Page 4 - Highlights: 11 new Covid-19 cases in Mumbai’s Dharavi, tally rises to 2,392

India, the third-worst hit nation by Covid-19 pandemic, registered nearly 29,000 cases and 500 deaths on Monday. As per the Ministry of Health and Family, India registered 24,498 cases and 553 deaths due to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. States in the southern part of the country such as Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, recorded a sudden spike in the number of infections. Karnataka, which is under a fresh lockdown from July 14-July 22, has registered over 40,000 so far with the state health minister saying that the number of cases would double up in the next 15-30 days.

Delhi has been witnessing a steady rise in the recovery rate which is at 79.98%, better than the national average of 62.93%. On Monday, 1,246 cases were registered and nearly 1,400 people recovered from the infection in Delhi. Recent studies show that Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccine that protects individuals against tuberculosis can also prevent severe infection and death from Covid-19.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has been at the centre of the controversy of mismanaging the pandemic and hiding requisite information from global governments, said that the infection would worsen as time passes. He went on to add that though most countries have brought their outbreaks under control, too many of them are headed in the 'wrong direction'.

07:09 AM IST

Hong Kong to impose most severe social distancing norms

Hong Kong is set to impose the most stringent social distancing restrictions from Tuesday midnight as the authorities warn that the risk of large-scale coronavirus outbreak is extremely high. Some of the measures are facemasks will be mandatory for people while on public transport, restaurants can only provide takeaways after 6 pm and 12 types of establishments which include gyms will be shut for a week, reports Reuters.

06:55 AM IST

With 4,685 new cases, Mexico's Covid-19 tally mounts to 304,435

4,685 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Mexico, taking the total number of case in the country to 304,435. The death toll has mounted to 35,491. The government said that the real number of those infected is much higher than the confirmed cases, reports Reuters.

06:50 AM IST

Covid-19 pandemic to linger on, says WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the coronavirus pandemic won't disappear in the coming months, and it is unrealistic to expect that vaccine will be available to all soon. A WHO official said that things won't return to normal 'for the foreseeable future', reports Bloomberg.

06:35 AM IST

China coronavirus cases ease on July 13, no new ones in Beijing

China reported five new Covid-19 cases in the mainland for July 13, compared with eight cases a day earlier, the health authority said.

All of the new infections were imported cases, the National Health Commission said in a statement. There were no new deaths. Beijing, which saw a surge in new coronavirus cases a few weeks ago, reported no new cases for the eighth consecutive day, reports Reuters.