India cases cross 30k, virus may keep coming back every year: Covid-19 news today

India’s Covid-19 cases crossed the 30,000-mark on Tuesday as the country remained in the grip of the deadly coronavirus disease. The Union health ministry, meanwhile, cautioned that plasma therapy, increasingly being seen as a magic bullet to cure critically ill Covid-19 patients, should only be done as a trial with all requisite approvals, and not as a regular line of treatment. And in another grim warning, China’s top scientists said Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, cannot be stopped and will continue to cause seasonal infections like the flu.

Covid cases climb to 31,000, spike puts deaths over 1,000

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 30,000 mark on Tuesday while that of fatalities due to the pandemic exceeded 1,000, as the country maintained a precarious grip on a disease that officials fear could peak over the next couple of months. Read more.

Plasma therapy is not a proven treatment: Govt

Plasma therapy, increasingly being seen as a magic bullet to cure critically ill Covid-19 patients, should only be done as a trial, and with all requisite approvals -- and not as a regular line of treatment, according to the Union health ministry. Read more.

Virus may keep coming back every year: Experts

China’s top scientists on Tuesday said that Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), cannot be stopped and will continue to cause seasonal infections like the flu. The seasonal flu kills between 300,000 and 650,000 people around the world every year, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. Read more.

Covid-19: What you need to know today

India crossed the 30,000 case-count for Covid-19. On Tuesday night, the country’s tally stood at 31,329cases, 1,007dead, and 7,761recovered. Read more.

IT, ITES firms’ employees can work from home till May 31: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Employees of information technology (IT) companies and IT-enabled service providers can work from home until May 31, IT and telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Tuesday, extending the timeline by a month in the aftermath of Covid-19, restrictions on transport and safe distancing practices put in place to curb its spread . Read more.

No need to seal office if employee tests positive: Govt

There is no need to seal an entire building if a person living or working there tests positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) because disinfection of the affected floor and common areas is enough to stop the spread of infection, according to the Union health ministry. Read more.

Consider enacting 1 nation, 1 ration card: SC to Centre

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Central government to examine the feasibility of implementing the “one nation one ration card” scheme during the national lockdown so as to alleviate the hardships faced by migrant labourers who have been stranded in other states. Read more.

Delhi among 15 areas that make up 60% Covid-19 cases

Delhi and 14 districts across the country account for over 60% of all Covid-19 cases reported in India, according to data from the federal think tank Niti Aayog, whose chief executive officer Amitabh Kant says diligent monitoring, and aggressive testing, treating and containment are required to check the spread of the disease. Read more.

Niti Aayog office sealed after employee tests Covid-19 positive

Government think-tank Niti Aayog sealed its office in New Delhi on Tuesday after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), according to officials. Read more.

Oxford vaccine shows promise in animal test

There is hope in the scientific community after initial results showed that the vaccine produced by the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group showed promising results when tested on monkeys in a laboratory in the US. Read more.

HRD ministry discusses evaluation process of CBSE Class 10, 12 papers

The Union human resource development (HRD) ministry has decided to push to begin the process of evaluation of Class 10 and 12 answer sheets of millions of students who appeared in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations this year, a senior official said after a key meeting of the ministry on Tuesday. Read more.

Postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be cancelled if pandemic not over: Games chief

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t brought under control by next year, the organising committee’s president said in comments published Tuesday. Read more.

Internet speeds fall to lowest in 2 years

Indians experienced the slowest internet speeds in at least two years in March when the country locked down to slow the spread of the Coronavirus disease, analysis of data from the government’s MySpeed application showed. Read more.

Missed childhood vaccinations trigger worry

Children missing out on life-saving vaccines could lead to a resurgence of potentially fatal diseases, such as childhood pneumonias, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and diarrhoea, among others, which threaten to reverse the gains India has made by immunising children against vaccine-preventing illnesses to bring down its infant mortality rate (IMR) from 33 per 1,000 live births in 2017 from 34 the year before. Read more.

Domestic makers of rapid kits in a fix as ICMR halts their use

Local manufacturers of antibody based rapid testing kits (RTKs) for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), whose kits were validated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and approved by the Central Drugs Standard Organisation (CDSCO), seem to be grappling with a sense of uncertainty as they are yet to receive any orders from the ICMR. Read more.