The global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 4 million on Wednesday as the crisis increasingly becomes a race between the vaccine and the highly contagious delta variant.
The tally of lives lost over the past year and a half, as compiled from official sources by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the number of people killed in battle in all of the world's wars since 1982, according to estimates from the Peace Research Institute Oslo.
Even then, it is widely believed to be an undercount because of overlooked cases or deliberate concealment.
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 :
As Kerala eases pandemic regulations, Health Minister cautions against dropping guard
COVID-19 restrictions became less restrictive in large swathes of Kerala from Thursday.
Nevertheless, Health Minister Veena George cautioned people against dropping guard. She told news reporters that the second wave had not abated. The number of new cases had dwindled from 43,000 in May to less than 10,000 in July.
However, the average test positivity rate (TPR) appeared to have plateaued. It remained unrelentingly high at 10 per cent and above.
Ms. George said the increasing number of "home clusters" were worrying. The government has asked Local Self Government Institutions (LSGI) ward level committees to persuade people in homes without adequate space to quarantine to shift to first-line treatment centres. She also warned against social gatherings at home.
Arunachal Pradesh to allow entry only for vaccinated people
The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to allow only vaccinated people to enter the State.
The State government has also gone for aggressive testing for COVID-19 and inoculation with 68% of the people aged 18 years and above having received their first dose of the vaccine.
“We are ensuring that if anyone wishes to visit Arunachal Pradesh, he or she has to be vaccinated prior to entry,” State Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar told Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla during an online meeting on July 7.
Oman suspends flights from 24 countries, including India, Pakistan
Oman on Thursday indefinitely suspended passengers flights from 24 countries, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as part of the Gulf nation's efforts to arrest the spread of the coronavirus.
The flights have been suspended until further notice, the sultanate’s official Twitter account for countering COVID-19 announced. - PTI
COVID-19 vaccination drive spurs demand for Aadhaar updation and enrolment
As vaccination drive picks up, Karnataka is witnessing increased demand for Aadhaar updation and enrolment in rural areas. The lack of facilities for this work in rural areas is causing inconvenience to people.
In a bid to bring the centres closer to people, the State government is setting up centres in 630 gram panchayats across Karnataka.
The measure has been taken as Aadhaar is compulsory for vaccination against COVID-19, and there is a huge demand for updating Aadhaar details in rural areas. As part of the plan, 22 new centres will be opened in each of the 28 zilla panchayat limits.
Vaccines will help prevent severe disease in pregnant women: expert
Manju Puri, head, department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi, spoke exclusively to The Hindu on the Central government’s recent decision to administer COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. She also elaborates on the precautions women should take to protect themselves and their children from catching COVID-19 .
U.S. COVID cases rising rapidly as Delta dominates
COVID cases are rising rapidly in the United States as the highly contagious Delta variant dominates and vaccinations stagnate, data showed on Wednesday.
The seven-day-average of new cases was 13,859 as of July 6, up 21% compared to two weeks earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cases attributed to the most recent days might rise further because of a reporting lag following the July 4 holiday weekend .
The spike comes as the Delta variant, which is more transmissible than any previous strain, accounted for around 52% of cases in the two weeks ending July 3, according to the CDC.
India records 45,892 new COVID-19 cases, 817 deaths
India recorded a single-day rise of 45,892 new COVID-19 cases, taking its infection tally to 3,07,09,557, while the count of active cases increased slightly to 4,60,704 after being on a consistent downward trend for nearly 55 days, according to the Union Health Ministry on Thursday.
The death toll has climbed to 4,05,028 with 817 new fatalities being reported.
The number of active cases comprises 1.50% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.18%, data updated by the ministry at 8 a.m. showed. - PTI
Exercise "extreme caution" in fully lifting COVID-19 restrictions, says WHO
The emergencies chief for the World Health Organisation is calling on governments to exercise "extreme caution" in fully lifting restrictions aimed to curtail the spread of COVID-19, warning that transmission will increase as countries open up.
Dr. Michael Ryan, asked during a WHO news conference to respond to Britain's decision this week to ease restrictions despite rising case counts, says “every country right now is lifting restrictions in one way or the other” in hopes of striking a balance between a return toward normality and the need to control the virus as vaccinations increase.
“Transmission will increase when you open up,” says Ryan, because not everyone is vaccinated and uncertainty remains about how much vaccination curbs transmission.
Sydney sees worst day of 2021 as Delta COVID-19 outbreak spreads
Australia’s New South Wales state on Thursday reported its biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases of COVID-19 for the year as officials struggle to stamp out a growing cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant in Sydney.
“We don’t want to prolong the lockdown, we don’t want to see Sydney or New South Wales going in and out of lockdown until we have the vast majority of our population vaccinated,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
Ms. Berejiklian implored residents to limit visits to family as data suggested the virus was spreading during such meetings, and urged people with flu-symptoms to take their entire family for COVID-19 tests due to the highly transmissible Delta strain.
