The COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) of the Global Fund has initiated the process to award US$320 million to various countries worldwide. Since December 2022, the Fund has awarded US$547 million in additional funding to 40 countries. The latest tranche makes for a total of approximately US$867 million. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-fund-provides-us867-million-additional-funding-pandemic-preparedness-and-response At the tail end of a seemingly unrelenting pandemic that has lasted three years, the world has been left with a devastated health care system painstakingly built up ove ..read more

Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) began assigning Greek letters to worrying new variants of the coronavirus. The organization started with Alpha and swiftly worked its way through the Greek alphabet in the months that followed. When Omicron arrived in November, it was the 13th named variant in less than a year. But 10 ..read more

COVID-19 cases in India have risen to surpass 8,000 new cases per day for the third day in a row, sparking fears that a fourth wave could occur in the coming weeks.   Experts have been quick to dismiss these fears. They have said that the “new wave” is likely not a potential fourth wave ..read more

The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that nearly 15 million people—about one in every 500 globally—died from causes related to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 (the first two years of the pandemic), putting the toll from COVID-19 at nearly three times the number that had been officially recorded by countries. India suffered ..read more

Following a visit from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the WHO and the Indian Government have been at odds over the official death toll of COVID-19. India’s official death toll places the figure at 520,000, however, the WHO has cited studies that suggest the figure could be as high ..read more

COVID-19 cases are once again rising in Delhi, said Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday. While COVID-19 cases have increased in the capital, it has been reported that people are not developing severe disease and the hospitalisation rate is low. Given the severity of lockdowns in neighbouring China following outbreaks in cities such as Shanghai ..read more

COVID-19 cases in China’s largest city of Shanghai have risen again as millions remain isolated at home under a sweeping lockdown ̐(www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/covid-cases-rise-in-shanghai-as-millions-remain-in-lockdown) Health officials on Sunday reported 438 confirmed cases detected over the previous 24 hours, along with 7,788 asymptomatic cases, up slightly from the day before. While small by the standards elsewhere in the ..read more

China reported nearly 3,400 daily COVID-19 cases on Sunday, double the previous day, forcing lockdowns in virus hotspots as the country contends with its gravest outbreak in two years www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/china-battles-worst-covid-outbreak-for-two-years-as-cases-double-in-24-hours? A nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai and lock down several north-eastern cities, as almost 19 provinces battle clusters of ..read more

COVID-19 becoming an endemic condition has been discussed as an eventuality since the start of the pandemic. Omicron, with the assumption that cases are often less severe, may be the start of this. Given the virality of COVID-19 – and the sheer number of conditions and pace at which it spread – it was always ..read more

Just 9,283 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. Such figures are encouraging, indicative that after a period of being the most heavily affected nation, India has turned the tables. “Even after Diwali, we are not seeing a surge,” Dr M D Gupte, former director ..read more