The vaccine remains stable at temperatures between 2-8 °C, due to which it does not require ultra-cold chain infrastructure used for other approved mRNA-based vaccines, making it easy for deployment pan India.
India’s Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted approval to Gennova Biopharmaceuticals for its mRNA-based Omicron-specific booster vaccine.
The vaccine, named GEMCOVAC®-OM, is intended for individuals aged 18 years and older as a booster dose. It can be safely administered to individuals who have already received two doses of either Covaxin or Covishield.
The vaccine is administered intradermally using a needle-free device, and it remains stable at temperatures between 2-8 °C, due to which it does not require ultra-cold chain infrastructure used for other approved mRNA-based vaccines, making it easy for deployment pan India.
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has facilitated establishing the vaccine manufacturing for developingthe platform technology from proof of concept till Phase I clinical trial of the prototype mRNA-based vaccine developed against the Wuhan strain.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh commended the efforts and said, “I take great pride in DBT fulfilling its mission yet again – enabling technology-driven entrepreneurship through creating this indigenous mRNA-platform technology. We have always supported technology-driven innovation towards the creation of a ‘future-ready’ technology platform in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Aatmanirbharta.”
He also said, “Infrastructure to deploy vaccine in India, including LMICs, at 2‑8°C exist today & this innovation is tailored for the existing established supply-chain Infrastructure. The vaccine does not need ultra-low temperature conditions for transport and storage.”
Gennova Biopharmaceuticals CEO Dr. Sanjay Singh, said India has now developed two mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
“I am proud that my team has worked tirelessly over the last two years to develop the nation’s first mRNA vaccine. This is a team effort & without the guidance of the Subject Expert Committee of CDSCO and the Vaccine Expert Committee of BIRAC monitoring the project, it would not have been possible.”
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Former British PM Boris Johnson hands COVID-era WhatsApps to UK govt amid inquiry row
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Johnson, whose personal conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic has been heavily criticised and who incurred a police fine for breaking lockdown regulations, said he would cooperate with the inquiry in full.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given his pandemic-era notebooks and messages to the government and urged officials to pass them on to an independent COVID-19 inquiry, his spokesman said on Wednesday.
The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for overseeing the operation of government, is in a standoff with the inquiry over whether it should hand over material it deems to be irrelevant to the investigation.
“All Boris Johnson’s material – including WhatsApps and notebooks – requested by the COVID inquiry has been handed to the Cabinet Office in full and in unredacted form,” the spokesman’s statement said.
“Mr Johnson urges the Cabinet Office to urgently disclose it to the inquiry.”
After Britain recorded one of the world’s highest number of COVID deaths, Johnson’s government in 2021 ordered an inquiry into the country’s preparedness as well as its public health and economic response.
With a national election expected next year, the detailed examination of decision making could be politically uncomfortable for both Johnson and current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was finance minister during the pandemic.
The inquiry will cover the government’s management of the pandemic, particularly at the beginning when Britain was slower than many European countries to respond.
Chaired by former judge Heather Hallett, the inquiry had given the government until Thursday afternoon to hand over Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and diaries.
The Cabinet Office did not immediately respond for a request for comment. In a statement issued on Tuesday, it said:
“We are firmly of the view that the inquiry does not have the power to request unambiguously irrelevant information that is beyond the scope of this investigation.”
“This includes the WhatsApp messages of government employees which are not about work but instead are entirely personal and relate to their private lives.”
Johnson, whose personal conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic has been heavily criticised and who incurred a police fine for breaking lockdown regulations, said he would cooperate with the inquiry in full.
“While Mr Johnson understands the government’s position, and does not seek to contradict it, he is perfectly happy for the inquiry to have access to this material in whatever form it requires,” the spokesman said.
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When two best friends started brewing the world’s oldest alcoholic drink in Pune
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Mead, a gluten-free honey-based alcoholic beverage, seems to be catching on in India. Moonshine Meadery, the Pune-based startup dreamt up by Nitin Vishwas and Rohan Rehani, has clocked cumulative mead sales of approximately Rs 30 crore. The product’s price point is smack where the slightly premium beer pricing starts.
It all started when Nitin Vishwas read about London’s first meadery in an in-flight magazine. He took a couple of pictures and sent it to his best buddy Rohan Rehani. And the idea of Moonshine Meadery took root.
Mead is the oldest alcohol known to mankind. It is not so well known in India, though it is fast catching on.
“A few kitchen experiments turned into something which was a lot bigger,” said Rehani, as he recollected raising Rs 55 lakh from his close relatives for a 1000-litre tank for their meadery.
The duo did the next natural thing that engineers would do.
They launched Moonshine Meadery, manufacturing mead in the suburbs of Pune, Maharashtra. Their mission was to bring back the primitive elixir and connect it with ancient Indian culture.
The word mead comes from the Indo-Latin word ‘medu‘ which comes from the Sanskrit word ‘madhu.’ This is an ancient beverage found in reference in the history of many civilisations.
Explaining the meads making process, Rehani says, “Making meads is seemingly quite straight forward. You take honey, water, add yeast, some nutrients, and let it ferment. We also add fruits so that adds a layer of complexity.”
Moonshine claims not to use anything artificial, and that their honey is pure, their fruits directly derived from farmers.
The Pune-based startup has clocked cumulative sales of approximately Rs 30 crore since incorporation. The product’s price point is smack where the slightly premium beer pricing starts. Rehani and Vishwas hope to prompt consumers, who would otherwise pick up a beer, to opt for a pint of mead instead. But lately their brand awareness has skyrocketed.
“Post-COVID, we have grown four times. It’s been a great journey. Governments allowing deliveries to happen, allowed us as a brand to expand,” Co-founder Nitin Vishwas said as their brand has entered Haryana in the last month. They are currently available across seven states and are also planning to foray into international markets — Dubai and Australia being the first two.
What about competition?
“For the first three years, we were the only meadery in the market. However, in the last two years, we have heard of almost eight meaderies entering India — which is good because it’s going to help grow the category.”
Moonshine Meadery already has multiple flavours on the cards and is all set to take the ancient brew to new heights.
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UK ex-PM Boris Johnson faces new COVID law breach claims
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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The Times newspaper, which first reported the development on Tuesday, said Johnson, 58, has been referred to Thames Valley Police because his ministerial diary revealed visits by family and friends to Chequers at a time when there were strict restrictions on inter-household mixing to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign as British prime minister last year in the wake of controversies including the partygate scandal of COVID law-breaking parties at Downing Street, has been referred to police over new claims that he may have breached pandemic lockdown rules.
While Johnson has dismissed the allegations as bizarre and unacceptable, the UK Cabinet Office is said to have forwarded his ministerial diary entries from the time over concerns about certain visits to his prime ministerial country residence during the lockdown.
The Times newspaper, which first reported the development on Tuesday, said Johnson, 58, has been referred to Thames Valley Police because his ministerial diary revealed visits by family and friends to Chequers at a time when there were strict restrictions on inter-household mixing to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“In line with obligations in the Civil Service Code, this material has been passed to the relevant authorities, and it is now a matter for them,” the Cabinet Office said. It said the information came to light during the process of preparing evidence for submission to the COVID inquiry, an independent review of the UK’s handling of the pandemic and its impact.
Johnson, however, complained of a “politically motivated stitch-up” and insisted that all events in question were within the rules either because they were held outdoors or came within another lawful exception.
“The assertion by the Cabinet Office that there have been further COVID rule breaches is totally untrue,” Johnson’s spokesperson said. Lawyers have examined the events in question and advised that they were lawful. No contact was made with Mr Johnson before these incorrect allegations were made both to the police and to the [Parliament] privileges committee.
This is both bizarre and unacceptable, the spokesperson said.
It was claimed that the latest move was an attempt to prolong an ongoing parliamentary probe into Johnson’s conduct by the House of Commons Privileges Committee.
The cross-party panel is investigating whether Johnson knowingly misled Parliament over what he knew about law-breaking parties and gatherings at Downing Street during the lockdown. Johnson’s lawyers have since written to the police “to explain in detail why the Cabinet Office is entirely wrong in its assertions”.
The police have said they are currently “assessing” concerns, and no formal investigation has been launched.
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Newsletter | Waiting for appraisal? You may get ESOPs instead this year; China braces for new Covid wave & more
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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From employers preferring ESOPs over cash increments to China bracing for a new Covid-19 wave, here are 11 significant news stories to keep you in the know.
Here’s a rundown of 11 significant news stories to keep you in the know:
#MostRead ⚡
China braces for new Covid wave with up to 65 million weekly cases
China is facing a new wave of Covid-19 infections that could see as many as 65 million cases per week by the end of June. This alarming prediction was made by respiratory disease specialist Zhong Nanshan at a biotech conference in Guangzhou.
Zhong’s estimate provides a rare glimpse into the potential impact of the latest omicron variant, XBB, which has been fueling a resurgence in cases across China since late April.
Waiting for appraisal? Here’s why many employers may offer ESOPs instead this year
While employees across industries are waiting for cash increments and arrears to roll in, many companies, especially startups, have dropped the annual appraisal cycle and are offering employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) instead.
ESOPs are a type of employee benefit plan that allows employees to own a portion of their company by receiving shares of stock as part of their compensation. Recently, SoftBank-backed Unacademy reportedly decided to expedite the vesting period of (ESOP) by one year for all its employees to compensate employees who will not be getting cash appraisals this year.
Meta fined record $1.3 billion in EU over US data transfers
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. was hit by a record €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) European Union privacy fine and given a deadline to stop shipping users’ data to the US after regulators said it failed to protect personal information from the prying eyes of American security services.
The social network giant’s continued data transfers to the US didn’t address “the risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms” of people whose data was being transfered across the Atlantic, according to a decision by the Irish Data Protection Commission announced on Monday.
Top 5 affordable smartwatches under Rs 5,000 in May
Smartwatches are now a part of life but they need not always be pricey. With several trackers for SpO2, heart rate, calories, steps and more, even the budget smartwatches today have a lot to offer. Though, with so many options available, it can be confusing sometimes for buyers.
RBI’s dilemma: How to communicate the difference between note withdrawal and demonetisation
At the core of the confusion and fury over the Reserve Bank of India’s announcement to withdraw the Rs 2,000 note is mistaking the words “note-withdrawal” used in the May 19, 2023 announcement to be similar to the words “note-cancellation” used in the November 8, 2016 announcement.
In central bank parlance there is a world of difference. The November 8, 2016 announcement said Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes are being “cancelled” .and that they will cease to be “legal tender”. The purpose, was to clear out unaccounted or “black “ or non-tax paid money. Hence people had to go with their Aadhar cards so the government could check who held how much cash.
20% TCS on Credit Cards — a penalty on tax payers to pay for the incompetence of the government to catch evaders
The central government has doused the anger over the 20 percent tax collection at source (TCS) that it has announced on all credit card spends by saying it wont apply on transactions upto Rs 7 lakh. But a closer look shows that an important modus of consumer spend – going for a foreign tour – continues to attract 20 percent TCS.
The Chief Economic Advisor writing in the Indian Express gave the following reasons: “remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) have increased multifold in the last few years, and as per data published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), LRS remittances which were Rs 0.9 trillion in FY2019, crossed Rs 2 trillion in FY 2023. “ he wrote.
Six to 13-year-old girls in a Punjab village dream of making it big in the Women’s Premier League
As women take centre stage in Indian cricket with the Women’s Premier League, young girls across the country are dreaming of taking up cricket as a career. Still, the road is very long and the perception of cricket being a gentleman’s game continues to pose a challenge for women. However, young girls from Patiala’s Dharoki Village are getting ready to take on this fight and emerge as winners.
As many as 18 girls in the 6-13 age bracket train on a farmland, that has been converted into a cricket field, every day, working towards a common goal — to represent India one day.
Meet Vedant Lamba, who is on track to make Rs 100 crore from simply reselling sneakers
The last couple of years have been a strong indicator of the growth of the sneaker culture in India. “A lot of kids, aged 17-19 years are now making lakhs of rupees a month by reselling shoes — starting with Rs 20,000 they are now making Rs 3-10 lakh a month in profit from just selling sneakers,” said 23-year-old Vedant Lamba who is the founder of streetwear store Mainstreet Marketplace.
From street fashion to investment opportunities, the rise of sneaker culture in India has taken the nation by storm, captivating enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to build a business out of this piece of footwear.
Former SoftBank India head Manoj Kohli joins WeWork as independent director
Flexible workspace provider WeWork India has appointed Manoj Kohli, former country head – SoftBank Group Corp. India, Softbank Group International, as an independent director to its Board, the company announced on May 22. Anthony Yazbeck, president and chief operating officer, WeWork Inc., has also joined WeWork’s Board, according to the firm’s statement.
Optimistic about the potential of the flexible workspace industry in India, Kohli said he is looking to leverage his expertise in managing and scaling up businesses at WeWork India. He believes the firm is poised to play a significant role in the growth story.
Zomato’s biz turns adjusted EBITDA positive in Q4FY23
Foodtech giant Zomato said its business (excluding quick commerce) has turned adjusted EBITDA positive in Q4FY23.
The company has narrowed its consolidated net loss for the quarter ended March to Rs 187.6 crore, down 48 percent as compared to Rs 359.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Revenue from operations climbed 70 percent to Rs 2,056 crore, as against Rs 1,211.8 crore in the same quarter last year.
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said it is aiming to hit company-level adjusted EBITDA profitability by FY24.
Want to go bungy jumping? Here are some dos and don’ts first-time jumpers must follow
Adventure sports industry including bungy jumping has gained tremendous heights in the post-pandemic era and thanks to digitalisation there are a bundle of pages and celebrity influencers sharing their personal experience for beginners to experience the adrenaline rush beautifully.
According to research by Business Insider India, the adventure sports industry has 490 million participants across the globe and produces $200 billion every year. (All images have been provided by Jumpin Heights)
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MFIs make strong recovery in fourth quarter, surpass pre-COVID performance levels
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Several players within the MFI sector have experienced an increase in their net interest margin. Five Star and Satin Creditcare have observed a year-on-year increase, while Equitas Small Finance Bank has witnessed a quarter-on-quarter rise in net interest margin.
The Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) sector has shown remarkable performance in the fourth quarter of FY23, despite facing significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have successfully restored their return ratios and net interest margin profile to the levels observed before the pandemic.
Additionally, their customer acquisition growth rate and the number of customers have either reached or surpassed pre-COVID levels. Several players within the sector have experienced an increase in their net interest margin. Five Star and Satin Creditcare have observed a year-on-year increase, while Equitas Small Finance Bank has witnessed a quarter-on-quarter rise in net interest margin.
On the other hand, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has experienced a decline in net interest margin both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. However, CreditAccess Grameen and Spandana Sphoorty have seen an increase in net interest margin both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
The improvement in asset quality can be attributed to various factors, including lower slippages, higher write-offs, and the sale of bad loans to asset reconstruction companies. Among the sector, CreditAccess Grameen boasts the lowest gross NPA ratio at 1.21 percent, closely followed by Five Star Finance.
Indusind Bank has the highest gross NPA ratio amongst MFI finances in the MFI portfolio.
MFI players have witnessed impressive quarter-on-quarter loan growth, ranging from 8.50 percent to as high as 27.8 percent. This growth rate significantly surpasses the overall banking sector’s credit growth rate, which was around 4 to 5 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q4 FY23.
However, it’s important to consider this loan growth cautiously, as the proportion of interest in the EMI has actually increased while the proportion of principal repayment has decreased. This skewed balance has contributed to the higher loan growth. In the coming year, when the proportion of principal repayment in the EMI rises, it is expected to moderate the loan growth from its current levels.
Nevertheless, the credit growth for the sector is anticipated to remain robust, as indicated by the management of CreditAccess Grameen.
When looking at valuations based on FY23 book value, Satin Creditcare emerges as the most cost-effective option among its peers, trading at a price to book value of less than 0.9 times.
It’s worth noting that good companies typically command a premium, which is evident in the valuations of CreditAccess Grameen and Five Star.
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New breathalyser test can ‘sniff out’ Covid in real-time, claims study
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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The team from the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder in the US hopes that the frequency comb breathalyser—essentially using laser light to distinguish one molecule from another—could revolutionise medical diagnostics.
Scientists have developed a new laser-based breathalyser test powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that they say can detect COVID-19 in real-time with excellent accuracy.
The team from the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder in the US hopes that the frequency comb breathalyser—essentially using laser light to distinguish one molecule from another—could revolutionise medical diagnostics.
“Our results demonstrate the promise of breath analysis as an alternative, rapid, non-invasive test for COVID-19 and highlight its remarkable potential for diagnosing diverse conditions and disease states,” said study first author Qizhong Liang, a PhD candidate at CU Boulder.
“There is a real, foreseeable future in which you could go to the doctor and have your breath measured along with your height and weight…Or you could blow into a mouthpiece integrated into your phone and get information about your health in real-time,” said Jun Ye, adjoint professor at CU Boulder and senior author of the study published in the Journal of Breath Research.
Between May 2021 and January 2022, the research team collected breath samples from 170 CU Boulder students who had, in the previous 48 hours, taken a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, either by submitting a saliva or a nasal sample.
Half had tested positive, half negative. Overall, the process took less than one hour from collection to result.
When compared to PCR, the gold standard COVID test, breathalyser results matched 85 per cent of the time. For medical diagnostics, accuracy of 80 per cent or greater is considered “excellent”.
The researchers noted that the accuracy would likely have been higher if the breath and saliva/nasal swab samples were collected at the same time.
Unlike a nasal swab, the breathalyser is non-invasive. And unlike a saliva sample, users are not asked to refrain from eating, drinking or smoking before using it, the researchers said.
The test doesn’t require costly chemicals to break down the sample. And the test could, conceivably, be used on individuals who are not conscious, they said.
The breathalyser test consists of a complex array of lasers and mirrors about the size of a banquet table.
A breath sample is piped in through a tube as lasers fire invisible mid-infrared light at it at thousands of different frequencies. Dozens of tiny mirrors bounce the light back and forth through the molecules so many times that the light travels about 1.5 miles.
Because each kind of molecule absorbs light differently, breath samples with a different molecular make-up cast distinct shadows.
The machine can distinguish between those different shadows or absorption patterns, boiling millions of data points down to—in the case of COVID—a simple positive or negative, in a matter of seconds.
The researchers are working to miniaturise such systems to a chip scale, allowing for what Liang imagines as “real-time, self-health monitoring on the go”.
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Scientists discover new RNA focussed method to weaken COVID virus
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Targeting highly-conserved regions within the viral RNA genome has become a popular strategy among researchers to combat a virus — like the SARS-CoV-2 — that keeps replicating and mutating.
Scientists have developed a new method to reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral infection by directly targeting and degrading the viral RNA genome. Vaccines and antiviral drugs usually target proteins critical to viral infection and replication, which lead to the virus mutating, which in turn reduces the effectiveness of existing treatments. This necessitates the development of new vaccines and drugs. Targeting highly-conserved regions within the viral RNA genome has become a popular strategy among researchers to get around this problem.
According to a new study published in ACS Central Science, the researchers led by Gonçalo J.L. Bernardes, Konstantinos Tzelepis, and Sigitas Mikutis, have developed a new system to target and degrade the viral RNA genome. They attached imidazole to RNA, which degraded the nucleic acid, and then attached imidazole to an RNA-binding molecule for targeted degradation.
The researchers used two substances called pyridostatin (PDS) and MTDB to target specific parts of the virus’s genetic material. PDS binds to a structure in the RNA called G-quadruplex (G4), while MTDB binds to another structure called betacoronaviral pseudoknots. These compounds were appended with a flexible linker and imidazole, which the researchers called proximity-induced nucleic acid degraders (PINADs).
When tested in cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus, which was responsible for the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its alpha and delta-variants, the PINADs destroyed SARS-CoV-2 RNA and the substances were effective. The viral load and levels of a viral infection and replication biomarker decreased when the researchers administered the MTDB degrader to mice infected with SARS-CoV-2.
According to the researchers, their method should enable any RNA-binding small molecule to be transformed into a PINAD, making it possible to target and eliminate other disease-related RNAs one day. This list might contain illnesses like Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s disease that target the mRNAs of misfolded proteins, which had previously been challenging to target.
This new system of directly targeting and degrading the viral RNA genome could be adapted to fight off many viruses and treat various diseases. The researchers hope to continue their work and develop new therapies that are resistant to the new mutants of the virus.
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COVID-19 | Five Supreme Court judges test positive, India daily tally up over 7,000 fresh infections
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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According to the Union health ministry’s daily COVID-19 data, 16 new deaths occurred due to COVID-19, taking the toll to 5,31,345. As many as 4,43,01,865 COVID-19 recoveries have been reported in the country, so far.
As many as five Supreme Court judges are down with COVID-19 and are unavailable for court hearings. Justice Kaul, who is on the Same Sex marriage case bench, is one of them, people in the know told CNCB-TV18.
On the other hand, India recorded 7,178 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 4.48 crore, while its active cases dipped after 69 days to stand at 65,683, from the previous day’s 67,806 infections, according to the Union health ministry’s daily COVID-19 update on Monday.
As many as 16 new deaths were reported, increasing the toll to 5,31,345. These included the eight deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data, which was updated at 8am, stated.
Active cases in the country stood at 65,683, whereas the daily positivity rate was at 9.16 percent. The weekly positivity rate was at 5.41 percent.
The active cases comprise 0.15 percent of the total infections of the tally. The national recovery rate has was pegged at 98.67 percent, the ministry stated.
The number of recoveries increased to 4,43,01,865 patients, whereas the case fatality rate was at 1.18 percent.
The ministry’s website states that as many as 220.66 crore COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across the country, so far, as part of the nation-wide vaccination drive.
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8 states see rise in Covid cases, Union Health Ministry writes to top officials
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to Chief Secretaries. Principal Secretaries and Health Secretaries of eight states and Union territories over the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to Chief Secretaries. Principal Secretaries and Health Secretaries of eight states and Union territories over the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Haryana asked to strengthen COVID-19 surveillance in all districts, monitor trends of Influenza-like illness (ILI) & SARI cases, maintain adequate levels of testing (especially in emerging hotspots, ILI & SARI cases) in the districts of the states while maintaining the recommended share of RT-PCR and Antigen tests. States have been directed to increase numbers of Genomic Sequencing of Covid positive samples.
The states have also been told ensure operational readiness and adequate strengthening of hospital infrastructure and encourage uptake of precaution doses among eligible beneficiaries while countering vaccine hesitancy through community awareness.
States have been directed to encourage uptake of precaution doses among eligible beneficiaries and improve community awareness.
Delhi on Thursday logged 1,603 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 26.75 per cent along with three fatalities, according to data shared by the city health department.
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 1,113 fresh coronavirus cases, while three more patients succumbed to the infection.
Haryana on Thursday reported 1,059 fresh infections, nearly half of them from Gurugram district, while three coronavirus-related deaths were registered in Kurukshetra, Fatehabad and Nuh districts.
As many as 2,484 covid cases were reported in Kerala on Wednesday, and Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam districts had the highest number.
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