Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said dedicated centres will be set up for the treatment of black fungus or mucormycosis cases at three city government-run hospitals.

He made the announcement after discussing the rise in black fungus cases with officials and specialists at a meeting here.

Drug major Cipla on Thursday announced the commercialisation of its RT-PCR test kit 'ViraGen' for COVID-19 in India, in partnership with Ubio Biotechnology Systems.

This launch will help address the current testing services and capacity issues while reaffirming the company's ongoing expansion in the diagnostic space, Cipla said in a regulatory filing.

The double mutant B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 is further mutating and one of its sub-lineages, the B.1.617.2, reported in India, is more infectious than its parent and fast increasing its footprint, according to Rakesh Mishra, former Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.

He also said there is nothing called the Singapore variant, a term that has led to a war of words between the Centre and the AAP government after Singapore objected to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's tweet that a new coronavirus strain in the city-state is very dangerous for children.

Andhra Pradesh government has placed orders for purchasing 15,000 vials of Amphotericin B injection to treat persons infected with black fungus or Mucormycosis, said state Medical and Health Principal Secretary Anil Kumar Singhal on Wednesday.

The state government is taking precautionary measures to prevent black fungus. The Centre has allocated 1650 vials for Andhra Pradesh and the state government has already given orders for 15,000 vials from three companies, and the supply is likely to start on May 22 or 23.

Shares of Tata Coffee continued their northward march, rising 4 per cent to hit an all-time high of Rs 185.80 on the BSE on Thursday in an otherwise volatile market.

The stock of the Tata Group Company surpassed its previous high of Rs 183.45, touched on November 29, 2017. In the past one month, Tata Coffee has outperformed the market by zooming 60 per cent, as compared to 4.5 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

The Income Tax Department is expected to launch a new e-filing web portal for taxpayers, which they use to file routine ITRs and perform other tax-related works, early next month, officials said on Thursday.

The existing web portal will be shut for six days between June 1-6.

Amid the rising coronavirus COVID-19 cases across the country, the cases of Black Fungus infection is also rising in several states of India, including Bihar. And now four cases of White Fungus infection, which is considered dangerous than Black Fungus, have been reported from Patna, Bihar. One of the infected patients is a famous doctor from Patna.

According to health experts, WHite Fungus infection is more dangerous than black fungus infection because it affects lungs as well as other parts of the body incuding nails, skin, stomach, kidney, brain, private parts and mouth.

With 2,76,110 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,57,72,440, while the daily deaths were recorded below 4,000 after four days, taking the toll to 2,87,122, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

A total 3,874 fatalities due to COVID-19 were registered in a span of 24 hours.

After Cyclone Tauktae battered the states along the west coast, another cyclone is likely to hit the east coast by May 22-May 26.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said that a low-pressure area is very likely to form over the north Andaman Sea and adjoining the east-central Bay of Bengal around 22 May and it holds the potential to intensify into a cyclonic storm.

Rapid Antigen kits to help conduct the COVID-19 test at home got a green signal on Wednesday. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued detailed guidelines on who can use it and how. ICMR is the nodal body in the fight against the virus

The ICMR has made it clear that only symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of people who tested positive in the laboratory should use the home test.

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