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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Scientists worldwide are closely tracking an <keyword id="12616996" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="omicron" source="Orion">Omicron</keyword> subtype, called BA.2.</li><li>In <keyword id="12068458" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="denmark" source="Orion">Denmark</keyword> BA.2 is surpassing the BA.1 Omicron subtype, the most common cause of new <keyword id="11893994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19" source="Orion">COVID-19</keyword> cases.</li></ul><keyword id="11894571" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health" source="Orion">Health</keyword> officials and scientists worldwide are closely watching a subtype of the highly infectious <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ba-2-omicron-lineage-covid-harder-track-s-gene-dropout-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Omicron</a> COVID-19 variant.The new subtype, called BA.2, is a sister to BA.1 — the virus driving most COVID-19 cases worldwide. Scientists have spotted that the number of people infected with BA.2 has steadily increased in several countries including India, the <keyword id="11897975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uk" source="Orion">UK</keyword>, Sweden, and Singapore. It was first detected in the Philippines in December 2021.This could signal BA.2 is more infectious than BA.1, though there isn't enough data yet to determine any meaningful difference between the two, <a href="https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1485365284361805825" target="_blank" rel="noopener">experts have said.</a>Scientists worldwide are now scrambling to work out if current vaccines will still work on the subtype, and whether BA.2 is more deadly.In Denmark, BA.2 has displaced BA.1 and now accounts for almost half of the new infections in the country, <a href="https://en.ssi.dk/news/news/2022/omicron-variant-ba2-accounts-for-almost-half-of-all-danish-omicron-cases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health officials said Thursday. </a>Early data from the country suggests there hasn't been an uptick in hospitalizations since the subtype took hold.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-track-covid-variant-high-number-mutation-botswana-south-africa-2021-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><a href="https://twitter.com/PeacockFlu/status/1485241706555576323" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr Tom Peacock</a><a href="https://twitter.com/PeacockFlu/status/1484658726871126021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">, a researcher at Imperial College London</a>, who was one of the first to sound the alarm about Omicron in November, said on<a href="https://twitter.com/PeacockFlu/status/1484658726871126021" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Twitter Friday</a> that BA.2 probably wouldn't cause a a second Omicron wave: "I think the likely scenario is BA.2 just exacerbates what the national Omicron situation is (slows down decreases, increases peaks, etc)."Peacock said that the subtype was not a "major cause of concern", but "definitely worth keeping an eye on," per <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/34fef135-7408-47d1-83b2-61a6a59bc943">the Financial Times.</a>Omicron comprises three viruses: BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3.The BA.1. and BA.2 sister viruses share common mutations, but there are about 50 that differ between either subtype, <a href="https://twitter.com/PeacockFlu/status/1485241706555576323" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Peacock said Sunday.</a>Francois Balloux, director at the University College London Genetics Institute said in a statement to the <keyword id="11896083" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="science" source="Orion">Science</keyword> Media Center Monday that the two Omicron sub-lineages were sisters that split from each other several months ago, and were not derived from each other.Scientists have previously warned that BA.2. is a bit <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ba-2-omicron-lineage-covid-harder-track-s-gene-dropout-2021-12">harder to track</a> in lab tests than BA.1 due to mutations in the part of the virus that attaches to cells. As of Monday, the BA.2 Omicron subtype had been detected in 10,811 sequenced tests from 49 countries and 17 US states, according to <a href="https://outbreak.info/situation-reports?pango=BA.2">Scripps University's Outbreak.info.</a> Outbreak.info pulls data from a well-regarded central database called the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data, or GISAID. Countries with more than 100 BA.2 cases include: Denmark (8,357), India (711), the UK (607), Sweden (224), and Singapore (203). But as a percentage of cases overall, it remains low. For example, BA.2 accounts for about 0.03% of all tests sequenced in the UK, according to Outbreak info.UK health officials labeled BA.2 a "variant under investigation" on Friday. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-variants-genomically-confirmed-case-numbers/variants-distribution-of-cases-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This essentially means</a> UK officials are concerned about its mutations, but it hasn't yet been determined whether the subtype is more deadly, more infectious or better able to evade vaccines.The UK Health and Security Agency <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1049138/Therapeutics_programme_intro_report-21012022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Friday</a> that their decision was based on "small but increasing numbers" of the virus in the country and its spread internationally. "There is still uncertainty around the significance of the changes to the viral genome, and further analyses will now be undertaken," <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-variants-identified-in-the-uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it said.</a>"It is the nature of viruses to evolve and mutate, so it's to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge as the pandemic goes on," Dr Meera Chand, UKHSA COVID-19 incident director, said.

Scientists are closely watching an Omicron subtype spreading in Denmark, the UK, Singapore and India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>125 passengers who flew from Milan to Amritsar tested positive for COVID-19, the BBC reported.</li><li>13 of them reportedly escaped their mandatory quarantine while in <keyword id="11892747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>.<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-59904527"></a></li></ul>Thirteen passengers who flew from Milan, Italy, to Amritsar, India, on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19 and then ran away from quarantine, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-59904527">the BBC reported</a>, citing Indian officials.<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-59904527"></a>Nine of the passengers ran away from the Amritsar airport, while the other four escaped a local hospital, city official Sherjang Singh told the BBC.Officials at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital told India's NDTV channel that the four appeared to have "tricked the health officials," the BBC reported without further details. It's not clear how the nine passengers escaped the airport.The 13 who escaped were among 125 passengers on the Milan-to-Amritsar flight who tested positive for COVID-19, the BBC and <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/13-ve-passengers-of-chartered-flight-from-italy-to-punjab-flee-from-hospital-2693599">NDTV</a> reported.Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Khehra, the deputy commissioner of Amritsar, told NDTV the government would start canceling the passengers' passports and threatened to make their photos public. It is unclear what passports they hold."If they don't return by morning, we will publish their photos in the newspaper and register cases against them," Khehra said on Thursday. "We are trying our best to keep our district away from the disease and negligence of patients will not be tolerated at any cost."It is not clear whether any passengers have shown up since Khehra's interview.India has categorized Italy as an "at-risk" country, meaning the passengers would have had to take a PCR test up to 72 hours before departure, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/amritsar/125-passengers-test-covid-positive-in-air-indias-italy-amritsar-flight-7709704/">the Indian Express reported.</a>India has in recent weeks recorded the most COVID-19 cases since last June, with the outbreak fueled largely by the Omicron variant. The country reported 387,582 new cases in the last week, <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/india">according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University.</a>Earlier this week Indian officials imposed a weekend curfew, with all nonessential activity banned between Friday night and Monday morning, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/7/india-another-covid-catastrophe-cases-hit-7-month-high">Al Jazeera reported.</a>

13 passengers who flew from Italy to India tested positive for COVID-19 then ran away from quarantine, officials say

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11892747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s highest court approved compensation payments for next of kin of COVID-19 victims, CNN reported. </li><li>Approximately $670 will be paid for each person who died from COVID-19, totaling more than $300 million for the country. </li><li>Any victim who died within 30 days of their diagnosis, or who was treated in a hospital within that time frame, will be eligible. </li></ul>India will pay approximately $670 to every next of kin of COVID-19 victims, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/04/asia/india-coronavirus-death-compensation-intl/index.html">CNN reported</a>. The country's highest court approved the government's decision to do so Monday, according to CNN. CNN reported that the country is now looking at more than $300 million in payments based on India's current death toll of 448,997. Those who died within 30 days of COVID-19 diagnosis, as well as victims who were treated in the hospital for longer than that and then died, are eligible for the payments, CNN reported. Their next of kin will receive them. Even if the death certificate does not list COVID-19 as the cause of death, no state can immediately deny compensation, according to Gaurav Bansal who filed the original petition, CNN reported. If a case is contested, a grievance redressal committee will review the patient's medical records and choose within 30 days if that victim's next of kin will be eligible for a payment, CNN reported. This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

India will pay $670 to next of kin of COVID-19 victims in compensation for their loss

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> accounted for one in four of the world's recorded <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> deaths last week, WHO said.</li><li>It said India accounted for 46% of cases and 25% of deaths in the period.</li><li>India is facing a devastating surge that has overwhelmed hospitals, morgues, and crematoriums.</li></ul>India accounted for one in four coronavirus deaths recorded around the world last week, the World Health Organization said.WHO said in its <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update-on-covid-19---4-may-2021">weekly epidemiological update</a>, published Tuesday, that India recorded 46% of global cases and 25% global deaths from April 26 to May 2.It said 5.7 million new cases and more than 93,000 deaths were reported around the world last week. Some 2.6 million of those cases were recorded in India, the agency said.India is facing a record-breaking surge of the virus that has overwhelmed hospitals, morgues, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-coronavirus-dead-cremation-parking-lots-overflow-2021-4">crematoriums</a>. Hospitals are struggling with a critical oxygen shortage.As of Wednesday, the country had recorded more than 20 million coronavirus cases and more then 226,000 deaths, <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">according to data from Johns Hopkins University</a>.It also reported a record 3,780 deaths in the 24 hours before Wednesday.Experts have said India's true COVID-19 death toll could be up to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-covid-19-death-toll-could-be-10-times-higher-2021-5">10 times the known figure</a>.

India accounted for 1 in 4 coronavirus deaths worldwide last week

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13486" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vietnam">Vietnam</keyword> has detected a new <keyword id="9340667" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus-variant">coronavirus variant</keyword>, officials said Saturday.</li><li>The variant carries traces of strains from both the United Kingdom and <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>.</li><li>Variants can spread more easily, make people sicker, escape immune responses, evade tests, or render treatments ineffective.</li></ul><keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">Health</keyword> officials in Vietnam have detected a new variant of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> that's highly contagious.The Vietnamese Health Ministry announced on Saturday that scientists have determined the new variant has traces of strains from both the United Kingdom and India, VnExpress <a href="https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-discovers-new-coronavirus-variant-with-uk-indian-mutations-4285878.html">reported</a>. Because the virus has mutations of strains from both countries, it is particularly susceptible to transmission. Officials believe the UK variant is more easily transmissible than other strains. The variant, B.1.1.7, is between<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.24.20248822v3" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 30% to 50%</a> more effective at spreading from person to person than other coronavirus variants, according to UK scientists.The Indian variant, on the other hand, might make the virus more infectious or may help it avoid the antibody response. This means <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-variants-uk-south-africa-brazil-us-facts-questions-2021-1">variants can spread more easily</a>, make people sicker, escape immune responses, evade tests, or render treatments ineffective, according to experts.The new variant is able to be transmitted quickly through the air, VnExpress, an international <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> outlet, reported. At least four people infected with the coronavirus are carrying the hybrid variant in Vietnam, the outlet reported.News of the variant comes as India continues to struggle to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The situation is dire in India as the country continues to report large surges in positive cases. Crematoriums across India have been overwhelmed with bodies and people <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-05-01-21/h_3485a084f1fa06acfc2aa0d1cd2046fd?tab=India">died</a> as hospitals ran out of oxygen.India has been reporting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-first-country-to-record-400000-single-day-coronavirus-cases-2021-5">hundreds of thousands of new cases</a> a week, reaching record highs that are globally unmatched. Despite the staggering numbers, experts believe the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-05-03/india-covid-deaths-infections-vastly-undercounted">death toll</a> numbers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/24/world/asia/india-coronavirus-deaths.html">are likely much higher</a>.Dozens of hospital workers recently told Bloomberg that they feel <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-doctors-burnt-out-traumatized-covid-19-deaths-climb-2021-5">burnt out and exhausted</a> from treating patients under the grim circumstances. The situation has led to US officials promising to intervene. Last month, for example, President Joe Biden promised the US would send help to India in the form of "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/26/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/">oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics</a>."And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-india-vaccines-lockdowns-coronavirus-2021-5">urged other countries to also step up</a> to help India curb the spread of the virus.Insider's Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce contributed to this report.

Vietnam identifies a highly contagious new coronavirus variant with strains from the UK and India

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> reported a record high of 401,993 new cases of <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> on Saturday.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-coronavirus-cases-deaths-lesson-stay-alert-2021-4">India's coronavirus surge</a> is overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-covid-19-death-toll-could-be-10-times-higher-2021-5">deaths possibly underreported</a>.</li><li>The surge "will get worse before it gets better," according to one public-health expert.</li></ul>India's <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> surge is getting worse by the day, and it just hit a grim new record.The nation reported a record high of 401,993 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. No other country has breached 400,000 daily cases.Crematoriums across India are overwhelmed with bodies. Patients are gasping for breath and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-05-01-21/h_3485a084f1fa06acfc2aa0d1cd2046fd?tab=India">dying</a> as hospitals run out of oxygen. The country had reported more than 300,000 new cases each day for nine consecutive days before hitting the 400,000 mark.India also reported more than 3,500 deaths on Saturday - the fourth day in a row that death counts have surpassed 3,000. Those numbers are likely an undercount. A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/24/world/asia/india-coronavirus-deaths.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a> investigation published this week found "mounting evidence" that suggested fatalities are being "overlooked or downplayed" by the government. "From all the modeling we've done, we believe the true number of deaths is two to five times what is being reported," Bhramar Mukherjee, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, told the Times.Experts interviewed by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-coronavirus-infections-cross-18-million-2021-04-29/">Reuters</a> have suggested the death toll could even be between five to 10 times higher than what is being reported. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not responded to the allegations."It will get worse before it gets better," Ashish Jha, a physician and Dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, <a href="https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1388515141898182657">said</a> of India's outbreak on Twitter on Saturday.<div type="image" title="india coronavirus pandemic" height="3533" width="5153" msid="82347961" hostid="261"></div>Rapidly spreading coronavirus <keyword id="112799" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="variants">variants</keyword> are perhaps the biggest culprit for India's horrific new surge. But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-coronavirus-cases-deaths-lesson-stay-alert-2021-4">a number of other factors</a> also contributed to their spread: massive social gatherings, a slow vaccine rollout, and a healthcare system that was woefully unprepared for the influx of patients."This was a collective and shocking policy failure," Jha wrote in <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/covidit-will-get-worse-before-it-gets-better-101619880773941.html">an op-ed in the Hindustan Times</a> on Saturday, where he outlined steps he believes India must take "urgently and effectively."Jha said Indian authorities should move quickly to stop indoor gatherings, implement a nationwide mask mandate, scale up testing, increase supplies of medicines and oxygen, ramp up vaccination efforts, and do more genome sequencing to track COVID-19 variants."May is going to be horrible in India. June is going to be hard. If we take the steps outlined here, we are going to see real progress in June, and, by July, things may be meaningfully better," he said. "But if we do these things in a half-hearted manner now, the nightmare that India is living through now will last longer."The US, which earlier this week <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-to-help-india-with-covid-19-crisis-through-vaccine-production-supplies-2021-4">pledged to help India produce more vaccines,</a> imposed new travel restrictions on the country because of the coronavirus surge. Friday's move temporarily bars most non-US citizens from entering the United States.Sophia Ankel and Aria Bendix contributed reporting.

India is the first country to record 400,000 coronavirus cases in a single day

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Global <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> deaths <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">surpassed 3 million</a> on Saturday.</li><li>More than a third of those deaths occurred in the US, <keyword id="6355226" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="brazil">Brazil</keyword>, and <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>. </li><li>Brazil and India are still seeing devastating surges in coronavirus deaths amid vaccine shortages.</li></ul>Global coronavirus deaths <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">surpassed 3 million</a> on Saturday, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. That means more people have died of the coronavirus than inhabit Lisbon, Portugal or Chicago, Illinois.More than a third of those deaths occurred in just three counties: the US, Brazil, and India. The US represents by far the majority of the world's coronavirus deaths, due in large part to a devastating winter surge. More than 566,000 people in the US have died of the coronavirus thus far - nearly 20% of the global total. Brazil has reported nearly 370,000 total coronavirus deaths, while India has reported around 175,000. "This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic where we have proven control measures," Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's technical lead for COVID-19, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-urges-people-take-pandemic-seriously-covid-19-cases-rise-2021-4">said earlier this week</a>. "It is time right now where everyone has to take stock and have a reality check about what we need to be doing."The world hit a similarly sobering milestone in January, when coronavirus deaths topped 2 million. Coronavirus deaths topped 1 million in September.But the landscape of the pandemic is different now: Countries are in a race to get shots into arms as quickly as possible as they battle more contagious variants that, in some cases, can evade protection from <keyword id="79555" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vaccines">vaccines</keyword>. The available vaccine supply is still scarce in many parts of the world: COVAX, the UN-sponsored program to ensure equal distribution of coronavirus vaccines, has only delivered enough doses for roughly 0.25% of the world's population. In low-income countries, just 1 in more than 500 people have received their shots, compared with 1 in 4 people in high-income countries, according to the WHO.In India and Brazil in particular, slow vaccine rollouts, a lack of social distancing, and the spread of variants has pushed hospitals into crisis mode yet again.<h2>Large gatherings abound in India as deaths climb</h2>India has immunized less than 8% of its population since its national vaccine program started exactly three months ago. During that time, average new daily coronavirus deaths have increased more than four-fold, from around 180 per day to more than 1,000 per day. Local media outlets have reported long lines at hospitals, ventilator shortages, and bodies piling up at crematoriums."Earlier 15 to 20 bodies were coming in a day and now around 80 to 100 dead bodies are coming daily," Kamlesh Sailor, the president of a trust operating a crematorium in Surat, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-13/bodies-pile-up-at-india-crematoriums-overwhelmed-by-virus-surge">told Bloomberg earlier this week</a>.At the same time, local residents have gathered for large events that could fuel the virus' spread, including election rallies, festivals, and religious pilgrimages. At least 50 million Hindus crowded along the Ganga river earlier this week for a religious festival that has now been <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/50-million-people-allowed-at-superspreader-festival-so-modi-can-secure-the-hindu-vote">linked to at least 2,000 coronavirus cases</a>.Like many countries, India is also dealing with its own local variants: Scientists from the Indian state of Maharashtra identified a new strain in March that's linked to between <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1707177">15% and 20% of cases</a> there.<div type="image" title="GettyImages 1230997486" height="4912" width="7061" msid="82123044" hostid="261"></div><h2>A 'raging inferno of an outbreak' in Brazil</h2>Brazil's average daily coronavirus deaths have also doubled in the last three months, from around 950 per day to more than 2,800 per day. Overwhelmed hospitals are now running low on supplemental oxygen and sedatives."What you are dealing with here is a raging inferno of an outbreak," Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to the WHO director general, said at a press briefing on April 9.In December, Brazil become a hotspot for P.1, a more contagious variant that seems to partially evade immunity from vaccines or previous infectious.A <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/216053/more-transmissible-evasive-sarscov2-variant-growing/">March study</a> suggested that P.1 was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-vaccines-efficacy-variants-south-africa-uk-brazil-2021-3">40% to 120% more transmissible</a> than earlier versions of the virus. Researchers from Brazil's leading public-health body, Fiocruz, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/p1-variant-vaccine-brazil-covid-efficacy-effectiveness-2021-4">warned last Wednesday</a> that the variant is mutating in "particularly worrying" ways that could make it more resistant to vaccines.Meanwhile, just 12% of Brazil's population has been vaccinated so far.<div type="image" title="brazil coronavirus covid-19" height="1667" width="2500" msid="82123049" hostid="261"></div>Brazil rejected an offer to purchase 70 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine in August, instead betting on <keyword id="6409874" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="astrazeneca">AstraZeneca</keyword>'s shot to drive its vaccine rollout. With doses from the nation's two biggest laboratories now in short supply, Brazil is relying on backup doses of China's Sinovac shot. "The big problem is that Brazil did not look for alternatives when it had the chance," Claudio Maierovitch, former head of Brazil's health regulator, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-brazil-rio-de-janeiro-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-925ef71baf79b31a5e0f1e0e66c3b4d7">told the Associated Press</a>. "When several countries were placing their bets, signing contracts with different suppliers, the Brazilian government didn't even have vaccination on its agenda."Language from Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, has also fueled vaccine skepticism. Bolsonaro previously joked that the Pfizer shot could "turn you into an alligator."Over the course of the pandemic, Bolsonaro has also questioned the effectiveness of masks, rebuffed calls for lockdowns, and suggested that the virus is no more than a "little flu."

Global coronavirus deaths just topped 3 million, led by surges in India and Brazil

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This week, <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>'s official COVID-19 death toll passed 200,000, according to government figures. </li><li>However experts worry the death toll could be five to 10 times higher, multiple reports say.</li><li>Morgues are so overwhelmed that bodies have had to be cremated in makeshift pyres in parking lots.</li></ul>Medical experts and frontline workers are casting doubt over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-coronavirus-pm-modis-aunt-dead-after-infection-family-says-2021-4">India's official COVID-19 death toll</a> as the country passed its 200,000 mark on Thursday, according to multiple reports. India, which is in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-coronavirus-crisis-who-europe-head-warns-could-happen-anywhere-2021-4">midst of a devastating second coronavirus wave</a>, reported 3,498 deaths on Thursday, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-adds-386452-new-covid-19-cases-and-3498-fatalities-in-last-24-hours-highest-single-day-spike-ever/articleshow/82323651.cms">according to health ministry data</a>. It was the third day in a row the country recorded more than 3,000 deaths a day. But medical experts and frontline workers worry the actual death toll may actually be much higher.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-modi-india-failed-in-critical-hour-of-need-2021-4">Hospitals in India are turning patients away and COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing. But Prime Minister Modi is on the campaign trail and ignoring the crisis.</a>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/24/world/asia/india-coronavirus-deaths.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a> investigation published this week found "mounting evidence" that suggested fatalities are being "overlooked or downplayed" by the government. "It's a complete massacre of data," Bhramar Mukherjee, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, told the Times. "From all the modeling we've done, we believe the true number of deaths is two to five times what is being reported."Experts interviewed by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-coronavirus-infections-cross-18-million-2021-04-29/">Reuters</a> have suggested the death toll could even be between five to 10 times higher than what is being reported.A <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/india-crematoriums-underreporting-bodies-as-suspicion-grows-over-true-number-of-coronavirus-deaths-12288828">Sky News investigation</a> found that deaths were being underreported in several crematoriums across the capital, New Dehli. Funeral workers told Sky <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">News</keyword> that they've "been told to give [lower] numbers by higher authorities."Dr Manas Gumta, the general secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors, West Bengal, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/24/indias-covid-death-toll-hides-stark-truth-for-the-poor-its-even-worse">told the Observer this week</a>: "A huge suspected COVID-positive population is certainly staying away from the tests. I believe the actual number of people dying of COVID is two to three times higher than what the government is reporting."As COVID-19 deaths surge in the country, crematory workers say they have become<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-coronavirus-dead-cremation-parking-lots-overflow-2021-4"> overburdened</a>.Some cities have turned parks and parking lots into makeshift crematoriums to keep up with the abundance of bodies.In the Seemapuri crematorium in New Dehli, the staff has been so overwhelmed they've launched a ticketing system, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/29/india/india-covid-deaths-crematoriums-intl-hnk-dst/index.html">CNN reported</a>.Jitender Signh Shunty, who runs a service in New Dehli, <a href="https://www.insider.com/india-coronavirus-covid-crematorium-funeral-burial-delhi-2021-4">told Insider</a> he's getting only two hours of sleep a night. "These days I don't even get two hours of sleep," he said. "At 7 a.m. I come here, I start dispatching ambulances, or I arrange for a dead body to be picked up, then get it cremated."Shunty, who says he used to only cremate 10 bodies a day, now estimates that number to be around 90."I can work 21 out of 24 hours a day - I am not the kind of person who breaks down easily," Shunty added. "But in this wave of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>, I've seen the dead bodies of small children and women who have become widows at a young age. They all have died for no good reason."At the time of writing, India has reported more than 19 million cases and more than 211,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to a <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/india">tracker by Johns Hopkins University.</a>

The COVID-19 death toll in India could be up to 10 times higher than the official 200,000 figure, experts say

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6386783" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="CYCLONE">Cyclone</keyword> Tauktae is expected to make landfall in western <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> on Monday.</li><li>Its rains have already killed six people and more than 150,000 have been moved to shelters.</li><li>India's Meteorological Department called it an "extremely severe cyclonic storm."</li></ul>Cyclone Tauktae is expected to make landfall in India later on Monday, having already killed six people in the coronavirus-ravaged country.India's Meteorological Department <a href="http://www.rsmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in/uploads/archive/48/48_0f4d46_02.%20Hourly%20Bulletein%20170600%20UTC.pdf">called</a> the storm an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" in a Monday bulletin, and said that it was likely to make landfall in the western state of Gujarat on Monday night.It's expected to then have maximum sustained wind speeds of between 155 and 165 kilometers per hour (96 to 102 miles per hour).It has already caused devastation.<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57139989">The BBC reported</a> that at least six people have been killed in rains from the storm and more than 150,000 people have been moved to shelters.The country is continuing to battle a coronavirus surge that has broken global records and overwhelmed the country's healthcare system.

A cyclone is approaching coronavirus-ravaged India, killing 6 already and forcing thousands to evacuate

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Public-health experts and physicians are urging the US to donate vaccine doses to <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>.</li><li>India's COVID-19 surge is shattering world records. The country recorded 349,691 new cases Sunday.</li><li>In the US, daily vaccination rates are down 19% from a peak, as supply starts to outstrip demand.</li></ul>A growing chorus of doctors and public-health experts are urging President Joe <keyword id="60973" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Biden">Biden</keyword> to donate <keyword id="8624004" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus-vaccine">coronavirus vaccine</keyword> doses to India, which has rapidly deteriorated into the epicenter of the pandemic. India recorded 349,691 new cases on Sunday, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/india-coronavirus-cases-set-new-global-record-us-readies-help-2021-04-25/">smashing a global record for a fourth consecutive day</a>. Hospitals are being overrun and medical supplies are in short supply. Vaccinations have also been few and far between in the world's second-most populous country, with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/?sref=Hhue1scO">less than 2% of the population fully immunized</a>.India provides the most glaring example of the inequity in vaccine distribution, where rich nations have bought up the vast majority of supply. In the US, 53% of all adults have received at least one dose and 36% are fully vaccinated. The rate of infections and deaths have fallen by about 75% since January peaks, and much of the US has already started to reopen. Perhaps the sharpest contrast between the two countries is shown in the latest US vaccination figures. The seven-day average of number of shots being given daily in the US is down 17% from a recent peak of 3.35 million. Evercore ISI analysts attribute the decline to "softening demand," as experts anticipate the US campaign is now inflecting from a supply to a demand challenge.Public-health experts and doctors are now urging the US to do much more in assisting India. In particular, they are urging the Biden administration to relax restrictions on exporting raw materials needed for vaccines and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astrazeneca-coronavirus-vaccine-has-murky-future-in-us-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to donate doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine</a>, which is not authorized in the US.The US government signed a deal with AstraZeneca last summer to eventually deliver 300 million doses of the shot. The US already has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/us/politics/coronavirus-astrazeneca-united-states.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at least 30 million of those doses on hand</a>, a supply which experts say would be best used by donating to other nations that need it."We need to get these doses donated to countries where supply is limited. Immediately. They do absolutely no good to anyone just sitting on a shelf," <a href="https://twitter.com/Craig_A_Spencer/status/1386168956768108547">said</a> Dr. Craig Spencer, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Columbia University's medical center. "Donating money isn't enough. Committing to future initiatives isn't either."In <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/24/indias-coronavirus-surge-could-collapse-its-health-system-us-can-help/">an opinion piece published Saturday in The Washington Post</a>, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">Health</keyword>, called for the US to help India scale up testing, establish field hospitals, provide more medical supplies like oxygen, and donate vaccine doses. "The United States has strategic interests in helping India weather the pandemic; it is also the right thing to do," Jha wrote. "Only the United States has the capacity, resources and technical know-how to bend the curve of India's catastrophic second wave of disease. The faster we assist our ally, the more lives will be saved."<h2>Top US officials respond, vow to take action</h2>Under the increased pressure, top US officials have vowed to help India, but details have yet to be made public. "Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak," Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, <a href="https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1386148447179493380">wrote Saturday night on Twitter</a>. "We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India's health care heroes."Part of the hesitation in donating vaccine doses has been uncertainty over the viral variants that are present in India, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert and Biden's chief medical advisor.Certain variants can partially evade the protection given by vaccines. For instance, AstraZeneca's shot appeared to be particularly less protective against the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa, <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2102214">according to a 2,000-person clinical trial</a>. "They have a situation there where there are variants that have arisen," Fauci said Friday at a White House COVID-19 task force briefing. "We have not yet fully characterized the variants and the relationship between the ability of the vaccines to protect. But we're assuming, clearly, that they need vaccines."

Pressure is building on Biden to send vaccine doses to India, as the country breaks global records with COVID-19 outbreak

<ul><li>India, the third country worst hit by the <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">Covid-19</keyword> pandemic, has recorded a spike of 53,601 <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases in a single day, pushing the total tally to 22,68,675.</li><li>According to the ministry officials, With more patients recovering and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation, the total recoveries have jumped to 15,83,489 with 47,746 Covid-19 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours.</li><li>The actual case load of the country is the active cases -- 6,39,929, which is only 28.21 per cent of the total positive cases. They are under active medical supervision. </li></ul> The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that successful implementation of effective containment strategy, aggressive and comprehensive testing coupled with standardized clinical management have resulted in a sharp hike in the recovery rate at nearly 70 per cent. India, the third country worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, has recorded a spike of 53,601 coronavirus cases in a single day, pushing the total tally to 22,68,675. According to the ministry officials, With more patients recovering and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation, the total recoveries have jumped to 15,83,489 with 47,746 Covid-19 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours. The actual case load of the country is the active cases -- 6,39,929, which is only 28.21 per cent of the total positive cases. They are under active medical supervision. With a consistent and sustained increase in recoveries, the gap between recovered patients and active Covid-19 cases has reached nearly 9.5 lakh. "India's test, track and treat strategy is showing the desired result -- the gap between percentage Recoveries and percentage Active Cases is growing every day," the ministry added. Besides this, as a result of focus on improved and effective clinical treatment in hospitals, use of non-invasive, improved and coordinated services of the ambulances and timely treatment, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) has been low when compared to the global average. "It has fallen below 2 per cent today, currently standing at 1.99 per cent." Case fatality rate is the proportion of people who die from a specified disease among all individuals diagnosed with the disease over a certain period of time. The rate typically is used as a measure of disease severity. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/trump-was-rushed-from-the-briefing-room-by-secret-service-after-a-shooting-outside-of-the-white-house/articleshow/77474005.cms">Trump was rushed from the briefing room by Secret Service after a shooting outside the White House</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/mckinsey-facebook-amazon-nokia-and-some-other-companies-looking-for-a-product-manager-right-now/slidelist/77464438.cms">McKinsey, Facebook, Amazon, Nokia — and some other companies looking for a product manager right now</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/how-karan-bajaj-sold-his-less-than-18-month-old-startup-white-hat-jr-to-byjus/articleshow/77415329.cms">A WhatsApp message, six weeks of talks and a $300 million deal – how Karan Bajaj sold his less than 18-month old startup White Hat Jr to Byju’s</a>

India's COVID-19 recovery rate nears 70%

<ul><li>There are 6,73,166 active cases of <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> infection in the country which is 24.91 per cent of the total caseload, while the number of recoveries has risen to 19,77,779.</li><li>India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7.</li><li>The COVID-19 caseload stood at 27,02,742, while the death toll climbed to 51,797 with 876 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. </li></ul> A spike of 55,079 cases took India's COVID-19 tally past 27 lakh on Tuesday just a day after it crossed the 26-lakh mark, while 19.77 lakh people have so far recuperated from the disease pushing the recovery rate to 73.18 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The COVID-19 caseload stood at 27,02,742, while the death toll climbed to 51,797 with 876 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. Case fatality rate stands at 1.92 per cent. There are 6,73,166 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which is 24.91 per cent of the total caseload, while the number of recoveries has risen to 19,77,779. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 3,09,41,264 samples have been tested up to August 17 with 8,99,864 samples being tested on Monday. Of the 876 fresh deaths reported, 228 are from Maharashtra, 120 from Tamil Nadu, 115 from Karnataka, 82 from Andhra Pradesh, 66 from Uttar Pradesh, 45 from West Bengal, 51 from Punjab, 23 from Madhya Pradesh, 18 from Delhi, 15 from Gujarat, 13 from Kerala, 12 from Haryana, 11 from Rajasthan and 10 from Odisha. Nine fatalities have been reported from Chhattisgarh, eight each from Assam and Telangana, seven each from Bihar and Goa, six each from Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, four from Puducherry, three from Tripura, while Andmana and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Manipur have registered one fatality each. Of the total 51,797 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 20,265, followed by 5,886 in Tamil Nadu, 4,214 in Delhi, 4,062 in Karnataka, 2,800 in Gujarat, 2,732 in Andhra Pradesh, 2,515 in Uttar Pradesh, 2,473 in West Bengal and 1,128 in Madhya Pradesh. So far, 887 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 863 in Punjab, 711 in Telangana, 550 in Haryana, 548 in Jammu and Kashmir, 468 in Bihar, 353 in Odisha, 250 in Jharkhand, 197 in Assam, 169 in Kerala and 158 in Uttarakhand. Chhattisgarh has registered 150 deaths, Puducherry 114, Goa 111, Tripura 62, Chandigarh 30, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 29, Himachal Pradesh 19, Manipur 17, Ladakh 14, Nagaland eight, Meghalaya six, Arunachal Pradesh five, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two and Sikkim one. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. "Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/latest-job-openings-at-google-microsoft-jp-morgan-goldman-sachs-ericsson-amazon-adobe-zomato-for-software-engineers/slidelist/77585263.cms">Google, Microsoft, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Ericsson and other companies hiring software engineers in India right now</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/barack-obama-has-privately-voiced-concerns-that-joe-biden-could-f-things-up-according-to-a-report/articleshow/77574349.cms">Barack Obama has privately voiced concerns that Joe Biden could 'f--- things up,' according to a report</a>

India's total coronavirus cases breach 27-lakh mark

<ul><li>There were now 9,75,861 active cases, while 44,97,867 have recovered, with 1,01,468 in the past 24 hours while 1,053 died taking the toll to 88,935.</li><li>With a tally of 55,62,663 cases, India's recovery rate stands at 80.86 per cent, and the fatality rate is 1.60 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data.</li></ul>In a major relief India showed a spike of 75,083 fresh coronavirus cases in a day, nearly 20,000 less than its daily surge reported last week. Even though it crossed the 55 lakh-mark of total cases, it continued to show highest recovery rate, Health Ministry data showed on Tuesday. There were now 9,75,861 active cases, while 44,97,867 have recovered, with 1,01,468 in the past 24 hours while 1,053 died taking the toll to 88,935. With a tally of 55,62,663 cases, India's recovery rate stands at 80.86 per cent, and the fatality rate is 1.60 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data. Even though India rallies behind the US for the total number of coronavirus cases, it has overtaken the country to become number one in terms of global recoveries. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit with a total of 12,24,380 cases including 33,015 deaths; followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. According to the data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India conducted 9,33,185 sample tests in a single day on Monday, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 6,53,25,779. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/apple-ceo-tim-cook-says-big-companies-deserve-scrutiny/articleshow/78247912.cms">'There is no monopoly here' — Apple CEO Tim Cook says big companies deserve scrutiny</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/oxfords-covid-19-vaccine-phase-iii-human-trials-begin-in-india/articleshow/78247551.cms">Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine: Phase III human trials begin in India</a>

You Searched For "coronavirus news in India" and got 13 results

Scientists are closely watching an Omicron subtype spreading in Denmark, the UK, Singapore and India

Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce

13 passengers who flew from Italy to India tested positive for COVID-19 then ran away from quarantine, officials say

Sophia Ankel

India will pay $670 to next of kin of COVID-19 victims in compensation for their loss

Rebecca Cohen

India accounted for 1 in 4 coronavirus deaths worldwide last week

Sinéad Baker

Vietnam identifies a highly contagious new coronavirus variant with strains from the UK and India

Yelena Dzhanova

India is the first country to record 400,000 coronavirus cases in a single day

Morgan McFall-Johnsen

Global coronavirus deaths just topped 3 million, led by surges in India and Brazil

Aria Bendix

The COVID-19 death toll in India could be up to 10 times higher than the official 200,000 figure, experts say

Sophia Ankel

A cyclone is approaching coronavirus-ravaged India, killing 6 already and forcing thousands to evacuate

Sinéad Baker

Pressure is building on Biden to send vaccine doses to India, as the country breaks global records with COVID-19 outbreak

Andrew Dunn

India's COVID-19 recovery rate nears 70%

IANS

India's total coronavirus cases breach 27-lakh mark

PTI

India's COVID-19 recovery rate increases to 80.86%

IANS

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