full story here…
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | The supply of vaccines for COVID-19 may meet up or even outstrip the demand in India by the third quarter of this year, given the number of vaccines being developed in the country and its capacity, AstraZeneca Pharma India Country President and MD Gagan Singh said on Friday. The pandemic has shown how resilient healthcare is, and how important pillar biopharmaceutical industry is as part of the healthcare ecosystem.
Therefore, support for academic research, a vibrant healthcare system that embraces innovation is going to be very critical, he added. “I am very hopeful given our enterprise, given the number of vaccines India is developing and the capacity available, hopefully in my own personal read, by quarter 3, we may actually have a situation where supply will meet up the demand or even outstrip,” Singh said.
Read: Supply of COVID-19 vaccines may meet, even outstrip demand in India by Q3: AstraZeneca chief
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | IRCTC to restart e-catering at 62 stations from February 1
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will resume e-catering services at 62 stations from February 1 after keeping them suspended for several months following the coronavirus outbreak.
“The company will resume e-catering services at a selected number of stations (62 stations) in the first phase w.e.f. 1 February 2021 onwards,” the ticketing and catering arm of the Indian Railways said in a statement. Read more here…
One Year Since India Reported 1st COVID-19 Case: A Timeline Of The Outbreak
With over 1 crore COVID-19 cases, India remains the second worst-affected country after the United States.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Scientists develop new tool that may help decontaminate viruses in aerosols
Scientists have engineered a new tool which exposes aerosolised virus particles to microwaves in a controlled manner, an advance that may lead to the development of novel methods to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have found that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spreads via aerosols that can be generated and spread through breathing, coughing, sneezing, or talking by infected individuals.
While previous studies have explored the use of electromagnetic energy to deactivate viruses in bulk fluids, the researchers, including those from the Air Force Research Laboratory in the US, said less work has been done to understand the role of microwaves in inactivating viral pathogens in aerosols.
In the current research, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, the scientists developed experimental tools capable of presenting electromagnetic waves to an aerosol mixture containing viruses. They said the apparatus offers the ability to vary power, energy, and frequency of the electromagnetic exposure.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Puducherry’s coronavirus aggregate reached 39,047 after the union territory added 43 fresh cases on Saturday. The toll remained 647 as no fresh fatality was recorded from any of the four regions of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. The fatality and recovery rates were 1.66 percent and 97.56 percent respectively.
The Director said as many as 5.73 lakh samples were tested so far and of them 5.30 lakh turned out to be negative. The overall COVID-19 cases in the union territory were 39,047 and 306 were active cases. He said 38,094 patients recovered and were discharged so far.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Arunachal Pradesh did not record a single fresh case of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, a senior health department official said on Saturday. The COVID-19 tally in the state remained at 16,827 as no new case has been reported since Friday, the official said. Two more persons recuperated from the disease on Friday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 16,758.
Arunachal Pradesh currently has 13 active COVID-19 cases, while 56 people have succumbed to the infection so far. A total of 3,91,822 samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far, including 547 on Friday, he added.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | The European Union introduced tighter rules on January 29 on exports of COVID-19 vaccines that could hit shipments to nations like the United Kingdom, deepening a dispute with London over scarce supplies of potentially lifesaving shots.But amid an outcry in Northern Ireland and the UK, the European Commission made clear the new measure will not trigger controls on vaccines shipments produced in the 27-nation bloc to the small territory that is part of United Kingdom bordering EU member Ireland.
Under the post-Brexit deal, EU products should still be able to travel unhindered from the bloc to Northern Ireland. “In the process of finalization of this measure, the Commission will ensure that the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol is unaffected,” the EU’s executive arm said in a statement late Friday.
Read: European Union tightens COVID-19 vaccine export rules, creates post-Brexit outcry
COVID-19 Vaccine: AstraZeneca Applies For Full Regulatory Approval In Brazil
Brazilian health regulator Anvisa said it had a period of 60 days to decide on whether to authorize the drug, but said it would strive to expedite the process as much as possible
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | India reports 13,083 new COVID-19 cases, 14,808 discharges, and 137 deaths, as per Union Health Ministry’s latest update. Total COVID-19 cases in India at 1,07,33,131, while recoveries surged to 1,04,09,160. The death toll had claimed to 1,54,147. There are 1,69,824 active cases in India.
