Category:

Health

Economic impact of 2nd COVID-19 wave likely to be muted; visible signs of eco rejuvenation: FinMin

The latest Monthly Economic Review, released by the finance ministry, said the ”robust recovery in tax collections cushions the fisc towards meeting the budgeted support to the economy”.

It also said the recent sero-prevalence results signify that India can reduce the likelihood of severe illness due to COVID-19 if the country sustains the momentum of the vaccination programme.

”Having antibodies reduces the probability of acquiring serious illnesses, as is borne by studies. So, any subsequent waves are expected to be mild in terms of severity of disease,” the ministry said in the report.

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Covid-19 R-value more than 1 in 5 states, it’s cause for concern: Govt

At a press briefing on the pandemic, officials said the reproduction number or R number that indicates the speed at which COVID-19 is spreading is more than 1 in five states — Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh — which remains a cause for concern.

Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Nagaland have their reproduction number at 1, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said.

For India, it is around 1, he said.

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Indian Ocean warming at faster pace, India to witness increased heat waves, flooding: Report

”The Indian Ocean region is warming at a higher rate, which means the relative sea level can also increase over the regions. Hence, the coastal regions will see the sea level rise through the 21st century and it will contribute to more frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-level areas and coastal erosion. Along with this, extreme sea-level events that were previously seen once in a hundred years, could also happen every year by the end of the century,” she said.

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Non-life insurers to suffer longer from pandemic: Liberty General CEO

The two waves of the deadly viral infection so far have bled the general insurance industry to the tune of around Rs 27,000 crore as over 2 million customers have made industry-wide claims till early July, according to Roopam Asthana, managing director and chief executive of the mid-scale non-life player Liberty General Insurance.

Of this, the whole of FY’21 saw only about claims worth Rs 14,500 crore from around 9.8 lakh customers. As against this, the first three months of FY’22 alone have seen close to 12 lakh customers seeking over Rs 13,000 crore in refunds or cashless hospitlisation, he said and added that this is only from the second wave and no one knows what is in store for the industry as the world is fearing a third wave.

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