Health

Bengaluru, Sept 22 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind M Karjol on Tuesday said he has tested positive for coronavirus.

"The COVID-19 test has confirmed me to be positive and I have been hospitalised on the advice of a doctor even though I had no symptoms," Karjol, who holds the portfolio of public works department and social welfare, tweeted, soon after attending the assembly proceedings.

He appealed to those who had come in contact with him to exercise caution,undergo tests and get themselves quarantined.

Mumbai, Sep 23 (PTI) The civic-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday began phase II and III trials of the Oxford Covishield vaccine for COVID-19, an official said.

The hospital, located in Parel area, on Tuesday got the approval of the Maharashtra ethics committee for conducting the vaccine trials.

KEM Hospital Dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh told PTI that the hospital has started screening volunteers for the trials.

The medical facility will be conducting the trials on 100 volunteers, he said.

(AP) --- The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, by far the highest in the world, hitting the once-unimaginable threshold six weeks before an election that is certain to be a referendum in part on President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis.

“It is completely unfathomable that we’ve reached this point,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public health researcher, eight months after the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation, with its state-of-the-art laboratories, top-flight scientists and stockpiles of medical supplies.

Wellington, Sep 21 (AP/PTI) All remaining virus restrictions will be lifted across much of New Zealand from late Monday with the exception of the largest city, Auckland, which will continue to have some restrictions for at least another 16 days.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement on Monday after meeting with top lawmakers. The nation of 5 million people reimposed some restrictions last month after the Auckland outbreak, which now appears to be under control.

New Delhi, Sep 20 (PTI) No significant or drastic mutation in strains of SARS-CoV-2 has been found in India till now, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday during an interaction with his social media followers.

He also said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been conducting large-scale sequencing of nationally representative strains collected over a few months and detailed results on mutations of the virus will be available in early October.

Islamabad, Sep 20 (PTI) Pakistan's number coronavirus cases reached 305,671 on Sunday after 640 new cases were detected in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said.

One patient died during the period, taking the number of COVID-19 fatalities to 6,416.

A total of 292,303 people have recovered from the infection and at least 562 are in critical condition, the Ministry of National Health Services said.

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) A record single-day increase of 97,894 infections pushed India's COVID-19 tally to over 51 lakh, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 40 lakh on Thursday, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 51,18,253, while the death toll climbed to 83,198 with the virus claiming 1,132 lives in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The total recoveries surged to 40,25,079 while the active cases of COVID-19 crossed 10 lakh for the first time.

Bengaluru, Sept 16 (PTI) Two more Karnataka Ministers--Basavaraj Bommai and K Gopalaiah-- in the Yediyurappa cabinet have tested positive for coronavirus.

Home Minister Bommai on Wednesday tweeted that he has contracted the virus.

"Our domestic help at home was found infected by the coronavirus yesterday. So, I too underwent a test and found positive for the virus," he said.

Bommai said he was asymptomatic and healthy but as a precautionary measure he has isolated himself at home.

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) India's COVID-19 tally of cases galloped past 50 lakh, just 11 days after it crossed 40 lakh with 90,123 infections being reported in a day, while recoveries surged to 39,42,360 on Wednesday pushing the recovery rate to 78.53 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 50,20,359, while the death toll climbed to 82,066 with a record 1,290 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bihar's Darbhanga, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The institute will come up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) at a total cost of Rs 1,264 crore, it said.

The new AIIMS is likely to be completed within a period of 48 months from the date of the approval by the Centre, the statement said.