Category Archives: Corona Virus

Passengers, some wearing protective face coverings and some not, travel during rush hour on the London Underground last month. Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Passengers, some wearing protective face coverings and some not, travel during rush hour on the London Underground last month.

LONDON England, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Monday recorded no new COVID-19 deaths a milestone that health experts said represents an encouraging sign, but caution could be temporary.

Meanwhile, Wales recorded just four coronavirus-related deaths. Even so, it's a sharp contrast to a January peak across the U.K., when about 1,800 deaths were recorded in a single day.

Although it is likely that because of reporting delays, more deaths will be reported in the coming days, the number of confirmed infections in the U.K. is also down, suggesting the trend is heading in the right direction.

Dr. Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, told The Guardian that reported deaths often reflect "lag time in system."

"However, regardless of reporting idiosyncrasies, the daily numbers of COVID-19 deaths are much lower than even three months ago," he said.

Experts said the improving numbers were an indication that vaccinations now hovering around 600,000 people per day for both first and second doses were having a positive impact.

The latest numbers come as the U.K.'s coronavirus alert level has been lowered from four to three, meaning the virus is still in general circulation, but that transmission is no longer rising exponentially.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday also confirmed that restrictions put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus were set to be eased. He said people in England would be able to hug loved ones, dine and drink inside restaurants and pubs, and travel abroad on vacation from May 17.

As lockdown has gradually eased, the country is rumbling back to life. London tube trains, largely empty for months, are becoming packed again and traffic has returned to London's suburbs.

Many commuters on public transport continued to don masks as required, but fewer are wearing them while walking along the streets.

In Scotland, indoor seating in pubs and restaurants has already returned, but with an 8 p.m. close and no alcohol service indoors. Coronavirus restrictions are managed on a regional basis with the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland making their own rules.

NPR's Scott Neuman reported from Washington.

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No New COVID-19 Deaths Reported In Most Of U.K., As Restrictions Set To Ease - NPR

People who need help getting to a vaccination site will be able to get free or discounted rides through Uber and Lyft, the White House says. Here, a woman receives her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Aberdeen, Md., after getting a ride to the site from her landlord. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

People who need help getting to a vaccination site will be able to get free or discounted rides through Uber and Lyft, the White House says. Here, a woman receives her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Aberdeen, Md., after getting a ride to the site from her landlord.

Anyone needing a ride to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot will be able to get a free trip from the ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber, the White House announced Tuesday, in the latest push to encourage Americans to get vaccinated.

"The feature will launch in the next two weeks and run until July 4," the White House said.

People who want to use the program would need to select a vaccination site near them and then redeem the companies' offer of a free ride. The two ride-sharing firms will promote the offer in their apps.

The initiative is a new facet of President Biden's push to ensure 70% of all U.S. adults get at least one vaccine shot by July 4. The two companies are "driving America closer" to reaching that goal, the White House said.

More than 58% of American adults have now received at least one vaccination shot, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. More than 44% of adults are fully vaccinated.

Lyft says it will offer a "ride code" to cover up to $15 of each trip to or from a vaccination site, adding that it expects the code will erase "most, if not all, of riders' fares." The offer covers daytime rides on bikes and scooters, as well as in cars. People will be able to sign up for their ride code by May 24, the company said.

Uber did not immediately provide details about its plan, but both Uber and Lyft have previously pledged to offer millions of rides to people who need help getting to a vaccine appointment.

In Uber's earlier effort, the company promised to provide up to 10 million free or discounted rides to help people get vaccinated, particularly "communities of color that have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic," as the company said in December.

In another part of the U.S. effort to make it easier for people to get vaccinated, the White House says the government will broker partnerships between retail pharmacies and community colleges, which will then host vaccination clinics for students, staff and local communities.

The U.S. has reported more than 32.7 million COVID-19 cases, including more than 582,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

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Uber And Lyft Will Give Free Rides To COVID-19 Vaccination Spots, White House Says - NPR

For Immediate Release: May 10, 2021

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age. The FDA amended the EUA originally issued on Dec. 11, 2020 for administration in individuals 16 years of age and older.

The FDAs expansion of the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age is a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. Todays action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic. Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.

From March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021, approximately 1.5 million COVID-19 cases in individuals 11 to 17 years of age have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children and adolescents generally have a milder COVID-19 disease course as compared to adults. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is administered as a series of two doses, three weeks apart, the same dosage and dosing regimen for 16 years of age and older.

The FDA has determined that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has met the statutory criteria to amend the EUA, and that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine in individuals 12 years of age and older outweigh the known and potential risks, supporting the vaccines use in this population.

Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. With science guiding our evaluation and decision-making process, the FDA can assure the public and medical community that the available data meet our rigorous standards to support the emergency use of this vaccine in the adolescent population 12 years of age and older.

The FDA has updated the Fact Sheets for Healthcare Providers Administering the Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) and for Recipients and Caregivers with information to reflect the use of the vaccine in the adolescent population, including the benefits and risks of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

The EUA amendment for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was issued to Pfizer Inc. The issuance of an EUA is not an FDA approval (licensure) of a vaccine. The EUA will be effective until the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of drugs and biologics for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 is terminated, and may be revised or revoked if it is determined the EUA no longer meets the statutory criteria for issuance or to protect public health or safety.

The available safety data to support the EUA in adolescents down to 12 years of age, include 2,260 participants ages 12 through 15 years old enrolled in an ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in the United States. Of these, 1,131 adolescent participants received the vaccine and 1,129 received a saline placebo. More than half of the participants were followed for safety for at least two months following the second dose.

The most commonly reported side effects in the adolescent clinical trial participants, which typically lasted 1-3 days, were pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, chills, muscle pain, fever and joint pain. With the exception of pain at the injection site, more adolescents reported these side effects after the second dose than after the first dose, so it is important for vaccination providers and recipients to expect that there may be some side effects after either dose, but even more so after the second dose. The side effects in adolescents were consistent with those reported in clinical trial participants 16 years of age and older. It is important to note that as a general matter, while some individuals experience side effects following any vaccination, not every individuals experience will be the same and some people may not experience side effects.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine should not be given to anyone with a known history of a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylaxisto any component of the vaccine. Since its authorization for emergency use, rare severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, have been reported following administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in some recipients.

The effectiveness data to support the EUA in adolescents down to 12 years of age is based on immunogenicity and an analysis of COVID-19 cases. The immune response to the vaccine in 190 participants, 12 through 15 years of age, was compared to the immune response of 170 participants, 16 through 25 years of age. In this analysis, the immune response of adolescents was non-inferior to (at least as good as) the immune response of the older participants. An analysis of cases of COVID-19 occurring among participants, 12 through 15 years of age, seven days after the second dose was also conducted. In this analysis, among participants without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, no cases of COVID-19 occurred among 1,005 vaccine recipients and 16 cases of COVID-19 occurred among 978 placebo recipients; the vaccine was 100% effective in preventing COVID-19. At this time, there are limited data to address whether the vaccine can prevent transmission of the virus from person to person. In addition, at this time, data are not available to determine how long the vaccine will provide protection.

As part of the original EUA request, Pfizer Inc. submitted a plan to continue monitoring the safety of the vaccine as it is used under EUA. This plan has been updated to include the newly authorized adolescent population, and includes longer-term safety follow-up for participants enrolled in ongoing clinical trials, as well as other activities aimed at monitoring the safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and ensuring that any safety concerns are identified and evaluated in a timely manner.

It is mandatory for Pfizer Inc. and vaccination providers to report the following to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: all vaccine administration errors, serious adverse events, cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome and cases of COVID-19 that result in hospitalization or death.

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The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nations food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Adolescents in Another Important Action in Fight...

Minnesota recorded nine more COVID-19 deaths Tuesday and 583 new cases were reported by the state Department of Health.

The new cases were likely an undercount because of a technical issue, state health officials said. The problem impacted the electronic data reporting system and likely affected about 100 or fewer positive cases.

The nine fatalities ranged in age from their late 30s to their late 90s with all nine living in private homes.The death toll is now 7,240 with 4,377 fatalities in long-term care.

The state has diagnosed 589,527 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. Tuesdays 583 new infections were the result of 11,201 tests, but testing volume may have been impacted by technical issues.

There have been 4.64 million coronavirus vaccines administered in Minnesota. There are nearly 2.7 million who have gotten at least one dose of vaccine and almost 50 percent of the 16 and older population have completed a vaccine series.

Later Wednesday, the Pfizer vaccine is expected to win approval for use in adolescent children ages 12-15. Thats roughly 300,000 Minnesotans that will soon be eligible for the two dose inoculation.

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Coronavirus Tuesday update: Nine new deaths and 583 more infections - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

For Immediate Release: May 05, 2021

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new report titled, Resiliency Roadmap for FDA Inspectional Oversight, outlining the agencys inspectional activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and its detailed plan to move toward a more consistent state of operations, including the FDAs priorities related to this work going forward.

Like most organizations around the world, the FDA experienced unprecedented and unique challenges during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In particular, our inspection, surveillance and compliance activities were significantly impacted, said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. The FDA fully understands the importance of getting back to a more consistent state of inspectional capacity. This plan provides the public with a transparent picture of both the successes and challenges weve faced in these areas over the past year, as well as our plan moving forward. We want to assure the American public that we have used a variety of tools to oversee the regulated industry and ensure that Americans continue to have access to safe food and high-quality FDA-regulated products.

In March 2020, the FDA announced that it was temporarily postponing all domestic and foreign routine surveillance facility inspections, while continuing mission critical inspections when possible. Beginning the week of July 20, 2020, the FDA began to work toward resuming prioritized domestic inspections using its COVID-19 Advisory Rating system. The report outlines inspections that the agency was unable to complete during the past year due to travel restrictions or inability to ensure the safety of our workforce or the workforces the agency regulates. The report also outlines the number of mission-critical inspections the agency completed during that time, such as inspections of facilities for which there was a drug shortage, inspections needed for the approval of novel drugs or drugs related to the potential treatment of COVID-19, support of pre-market and pre-license applications and response to foodborne disease outbreaks or other food safety risks such as undeclared allergens.

Among other things, the report highlights:

Additionally, the report outlines the FDAs continued successful use of alternative tools and approaches where inspections were or are not currently feasible, including remote interactive evaluations (e.g., remote livestreaming video of operations, teleconferences or screen sharing), record requests and leveraging information from trusted regulatory partners. For example, over 1,300 record requests have been made to human and animal drug and biologic drug manufacturers that have led to a high level of on-time regulatory decision actions.

The report further outlines the ongoing steps the agency is taking in order to resume standard operational levels of inspection activities, including how it intends to prioritize domestic and foreign inspections that were not performed during the pandemic. The plan highlights a variety of possible scenarios given the continued uncertainty of the trajectory of the ongoing pandemic. Inspections considered critical to the FDAs mission will remain the primary focus. When planning routine surveillance inspections, the agency will prioritize higher-risk establishments. Therefore, a longer interval between inspections will occur for the less high-risk facilities as the FDA adjusts to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that postponed inspections will be prioritized based on risk and conducted over a longer period of time, ultimately increasing the amount of time between inspections of certain lower-risk facilities.

The agency will also soon begin a multi-year modernization effort to further transform our data enterprise platforms and cross-program interoperability infrastructure to better support innovation related to its regulatory oversight role, including remote approaches. This modernization effort will include a review of inspectional approaches using next-generation assessment technologies and improvements. The FDA is also establishing an agency-wide FDA Inspectional Affairs Council that will plan and coordinate inspectional activities. The agency intends to share more information on these efforts as this work progresses. The FDA will continue to leverage and maximize every available tool and resource to meet its inspectional responsibilities, while achieving optimal public health outcomes.

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Boilerplate

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nations food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

05/05/2021

Original post:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Outlines Inspection and Assessment Activities During Pandemic, Roadmap for Future State of Operations | FDA -...

WARSAW Two new COVID-19 related deaths were reported Tuesday in the GLOW region.

One of the deaths was reported in Wyoming County. It marks the countys first death since April 12.

The other death was reported in Genesee County.

Both deaths were reported by New York State.

The deaths came as a total of 237 active cases were reported throughout the GLOW region. Thats a significant decrease compared to the 310 active cases reported Friday.

Friday was the last time all four counties reported updated data comprehensively.

In the meantime, Genesee and Orleans counties reported a total of 69 new coronavirus cases since Friday. The number of recoveries was not available.

A total of 20 new cases and 21 recoveries was reported Tuesday in Wyoming and Livingston counties.

Heres a county-by-county look at the data:

Wyoming County reported six new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing its overall total to 2,668 community cases since the pandemic began, according to the Wyoming County Health Department.

Four of the new cases are under the age of 20, one in their 20s, and one in their 40s.

As of Tuesday, the county had 33 active cases under mandatory isolation and 114 people in mandatory quarantine.

The number of recoveries increased by eight to 2,584.

In Wyoming County, 15,339 residents, or 38.3 percent of county residents, have received at least one vaccine dose; 12,910 residents have completed the vaccine series, according to the states COVID-19 vaccine tracker.

Wyoming Countys death total is being reported at 51 by county health officials, but the state Department of Health is reporting 52 an increase of one.

No new cases were reported at state correctional facilities in Wyoming County. The overall total remained at 533 cases since the pandemic arrived locally.

To date, there have been 78,144 total tests conducted for county residents, with 75,476 of them negative, for an infection rate of 3.41 percent among those tested.

The countys seven-day rolling average of positive cases was 2.5 percent.

The Livingston County Department of Public Health reported 14 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, increasing its overall total to 4,479 as of Tuesday.

Livingston County also recorded 13 new recoveries, bringing its total to 4,361.

In Livingston County, 27,349 residents, or 43.3% of county residents, have received at least one vaccine dose; 23,529 residents have completed the vaccine series, according to the states COVID-19 vaccine tracker.

There are 74 active cases among Livingston County residents, according to the countys COVID-19 tracking map, an increase of one from Monday.

Of the current active cases, six are hospitalized, according to county health data.

Active cases include 13 in Dansville (up one), 10 each in Avon (up two) and Livonia (down two), seven each in Caledonia (up one) and Lima (up one), six in Mount Morris (up one), four each in Geneseo (up two) and Dalton (down two), three in Nunda, two each in Conesus (down two) and a Honeoye Falls zip code in Livingston County, and single cases in Hunt, Leicester, Linwood, Piffard, Springwater (down one) and a Wayland zip code in Livingston County and Leicester.

Livingston County is reporting 44 COVID-19-related deaths. New York State is reporting 58 deaths attributed to the virus.

Livingston County has administered 131,235 tests for COVID-19 among county residents. The results include 126,756 negative results, according to the countys COVID-19 tracking map. The infection rate among those tested is 3.41 percent.

The seven-day rolling average of positives is 2.5 percent.

SUNY Geneseo reported three active cases among its college community on Tuesday. There were five people in mandatory quarantine, and three people in isolation, including two off-campus and one on-campus, according to the SUNY COVID-19 dashboard.

Genesee County on Tuesday had an increase of 32 between Friday to Tuesday for a total of 5,193 cases since the pandemic arrived in the region in March 2020.

The new cases are under the age of 20 and 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s.

A total of 53 cases were active as of Tuesday, with five people hospitalized.

New York state continues to report a total of 123 COVID-19-related deaths in Genesee County an increase of one.

In Genesee County on Monday, 24,531 residents, or 42.5 percent of county residents, have received at least one vaccine dose; 20,291 residents have completed the vaccine series, according to the states COVID-19 vaccine tracker

The countys seven-day rolling average of positive cases was 2.3 percent on Monday.

Orleans County had an increase of 32 between Friday to Tuesday reported a total of 3,007 cases since the pandemic began.

The new cases are under age of 20 and 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

In Orleans County on Tuesday, 15,192 residents, or 37.4 percent of county residents, have received at least one vaccine dose; 12,442 residents have completed the vaccine series, according to the states COVID-19 vaccine tracker.

Among the 77 active cases in Orleans County, zero were hospitalized, according to county health officials as of Friday.

The state is reporting Orleans County has had 83 COVID-related deaths.

The countys seven-day rolling average of positive cases was 3.5 percent as of Monday.

Original post:

COVID-19 Update: Two new coronavirus-related deaths in Genesee and Wyoming counties - The Daily News Online

We in the laboratory are preparing for another big boom in testing, said Dr. Baird, whose team has run more than two million coronavirus tests since the beginning of the pandemic. Even if people are vaccinated, theyre going to wonder, Am I the breakthrough case?

In addition to Cepheid, other companies have developed tests that look for influenza and the coronavirus at the same time, including Roche, which has received emergency use authorization for a test that looks for the coronavirus, influenza A and influenza B at once.

In recent years various hospitals have developed in-house versions of these combination tests as well, some of which look for more than a dozen different respiratory pathogens simultaneously using P.C.R. technology. Those multiplex tests are especially helpful in diagnosing illnesses in people with weak immune systems because they allow doctors to swiftly discern what pathogen is making a person sick before it is too late to start the right treatments.

A French company, bioMrieux, sells a P.C.R. test that looks for the coronavirus as well as 21 other viruses and bacteria simultaneously. And Roche recently bought a company that sells a machine that can screen for more than 20 pathogens in one go.

Testing for multiple pathogens does not always lead to a simple treatment, however. Co-infections, in which a person is infected with multiple viruses simultaneously, are more common than doctors expected, and sometimes the multiplex tests might detect a viral infection but miss a bacterial one, said Dr. Daniel Griffin, chief of infectious diseases at ProHealth New York. A patient could carry the influenza virus but also test positive for a bacterium such as pneumococcus, for example.

We initially thought that every time we identified a virus, we would just be able stop all antibiotics and just treat the virus if effective antiviral therapy was available, Dr. Griffin said. We now know that we often need to continue antibiotics, he explained, because sometimes the multiplex tests are not sensitive enough to rule out a bacterial culprit.

Doctors and test developers are still grappling with how many pathogens to test patients for in different settings. A burning question at every company is what panel is best is it one, two, four, 20? said Dr. Mark Miller, chief medical officer at bioMrieux. Relatively young and healthy adults might just need a quad test to know if they should start on Tamiflu for influenza, for example, but patients with underlying chronic diseases who are very sick might benefit from receiving the test for 22 different pathogens so that doctors can decide whether they need to be admitted to a hospital.

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Is It Covid or the Flu? New Combo Tests Can Find Out. - The New York Times

LIHUE, Hawaii (KHON2) A negative COVID-19 test is no longer needed to travel inter-island for those who are fully vaccinated.

Tuesday, May 11, was the first day of the vaccine travel exemption under Hawaiis Safe Travels program.

[Hawaii news on the goLISTEN to KHON 2GO weekday mornings at 7:30 a.m.]

Those who arrived in Kauai said logging their COVID-19 information onto the Safe Travels website was a smooth process. Theresa and Johnny Gordines say it had been months since they visited their children and grandchildren on Oahu.

They said, the new vaccine travel exemption may bring them more time with the family.

Weve been fully vaccinated since far back as January, Johnny said. And we told our son were staying another day because you dont have to take a test to come home, we minus well.

The vaccine travel exemption will be verified upon arrival to a neighbor island.

Passengers will need to upload their CDC issued vaccination card onto the Safe Travels website to avoid delays. They will also need to include personal and flight information, as well as complete a health questionnaire before arriving.

Once a QR code is received through email, the passenger will be able to present it to officials who will be waiting at the arriving airport.

Charlene Quinones says she traveled to Oahu to visit her grandchildren after not seeing them for more than a year.

Easy, just do your QR code and they ask for the card if they need it, took 30 seconds thats it, Quinones said. I waited for this to happen so I could visit my grandchildren that I used to travel weekly.

It is not just the loosening of restrictions that is encouraging travel between the islands. Shannon Bucasas feels safer knowing they have another layer of protection by being vaccinated when visiting her parents.

Bucasas said, Were actually surprising them so hopefully this doesnt go on the news until later.

Gov. David Iges office says a program for mainland travel is still being developed and it may be introduced in summer 2021.

Click hereto visitthe Safe Travels Hawaii website.

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I waited for this to happen: Hawaii families reunite with coronavirus vaccine travel exemptions - KHON2

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh extended their ongoing lockdown till May 17 as a large part of the country remained under strict curbs due to the raging COVID pandemic. Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Puducherry will also have a two-week shutdown starting Monday.

In the Northeast, Mizoram government has imposed a seven-day complete lockdown from Monday and Sikkim has lockdown-like restrictions till May 16.

Requirement of a positive test for the COVID-19 virus is not mandatory for admission to a COVID-19 health facility and no patient will be refused services on any count, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, announcing the revised national policy for admission to various categories of COVID-19 facilities.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday chaired the 25th meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 and reiterated the importance of full protection through two COVID-19 vaccine doses.

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:

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday extended till May 17 their ongoing lockdown and corona curfew respectively as a large part of the country remained under strict curbs due to the raging COVID pandemic with 4,03,738 new cases and 4,092 deaths recorded in a day.

Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Puducherry will also have a two-week shutdown starting Monday, while in Karnataka stringent lockdown-like restrictions will come into effect till May 24 . On Saturday, Kerala came under a nine-day complete lockdown.

In the Northeast, Mizoram government has imposed a seven-day complete lockdown from Monday and Sikkim has lockdown-like restrictions till May 16.

-PTI

New Delhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 9 said GST exemption to domestic supplies and commercial import of COVID-19 drugs, vaccines and oxygen concentrators would make these items costlier for consumers as manufacturers would not be able to offset the taxes paid on inputs.

Earlier in the day Ms. Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider exempting organisations, agencies and individuals supplying equipment and drugs related to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic from customs duty and other Central taxes. Vikas Dhoot

New Delhi

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday attacked the Centre over the export of coronavirus vaccines, saying a large number of lives could have been saved in India if the doses were given to people in the country first.

He said When the vaccine was developed, we all thought that people would not die and hoped that this would get better soon.

Mr. Sisodia said Indian vaccines have been sold to foreign countries when people are dying at home. This is being done by the Modi government to build its image in the world instead of saving people at home. Nikhil M. Babu

Uttar Pradesh

Alarmed by deaths in recent days among AMU teachers due to COVID and COVID-like symptoms, Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor wrote to the ICMR on May 9, urging it to study the infection variant circulating around the university campus.

In a letter to the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the V-C said 16 serving and 18 retired teachers besides other employees of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have succumbed to the infection in the past 18 days.

There is a possibility that "a particular variant may be circulating in areas around the AMU campus and surrounding localities, which has led to these deaths", he said, stressing the need for the study to control the spread of the virus. PTI

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday stressed on the role of private doctors, specially family physicians, in the fight against COVID-19, saying they can help in early diagnosis of the infection in their patients and facilitate timely treatment for them.

Addressing around 700 private doctors from across the state during a meeting held via video conference, Mr. Thackeray appealed to them to join hands with the state administration to curb spread of the viral infection. PTI

Madhya Pradesh

The district administration extended the COVID-19 induced curfew in the Madhya Pradesh capital till May 17, an official said.

The curfew was supposed to be lifted at 6 am on May 10.

Enforced on April 12 given the rise in coronavirus positive cases, the curfew was later extended subsequently after every one week till May 10.

"The corona curfew is extended in the areas under the Bhopal Municipal Corporation and Berasia town till 6 am on May 17 as per the order issued by district collector Avinash Lavaniyam," the official said.

He said essential services and emergency travel are exempted from the purview of the restrictions on the movement of people. PTI

South Africa

South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said that four cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus have been detected in the country, but there was no cause for panic as all such cases were quarantined.

The four cases of B.1.617.2 [Indian variant of coronavirus] have been detected in Gauteng [2] and KwaZulu-Natal [2] and all have a history of recent arrival from India. All cases have been isolated and managed according to the national COVID-19 case management guidelines and contact tracing has been performed in order to limit the spread of this variant, Mr. Mkhize said in a statement on May 8.

Kerala

To address the growing need for medical oxygen in the wake of the rise in COVID-19 cases, the Kasaragod district administration with the support of local bodies is setting up an oxygen plant in the district.

District Collector D. Sajith Babu told The Hindu that the plant which would be set up on the Chattanchal Industrial Estate would provide 200 oxygen cylinders a day.

He said the plant would be a public sector undertaking managed by the district panchayat.

New Delhi

Delhi received just 499 metric tonnes of oxygen on May 8 against the average supply of 700 MT ordered by the Supreme Court, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha said on May 9.

Over the last week, the city got an average of 533 MT oxygen daily, which is 76% of the quantity directed by the SC.

On May 8, only four healthcare facilities in the national capital, with 1,271 oxygen beds, sent out oxygen shortage SOS calls, the city government said.

The Delhi government supplied 15.50 MT of oxygen to these hospitals, according to official data. PTI

Gujarat

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Sunday said he has recovered from COVID-19 infection and got discharged from a hospital, where he was admitted over two weeks back.

Mr Patel, 64, was on April 24 admitted to Ahmedabad's UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre after testing positive for coronavirus.

"After 15 days of treatment at UN Mehta Hospital, I have been discharged today. With the blessings of God and your best wishes, I am recovering fast," Mr Patel, who is also the state Health Minister, said in a post on Twitter.

He said he was thankful to people, doctors and staff members of the hospital for their "best wishes and affection".

"I need more rest as per the advice of the doctors, and hence I request your kind support," Patel added. - PTI

Gujarat

Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel's father died on Sunday at a hospital in Ahmedabad where he was beingundergoing treatment for COVID-19, a party leader said.

Later, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani spoke to Mr. Patel over phone and conveyed his condolences, a government release said. - PTI

Uttar Pradesh

Some hospitals in Uttar Pradesh are consuming oxygen several times higher than the average, the State government said on Sunday based on the preliminary report of an oxygen audit conducted by it.

Taking note of it, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the health and medical education departments to coordinate with such hospitals and take action to balance the consumption. - Omar Rashid

Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu Cabinet led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin advised authorities to ensure that medical oxygen supplied to government and private hospitals is being utilised properly and to make sure that it is not wasted as the State is supplying it amidst several constraints.

During the meeting, Mr. Stalin also advised the authorities to increase awareness of the benefits of vaccination and take steps to fully utilise the vaccines available across the State. - T.K. Rohit

Kerala

The State police actively dissuaded inessential travel on the second day of the lockdown on Sunday.

Law enforcers flagged down vehicles and challenged drivers and passengers to state their reason for travel. The clampdown on journeying will continue till May 16. - G. Anand

West Bengal

West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjeeon Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to waive all forms of taxes and customs duty on equipment and drugs being used to fight theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Banerjee also urged Modi to strengthen health infrastructure and augment supplies of equipment, medicines and oxygen for treatment of coronavirus-positive patients.

Jammu and Kashmir

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) conducted several cycling expeditions over eight days, covering 900 kms, in Ladakh to spread awareness on measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The event was organised as part the "Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav" and its 61st Raising Day.

Such expeditions foster a spirit of adventure, sportsmanship and camaraderie, in addition to reinforcing a connect with the local population, BRO officials said. Members of Project Himank and Project Vijayak carried out these cycling expeditions in Ladakh from April 30 to May 7.

Uttar Pradesh

With the arrest of seven persons, the Noida police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang that sold vials of injections used in pneumonia treatment packaged as remdesivir.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that is being used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Due to its high demand, it is not easily available in the market.

While some of the accused work as nursing staff with hospitals in Delhi-NCR, others are medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies, police said. The accused used their credentials to target gullible people who needed remdesivir injections in hospitals and at pharmacies, they said.

The accused sold a vial between 40,000 and 45,000 when it normally does not cost more than 3,500 depending on the manufacturer, the police said.

New Delhi

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the lockdown in the national capital has been extended by another week.

Cases have come down but we need to extend the lockdown. If we do not, we will lose what we have gained. We need to save lives at this point despite the hardships and will extend it by another week, said Mr, Kejriwal.

Because of the lockdown, new cases have started coming down with positivity rate coming below 25% over the past few days.

We have used the lockdown to improve our health infrastructure. Over the past few days our oxygen situation has also improved and we have improved the system, he said.

Vaccine stock is low but we have asked for more vaccines and hopefully the Centre will provide it, Mr. Kejriwal said, adding that the Metro services will also be shut this week.

Karnataka

Vaccination for those aged between18 and 44 will be available at all major government hospitals and medical colleges from May 10, Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar announced on May 9.

According to a release, starting May 10, COVID-19 vaccination for the 18 to 44 years age group will be provided at KC General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital, government medical colleges, ESI hospital and NIMHANS in Bengaluru.

In other districts, initially, the vaccination will be provided at district hospitals, government medical colleges and all taluka hospitals. The number of vaccination centres will be increased as and when more vaccines become available, the Minister said.

UAE

Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates will begin shipping aid for free into India to help fight a crushing outbreak of the coronavirus, the airline said Sunday.

The offer by Emirates, which has some 95 flights weekly to nine cities, comes as air freight costs have skyrocketed. That's as air cargo demand has risen to its highest recorded level ever amid the pandemic, which has seen carriers including Emirates fly cargo in otherwise-empty passenger seats.

Tamil NAdu

With a view to augment the supply of medical oxygen, Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL) is in the process of setting up nine Pressure Swing Adsorption Medical Oxygen Plants at its project sites, including Neyveli and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, and sites across the country.

Tenders have been floated for the plants and once the process is completed, they will be set up within a month.

The move is in line with the direction of the Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi to PSUs under its fold to set up oxygen plants to meet the rise in demand for medical oxygen in hospitals across the country.

Karnataka on Saturday reported 47,563 new cases of COVID-19 and 21,534 were from Bengaluru Urban, while there were 482 more deaths.

The State, with high incidence everyday, had 5,48,841 active patients. The test positivity rate (TPR) for the day stood at 30.28%.

The daily testing level stood at 1,57,027, including 1,46,586 RT-PCR tests.

Keralas COVID-19 worries persisted with 41,971 new cases recorded on Saturday from 1,48,546 samples, representing an average TPR of 28.25%. The State had 4,17,101 active cases.

A record number of 64 recent deaths were added to the State toll.

Kerala went into a nine-day lockdown on Saturday bringing normal life to a near standstill.

Tamil Nadu

The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has urged Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu to issue appropriate instructions to the police and make sure that they do not prevent lawyers from visiting courts or their offices during the strict lockdown to be imposed from May 10 to 24. BCTNP chairman P.S. Amalraj said there should not be any hindrance to lawyers since the judiciary and courts had been exempted from the lockdown.

Originally posted here:

Coronavirus live updates | COVID-19 induced curfew extended in Bhopal till May 17 - The Hindu

Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a news conference with India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar following a bilateral meeting in London on Monday during the G-7 foreign ministers meeting. Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a news conference with India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar following a bilateral meeting in London on Monday during the G-7 foreign ministers meeting.

MUMBAI, India India's top diplomat and his entourage have been forced to self-isolate, participating in a G-7 foreign ministers meeting only virtually from hotel rooms near the venue in London after at least two members of the Indian delegation tested positive for the coronavirus.

India is currently battling the world's biggest COVID-19 wave, and is thus on the United Kingdom's Red List, meaning travel from India into the U.K. is restricted. The rules stipulate that while regular Indians are barred from entering the U.K., diplomats may do so, but are required to self-isolate.

It appears that India's minister of external affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, was granted an exception to that rule, because he has held several in-person meetings, including with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, since arriving in London on Monday.

British media reported that two members of Jaishankar's delegation had since tested positive.

In a tweet, Jaishankar said he had been made aware of the exposure Tuesday evening. "As a measure of abundant caution and also out of consideration for others, I decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode," he wrote. "That will be the case with the G7 Meeting today as well."

"We deeply regret that Foreign Minister Jaishankar will be unable to attend the meeting today in person but will now attend virtually, but this is exactly why we have put in place strict COVID protocols and daily testing," a senior British diplomat was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Jaishankar's meeting Monday with Blinken was their first in-person meeting since the Biden administration assumed office. U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel also met Tuesday with Jaishankar, tweeting a photo of them wearing masks.

The news of Jaishankar's trip to London, as well as the positive coronavirus tests among his staff, sparked criticism back home in India. Some Indians questioned the wisdom of his travel at an all-hands-on-deck moment in the pandemic.

The country has confirmed more than 300,000 coronavirus cases daily for the past two weeks, and its health care system is collapsing. On Wednesday, India confirmed more than 382,000 new cases and 3,780 deaths its highest single-day death toll since the pandemic began.

"Man travelled to London just to hold virtual meeting with G-7 leaders. Why wasted so much money and time?" one Indian wrote on Twitter. "You should have stayed in India and held meeting virtually."

In a report issued last week, the World Health Organization said India now accounts for nearly half of all new global cases. Crematoriums in the country have been overwhelmed, and scientists say the real number of deaths may be much higher than the officially reported numbers. Meanwhile, coronavirus testing has fallen sharply in India, so it's not clear whether the surge has peaked.

In late April, the United Kingdom imposed travel restrictions on anyone arriving there after having transited India in the previous 10 days. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month called off a planned visit to India "in view of the prevailing COVID situation." The U.S. has imposed similar restrictions.

Although India itself is not a member of the G-7 which includes Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan it was among the countries invited to attend the first such meeting of the group's foreign ministers in more than two years. Australia, South Korea and South Africa were also invited to the gathering, which sets the stage for the G-7 leaders summit in Cornwall, England, next month.

Jaishankar and his delegation arrived in London on Monday for a four-day visit at the invitation of British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

The Indian delegation had been expected to attend a face-to-face bilateral meeting with Raab in Kent on Thursday, but that is now expected to be held virtually, India's Economic Times reports.

NPR's Scott Neuman reported from Washington.

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India's Delegation To G7 Meeting Hit By Positive Coronavirus Tests : Coronavirus Updates - NPR