2021-01-28 13:06:16 GMT2021-01-28 21:06:16(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
NEW DELHI, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday that the number of mutant COVID-19 strain cases in the country is 153. In India right now we have 153 cases which have been diagnosed with the help of genome sequencing etc., that has been done in our scientific laboratories, Vardhan said while giving an update about the COVID-19 variant first discovered in Britain. All the protocols to isolate them, keep them under surveillance and other routine protocols are being strictly followed for these 153 cases, he added.
The positive samples for the variant are being tested at 10 Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) Labs across the country.
Updated:
Active caseload down to just 1.73 lakh, according to Health Minister
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A row of Covid-19 antigen test kits seen at a testing centre in Karol Bagh, New Delhi. File
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Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Active caseload down to just 1.73 lakh, according to Health Minister
India has flattened its COVID-19 graph and 146 districts recorded no new cases in the last seven days, 18 districts in 14 days, six districts in 21 days and 21 districts in 28 days, said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday.
The Minister chaired the 23rd meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 via video-conferencing and noted that fewer than 12,000 cases were reported in the last 24 hours and the active caseload had reduced to just 1.73 lakh, as per a release issued by the Ministry.
Lifting checks on cross-border mobility will need consultation among all stakeholders: Vardhan
NEW DELHI/ DAVOS, Jan 28: With various vaccines raising hope for the world to emerge out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said unrestricted cross-border mobility may still take some time and would need consultations among all stakeholders, including the governments as well as health and aviation sectors.
Speaking at a session on ‘Restoring Cross-Border Mobility’ at the World Economic Forum’s online Davos Agenda Summit, Vardhan said the COVID-19 pandemic has gravely wounded the world economy with serious consequences, impacting individuals and communities across the world.
Reuters
From India to Indonesia, fake news, fear and conspiracy theories surrounding Covid-19 vaccinations are gathering momentum as governments embark on mass inoculation drives against the virus which has killed over 2.1 million and infected nearly 100 million worldwide.
Attaining herd immunity through mass vaccination is crucial for the recovery of the devastated global economy. Governments are also racing to vaccinate their populations before the coronavirus mutates further – as has happened in Europe and elsewhere – which could potentially render current vaccines “ineffective”, say epidemiologists.
“The anti-vaccine movement could have a negative impact on the handling of Covid-19 where the targets [number of people] for vaccination are not achieved to the point where the pandemic cannot be brought under control,” warned epidemiologist Iwan Ariawan of the University of Indonesia (UI).