Tag Archives: India

The variant, first identified in Europe, now found in India’s Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh states, the health ministry says.

India gave out a record 7.5 million vaccine doses on Monday under a federal campaign to inoculate all adults for free after weeks of criticism that a chaotic rollout had worsened a second wave that killed hundreds of thousands.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday began no-cost COVID-19 vaccinations for all citizens over 18 years old — about 940 million people. It also took over vaccine procurement from the states, which had been struggling to arrange doses for their own vaccination programs.

Although he failed to win a medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics, finishing the 400 metres final in 45.6 seconds, 0.1 seconds short of winning the bronze, Milkha Singh’s time remained a national record in India for 38 years. Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh died at the age of 91 …

The Delta variant of COVID-19, first identified in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant of the disease, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist said on Friday. Soumya Swaminathan also voiced disappointment in the failure of CureVac’s (5CV.DE) vaccine candidate in a trial to meet the WHO’s efficacy standard, in …

At least 200,000 refugees are among the worst affected by India’s COVID-19 outbreak as they have no access to welfare schemes or free healthcare, a report by an international consortium of rights groups said on Wednesday. “The stateless in India have not received economic relief packages provided by the government…they …

A veteran public health expert warned top Indian officials in early March that a new variant of the coronavirus was spreading quickly in a rural district in the heart of the country and that the outbreak required urgent attention. Federal health authorities failed to respond adequately to that warning, Dr …

Many Indian states eased coronavirus restrictions on Monday including the capital Delhi, where authorities allowed all shops and malls to open, as the number of new infections dropped to the lowest in more than two months. Experts have cautioned against a full re-opening as India has vaccinated only about 5 …

Hundreds of Rohingya rendered homeless after a massive fire razes Rohingya camp in the Madanpur Khadar area of Delhi. A massive fire has destroyed a Rohingya refugee camp in the Indian capital, New Delhi, leaving hundreds of people homeless. The blaze broke out at about 11:30 pm on Saturday and …

The variant first identified in India currently accounts for more than 90 percent of Britain’s new COVID-19 cases. Health authorities in Britain have said the new Delta coronavirus variant is 60 percent more transmissible in households than the previous dominant Alpha variant that forced the United Kingdom to lock down …

Building collapses are common in India during the June-September monsoon season when heavy rains weaken the foundations of structures that are poorly built. A three-story dilapidated building has collapsed following the first monsoon downpour in India’s Mumbai, killing at least 11 people, including eight children. Dozens of rescuers were clearing …

India reported on Thursday the highest single-day death toll from COVID-19 in the world, at 6,148, after a big eastern state revised its figures to account for people who succumbed to the disease at home or in private hospitals. The health department of Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, revised …

After nearly four months of scorching heat and humidity, the season of rains, breezes and cloudy skies has started in several Indian regions – including Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Delhi. As the Monsoon season began in India, heavy rains have hit the country’s financial capital Mumbai. The downpour has …

The Indian government has ordered the temporary closure of all tiger reserves to tourism, after a spate of Covid-19 outbreaks in zoos around the country. The National Tiger Conservation Authority, an agency under the government’s environmental ministry, issued its order on Monday after the death of a Covid-positive lioness a …

India battles a new challenge in mucormycosis, a rare fungal disease with a high mortality rate commonly referred to as ‘black fungus’. As a devastating second wave of COVID-19 ebbs with less than 100,000 new cases reported on Tuesday, India is now battling a new scare: Mucormycosis, commonly referred to …

India will need to spend an additional 800 billion rupees ($11 billion) to provide free vaccine and food to millions of people devastated by a deadly wave of coronavirus infections, Bloomberg News said on Tuesday. The government of the world’s second-most populous nation will earmark an additional 700 billion rupees …

Eighteen people were killed in a fire on Monday at a chemical factory in the western Indian city of Pune, police said. The police said 20 people had survived the blaze and the charred bodies of all those killed had been recovered. An inquiry has been ordered by the district …

With COVID-19 infections coming down to the lowest level country-wide in nearly two months to 120,529 new cases in the last 24 hours, India’s major cities today announced significant relaxations in lockdowns in New Delhi and Mumbai. Government and private offices will be allowed to reopen with 50 percent attendance …

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that Pakistan is ready to restart talks with arch-rival India if Delhi provides a roadmap towards restoring the previous status of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. The two nuclear-armed neighbors both control parts of Kashmir but claim it in full. In 2019, …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new naming system for variants of Covid-19. From now on the WHO will use Greek letters to refer to variants first detected in countries like the UK, South Africa, and India. The UK variant for instance is labelled as Alpha, the South …