Category:

Pandemic

RBI holds rates at record lows amid concerns over rising COVID-19 cases

India’s central bank has slashed the repo rate by a total of 115 basis points (bps) since March 2020 to soften the blow from the pandemic. This follows 135 bps worth of rate cuts since the beginning of 2019.

“The MPC judged that monetary policy should remain accommodative till prospects of sustained recovery are well secured,” Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

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With poor data on variants, India’s Covid surge remains a mystery

India has enough laboratory capacity for genome sequencing, but getting a wide spread of regular samples from across the country — including the rural hinterland and potential super-spreader events — has been a problem, said Rakesh Mishra, the director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, one of the labs working to sequence positive virus samples.

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COVID-19 spreading at fast pace, next 4 weeks critical: Centre

”The intensity of the pandemic has increased and it is spreading faster than last time. In some states, it (the condition) is worse than others but the upswing (in cases) can be observed across the country,” he said.

”People’s participation is vital to control the second wave. The next four weeks are going to very critical. The entire country has to come together and make efforts to fight the pandemic.”

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Global Covid toll crosses 3m amid infection resurgence

“Indeed there is a very serious situation going on in Brazil right now, where we have a number of states in critical condition,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove told a briefing last Thursday, adding that many hospital intensive care units are more than 90% full.

India reported a record rise in Covid-19 infections on Monday, becoming the second nation after the United States to post more than 100,000 new cases in a day.

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Covid-19 affecting children more than in first wave, says paediatrician

“The second wave of Covid is known to affect the children much more than in the first wave. Also, a reverse trend is being seen that is – children develop symptoms first, and then adults are getting it from them. The difference is while in the first wave most of the children were asymptomatic, in the second wave they are coming with symptoms like fever, cold, dry cough, loose motions, vomiting, not feeding well, fatigue, loss of appetite, among other common symptoms. Few may also have breathing difficulties and rashes like any other viral fever,” he said.

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