The Daily Dose: May 18, 2022

#Hepatitis & Covid: As severe hepatitis of an unknown origin gets reported in young children from different parts of the world, doctors need to keep an eye out for this condition, when children present with diarrhoea, rashes or a viral fever, said paediatrician Dr Vipin Vashishtha.

#Negotiations continue: The WTO’s TRIPS Council has finally begun text-based negotiations on the proposed temporary waiver of IP rules as a response to Covid-19, a key demand by India and South Africa. The aim is to arrive at a multilateral outcome on the long-pending matter by the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) next month, a Geneva-based trade official said.

#Daily tally: India reported 1,829 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, and 33 deaths.

#More insurance, post Covid-19: There seems to be a higher propensity to purchase insurance in tier-2 and 3 cities after the Covid outbreak. According to a recent survey by Policybazaar, 80 per cent of respondents are ready to renew their policies and a significant 35 per cent of them are interested in increasing their coverage. In tier-2 cities, as many as 89 per cent are willing to renew their policies, while 43 per cent are interested in widening coverage.

#Not yet there: Airport traffic has been picking up although it has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. Top airports in India have shown signs of increasing passenger traffic.

#Restrictions hit spending: Japan's economy shrank at a worse than expected annual rate of 1 per cent in the first quarter, as rising prices and Covid-19 restrictions sapped spending and investment, according to data released Wednesday.

#Grappling with Covid-19: Health officials in North Korea found 269,510 more people with feverish symptoms and reported another six deaths, state media said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with an escalating but largely undiagnosed Covid-19 outbreak across its unvaccinated population.

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