Coronavirus India News highlights | Mumbai reports 2,389 fresh COVID-19 cases, 43 deaths

The Mizoram government on Thursday extended partial lockdown in Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) area for another three days till Sunday to facilitate tracing of people who came in contact with Covid-19 positive patients, state Health Minister R Lalthangliana said.

The decision was taken at the meeting of senior officers, leaders of churches and Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA), which is the largest secular non-governmental organisation of the Mizo people.

The week-long partial lockdown in the AMC area was scheduled to end on Thursday.

2,389 new COVID-19cases and43 deaths reported in Mumbai today. The total number of positive cases increases to 1,78,275 in Mumbai, including 32,849 active cases, 1,36,739 recovered cases and 8,320 deaths.

24,619 new COVID-19cases and 398 deaths reported in Maharashtra today. The total number of cases in the State rises to 11,45,840 including 8,12,354 recoveries, 3,01,752 active cases and 31,351 deaths.

West Bengal reports 3,197 new COVID-19cases and 60 deaths today, taking total cases to 2,15,580 including 1,87,061 discharges, 24,336 active cases and 4,183 deaths.

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5,560 new COVID-19cases, 5,524 discharges and 59 deaths reported in Tamil Nadu today. Total number of cases now at 5,25,420 including 46,610 active cases, 4,70,192 discharges and 8,618 deaths.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said the government is aiming to bring down India's COVID-19 mortality rate to less than 1 per cent from the current 1.64 percent, which is still the lowest in the world.

Replying to a debate in Rajya Sabha, he said the country's recovery rate of 78-79 percent is one of the highest in the world, adding though the total cases may have crossed 50 million, active cases are less than 20 percent.

Deaths in India due to coronavirus pandemic are less than many nations in Europe and the government was determined to better the testing rate of the US, he said.

Rich countries have cornered 51% of future COVID-19 vaccine supply: Oxfam

Over half of the future supply of COVID-19 vaccine candidates has already been cornered by a small group of wealthy nation, according to areport by Oxfam International.

The non-profit organisation warned that wealthy nations representing just 13 percent of the world's population have already cornered 51 percent of the promised doses of leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

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Less than 3 percent population in 177 tribal-dominated districts in the county has been detected as positive for coronavirus, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda also told the Upper House that so far, there has been "no report of major outbreak of the disease in tribal areas".

Citing a recent study conducted by IIT Delhi, the minister said, Less than 3 percent of the population in 177 districts with 25 percent tribal population or more has been detected as corona positive.

The minister also said the COVID response team of his ministry has formulated a pandemic response plan to protect the livelihoods and health of Scheduled Tribes.

The emergencies chief of the World Health Organization says scientific disagreements over COVID-19 interventions like masks and vaccines shouldn't be treated as some kind of political football, but acknowledged that it isn't easy for everyone to be on message all the time. Asked to respond to the open disagreements between US President Donald Trump and the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the effectiveness of masks and when a coronavirus vaccine might be available, Dr. Michael Ryan said it is important that we have consistent messaging from all levels."

Less than 3 percent population in 177 tribal-dominated districts in the county has been detected as positive for coronavirus, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda also told the Upper House that so far, there has been "no report of major outbreak of the disease in tribal areas". Citing a recent study conducted by IIT Delhi, the minister said, Less than 3 percent of the population in 177 districts with 25 percent tribal population or more has been detected as corona positive. The minister also said the COVID response team of his ministry has formulated a pandemic response plan to protect the livelihoods and health of Scheduled Tribes.

The same has been approved by the Secretary, Tribal Affairs, and circulated among various stakeholders for necessary action. States and Union Territories have been asked to utilize funds from state tribal sub plans and submit a comprehensive proposal on these lines under various schemes of the ministry, he said.

The global economic recovery from the crisis originated by the coronavirus pandemic may take as much as five years, the World Bank's chief economist Carmen Reinhart said on Thursday. "There will probably be a quick rebound as all the restriction measures linked to lockdowns are lifted, but a full recovery will take as much as five years," Reinhart said in a remote intervention during a conference held in Madrid.