The UK on Tuesday hit another grim COVID-19 milestone as the country's death toll from the deadly virus crossed 100,000 since the peak of the pandemic last year, with another 1,631 daily deaths. The total number of fatalities in the country has reached 100,162.
"It's hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic, the years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended and for many relatives not even the chance to say goodbye," said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he unveiled the latest figures at a briefing from 10 Downing Street in London. Johnson promised that the country will commemorate the lives lost together at a future date and also the "immense national effort" to tackle the pandemic from health workers to scientists developing vaccines and key workers.
Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded six new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday that pushed the district's infection tally to 25,327, official data showed. The number of active cases in the district came down to 52 from 58 the previous day, while its recovery rate surged to 99.43 per cent, according to the data released by the UP Health Department for a 24-hour period.
Also, 12 more patients got discharged during the period with the overall recoveries reaching 25,184, the fifth highest in the state. Gautam Buddh Nagar has a death toll of 91 with a mortality rate of 0.35 per cent. The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients reached 99.43 per cent, the statistics showed. Gautam Buddh Nagar stands 34th among districts in the state in terms of the number of active cases and 28thin mortality due to the pandemic, it showed.
Mumbai reported 342 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, while six more patients succumbed to the infection, the city civic body said. With this, the number of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,06,735, while the death toll increased to 11,313 in the financial capital, said an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Also, 778 patients were discharged from hospitals, pushing the tally of recovered cases to 2,88,801, he said. There are 5,716 active cases in the city, where 27,29,011 tests for detection of COVID-19 have been conducted till now, the official said. There are 188 active containment zones in the city, he added.
Andhra Pradesh reports 172 new cases of COVID-19, 203 recoveries and one death in the last 24 hours, says State Health Department
— ANI (@ANI) &7
Total cases: 8,87,238
Active cases: 1,357
Total recoveries: 8,78,731
Death toll: 7,150 pic.twitter.com/ARMXiyDHnc
Manipur reported 6 new #COVID19 cases and 21 recoveries today, says State Health Department.
— ANI (@ANI) &7
Total cases so far: 29,003
Total recoveries: 28,463
Active cases: 171
Total Deaths: 369
Recovery rate is 98.13 % pic.twitter.com/sgOzypgySL
West Bengal's Covid-19 tally rose to 5,68,650 on Tuesday as 295 more people tested positive for the infection, while nine fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 10,131, a health bulletin said. As many as 409 more people have been cured of the disease, pushing the recovery rate among the patients in the state to 97.16 per cent.
North 24 Parganas district reported the highest number of new cases at 91, followed by Kolkata at 83. Three fresh fatalities were reported in North 24 Parganas, two each in Kolkata and Nadia and one each in Howrah and Paschim Medinipur. The state now has 6,028 active cases, while 5,52,491 people have recovered from the disease so far, the bulletin said.
The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against Covid-19 crossed 2.02 million lakh on Tuesday. A total of 20,29,424 beneficiaries (till 7 pm Tuesday) were vaccinated through 36,572 sessions, as per the provisional report, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The countrywide Covid-19 vaccination program was conducted successfully on the eleventh day. In view of Republic Day celebrations across the country, limited number of sessions in limited States were conducted today, the ministry said.
As per the provisional till 7 pm today, 5,615 beneficiaries were vaccinated in five states. These are: Andhra Pradesh (9), Karnataka (429), Rajasthan (216), Tamil Nadu (4926) and Telangana (35). 194 sessions were held till 7 pm today.
Delhi reports 157 new #COVID19 cases, 218 recoveries and 7 deaths in the last 24 hours.
— ANI (@ANI) &7
Total cases 6,34,229
Total recoveries 6,21,783
Death toll 10,820
Active cases 1,626 pic.twitter.com/LqbAkvKEEv
Over 67,590 health workers were vaccinated on the sixth day of the inoculation drive against the coronavirus on Monday, officials said. According to an official spokesperson, 94,334 health workers were to be vaccinated at the 995 vaccination centres in 33 districts of the state. On Monday, 67,591 health workers (around 71.65 per cent of the day's target) were vaccinated.
During this period, 16 cases of AEFI (adverse events following immunization) were reported in the state, the spokesperson said. The vaccination drive started in the state on January 16 along with the launch of a nationwide campaign. The government has allocated four days a week for the vaccination.
The Covid-19 inoculation drive for private healthcare personnel began in Telangana on Monday, with over 20,000 of them being administered the vaccine. The drive was held in all 33 districts. A total of 20,359 personnel were given the shots against the targetted 42,915, which worked out to 47.4 per cent, state Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao said in a release.
The cumulative number of beneficiaries vaccinated as on Monday was 1,30,607, while the total percentage of those who received the vaccine till Monday was 61 per cent. No serious or severe case of AEFI (Adverse Events Following Immunization) was reported on Monday. The five minor AEFI cases reported were stable, the release said. Several eminent doctors working in the private sector were administered the vaccine, it said.
#IndiaFightsCorona:
— #IndiaFightsCorona (@COVIDNewsByMIB) &7
Total recovered cases are 1.03 Cr (1,03,30,084) with a Recovery Rate of 96.83%.
13,298 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.
79.12% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 9 States/UTs.#Unite2FightCorona #StaySafe
6/8 pic.twitter.com/Tkh7GbMYiG
#CoronaVirusUpdates:
— #IndiaFightsCorona (@COVIDNewsByMIB) &7
India's #COVID19 recovery rate improves to 96.83% as on January 25, 2021#IndiaFightsCorona#Unite2FightCorona@ICMRDELHI pic.twitter.com/WwC2Ws19IL
Telangana recorded 148 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the total caseload to 2,93,401, while the death toll rose to 1,590 with one more fatality, the state government said on Monday.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 35, followed by Rangareddy and Karimnagar districts with 11 and 10 respectively, it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on January 24.
The cumulative recovered cases stood at 2,88,577, while 3,234 were under treatment.
The bulletin said 19,821 samples were tested on January 24.
Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 76,82,361.
The samples tested per million population was 2,06,404, it said.
The recovery rate in the state was 98.35 per cent, while it was 96.8 per cent in the country, it added.
The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 per cent, while it was 1.4 per cent at the national level, it said.
A five-day session of the Goa Assembly began here on Monday with members paying tributes to some prominent personalities who died recently and those who succumbed to COVID-19 in the state.
So far, 761 people have died due to the coronavirus infection in the coastal state, as per official figures.
The session began with Governor B S Koshyari's address to the House, following which members of the opposition parties protested against the state government's decision to hold a curtailed session.
After the governor's address, Speaker Rajesh Patnekar mentioned obituary references for several eminent personalities who died recently.
He also mentioned about the death of several people in Goa due to COVID-19.
The House members then observed a one-minute silence to pay homage to all the departed souls.
After the governor's address, the opposition members, without making any noise, got up and displayed hoardings to protest against the curtailed session.
Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan releases National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS) report during the decadal year celebrations of ICMR's National Center For Disease Informatics & Research via video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/RL5Aru8FjA
— ANI (@ANI) &7
Australia has approved the coronavirus vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech, announced Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday.
"The Therapeutic Goods Administration has today provisionally approved the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in Australia. This is an important step in our fight against this terrible virus," Morrison wrote in a tweet.
The Covid-19 pandemic has not only forced many professionals to work from home, but also pushed people suffering from various ailments to opt for home health care services instead of going to hospitals for treatment.
This is just a beginning and the home health care system has a lot to offer in future, say experts.
Patients who have to undergo dialysis, physiotherapy and chemotherapy are preferring health care services at home and many are also taking telemedicine consultations, they say.
Talking to PTI, Dr Avinash Ignatius, a nephrologist and transplant physician at a well-known Pune-based hospital, said those suffering from kidney-related problems now have an option of "peritoneal dialysis" which can be done at home.
"In this case, a hemodialysis machine along with all support systems is installed at home. A dialysis technician goes there and does the patient's dialysis," he said.
He said tele-consultation with doctors is also picking up among those suffering from chronic kidney ailments.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced on Monday that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the latest to join a long list of world leaders to be infected with the disease.
Taking to Twitter, the President said: "I regret to inform you that I am infected with Covid-19. The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward. Dr. Olga Sanchez Cordero (Secretary of the Interior) will represent me in the morning to report how we do it every day.
"I will be aware of public affairs from the National Palace. For example, tomorrow I will take a call with President Vladimir Putin because, regardless of friendly relations, there is a possibility that they will send us the Sputnik V vaccine."
His announcement comes as Mexico, one of the hardest-hit Latin American country, is battling to contain the virus spread.
As of Monday morning, the country's overall caseload has increased to 1,752,347, while the death toll stood at 149,614, currently the fourth largest in the world.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi announced that he has contracted the coronavirus and has severe symptoms.
"Today, my tests confirmed that I have Covid-19, despite taking all the necessary precautions and respecting the health protocol," Jerandi said on Twitter late on Sunday, adding that he has "severe symptoms."
The foreign minister said he will now be more insistent on continuing with efforts to encourage vaccination to protect Tunisians from the virus.
Mass anti-government protests have been held in Tunisia this month despite the coronavirus restrictions. The protests come a decade after the Jasmine Revolution which led to the ousting of long-time leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011.
According to Tunisia's health ministry data, the country has over 197,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, including more than 144,000 recoveries and around 6,200 deaths from Covid-19.
A new study found that patients with inactive cancer and not currently undergoing treatments for the deadly disease also face a significantly higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19.
The findings of the study were published in the journal 'JNCI Cancer Spectrum'. Past reports have established an increased risk of severe disease and death for sick or hospitalised cancer patients with Covid-19 compared to patients without cancer, but less is known about patients in the general population.
The findings underscore the importance of Covid-19 mitigation, like social distancing and mask-wearing, and vaccinations for all patients, not just those recently diagnosed or with active disease.
"Patients who have cancer need to be careful not to become exposed during this time," said senior author Kara N. Maxwell, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology and Genetics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Abramson Cancer Center and the Basser Center for BRCA.
"That message has been out there, but these latest findings show us it's not only for patients hospitalized or on treatment for their cancer. All oncology patients need to take significant precautions during the pandemic to protect themselves," Maxwell added.
The Israeli cabinet has approved a ban on incoming and outgoing passenger flights to prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants.
The shutdown will come into effect at midnight between Monday and Tuesday and will last until January 31, according to a statement issued on Sunday by the Prime Minister's Office.
Arrivals will be banned and landings will be permitted only in a few exceptions including cargo flights, medical emergencies, and fire service flights, reports Xinhua news agency.
Departures will also be banned except for medical emergencies, legal procedures and attending a funeral of a relative.
"We are closing today the (international) Ben Gurion Airport," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the beginning of the cabinet meeting.
"We are closing the skies hermetically," Netanyahu said, adding that the measure was taken to prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants as they pose "an urgent" need to impose drastic measures.
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