# The reason to not take masks off, jut yet. A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, has been detected in South Africa and many other countries globally which could be more transmissible and evade protection provided by vaccines, according to study.

C.1.2, as it is called, has since been found in China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, England, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland as of August 13.

# Kerala has seen a rise and fall in its death toll over the weekend. It’s test positivity rate (TPR) dropped to 16.74 percent on Monday (around 19 per cent over the last few days) when 1,17,216 samples were tested. Daily new Covid cases also dipped, however- hospital admissions actually saw a small increase to 30,826 (30,055 on Sunday).

# Maharashtra’s muted celebration of the popular Dahi handi today, heralds a festive season ahead for the country. In the western State, it comes against the backdrop of an increased graph in cases, and yet the political bickering continues, unmindful of the heavy toll the second wave dealt the country.

# Some signs of hope, and caution. Festival season sales and pent-up demand along with new launches are expected to push automobile dealers’ volumes up by 10-15 per cent in FY22, says a Crisil survey.

But, a possible third wave of Covid-19, spurt in fuel prices and supply constraints of original equipment manufacturers are some of the downers, it added.

# And staying with positive indicators: Hiring activity in India is reportedly at a pre-pandemic baseline, February 2020 level, for the first time in months, according to data from a job platform Indeed.

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