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Third wave of coronavirus unlikely to be as severe as second wave: ICMR Study

Presenting a vaccine ramp-up scenario where 40 percent of the population has received two doses within three months of the second wave peak, and further that the effect of vaccination is (conservatively) to reduce severity of infection by 60 percent, the study said it illustrates how vaccination could substantially reduce the overall burden during the possible third wave.

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Oz, Israel were Covid success stories till Delta strain struck

In Australia, around a million people in four eastern and central Sydney neighbourhoods, which include Bondi Beach, were ordered to stay home for at least a week as total infections in an outbreak connected to the Delta variant topped 60. The lockdown is a shock for a population that had returned to relative normality after months of recording few cases.

Israel, which has prided itself on having one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, has seen infections surge since dropping a requirement to wear masks in enclosed public places 10 days ago.

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Merchant ship crews still stuck at sea amid Pandemic

Some have been stranded for as long as 20 months, which contravenes the International Labor Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention, which allows a maximum of 11 monthsMore than 80% of world trade is transported by sea, meaning seafarers play a critical role in global commerce. The International Chamber of Shipping estimates that 200,000 are affected by travel restrictions, either stuck at sea or unable to leave home to get to their ships.

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Pharmeasy to acquire diagnostics chain Thyrocare in a deal worth over Rs 6,300 crore

Pharmeasy is primarily into medicine deliveries.

At present, Thyrocare has a network of 4,000 partner labs while Pharmeasy serves 17 million customers monthly through its network of 6,000 digital consultation clinics and 90,000 partner retailers.

”We feel diagnostics is very important, Thyrocare has an outstanding backend, a very low cost structure and we have an unbelievable front end,” API Holdings’ Chief Executive Siddharth Shah told after signing the agreement.

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Ixigo clocks 10 lakh searches for travel bookings, 3 lakh for vaccine slots

The travel app has witnessed a surge in both flights as well train bookings fuelled by people returning to metro cities from tier two and three cities like Patna, Darbhanga, Ranchi, Varanasi and Gorakhpur.

Even leisure travel queries are also picking up for popular summer getaway destinations like Leh, Ladakh, Shimla and Mussoorie. Industry data shows there is a sharp reversal from recent weeks with the number of domestic air passengers hovering around 1.1 lakh per day. Daily train bookings stand at over 9 lakh. 

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Novel method to accurately, quickly detect COVID-19 from phone swabs

The new method, described in the journal eLife on Tuesday, detected the COVID-19 virus on the phones of 81 to 100 per cent of contagious people with a high viral load, suggesting it is as accurate as antigen tests.

The researchers noted that globally active screening for COVID-19 is still a priority as new variants keep emerging and the vaccination rollout is not guaranteed in many countries.

However, testing is expensive and can be physically unpleasant, both of which are significant hurdles on the road to an effective test and trace system, they said.

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