Covid India LIVE updates: WHO includes airborne transmission possibility of Covid in updated guidelines

Amid the rising cases of coronavirus pandemic, Maharashtra recorded as many as 62,194 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the total tally of infections in the state to 49,42,736. As many as 853 deaths were reported in the state today, while 63,842 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered patients to 42,27,940. The number of active cases stands at 6,39,075.

With the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic having devastating impacts in India, Canada has announced that it is sending up to 25,000 vials of Remdesivir and up to 350 ventilators from its National Emergency Strategic Stockpile to help respond to the critical situation across India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that an advisory was sent to the states to identify districts of concern where case positivity is 10% or more and bed occupancy is more than 60% on either oxygen supported or ICU beds.

Read the full story

Vaccines are designed to activate your immune system, and some experts have wondered if that could temporarily disrupt menstrual cycles. So far, reports of irregular bleeding have been anecdotal. And it's hard to draw any links to the vaccines since changes could be the result of other factors including stress, diet and exercise habits.

READ MORE

On Wednesday India recorded 3,780 fatalities due to Covid infection. On May 1, India has recorded 4,01,993 cases of Covid in 24 hours. India now has 35,66,398 active cases and reported 2,30,168 deaths so far.

With 4,12,262 fresh cases and 3,980 deaths in last 24 hours, India on Thursday recorded maximum fresh cases and fatalities in a day, another grim record, taking the total caseload in the country to 2,10,77,410, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

Not only has it been 15 straight day with India recording more than three lakh cases but also the second time after May 1 records saw it breaching the four-lakh margin in a day. Casualties are now closer to the 4,000 mark after nine days straight of over 3,000 deaths everyday.

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 154.7 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.23 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 154,763,588 and 3,237,435, respectively.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 32,557,299 and 579,265, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 20,665,148 cases.

As the virus mutates further, the third wave of COVID infection is inevitable and it is necessary to be prepared for new waves, the government's Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan cautioned on Wednesday. With active cases climbing to 34.87 lakh in India, the top scientific officer said it was not expected that the second wave would hit the country with such ferocity.

"Phase three is inevitable given the higher levels of circulating virus, but it is not clear on what time-scale this phase three will occur. We should be prepared for new waves," he said.

"Current evidence suggests that the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, typically within 1 metre (short-range). A person can be infected when aerosols or droplets containing the virus are inhaled or come directly into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth."

"The virus can also spread in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 metre (long-range)."

"People may also become infected by touching surfaces that have been contaminated by the virus when touching their eyes, nose or mouth without cleaning their hands."

"Further research is ongoing to better understand the spread of the virus and which settings are most risky and why. Research is also under way to study virus variants that are emerging and why some are more transmissible."

Given the rising level of the coronavirus cases, the third wave of covid is certain, but it is not clear when the third wave will arrive. We should prepare for the new wave of Corona. : Ministry of Health