Coronavirus live updates: Sputnik V vaccine soft launch scaled up in Delhi, Mumbai, other cities, says Dr Reddy's

A new analysis of blood samples from 24,000 Americans taken early last year is the latest and largest study to suggest that the new coronavirus popped up in the US in December 2019 — weeks before cases were first recognized by health officials.

Fresh analysis from the UK showed for the first time that two doses of COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisation from the Delta variant, first identified in India last year. The analysis suggests AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after two doses, while the corresponding figure after both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96%. This assumes significance as the Delta variant is believed to be responsible for the lethal second wave in India, and has been categorised as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organisation.

Masks will be mandatory for tourists. Thermal screening of tourists would be done at the gates and they would be sanitised before entering the monument premises. Tickets will only be booked online and no ticket counter will open. All centrally protected monuments, museums and sites closed for around two months due to the Covid pandemic will reopen on June 16, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order issued on Monday said.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Tuesday said that the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is more efficient against the Delta variant of the virus, first identified in India than any other vaccine so far.Taking to Twitter, the official handle of the Russian vaccine affirmed that Sputnik V's efficacy is better on the Delta variant than any other vaccine that published results on the strain so far.

Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 327 to reach 1,63,048 on Tuesday , a health department official said.The death toll rose to 2,947 with ten patients succumbing to the viral infection during the day, he added.The number of recovered patients in the state rose to 1,55,926 with 548 persons getting discharged on Tuesday. The number of active cases in the state is 4,175.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Tuesday said that the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is more efficient against the Delta variant of the virus, first identified in India than any other vaccine so far. "SputnikV is more efficient against the Delta variant of coronavirus, first detected in India than any other vaccine that published results on this strain so far - the Gamaleya Center study submitted for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal," tweeted Sputnik V.