The Mizoram government on August 6 decided to lift complete lockdown from Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas to enable resumption of economic activities.
Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has warned that more people will come down with COVID-19 as the trade and financial hub opens up its economy and moves towards treating the virus as an endemic.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Covid vaccine administration rapidly increasing; 13.45 cr doses administered in July: Health min
The coronavirus vaccine administration is rapidly increasing in the country every month, with a total of 13.45 crore doses administered in July which also saw a remarkable daily average of 43.41 lakh doses, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed the 50 crore-mark on Friday.
"India is going strong in the fight against #COVID19. Charting a path to #SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine, vaccine administration is rapidly increasing every month. July saw a remarkable daily average of 43.41 lakh doses and a total of 13.45 crore doses," Mandaviya tweeted. - PTI
Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine gets Emergency Use Approval in India
Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine has been given Emergency Use Approval (EUA) in India.
"Now India has 5 EUA vaccines. This will further boost our nation's collective fight against #COVID19" Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet.
J&J’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in India
U.S. now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day
The U.S. is now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day, returning to a milestone last seen during the winter surge in yet another bleak reminder of how quickly the delta variant has spread through the country.
The U.S. was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June. Now the number is 107,143.
It took the U.S. about nine months to cross the 100,000 average case number in November before peaking at about 250,000 in early January. Cases bottomed out in June but took about six weeks to go back above 100,000, despite a vaccine that has been given to more than 70% of the adult population.
Cop attacked by three men for questioning them about not wearing masks; trio held
Three persons have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a constable in Aurangabad city of Maharashtra after he questioned them about not wearing face masks despite the coronavirus pandemic, police said on August 7.
The incident took place on Thursday night at Vasantrao Naik Chowk, CIDCO, where the police constable was posted on duty, an official said.
"He spotted that the three men were not wearing face masks. He stopped them and questioned them about it, following which a heated argument broke out and later turned into a scuffle,” he said.
The accused not only verbally abused the constable, but also thrashed him and hit him with a stone, he added.
Singapore minister warns of more COVID-19 cases as economy opens up
Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has warned that more people will come down with COVID-19 as the trade and financial hub opens up its economy and moves towards treating the virus as an endemic.
"Our companies cannot grow if businessmen and managers cannot travel overseas to meet clients and partners. MNCs (multinational corporations) will find it hard to invest here if their people are not able to travel in and out of Singapore," the minister stressed.
"And if this continues, our ability to create jobs, earn a living will be seriously affected," The Straits Times quoted the minister as saying.
India records 38,628 new COVID-19 cases
India saw a single-day rise of 38,628 new coronavirus cases, taking the infection tally to 3,18,95,385, while the death toll climbed to 4,27,371 with 617 fresh fatalities, according to the Union health ministry data updated on August 7.
The active cases have declined to 4,12,153 and comprise 1.29% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.37%, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Meghalaya may reopen schools, colleges after mid-August: Education Minister
Meghalaya is looking to reopen educational institutions after mid-August, Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said.
Speaking to reporters, Rymbui said there is a need to resume classroom teachings as soon as possible, especially in higher education institutes.
"About 50% of students eligible to avail COVID-19 vaccination have taken the vaccine. This is expected to increase further by mid-August," he said on August 7.
U.S. gave only 7.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to India, need to do more: Krishnamoorthi
The United States has so far allocated only 7.5 million doses of Covid vaccines to India, which is not enough, a top Indian-American Congressman said while urging the Biden Administration to do more.
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said this after securing the support of 116 members of the Congress on his ongoing effort to expand U.S. global vaccine aid programmes to India and other nations.
His statement has come on a day when the White House said it is “eager” to continue partnership with India in the fight against coronavirus and wants to provide assistance, including vaccines.
Mizoram to lift complete lockdown from Aizawl Municipal Corporation areas
The Mizoram government August 6 decided to lift complete lockdown from Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas to enable resumption of economic activities, an official statement said.
Though total lockdown is crucial for curtailing the rising COVID-19 cases, a further extension is “unthinkable because it severely affected the state’s economy and livelihood of the poor”, it said.
The complete lockdown which was imposed in AMC areas since July 18 is scheduled to be lifted on August 7.
Gujarat HC: Physical hearings to begin from August 17
After a gap of around one-and-half years, the Gujarat High Court will resume physical hearings from August 17.
Physical hearings stopped on March 20 last year, a day after the state reported its first two cases, with virtual hearings beginning as an interim solution sometime later.
A circular issued by the court registry on August 6 said the decision to resume physical functioning from August 17 was taken by Chief Justice Vikram Nath, after deliberation with the HC's Standing Committee, in view of the drop in COVID-19 cases in the state.
Russia sees mortality hike in July amid surge in infections
Russia saw mortality rise at a faster pace last month amid a surge in coronavirus infections, a senior official said August 6.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who leads the government's coronavirus task force, told the Tass news agency that Russia saw a 17.9% increase in mortality in July, year-on-year. She attributed the rise to swelling COVID-19 infections blamed on the more contagious delta variant.
In June, mortality rose by 14.1 over June 2020, according to the Rosstat state statistics agency.
