With a fresh spike of 46,253 <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> infections and 514 deaths in 24 hours, India's tally on Wednesday rose to 83,13,876, said <keyword id="9266358" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-union-ministry-of-health-and-family-welfare">the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</keyword>. There is a slight spike in cases as India had recorded 38,310 cases on Tuesday. Delhi recorded a single day spike of 6,725 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest so far, taking the total Delhi tally to 4,03,096. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit with a total of 1,692,693 cases, including 44,248 deaths; followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Out of the total Covid-19 cases, 5,33,787 are currently active, 76,56,478 have been discharged, while 1,23,611 lost the battle against the pandemic. While the recovery rate stands at 92.09 per cent, the fatality rate is 1.49 per cent, the data from <keyword id="9283897" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-ministry-of-health-and-family">the Ministry of Health and Family</keyword> Welfare showed. <keyword id="1256547" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Indian-Council-of-Medical-Research">The Indian Council of Medical Research</keyword> (ICMR) conducted 12,09,609 sample tests in a single day on Tuesday, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 11,29,98,959. The <keyword id="700200" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Health">Union Health</keyword> Ministry has informed that the country has more than 28,000 cold chain points, 700 plus refrigerator vans and more than 70,000 vaccinators to assist in the vaccine administration. "We have already utilized them under the universal immunization program and would be used in administration of Covid vaccination as well," said Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary. Besides this, the overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 47.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 12,11,990, according to Johns Hopkins University. As of Wednesday morning, the total caseload and death toll stood at 4,73,20,376 and 12,11,996, respectively, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 93,76,293 and 2,32,529, respectively, according to the CSSE. India comes in second place in terms of cases. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/us-election-results-date-2020/articleshow/79034082.cms">Here’s when we will know the 2020 US election results</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/ratan-tata-mukesh-ambani-and-uday-kotak-to-be-a-part-of-pm-modis-virtual-global-investor-roundtable-on-thursday/articleshow/79032895.cms">Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani and Uday Kotak to be a part of PM Modi's Virtual Global Investor Roundtable on Thursday</a>

India's COVID-19 tally races past 83 lakh, recovery rate tops 92%

<keyword id="6367429" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chief-minister-Arvind-Kejriwal">Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal</keyword> on Wednesday said the city has seen a jump in the number of <keyword id="8956138" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-covid-19-cases">new COVID-19 cases</keyword> in the last few days and it can be called a "third wave". Kejriwal said people do not need to panic and the government was monitoring the situation regularly. "Delhi has witnessed a jump in the number of COVID-19 cases. I think we can call it a third wave," he told reporters. "We have been monitoring the situation continuously and there is no need to panic. We will take whatever steps are needed," the chief minister said. The government's priority is to give best treatment and healthcare facilities to <keyword id="8873995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19-patients">COVID-19 patients</keyword> in Delhi and to keep the death rate as low as possible, he said. The chief minister said there was no shortage of beds for coronavirus patients in the city. "However, there is scarcity of ICU beds in some big, private hospitals. But we are trying to set things right," he said. "The Delhi government had increased their numbers (ICU beds in private hospitals) but unfortunately, <keyword id="1204125" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Delhi-High-Court">the Delhi High Court</keyword> stayed our decision. We are moving the Supreme Court today to urge it to vacate the stay," Kejriwal said. Delhi recorded over 6,700 fresh COVID-19 cases for the first time on Tuesday, taking the infection tally in the city to over 4 lakh, even as the positivity rate stood at 11.29 per cent amid festive season and rising pollution in the city. The previous highest single-day spike till date here - 5,891 cases - was recorded on Friday. The 6,725 fresh cases came out of the 59,540 tests conducted the previous day. Forty-eight new fatalities were recorded, pushing the death toll in the national capital to 6,652, according to the bulletin issued by the Delhi health department. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/us-election-results-date-2020/articleshow/79034082.cms">Here’s when we will know the 2020 US election results</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/ratan-tata-mukesh-ambani-and-uday-kotak-to-be-a-part-of-pm-modis-virtual-global-investor-roundtable-on-thursday/articleshow/79032895.cms">Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani and Uday Kotak to be a part of PM Modi's Virtual Global Investor Roundtable on Thursday</a>

Delhi facing third wave of coronavirus, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

London, German <keyword id="24214" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="pharmaceutical-company">pharmaceutical company</keyword> <keyword id="3124139" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BioNTech">BioNTech</keyword> and US-based pharma major <keyword id="44612" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pfizer">Pfizer</keyword> are increasing manufacturing capacity to produce two billion doses of <keyword id="8904563" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19-vaccine">Covid-19 vaccine</keyword> this year amid a surge in the global demand. "In order to respond to an increased global demand, we plan to manufacture two billion doses of our Covid-19 vaccine in 2021 by expanding the previously expected output of 1.3 billion doses by more than 50 per cent," BioNTech said in a statement on Monday. According to the pharmaceutical company, the implementation of three key initiatives is making good progress. First, the modification of <keyword id="10694316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="production-processes">production processes</keyword> at Pfizer's facility in Puurs, Belgium, has been successfully completed. It added that the original schedule of vaccine dose deliveries to the European Union is now back. Second, BioNTech's manufacturing site in Marburg has received a manufacturing license and will be able to start production for validation by European Medicines Agency (EMA) in February in line with previously announced plans. Third, the company's European manufacturing network has continually expanded -- from three partners in December 2020 when it received the first authorisations to 13 currently (including the Marburg facility), it added. The company is now in discussions with additional qualified partners on potential new agreements. "Pfizer and BioNTech continue to work toward increased deliveries beginning the week of February 15, ensuring we will supply the full quantity of vaccine doses in the first quarter we contractually committed to and up to an additional 75 million doses to the European Union in the second quarter," the company said. In December 2020, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said that the deadly virus is going to stay with us for the next 10 years at least. The total number of global Covid-19 cases has topped 103.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.23 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-ratan-tata-and-anand-mahindra-might-come-together-for-indias-new-national-hydrogen-mission/articleshow/80645570.cms">Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, and Anand Mahindra might come together for India’s new National Hydrogen Mission</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indigo-paints-shares-listed-at-2607-which-is-at-75-premium-to-the-set-price-band-at-1488-1490-per-share/articleshow/80643645.cms">India’s fifth-largest paint maker Indigo Paints IPO lists at 75% premium over the issue price</a>

Pfizer-BioNTech to produce two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021

Just one <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword> shot reduces the risk of being hospitalised by Covid-19 by more than 90 per cent, according to new findings, Daily Mail reported. Public health officials have told Ministers in the UK that the remarkable results apply for both the <keyword id="44612" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pfizer">Pfizer</keyword> and <keyword id="9605255" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="oxford-astrazeneca">Oxford-AstraZeneca</keyword> vaccine, with the British jab proving slightly more effective, the report said. The new one-dose vaccination figures were calculated by comparing <keyword id="8764262" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid">Covid</keyword> hospitalisation rates in those who have received their first dose with those of a similar age who haven't. The report said it helps to explain why the numbers being hospitalised are falling so rapidly in the oldest age groups. Deaths among the over-75s have dropped by 40 per cent, while the number of over-85s being admitted to intensive care units with Covid has dropped close to zero. The strong results for the <keyword id="46985" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Oxford">Oxford</keyword> vaccine are a rebuke to the German authorities, which last month advised against its use in the over-65s, Daily Mail said. The vaccine developed by Oxford University and <keyword id="6409874" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="astrazeneca">AstraZeneca</keyword> is stunningly effective at preventing recipients becoming seriously ill from <keyword id="8764728" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">Covid 19</keyword>, new analysis shows. It is even better than the Pfizer jab at stopping people getting so sick that they need to be admitted to <keyword id="6358650" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="hospital">hospital</keyword>, Ministers have been told, according to the report. A single shot of either jab cuts the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 90 per cent, 'real world' results from the NHS vaccination programme show. "But the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, shunned by millions across Europe because of concerns over trial data, is proving slightly more effective at stopping severe Covid-19 illness than the Pfizer jab", Daily Mail said. Its apparent superiority even holds among over-70s, The Mail on Sunday understands, vindicating the UK drug regulator's decision to approve it for use in older people. The figures were calculated by comparing Covid hospitalisation rates across England in those who have received a first dose of vaccine in the NHS rollout, to those of a similar age who have not. They follow a Scottish study of Covid hospitalisation rates, published last week, which came to similar conclusions. Edinburgh University researchers found that by the fourth week after injection, "the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines were shown to reduce the risk of hospitalisation from Covid-19 by up to 85 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively". Among over-80s, who are at highest risk of severe illness, a single dose cut the risk of needing hospital treatment by 81 per cent from week four onwards, when the results from both types were combined, the report said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ratan-tata-is-reportedly-exiting-lenskart-with-returns-of-28-times-the-investment/articleshow/81268916.cms">Ratan Tata is exiting Lenskart with returns of almost five times the investment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/explained-the-nue-licence-for-payments-that-tata-ambani-and-bezos-have-applied-for/articleshow/81268434.cms">EXPLAINED: The NUE licence for payments that Tata, Ambani and Bezos have applied for</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/elon-musks-starlink-satellite-internet-is-coming-to-india-heres-how-you-can-pre-book-your-connection/articleshow/81268052.cms">Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet is coming to India – here's how you can pre-book your connection</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/elon-musk-and-reliance-industries-mukesh-ambani-compete-in-energy-storage-skytran-and-hyperloop/articleshow/81266903.cms">Elon Musk is facing a challenge from Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani in India⁠— both in energy and transportation</a>

A single dose of either Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine offers 90% protection, says report

Mumbai, Apr 5 () Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani led captains of Indian industry in shutting down lights at their homes and lighting lamps on Sunday night like millions of people across the country in response to the prime minister's call to show collective resolve in the fight against coronavirus. The Ambani couple - Mukesh and his wife Neeta - switched off lights at their palatial house as the clock struck 9 pm on Sunday and they were seen holding diyas and candles as some shlokas played in the background. Pictures released by the company showed the facade of Ambani residence Antilla in the tony Kemps Corner area of south Mumbai being lit with earthen lamps A picture showing Tata Group's chairman emeritus Ratan Tata with what seemed like a plate with a solitary lamp also started floating on social media apps after the end of the designated nine minutes, but it could not be immediately confirmed if it was taken on Sunday. Earlier in the evening, Tata had tweeted about the crisis. "This is the worst crisis we have faced, and we must fight this with a spirit of solidarity, resolve, empathy and understanding. We must unite to win the battle against COVID-19," he had said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in a televised address urged everybody to shut off lights for nine minutes at 9 pm on Sunday and integrate to resolutely fight the virus. The overall death toll in the country due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 83 and the cases climbed to 3,577 on Sunday after 505 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. India has been on a 21-day lockdown from March 25 to check the spread of coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 65,000 lives globally and inflicted over 12 lakh people since the pandemic first emerged in China in December. AA RT

Ambanis join in lighting diyas as country expresses collective resolve to fight COVID-19

Agartala, May 20 () Four more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, taking the total number of cases in the state to 173, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said. He said the four persons who tested positive for COVID-19 had recently returned from Chennai and are now under treatment. "850 samples have been tested for #COVID19 today and among them 4 persons found positive," Deb tweeted on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Tripura Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday claimed that the state has the highest recovery rate of coronavirus patients in the country. Tripuras recovery rate is 68.83 per cent while the national average recovery rate is 39 per cent, he claimed. "India's national average for COVID-19 recovery rate is 39%... while in Tripura it is 68.63 per cent. Our state is placed highest in the country for recovery of COVID-19 patients", he said. Of the 173 COVID-19 cases in Tripura, 116 people have recovered. The minister said Tripura so far has not reported any COVID-19 death. Three BSF battalions located in Dhalai district have reported 160 COVID-19 cases, he said. Nath also claimed that said the rate of testing of samples is also highest in Tripura compared to other northeastern states. "In Tripura 3,773 samples per million is being tested which is highest among the northeastern states", he said. Meanwhile, Tripura received five ventilators, 1,050 PCR kits and 10 thousand triple-layered masks and 10,000 pair of gloves from Tata Trust on Tuesday. The minister said the state government has decided to set up a new 1,000 bed COVID facility centre in Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) Park at Hapania here. There are covid care facility centres in all the eight districts of the state. JOY RG RG

4 more test positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, total cases 173

By Prajakta KarnikMumbai, Apr 26 () As coronavirus situation spirals, slum dwellings in Mumbai, where more than half of the city's 12 million population live in crammed space and unhygienic conditions, seem to be posing a daunting challenge in efforts to curb infections. Known as the 'City of Dreams', Mumbai is home to the largest number of billionaires as well as Asia's largest slum Dharavi -- one of the coronavirus hotspots. While area-wise it measures just about 2.4 square kilometres (sq kms), Dharavi alone has more than one million people. Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata's remarks, earlier this week, that developers and architects are treating slums as "residue" of the city and that was one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the pandemic highlighted the current situation. These so-called planners and builders should be ashamed of themselves for forcing a large majority of the people to live in sub-human conditions, he had said. The megacity has reported 4,870 coronavirus cases and 191 deaths. The octogenarian industrialist, also a long time resident of Mumbai, had lambasted realtors for neglecting the poor and creating vertical slums for big gains from high value housing that come up in the areas where slums stood once. Lack of proper planning, flouting of norms, land cartelisation and rising property prices, are among the factors, that have contributed to the present situation of large number of people living in slums, experts opined. The Maharashtra government and local authorities are taking measures to contain the spread of coronavirus infections and are appealing the citizens to stay home. However, with rooms measuring barely 100-200 sq ft housing 8-10 people in slums, and scores of families sharing common toilets and water taps, the possibility of coronavirus cases going up is always high, they added. "Blame it on policy paralysis and unending aspirations of both politicians as well as developers' community for the city not becoming slum-free. And today, these slums have turned into a haven for coronavirus," MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) former chief town planner V K Pathak told . Further, he said housing policies that were developed by the competent authorities did not solve the issues of 'public housing' but were construed as policies for real estate development. "Nearly 65-70 per cent of Mumbai's population stays in slums. Policies like the Urban Land Ceiling Act, free housing for slum dwellers and extension of cut off dates for regularising slums led to land cartelisation and increasing property rates," Pathak said. Over the years, Mumbai has witnessed a large influx of migrants in search of jobs. They settled in clusters by building small hutments as they could not afford to buy homes and those areas later became illegal slums. "Affordable housing and slum elimination are two surprisingly conflicting issues. We're trying to remove slums from seemingly unsuitable living conditions by relocating them to other locations which are 20-30 miles away and where there are no jobs for these uprooted people," Ratan Tata said earlier this week. In 1995, as part of his pre-election promises, late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray floated the idea of 'free housing' for slum dwellers. When the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance came to power the same year, their government launched the slum rehabilitation scheme. Under the scheme, slums were proposed to be replaced with 'pukka' houses on the same plot of land, construction of which was to be cross-funded by a 'free sale component'. The latter was aimed at attracting investments from home buyers from slightly affluent financial background. However, the scheme could not address the problems in its entirety and slums kept proliferating across the city. Real estate developers' body Naredco's National President Niranjan Hiranandani also acknowledged that proper urban planning has "not" been done. "One acknowledges that the situation has been one where proper urban planning has not been done. The need to ensure fiscal viability of real estate projects creates a situation where over the years, we have seen real estate development happen in ways that weren't examples of 'sustainable living' or in sync with the environment. According to him, a mix of acute scarcity of open spaces, restrictions on vertical growth and difficulties relating to slum rehabilitation policy confounds Mumbai's planned development. An expert in real estate regulations, who did not wish to be identified, said faulty Floor Space Index (FSI) norms have also led to haphazard development in the city and skewed property prices. FSI is a development tool that defines the extent to which construction is permitted on a plot. For long, the permissible FSI for residential development in the island city has been 1.33 and it is 1 in the suburbs. In 2019, then state government led by BJP's Devendra Fadnavis increased the FSI for slum rehabilitation projects across the city to 4 from the earlier 3. The index is based on a ratio between the area of a covered floor or the built up area to the area of that plot on which a building stands. The new development plan 2034 for Mumbai has proposed to increase the FSI to 2.7. "While the developers used this as a tool to build costly aspirational homes, local authorities used it as a means to generate revenues. In between, the interest of the public was ignored," the expert quoted above said. Over the past several years, Maharashtra government has been planning to redevelop the most congested areas in the city like Dharavi and Kamathipura. The ambitious Dharavi redevelopment plan, which was conceptualised more than a decade ago in 2004, has not found takers yet as developers have found the proposal "financially unviable". "Haphazard and in some instances, unplanned development just enhances the difficulty quotient. The slum proliferation challenge begins with open spaces reserved by authorities for future development or kept vacant as no development zones. "Given the constant pressure from new migrants looking for homes, it opens up the pathway to proliferation of slums. This is a problem not unique only to Mumbai, but certainly more acute as compared to other cities," Hiranandani said. PSK RAM

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India's COVID-19 tally races past 83 lakh, recovery rate tops 92%

IANS

Delhi facing third wave of coronavirus, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

PTI

Pfizer-BioNTech to produce two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021

IANS

A single dose of either Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine offers 90% protection, says report

IANS

Ambanis join in lighting diyas as country expresses collective resolve to fight COVID-19

PTI

4 more test positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, total cases 173

PTI

Slum dwellings pose challenge as Mumbai fights coronavirus outbreak

PTI