Will fourth wave of Covid-19 hit India? Eminent virologist predicts

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Federal Reserve hiked interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since the 2020 outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and said there could be another six hikes this year if inflation remains high. This comes at a time when economists warn that if inflation does not begin to subside in response to these initial moves, policymakers will end up raising rates too high, sending the economy into a recession and financial markets into a slump, as per news agency ANI report.

It will come as a relief to some people planning vacations outside of Canada. Sources say the federal government is set to lift COVID-19 testing requirements. Sarah Komadina has the details.

Covid-19 tally of cases went up to 4,30,01,477. Total of 60 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours and death toll to 5,16,132, the Health Ministry data further revealed. The daily positivity rate stood at 0.35%.

PHILADELPHIA - Small businesses that managed to weather the storm of shutdowns imposed by Philadelphia when COVID-19 first gripped the city two years ago are still in recovery mode despite things being close to pre-pandemic normal. Exactly two years ago Wednesday, Philadelphia officials ordered non-essential business to close at 5 p.m. The edict closed most small businesses and reduced restaurants to delivery and take-out. "It was a quite a nightmare, roller coaster the last couple of years," Owner of Flannel restaurant Marc Grika recalled.

Legislative bureau chief Keith Baldrey has more information on the increase in cases of COVID-19 health officials are seeing around the world.

Children under the age of five still can’t be vaccinated against COVID-19, leaving them vulnerable to the coronavirus. Now a new study suggests one in four symptomatic kids ends up developing “long COVID.” Jamie Mauracher reports on what some of them are enduring.

Covid strain is the combination of two sub-variants of the Omicron version of coronavirus-dubbed BA.1 and BA.2. The new variant was recorded during a PCR test on two passengers at Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

WTO members to come into force.

A federal government source says vaccinated travellers will no longer require a negative covid-19 test to enter Canada. Legislative bureau chief Keith Baldrey shares the details and news of hundreds of union contracts in B.C.

COVID-19 concerns despite the provincial declaration ending a number of safety measures next Monday.In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, following another special meeting Tuesday night, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) chair Dawn Danko said an updated motion calls for schools to keep masks “through a transition period following March break.”“By introducing a two-week transition period, as we implement provincial direction, we aim to mitigate challenges related to increased socialization during the March break,” Danko said in a statement on Wednesday. COVID-19: Hamilton public school board chair asks city’s top doc for order to keep mask mandate The chair said the direction is in alignment with advice from the Children’s Health Coalition which strongly encourages continued mask use for two weeks after March Break.On Tuesday, Danko sent a letter to Dr.

Both Canada and Ontario’s governments are committing over a hundred million in funding to Honda Canada. While the move will help it upgrade to sell electric vehicles, critics say the Ford Government needs to do more to shift drivers onto them.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping announces the province will move away from daily COVID-19 public health data releases to weekly releases.

Sources tell Global News that Ottawa is planning to do away with pre-arrival COVID-19 testing as a travel requirement. Shallima Maharaj reports.

COVID-19 and Edgewater Elementary School says that means she can’t volunteer in her child’s classroom to take part in a special class activity on campus, starting Wednesday.Watt said she spoke to the principal.“I said I feel that this is 100 per cent discrimination.  Everywhere else the mandate is being dropped,” she told Global News, pointing to the fact that on March 12, the province suspended the proof of vaccination pass which came into effect last September. COVID-19: What you need know as Quebec lifts vaccine passport system, other measures Watt also wonders why COVID-19 vaccination is required for volunteers and not teachers.According to her she offered to take a COVID rapid test, but to no avail.In a statement to Global News, Lester B.

Passengers arrive at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, Jan. 7, 2022.

A crisis-standards-of-care (CSOC) scoring system used to triage COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) patients assigned twice the proportion of Black patients as other patients to the lowest-priority group, finds a modeling study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

After 5 weeks of declining cases, global COVID-19 cases rose last week, fueled by increasing cases in three regions, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in its latest weekly update.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured a stellar image of a bright star and surrounding galaxies in its latest optical performance test. The Webb team completed testing all of the telescope’s optical elements in a stage known as "fine phasing" on March 11, according to a NASA news release. During fine phasing, the Webb telescope focused on a bright star during an alignment evaluation but the cameras on the telescope are so sensitive, it was able to also capture the galaxies and other stars seen in the background. The subsequent image appears a tad orange/red because the telescope implemented a filter to optimize visual contrast, according to NASA. Astronomers were happy to report that "every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations." While the purpose of this image was to focus on the bright star at the center for alignment evaluation, Webb's optics and NIRCam are so sensitive that the galaxies and stars seen in the background show up. At this stage of Webb’s mirror alignment, kn "The team also found no critical issues and no measurable contamination or blockages to Webb’s optical path.

Canada poised to end pre-arrival COVID-19 testing for travellers: sources Of the 29 inpatients with COVID-19, 12 are being treated for COVID-19 while 17 are being treated for something other than COVID-19 but were found to have an incidental infection.At least 155 staff cases are currently active at LHSC.At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, officials reported 55 active cases among health-care workers along with one patient or resident case in the Parkwood Institute’s main building.On Wednesday, the MLHU reported one death and 87 new lab-confirmed cases.

Canada is expected to announce an end to pre-arrival COVID-19 testing for vaccinated travellers, two federal government sources told Global News.

Cruise ships will be returning to Canadian waters in April. Claire Newell joins Paul Haysom to talk about what new COVID-19 rules will be in place to keep passengers safe.

₹25 lakh to ₹2 crore, stock options, and flexible work schedules are key to driving teachers to online platforms, they said.

Jason Copping and chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw are scheduled to provide a COVID-19 update Tuesday afternoon.The two are scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m.

All remaining Covid travel restrictions will end in Scotland and the rest of the UK from 4am this Friday.

Here is all that you need to know:

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Less than an hour after Theranos executive Sunny Balwani walked into a San Jose federal courthouse on Wednesday, a judge canceled opening statements because someone on the jury was exposed to someone with COVID.The judge called it a "limited, limited exposure" and said he hoped to be back in session "sooner rather than later."It wasn't exactly clear, but it appeared as though the case might resume on Friday. Balwani is Theranos founder's Elizabeth Holmes ex-boyfriend and was second-in-command at the now disgraced blood-testing Silicon Valley company. Like Holmes, Balwani faces multiple fraud charges as a co-conspirator in misleading investors and patients. Prosecutors say Balwaini and Holmes falsely told investors that the company's proprietary technology could perform a wide range of blood tests using only a drop of blood and also grossly exaggerated Theranos's financial standing and profitability.Prosecutors aren't saying whether they will call Holmes to testify against balwani.During her trial, Holmes testified that Balwani sexually and psychologically abused her and controlled her life.In January, a jury found Holmes guilty of fraud and conspiracy. Her sentencing has been delayed until September. The Theranos saga captivated much of the country and is now also the subject of a Hulu series called 'The Dropout. Advertisement

The Chief Clinical Officer of the HSE said 37% of patients in ICU have not completed their primary course of vaccination.

Covid cases have spiked in Renfrewshire as part of an increase in spread thought to be driven by the rise of the new Omicron sub variant.

Christian Dubé has tabled a bill to put an end to the province’s state of emergency to deal with the COVID-19 health crisis.The proposed legislation, which was presented in the national assembly Wednesday morning, comes as calls have grown for the government to relinquish its extraordinary powers.The Quebec government first declared a state of emergency in March 2020, when the pandemic was declared. It has been renewed every 10 days since then — more than 100 times to date.

NEW DELHI :

Trafford’s public health bosses have issued guidance on how best to live with covid. The team and Trafford council held their final covid-19 public engagement board meeting on Wednesday (March 16) at a time when the borough’s infection rates are increasing.

COVID-19 deaths amid a small drop in pandemic-related hospitalizations Wednesday.There was a nine-patient decrease for a total of 1,073 hospitalizations linked to the disease. This comes after 67 people were admitted in the past day, while 76 were discharged.Health authorities say 56 Quebecers were in intensive care units, a drop of 10.The province also reported 1,380 new infections of the novel coronavirus.

Covid-19 cases are spiking in some Asian and European countries again. 

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asserted after several weeks of declines, reported cases of COVID19 are once again increasing globally, esp. in parts of Asia.

COVID-19 update.Dr. Brent Roussin will speak at 12:30 p.m.

COVID on Wednesday, with 204 in intensive care units.This is down by 29 hospitalizations but a decrease of 16 in ICUs since the previous day. Last Wednesday, there were 751 hospitalizations with 241 in ICU.The province recently began distinguishing between those who were admitted to hospital directly because of COVID, and those who were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for the virus.Of the 649 people in hospital with COVID-19, 47 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 53 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.Of the 204 people in ICUs with the virus, 79 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 21 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Corbevax is being administered to children in the age group 12-14 in India. This age group got the Indian government's nod to be receive vaccine against the novel coronavirus from 16 March, Wednesday. 

Public health orders are gone but the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt in Saskatchewan, especially in hospitals and by those waiting for life-saving surgery.

A new observational follow-up study in six European countries published in The Lancet Public Health links severe COVID-19 to long-term depression and anxiety.

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Ever Given, blocked the Suez Canal in Egypt.The Hong Kong-flagged Ever Forward ran aground on Sunday night after departing the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The ship was en route to Norfolk, Va.Though the U.S.

GENEVA :

Holly Willoughby has been unable to join her co-star Phillip Schofield on This Morning this week after a positive Covid-19 test. Josie Gibson has appeared on the ITV show to cover Holly after the star was forced to step away after she was left feeling unwell.Prior to Wednesday's This Morning, Lorraine welcomed Phillip and Josie on her screen via a video link as they spoke about what would be coming up on the ITV show schedule throughout the day.Lorraine had previously mentioned Holly having Covid as Phil opened up on the show and said that Holly was at home and looking after herself.Phil said: "She [Holly] is still taking care of herself, looking after herself; Josie's here," before sharing an update on what was coming up on the show.It's unclear when Holly will be back on screens, but Josie will be unable to join Phil on the sofa tomorrow as it has already been confirmed that she's covering the races with Alison Hammond.Josie, who has stepped in for Holly, often appears on the show for the segments away from the studios, but this week she's been firmly sat on the sofa.She's stepped in often over the last few months if either Phil or Holly have been off ill, with both the hosts contracting Covid-19 this year.Josie has become increasingly popular with viewers, with many fans calling for her to become a more regular fixture on the popular ITV show.Throughout the week many fans have taken to Twitter to share their love for the stand-in host.One user wrote: "Love Josie on This Morning, a breath of fresh air.

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