Coronavirus live updates: Dr Reddy's starts supply of Sputnik V first doses

With improved supplies helping the government to accelerate the pace of Covid vaccination across the country, India administered the latest 10 crore doses in just 13 days, taking the total to over 70 crore. Significantly, on three days the tally crossed one crore doses. Covid vaccine delivery had gone up from 50 crore to 60 crore doses in 19 days. With the recent rise in vaccinations, shots delivered per 100 people is also looking respectable at 49.4, just a shade under 50. The bouyancy can be attributed to the sharply-rising graph of first doses administered.

The West Bengal government on Tuesday made it mandatory for international passengers from seven more countries including Bangladesh, China and South Africa to undergo RT-PCR tests on arrival in the state even if they are fully vaccinated, a senior official said. The four other such countries are New Zealand, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Botswana. The practice would start from Wednesday, the official said.

A petition has been moved in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the state government to consider permitting visitors at religious places subject to strict compliance with Covid-19 protocols. The petition was filed by the Distress Management Collective, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), based in Delhi-NCR providing support and humanitarian aid to anyone in distress across borders. In its petition filed through advocates Robin Raju and Deepa Joseph, the organisation sought to direct the respondents Delhi Government and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to consider permitting visitors in religious places in Delhi subject to strict compliance of Covid-19 protocols, and alternatively, direct the respondent to take necessary action on representation dated July 25, 2021, of the petitioner.

Mumbai hit the milestone of administering more than 1 crore vaccine doses against coronavirus on Tuesday, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data, nearly eight months after the nationwide inoculation drive began on January 16

Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Tuesday said it initiated supply of the first dose component of Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V to partner hospitals all over the country. The development came following the announcement that Panacea Biotec supplied the first shipment of the second component of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine manufactured by it for sale in India. Dr Reddy's earlier suspended the supply of the first dose of Sputnik V following supply constraints from Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday cautioned people that the government may be forced to reimpose lockdown if Covid-19 guidelines are not followed.Patnaik said this while reviewing the coronavirus situation of the state and its preparedness for tackling the possible third wave of the pandemic.

The use of non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles has been developed for clinical applications to prevent and treat Covid. Addressing an inaugural session of the five-day International Conference on 'Nanotechnology for Better Living' at National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar, Singh said India always had superlative scientific temperament but there was lack of desire to implement it in the past but the gap has now been filled.

The civic administration, as part of the ongoing routine testing drive, collected swab samples for RT-PCR testing of 45 more passengers at the airport with the results expected to arrive by Wednesday. At nine key government offices, a total of 117 visitors were tested using a rapid antigen test and all of them tested negative. “Different entry points of Aurangabad saw screening of 286 individuals who also tested negative,” said an official release.

Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta on Tuesday said the exact cause of death in Covid patients can only be ascertained if the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issues a guideline regarding the matter.

Britain on Tuesday reported 209 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test on Tuesday, the highest daily total since March 9, government statistics showed. Cases have been rising steadily since the start of August although death totals are impacted by irregular reporting patterns from hospitals over the weekend. Only 45 deaths were reported on Monday.There were 37,489 new cases reported on Tuesday, compared to 41,192 reported on Monday.