COVID-19 News Updates

The device can also be used to detect specific viral mutations linked to some of the SARS-CoV-2 variants that are now circulating.

The five vaccines granted Emergency Use Authorisation in India are Serum Institute's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V, Moderna and now Johnson & Johnson.

The active cases in the country have declined to 4,12,153 and comprises 1.29 per cent of the total infections

In a most-awaited development for Odisha, the costly Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) facility will be rolled out for critically ill patients at the Cuttack SCB Medical College and Hospital from August 15, the chief of the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) CBK Mohanty informed on Saturday.

US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 35,695,091 and 616,483, respectively, according to the CSSE.

The ministry said 22,93,781 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years were administered the first dose, while 4,32,281 received the second dose of the vaccine on Friday.

People should wear masks and strictly abide by Covid appropriate behaviour, Mohapatra said.

An increase of 3,083 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 35,433,677 and 615,314, respectively, according to the CSSE.

73-year-old Covid patient undergoing treatment at SCB Hospital died after collapsing in toilet on Tuesday night.

Cumulatively, 16,92,68,754 people in the 18-44 age group have received the first dose and 1,07,72,537 have been administered the second dose of the vaccine since the start of the third phase of the nationwide inoculation drive, the ministry said.

President Xi, in a written speech delivered at the first International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation, said that China will provide a total of two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the world within the year to ensure accessibility and affordability of vaccines.

Moderna has also filed to the US Food and Drug Administration for a final approval of its vaccine on June 1, and expects to complete its submission in August.

The Odisha government will now turn its attention to aggressively vaccinate people against Covid-19 in the rural pockets of the State so that the inoculation exercise can be completed to a large extent before a possible third wave of the pandemic hits the State, Director, Odisha Health and Family Welfare Department, Bijay Panigrahi said on Thursday.

The global number of new cases has been increasing for more than a month, with over 4 million cases reported in the past week - July 26 to August 1, the update said.