India: 16% vaccine breakthrough in Delhi hospital #coronavirus study
A small-scale study on 113 healthcare workers who had received at least one vaccine dose at a private hospital in Delhi found that 18 tested positive for Covid but all except one had mild symptoms. Of the 113 in the study, 107 had received the second dose of the vaccine.
Maldives: 60% positivity rate in Greater Male – “High chance of new #coronavirus variant”
The Maldives Health Protection Agency revealed on Sunday that three out of five samples tested in Greater Male’ Area result in a COVID positive case. Within a two week period, HPA said, the positivity rate at flu clinics have increased by four times.
WHO: B.1.617 Indian #coronavirus strain is now a Variant of Concern or VOC
A World Health Organization official said Monday it is reclassifying the Indian Sars-Cov-2 variant B.1.617 as a “variant of concern,” indicating that it’s become a global health threat. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said the agency will provide more details in its weekly situation report on the pandemic Tuesday but added that the variant, known as B.1.617, has been found in preliminary studies to spread more easily than the original virus and there is some evidence it may able to evade vaccines.
Belgium: Five fully vaccinated care home residents infected with B.1.617.3 in vaccine breakthrough outbreak
Five residents of a care home in Borsbeek in Antwerp province have been infected with the so-called Indian variants of Covid-19, according to the Flemish Agency for Health and Care. One of those affected has died. All of the home’s residents have been fully vaccinated.
Brazil: new #coronavirus strain P.1.2 confirmed circulating in Rio de Janeiro
The State Department of Health of Rio de Janeiro (SES-RJ) announced the identification of the new variant of the Covid virus in Rio de Janeiro late this morning. The strain received the name of P.1.2, because it is a change that occurred in the P.1 line – which appeared in Manaus.
USA: 3,084 #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough cases in California
Between Jan. 1 and April 28, California public health officials recorded 3,084 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 in people who were fully vaccinated. That’s out of 12.9 million people who were fully vaccinated. “As more time passes and more people are fully vaccinated, it is likely that additional post-vaccination cases will occur,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. “The number of post-vaccination cases remains small.”
India: two lionesses at Etawah safari park test positive for #coronavirus
A statement issued by the office of Director of Etawah Safari in Uttar Pradesh, India yesterday stated two lionesses at Etawah safari park have been tested positive for coronavirus and their treatment has begun as advised by experts. It also stated the condition of both animals is normal. Both the lionesses have been down with fever for some time and have been under treatment from vets.
India: #coronavirus death toll equivalent to a Nagasaki atom bomb every ten days
Covid-19 deaths In India rose by more than 4,000 for a second consecutive day on Sunday (May 9) as calls for a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus mounted. India’s health ministry reported 4,092 fatalities over the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 242,362. New cases rose by 403,738, just shy of the record and increasing the total since the start of the pandemic to 22.3 million.
India: Black fungus Mucormycosis with 50% mortality rate affecting #coronavirus patients
Black fungus infection Mucormycosis has been on the rise among Covid-19 patients in Ahmedabad for the last 15-20 days, doctors have said. Around 67 patients are being treated for the same in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) ward of BJ Medical College and 45 of them are scheduled to undergo surgery, Dr Kalpesh Patel, associate professor in the hospital told news agency ANI on Saturday.
India: B1617 twice as infectious as UK #coronavirus variant B117
Early indications from an analysis of the growth of the B.1.617 variant of the Covid-19 virus has shown it to be at least twice as infectious as the UK variant and thrice as infectious as the variant behind last year’s Covid-19 wave.
Brazil: P.1 mutates into new #coronavirus variant P.1.2
A new variant of the Brazilian coronavirus has been identified this week, according to Rio de Janeiro health authorities. The P1 Manaus strain seems to have mutated. Hence, the new version has been named P.1.2., scientists in Rio said.
UK: Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 already outcompeting B.1.1.7 in some areas of Britain
UK GOV: “B.1.617.2 has spread rapidly in India based on available data. There have been multiple importations to the UK and onwards transmission within the UK. In some regions, S gene target data suggests that this variant may be more frequent than is indicated by the current sequence data, due to the lag in sequencing, and may have replaced B.1.1.7 to some extent. Modelled growth estimates suggest that the variant is at least as transmissible as B.1.1.7. Further analyses are required with targeted comparator groups and improved correction for importation to refine the position on transmissibility. Some early laboratory data suggest limited antigenic change. There are insufficient data as yet to assess reinfection or vaccine effectiveness through national surveillance.”
UK: surge testing for Indian #coronavirus VOC B.1.617.2 begins in Bolton as some areas see 500% increase in cases
Mobile Covid-19 testing units are being rolled out in Bolton as surge testing gets underway in the borough’s coronavirus hotspots. People in Rumworth, Deane or Great Lever are being urged to get tested at the units. Infection rates in those areas have increased, with Rumworth South seeing cases rocket by 500 per cent, with an infection rate of 359.3 per 100,000 people. In Lever Edge, part of Great Lever, cases have increased by 40 per cent.
Nepal: highest-ever number of new #coronavirus cases in last 24 hours at 9,196
Nepal recorded a total of 9,196 new cases of coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 9,023 persons have been tested positive for COVID-19 through the RT-PCR method while 173 have been tested positive through the Antigen method. According to the Ministry, 3,089 persons in Kathmandu, 643 in Lalitpur, and 374 in Bhaktapur have been tested positive for the pandemic virus, making the capital valley’s fresh coronavirus cases 4,106 in past 24 hours.