Assam conducts dry run for coronavirus vaccination

Assam conducted a dry run for coronavirus vaccination at various health facilities in 14 districts on Friday, official sources said. Officials of the UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) were present on the occasion. The dry run will be held regularly in 30 districts of the state to prepare the medical staff for the actual […]

WHO chief goes into self-quarantine after contact tests COVID-19 positive

The Director-General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that he had been identified as a contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Currently, he is in self-quarantine and said that he was feeling well and did not have any symptoms. “I have been identified as a contact of someone […]

India exceeds WHO advisory on COVID-19 testing by almost six times

India has exceeded the 140 tests per day for per million population, as advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) for comprehensive surveillance, of COVID-19 by nearly six times, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Monday. “WHO in its Guidance Note on “Public Health Criteria to Adjust Public Health and Social […]

COVID-19 vaccine distribution expected to start in mid-2021: WHO chief scientist

The large-scale global distribution of vaccines against COVID-19 is not expected until mid-2021, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan told a press briefing on Friday. “So realistically speaking, probably the second half, the middle of 2021 – maybe the second quarter, the third quarter of 2021 – is when we can […]

Global COVID-19 tally surpasses 20 million: WHO

Nearly 214,985 new coronavirus cases were reported worldwide over the past 24 hours, and the total tally reached 20.1 million, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday. According to the organisation, the exact number of COVID-19 cases in the world is now at 20,162,474. At the same time, 4,835 new coronavirus-related fatalities were registered […]

No silver bullet for COVID-19 at present, there might never be: WHO

A number of coronavirus vaccines are now in phase three of clinical trials but “there’s no silver bullet at the moment and there might never be,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organisation Director-General said on Monday. “A number of vaccines are now in phase three clinical trials and we all hope to have a number […]

WHO reports over 7.6 mn COVID-19 cases globally, death toll tops 427,000

The global number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection has surpassed 7.6 million, with over 427,000 fatalities being reported since the start of the outbreak, according to the latest data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday. The cumulative global toll of confirmed cases has increased by 137,526 over the past day, […]

Wuhan revises COVID-19 stats, death toll up by 1,290

The authorities of the Chinese city of Wuhan – the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic – have recalculated statistics of the coronavirus disease, increasing the number of confirmed cases by 325 to 50,333 and the death toll by 1,290 to 3,869. “The number of confirmed cases has risen by 325 to 50,333, the number of […]

Lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to ‘deadly resurgence’ of COVID-19, warns WHO

As the world battles coronavirus pandemic, World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday (local time) warned countries against hastily lifting restrictions which have been put in place to curb the spread of the virus. Addressing a press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “I know that some countries are already planning the transition out of […]