Coronavirus LIVE Update: India's Cases Rise To 59,92,532; 94,503 Dead

28 States/UTs Have Positivity Rate Lower Than 10%

India's positivity rate has fallen from 11 per cent to 8.89 per cent in this week with 28 states reporting less than 10 per cent positive cases from the total number of tests being conducted in the respective states. 

Two Indian Vaccines Completed Phase I Trials: ICMR Chief

Vaccine candidates by Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadilla have completed Phase I trials of their indigenious vaccines, informed Balrama Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research said in a press conference. 

Bharat Biotech's inactivated virus vaccine has completed trials at 11 sites while Zydus Cadilla's plasmid DNA vaccine has completed trials in 17 sites too. 

Serum Institute of India's Oxford vaccine will start Phase III trials. 

Sun Pharma Launches Favipiravir, Latest Entrant To Produce Drug

Sun Pharma launched its Favipiravir variant at 35 Rs per tablet making it the latest entrant to produce this anti-viral drug which is originally produced by Japan's Fujifilm Corporation. Glenmark, Cipla, Hetero, Jenburkt, Biophore are the other producers of favipiravir in the country. 

Covaxin Trial At AIIMS: 20 Per Cent Participants Ineligible

Over 20% of the participants who were screened for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin trials at AIIMS, Delhi cannot be administered the vaccine as they have already developed antibodies for COVID-19, reported The Indian Express.

From the 3500 who applied for the trials, the apex hospital screened 80 participants, but only 16 have been recruited for the trial so far. Only one person has been administered the vaccine who has not developed any discomfort in a week after administration. In the screening, 1 in 5 had developed antibodies while a few others had other health issues which made them unfit for the trial. AIIMS has to recruit over 100 participants for the trial. 

Philippines Reimposes Lockdown In Capital

With cases surging in the country, Philippines is reimposing a lockdown for two weeks in Manila and its surrounding provinces. The country currently has over 1,06,000 cases with 2100 deaths. 

India Reports Highest New Cases For The Second Day In A Row

With 52,050 new cases, India has reported the highest number of new cases across the world for the second straight day. The United States of America reported 47,756 new cases according to the data compiled by the CDC while Brazil reported 16,641 cases in the last 24 hours. 

Delhi To Extend Secound Round Of Serological Survey

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has stated that the second round of its serological survey which began on August 1 will be extended by two days to August 6 as the government intends to collect 15,000 samples this time around. 

In the first round, the sero-survey found that 23 per cent of the 21,837 samples had developed antibodies against COVID-19. 

UN Warns Of 'Generational Catastrophe' Due To COVID-19 Enforced School Closures

The United Nations has said that the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a generational catastrophe following the disruption of education across the world, reports PTI. The UN's policy brief on education stated that the pandemic has affected nearly 1.6 billion students while an additional 23.8 million children and youth could drop out or not have access to school next year due to the pandemic’s economic impact. While launching the UN's policy brief on education UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, "Now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities. The knock-on effects on child nutrition, child marriage and gender equality, among others, are deeply concerning."

Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Tests Positive For COVID-19

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has tested positive for COVID-19, he said in a tweet. Siddaramaiah has been hospitalized as a precautionary measure and he has urged anyone who has been in contact with him to get themselves tested and quarantine themselves.

India Reports 50k New COVID-19 Cases For Sixth Straight Day

India has reported more than 50,000 new COVID-19 cases for the sixth straight day after 52,050 people tested positive for the coronavirus. The total case count stands at 18,55,745 of which 5,86,298 are active cases while 12,30,509 patients have been cured or discharged so far. The death toll rose to 38,938 after 803 patients died due to the disease.