Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India's new Covid cases hit eight-month high, full impact weeks away

India's new Covid cases hit eight-month high, full impact weeks away

INDIA reported new coronavirus infections at an eight-month high on Wednesday (19) and a government scientist warned it will take weeks before data on hospitalisations and deaths will show how severe the latest wave driven by the Omicron variant will be.

The federal authorities have said Omicron was causing fewer hospitalisations and deaths than the Delta variant, which killed hundreds of thousands last year.


But Tarun Bhatnagar from the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology in Chennai said the impact of the current run-up in infections will show up with a lag.

"We have to worry about hospitalisation and deaths and that will come later," he told Reuters in a phone interview.

"There will always be a lag of two-three weeks."

India reported 282,970 new infections over the last 24 hours, the highest in eight months, bringing the total to 37.9 million, second-highest globally behind the United States. Deaths crept up to 441 fatalities, including 83 from a previous wave that the southern state of Kerala is recording only now, making the nationally tally one of the highest this year.

While infection rates have recently fallen in India's big cities, experts say cases nationally could peak by the middle of next month.

About 70 per cent of its 939 million adult population has received two primary vaccine doses and a booster campaign for health workers and at-risk population is underway. But millions still await their first shot and Bhatnagar cited reports from some states that those unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated make up more than 90 per cent of intensive care patients.

India also reported on Wednesday the first major rise in Covid-19 testing in a week after the health ministry warned states of the risks of missing the spread of the virus.

States performed about 1.9 million tests on Tuesday, the highest since Jan 12 and near India's daily testing capacity of more than 2 million.

(Reuters)

More For You

wasim bashir

Bashir retired from the force while under investigation but will still face misconduct proceedings. (Photo credit: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Former West Yorkshire Police officer jailed for misconduct

A FORMER West Yorkshire Police officer has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after being convicted of misconduct in a public office.

Wasim Bashir, 55, who worked as a detective constable in Bradford District, was found guilty of one count of misconduct in a public office for forming a sexual relationship with a female victim of crime. He was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, 29 August.

Keep ReadingShow less
Epping protests

Protesters calling for the closure of The Bell Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers, gather outside the council offices in Epping on August 8, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Over a dozen councils plan legal action despite Home Office court win

Highlights:

  • Court of Appeal has overturned injunction blocking use of Epping hotel for asylum seekers.
  • Judges say human rights obligations outweigh local safety concerns.
  • At least 13 councils preparing legal action despite ruling.
  • Protests outside the Bell Hotel lead to arrests and police injuries.

MORE than a dozen councils are moving ahead with legal challenges against the use of hotels for asylum seekers despite the Home Office winning an appeal in the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
India-Canada-iStock

India and Canada have appointed new envoys in a step to restore diplomatic ties strained since 2023. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Envoys appointed as India, Canada move to restore diplomatic ties

INDIA and Canada on Thursday announced the appointment of new envoys to each other’s capitals, in a step aimed at restoring strained ties following the killing of a Sikh separatist in 2023.

India has named senior diplomat Dinesh K Patnaik as the next high commissioner to Ottawa, while Canada appointed Christopher Cooter as its new envoy to New Delhi.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rajitha Senaratne arrested

Security officers escort Sri Lankan former fisheries minister, Rajitha Senaratne (C), outside a court in Colombo on August 29, 2025. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Getty Images

Rajitha Senaratne detained as Sri Lanka intensifies anti-corruption drive

SRI LANKAN former government minister surrendered himself to a court on Friday (29) after two months on the run, the latest high profile detention in a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown.

Anti-graft units have ramped up their investigations since president Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power in September on a promise to fight corruption.

Keep ReadingShow less
protests-uk-getty
Protesters from the group Save Our Future & Our Kids Future demonstrate against uncontrolled immigration outside the Cladhan Hotel on August 16, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Government wins appeal over housing asylum seekers in hotel

Highlights:

  • UK appeals court overturns ruling blocking hotel use for asylum seekers
  • Judges call earlier High Court decision “seriously flawed”
  • 138 asylum seekers will not need to be relocated by September 12
  • Full hearing scheduled at the Court of Appeal in October

A UK appeals court has overturned a lower court order that had temporarily blocked the use of a hotel in Epping, northeast of London, to house asylum seekers.

Keep ReadingShow less