Nanobodies or tiny antibodies found in alpacas could hold answers to building immunity&nbsp;against&nbsp;Covid-19 and prevent a possible second wave. Scientists from Sweden and South Africa used nanobodies from 12-year-old Tyson to prevent the virus from infecting a person. The alpaca was injected with virus proteins by scientists at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute. The nanobodies, that bind the same part of the virus as human antibodies, from were isolated Tyson's blood. These&nbsp;nanobodies&nbsp;interfere&nbsp;with the virus causing Covid-19 and prevent it from infecting a host, say scientists. While the findings seem significant, the study is still in its early stages and has not been peer-reviewed&nbsp;yet.

Nanobodies or tiny antibodies found in alpacas could hold answers to building immunity against Covid-19 and prevent a possible second wave. Scientists from Sweden and South Africa used nanobodies from 12-year-old Tyson to prevent the virus from infecting a person. The alpaca was injected with virus proteins by scientists at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute. The nanobodies, that bind the same part of the virus as human antibodies, from were isolated Tyson's blood. These nanobodies interfere with the virus causing Covid-19 and prevent it from infecting a host, say scientists. While the findings seem significant, the study is still in its early stages and has not been peer-reviewed yet.

American biotechnology company Moderna Inc.'s potential Covid-19 vaccine has shown positive results in an initial safety trial on all participants. According to U.S. researchers, it revved up immune systems in volunteers just the way scientists had hoped. The vaccine will now enter its most crucial stage. Around the 27th of July, a 30,000-person study will begin to see if the jab really works. This will be the world's largest study of a potential Covid-19 vaccine so far. In the early stage trial, 45 volunteers developed neutralising antibodies in the blood stream at levels comparable to those found in Covid-19 survivors, according to the report published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The vaccine, which requires administering two doses, saw no serious side effects but there were flu-like reactions including fatigue, headache and fever among other signs. This trial included only young adults.

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank along with Minister of State for HRD, Sanjay Dhotre launched a low-cost Covid-19 test developed by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT) Delhi on Wednesday.&nbsp;Called 'Corosure', the test is being dubbed as the world&rsquo;s most affordable probe free RT-PCR based Covid-19 diagnostic kit, however the price has not been made public yet. The test kit uses an alternative method for testing Covid-19 samples and is being launched by Delhi-based pharma&nbsp;company&nbsp;Newtech Medical Devices. As per reports, the test kit can be used to conduct two million tests per month at an extremely affordable cost.&nbsp;The product, has been approved by the&nbsp;ICMR and the&nbsp;DCGI.
&nbsp;

After actress Rekha's security guard tested Covid-19 positive last week, four other watchmen in the area have contracted the virus.&nbsp;The four watchmen work in bungalows close to Rekha's bungalow in the Bandstand area of Bandra&nbsp;and have&nbsp;been been shifted to BMC's Covid-19 facility.
The report further adds that nine others who came in contact with those affected watchmen have been tested for the coronavirus and their reports are awaited.

India for the first time reported over 29,000 coronavirus cases in a single day. In the biggest one-day spike, 29,429 Covid cases were reported in 24 hours between Tuesday to Wednesday, health ministry data showed. This took the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 9,36,6181. 582 deaths were also reported in the same period taking the total number of fatalities to 24,309. But the good news amid the Covid gloom is the rising recovery rate that stands at over 63%. Close to 6 lakh people have recovered from the contagion so far. According to ICMR, over 3 lakh and 20 thousand samples were tested for Covid on Tuesday.

PTI, Chandigarh: Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday said the state government may impose a curfew or seal borders of its worst-hit four districts falling in the National Capital Region.
The state has so far reported 22,628 coronavirus cases, of which 15,425 have been detected in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar, which fall in the National Capital Region (NCR).
So far, 238 of 312 fatalities in the state have been reported from the districts adjoining national capital Delhi.
Gurgaon and Faridabad are the hardest hit as 7,126 and 5,665 cases, respectively, have surfaced there so far. Both districts have reported 109 and 101 fatalities, respectively.
&ldquo;We can think of sealing the boundaries of these four districts; we can think of imposing a curfew in these four districts,&rdquo; Vij said.
Earlier in the day, Vij, who is also the state's Health Minister, had said the state's recovery rate is over 75 per cent, which is quite good.
He said adequate arrangements, including isolation facilities, doctors and medicines are there to deal with coronavirus cases.
&ldquo;We are conducting over 15,000 tests per million. I have issued orders for two lakh rapid antigen testing kits, which will help us scale up our testing,&rdquo; he said.
"Eighty per cent of our cases come from these districts (Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, Jhajjar). If need arises, in the interest of Haryana, if we have to impose stricter curbs to contain the spread of the infection, we will not hesitate to do so,&rdquo; said Vij.
When asked if the state government could impose a lockdown in the worst-affected areas, Vij replied, &ldquo;In Haryana's interest, whatever is required to be done, I will do that.&rdquo; Later in Chandigarh, Vij said one thing is clear that the surge in infections in the districts adjoining Delhi is linked to the national capital.

PTI, New Delhi: Delhi hospitals have over 11,000 beds available for coronavirus patients, according to the city government's health bulletin issued on Tuesday.
According to the bulletin, Delhi has a total of 15,300 beds and out of these 11,106 are lying vacant. In view of the Covid-19 situation in the national capital, the Delhi government has also made arrangement of beds in hotels and banquet halls which are linked to hospitals.
Delhi, on Tuesday, recorded 1,606 fresh coronavirus cases taking the tally in the city to over 1.15 lakh, while the death toll from the disease mounted to 3,446.
Last month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said Delhi would need 1.5 lakh beds in healthcare facilities by July 31 once people start coming to the city for treatment from other states.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that around 7,000 beds will be occupied by June 15, and 15,000 beds will be occupied by June 30. However, experts have said that Delhi might need a fresh forecast for the end of July since there has been a decline in cases. The government had predicted that the capital would see 5.5 lakh cases by July end.

PTI, New Delhi:&nbsp;No one should be turned away from hospitals due to higher cost of treatment, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while asking the government to consider framing guidelines on the issue of cost of treatment for Covid-19 infection.
Though the apex court opined that &ldquo;cost of the treatment should not be higher at the present time," it also said that court is not equipped to either regulate cost of treatment or say what should be the best model of treatment for patients infected with coronavirus.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices R S Reddy and A S Bopanna, was hearing through video-conferencing a plea filed by advocate Sachin Jain who has sought a direction for regulating the cost of treatment of Covid-19 at private hospitals across the country.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that government is looking into all the issues related to coronavirus and concerns raised by the petitioner would be taken care of. During the hearing, the bench referred to the affidavit filed earlier in the matter by the Centre which had said that there is no provision under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 "whereby it is mandated that the private hospitals running on the public land shall treat Covid-19 patients on free basis". "It is again reiterated that such policies may only be defined and implemented by the respective state governments," the Centre&rsquo;s affidavit had said.
The counsel appearing for federation of private hospitals said that states have their own models and there cannot be a uniform pricing for all the states.
He said as far as charitable hospitals are concerned, they are already providing free treatment to Covid-19 patients.
He said each state is grappling with the problem of coronavirus and it is not that private hospitals are making money during the time of pandemic.
Jain claimed in the court that some private hospitals are charging exorbitant rates for Covid-19 treatment at this time of this pandemic.
The apex court said that concerned authority of Union health ministry should consider framing guideline on this aspect. In June, the apex court had asked private hospitals whether they were ready to provide treatment to Covid-19 infected patients at the charges prescribed under the government's Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

PTI, Kolkata:&nbsp;The West Bengal government on Tuesday extend the total lockdown in containment zones till July 19.
According to a notification by the Home Department, the rigorous containment in these areas would be extended from July 15 to July 19.
These zones are located in and around Kolkata, besides Jalpaiguri, Malda, Cooch Behar, Raiganj and Siliguri, it said.
The total lockdown was enforced in the containment zones from 5 pm of July 9 to stem the spike in Covid-19 cases.&nbsp;

PTI, New Delhi:&nbsp;Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated Delhi's second plasma bank at the state-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital on Tuesday, and asserted that plasma therapy was "really helpful" in saving lives of Covid-19 patients.
Kejriwal inaugurated the first plasma bank at the state-run Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences on July 2. He said over 200 people have taken plasma from ILBS so far.
"Plasma therapy is really helpful in saving lives. We cannot say it can save 100 percent of the lives...but the death rate has reduced in Delhi and plasma has a role in it," the chief minister said at the launch.
The LNJP Hospital is located in central Delhi, so it is easily accessible to those willing to donate plasma, he said.
Covid-19 patients can donate their plasma 14 days after recovery.
Such people should aged between 18 and 60 and weigh not less than 50 kg.
However, women who have been pregnant, people with diabetes, hypertension, cancer survivors, those with chronic heart, liver, lung and kidney diseases and high blood pressure cannot donate plasma.
"We do not want to store plasma in plasma bank forever, but no one should suffer for lack of plasma either. The arrangement should be such that those needing plasma get it easily. So far, no one has been denied plasma," Kejriwal said.
He said his government will continue setting up facilities and beds even if the beds for COVID-19 patients remain vacant to ensure there is no shortage if the cases increase.
He said the spread of COVID-19 in Delhi is gradually reducing.&nbsp; "The recovery rate is increasing very fast. Earlier, 35 out of 100 people tested would be diagnosed with coronavirus. Now only 7 or 8 people out of 100 are found positive.
The chief minister said the number of fatalities has also decreased.
"In mid-June, there were about 101 deaths per day but there are about 40 deaths now. All of us together have to reduce it further," he said.
However, Kejriwal cautioned people against any complacency.
"Nothing is known about COVID-19, it may rise again tomorrow. Therefore, we need to take precautions. We always have to wear a mask, maintain social distancing, wash our hands and sanitize them repeatedly," he said.
He also said the city government has successfully implemented the home isolation programme and there has been no death among those undergoing home isolation.
Kejriwal said he was happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also praised the model implemented in Delhi and everyone's cooperation in it.
&nbsp;

PTI, Chandigarh: Former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun in Kerala, has tested positive for coronavirus, a Health Department official said on Tuesday.
A Kottayam court in Kerala had on Monday cancelled Mulakkal&rsquo;s bail for his failure to appear for the trial in the rape case and issued a non-bailable warrant against him.
&ldquo;He (Mulakkal) has tested positive for coronavirus,&rdquo; said COVID-19 nodal officer for Jalandhar, T P Singh.
Mulakkal&rsquo;s report, confirming him to be positive for COVID-19, came on Monday evening, he added.
The rape case against the Bishop was registered by Kottayam district police in Kerala.
In her complaint to the police in June 2018, the nun had alleged that she was subjected to sexual abuse by the Bishop between 2014 and 2016.
The bishop, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team which probed the case, has been charged with wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation.

PTI,&nbsp;New Delhi:&nbsp;The HRD Ministry on Tuesday announced guidelines for online classes by schools and recommended a cap on duration and the number of sessions in a day for students.&nbsp;
 The guidelines have been framed by the ministry, following concerns raised by parents about schools conducting online classes like regular schools, which has increased children's screen time after the COVID-19 pandemic mandated a shift from classroom teaching to online learning as schools continue to remain shut for over four months.&nbsp;
In the guideline called "Pragyata", the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has recommended that the duration for online classes for pre-primary students should not be for more than 30 minutes.&nbsp;
For classes 1 to 8, the HRD Ministry has recommended two online sessions of up to 45 minutes each while for classes 9 to 12, four sessions of 30-45 minutes duration have been recommended.&nbsp;
"The Covid-19 pandemic has led to closure of schools and has impacted over 240 million children of the country who are enrolled in schools. Extended school closures may cause loss of learning.&nbsp;
"To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, schools will not only have to remodel and reimagine the way teaching and learning have happened so far, but will also need to introduce a suitable method of delivering quality education through a healthy mix of schooling at home and schooling at school," HRD Minister Ramesh&nbsp;Pokhriyal&nbsp;'Nishank' said.&nbsp;
He said that the guidelines have been made with a focus on online education for students who are at home.&nbsp;
"The guidelines have been developed from the perspective of learners, with a focus on online, blended, digital education for students who are presently at home due to the lockdown.&nbsp;These guidelines on digital education provide a roadmap or pointers for carrying forward online education to enhance the quality of education,"&nbsp;Nishank&nbsp;added.&nbsp;
 Universities and schools across the country have been shut since March 16, when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as part of measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. A nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which came into effect the next day.&nbsp; While the government has largely eased restrictions, schools and colleges continue to remain closed.&nbsp;

PTI, New Delhi: As the number of coronavirus cases crossed the 9-lakh mark on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said that 86 per cent of the total active cases were recorded in 10 states of the country.&nbsp;
Addressing a press briefing, Rajesh Bhushan, the officer on special duty in the Health Ministry, said two of the most affected states are Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu which are contributing to 50 per cent of the total active cases (154,134 active cases).&nbsp;
Karnataka, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat and Assam are the other affected states that contribute to 36 per cent of the total active cases (111,068 active cases) Bhushan also said that the total recovered cases of COVID-19 are about 1.8 times the number of active cases.&nbsp;
On Covid-19 testing, he said that 22 states are currently performing more than 140 tests per day per million population.&nbsp;
Responding to a question on the fatality rate, he said the national COVID-19 fatality rate is 2.6 per cent and it is coming down rapidly.&nbsp;
"Compared to the global case, fatality rate it is significantly lower," he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A doctor attached with the Indian boxing team tested positive for Covid-19&nbsp;on Monday. However, test results of all the 11 boxers, including Asian Games champion and world silver-medallist Amit Panghal&nbsp;came out to be negative. All the boxers who had assembled for training in Patiala though will now be retested as they were at the same quarantine facility with the doctor. According to a source close to the team,&nbsp;Dr Patil is completely asymptomatic and should recover soon enough. The same boxers were staring at a possible suspension by the Sports Authority of India for&nbsp;breaching quarantine norms at the Patiala&nbsp;camp.

Ravinder Raina, who is the president of BJP&nbsp;in Jammu and Kashmir has&nbsp;tested positive for Covid-19.&nbsp; Reports said&nbsp;Raina was in isolation in the Narayana hospital in the Katra town of&nbsp;Reasi&nbsp;district.
On Sunday,&nbsp;Raina accompanied Union Minister of State (PMO) Jitendra Singh, national General secretary of the BJP, Ram Madhav and other senior leaders to offer condolences to the family of Wasim Bari, the local BJP leader who was killed along with his father and brother by militants in the Bandipora town in north Kashmir.&nbsp;
Singh on Tuesday&nbsp;went into self-quarantine as a precautionary measure. In a tweet, Singh said, "Have gone into self-quarantine with immediate effect, after receiving the news about Corona positive test of J&amp;K BJP President Ravinder Raina who had accompanied us from Srinagar to Bandipora on July 12."
&nbsp;

Zoya Akhtar's house has been sealed by BMC as the filmmaker lives in a apartment building next to veteran actress Rekha&nbsp;whose bunglow was sealed last week after a guard was tested Covid-19 positive.
The officials have put a banner outside filmmaker's&nbsp;Mumbai residence which read, 'this area has been declared as containment area as a resident has been found Covid-19 positive'.
The BMC has further prohibited the entry of any individual and mentioned that social distancing norms must be followed.

Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek&nbsp;Bachchan, who have both been diagnosed with Covid-19, will have to be in hospital for at least a week, news agency PTI&nbsp;reported.
According&nbsp;to an insider from the hospital, the father-son duo are responding well to the treatment.
Reportedly, Big B and Abhishek Bachchan are 'stable', and will have to be in the hospital for at least seven days.

PTI, Patna:&nbsp;There will be a total lockdown in Bihar from July 16-31 to contain the spread of Covid-19, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday announced.
On his official Twitter handle, Modi said the 16-day lockdown will remain in force at all municipal, district, sub divisional and block headquarters level and that guidelines were being prepared.
"The government has taken a decision to this effect... Corona has neither any vaccine nor any medicine," Modi said in a virtual rally, details of which were shared on his Twitter handle.
The move comes close on the heels of recent spike in positive cases which had necessitated lockdowns, imposed by the local administrations, in several districts.&nbsp;

Former India fast bowler Ashish&nbsp;Nehra&nbsp;feels that ICC's&nbsp;saliva ban has affected James Anderson's swing bowling. In an interview to PTI, he said that during England's 1st Test vs the Windies,&nbsp;Anderson was bowling short of the length at times which he hardly does. That was because the Dukes ball wasn't swinging.&nbsp;The reason being the lack of shine with no saliva being allowed. So, whenever he tried pitching it up, the&nbsp;batsmen were driving him easily. Nehra&nbsp;added that not being able to use saliva when there isn't much perspiration will be a problem. Anderson's strength is to pitch it up and get the ball to swing but he looked half the bowler when it stopped swinging.&nbsp;

Australian limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch came up with an interesting solution for breaking the second-grade student's remote learning monotony. Alex Altube, a young cricket enthusiast from the state of Victoria got to work on a special project during the&nbsp;lockdown. Finch through a video message asked the child to prepare a cricket magazine with a detailed explanation of the rules of the game including the different fielding positions and how it is played. As per Alex's teacher Kathryn Taylor, it was his best work for the year and by the looks of it, the student will remember his magazine &amp; work for a long time.&nbsp;

PTI, New Delhi: France will soon announce an "exceptional package" for India, including ventilators and expertise, as part of its efforts to jointly combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the French envoy to India said on Tuesday.&nbsp;In his message on the French National Day -- Bastille Day, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel&nbsp;Lenain&nbsp;said that since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, the two countries have shown exceptional solidarity.
&nbsp; "India has provided much needed equipment and drugs to French hospitals. Friendship is a two-way road and France has reciprocated,"&nbsp;Lenain&nbsp;said.&nbsp;
The French development agency AFD has granted an exceptional loan of 200 million euros (Rs 1,600 crore) to provide social services to the most vulnerable population in India, he said.&nbsp;
"We are going to announce soon an exceptional package comprising serological test (kits), ventilators and some expertise," the French envoy said in the message posted on all social media handles of the French Embassy here.&nbsp;

Scientists look at alpaca&nbsp;nanobodies&nbsp;to tackle Covid-19 and prevent possible second wave.&nbsp;

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Do alpacas hold the key to immunity against Covid-19?

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