Covid LIVE: Karnataka sees 16,068 new cases in a day; 14,152 in Maharashtra

Coronavirus live updates: India reported 132,364 fresh Covid-19 infections today, taking the caseload tally to 28,572,359. Death toll stands at 340,702. Stay tuned for corona-related news

2:16 AM

Ladakh LG launches scheme to provide tablets to govt school students

Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Radha Krishna Mathur Friday launched a scheme to provide tabs to school children in a bid to support their learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
 

The YounTab scheme was launched at a virtual event, an official spokesman said.
 

Giving details of the initiative, Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Commissioner Secretary, School Education, said that under the scheme 12,300 tablets with pre-loaded online and offline contents, including textbooks, video lectures and online class applications, would be distributed to government school students from classes 6th to 12th.

The distribution of tablets would be completed in the next two months, th spokesman said.
 

On internet connectivity issue, Mathur said that telecom companies have agreed to install additional towers.
 

LG Mathur said there should be efforts to improve the quality of education, 100 per cent enrolment and zero dropouts in schools.
 

He also announced financial assistance to meritorious students of classes 10th and 12th for availing coaching for exams such as NEET, JEE, NDA and UG CLAT.
 

Mathur also announced Rs 25 lakh to Gram Panchayats from LG's fund for facilitating better provision in the villages for conducting community classes for primary school students.
 

2:16 AM

Nearly 6,500 calls have been placed on SDMC Covid helplines so far

Helpline numbers launched by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to provide psychological support to Covid-19 patients have received around 6,500 calls till date, the civic body said on Friday.
 

Through these helplines, doctors have been trying to educate people and make them aware about the importance of mental health, officials said.
 

In order to provide psychological support to coronavirus patients, the SDMC had recently started telecalling services in all four zones through helpline numbers, the civic body said in a statement.
 

Toll-free number 1800115676 is for all citizens living in SDMC areas, while separate helplines are functional in each zone of the municipal corporation.
 

The patients are also being advised on how to ensure peace of mind during such a crucial period, the officials said.
 

In another civic development, Mayor of East Delhi Nirmal Jain said door-to-door waste collection project has been implemented in all 64 wards of the EDMC.

He said it is being implemented in each ward in a phased manner for the past few months. 
 

2:15 AM

Jharkhand govt nod to one month's extra pay to Covid health workers

The Jharkhand government on Friday approved a number of proposals including one month's extra pay to Covid health workers and enhancement in honorarium for mid-day meal assistants.
 

The decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Sorent.
 

The Jharkhand government last month announced Rs 103 crore incentive for frontline health workers.
 

"The Cabinet has approved incentives for health department workers including doctors engaged in coronavirus related contact tracing, testing, supervision etc work in Covid hospitals and wards besides control rooms, which will be equivalent to their one month's salary," an official statement after the Cabinet meeting said.

The incentive will be equivalent to the basic salary of April, 2020.
 

Soren had earlier announced through social media one month's additional salary to doctors and medical workers employed to contain the pandemic.
 

"In these troubled times, corona warriors are working day and night. Therefore, the state government has decided that doctors and medical workers employed in Covid-related works will be paid one month of their salary as incentive," Soren had said.
 

The Cabinet also gave its nod to raising the honorarium for mid-day meal kitchen assistants to Rs 2,000 which will result in a total additional expenditure of Rs 40 crore for the year.
 

12:15 AM

Delhi University to provide full fee-waiver to students who lost parents to Covid

The Delhi University will provide full fee waiver to students who lost one or both parents to the coronavirus infection, officials said on Friday.
 

The university has written to its colleges to conduct a survey and prepare a list of such students.
 

"The Delhi University has written to its colleges to conduct a survey of students who have lost their parents due to coronavirus. We have sought a report in the matter by Monday," Dean of Colleges, Balaram Pani, told PTI.
 

The fee waiver, which will be 100 per cent, will be applicable for students who have lost either of the parents or both to the virus in both the waves of the pandemic. They won't even be charged examination fees.
 

11:42 PM

Assam extends Covid related restrictions till June 15

The Assam government on Friday extended the restrictions imposed due to the surge in Covid-19 positive cases and deaths till June 15 though it has increased the curfew relaxation by one hour.
 

Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the State Disaster Management Authority, issued an order extending the restriction, which was scheduled to end at 5 a.m Saturday.
 

The curfew, which remained in force from 12 noon to 5 a.m will now be in place from 1 p.m to 5 a.m with total ban on movement of individuals.
 

All shops and commercial establishments will close down at 12 noon on all days.
 

Restaurants, dhabas and other eateries can entertain dine-in guests only upto 12 noon while takeaway is allowed till 1 p.m but after that only home delivery of food will be allowed.
 

All inter-district transport services and movement of people to and from other districts shall remain suspended.
 

All other restrictions, imposed earlier, including odd-even formula for plying of vehicles, declaration of containment zones, work places for both rural and urban areas will remain in force across the state, the order stated.
 

10:20 PM

Happiest Minds Technologies starts Covid-19 vaccination drive for staff, their families

Happiest Minds Technologies on Friday said it has launched a vaccination drive for its employees and their immediate family members.
 

To start with, the vaccination drive will cover the company's facilities based out of Bengaluru and will later be expanded to cover other locations, a statement said.
 

The company has tied up with Fortis Hospitals for the vaccination drives in Bengaluru and started the vaccination drive on June 2, 2021, it added.
 

"The entire country is facing unprecedented challenges on account of this pandemic. Vaccination is an important measure that can help us tide over the ongoing crisis, also ensuring the safety and well-being of the company's core assets i.e. our people. We are ensuring that our team and their families are vaccinated at the earliest,” Happiest Minds Technologies President and CEO Infrastructure Management & Security Services Ram Mohan C said.
 

The company has also developed VSafe, a vaccination tracking system app to track the vaccination status of the employees.
 

As India reels under the impact of the deadly second wave of coronavirus infections, several organisations across the spectrum have come forward to support the relief efforts. Efforts to ramp up vaccination are also underway. India has so far administered over 22.4 crore jabs to eligible beneficiaries.
 

8:59 PM

Karnataka reports 16,068 new Covid positive cases in a day

8:56 PM

Maharashtra reports 14,152 new Covid cases, 289 deaths in last 24 hours

Maharashtra on Friday reported 14,152 new COVID-19 cases and 289 deaths, taking the caseload to 58,05,565 and death toll to 98,771 , the health department said.

 

The state has, thus, reported fewer than 20,000 cases on the fifth consecutive day.

 

Recoveries exceeded new infections, as 20,852 patients were discharged from hospitals, pushing the number of recovered cases to 55,07,058. The number of active cases fell below two lakh to stand at 1,96,894.

8:51 PM

Three more cases of B.1.617 Covid-19 variant found in Pakistan

Pakistan reported three more cases of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, on Friday, in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, despite a ban on travellers from the neighbouring country, officials said.

 

Speaking to reporters, Provincial Health Secretary Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah said the patients had returned to the country earlier in the week from the UAE in a flight bound for Peshawar.

 

In total, eight passengers in the flight tested positive for COVID-19, including three with the B.1.617.2 variant and five with the B.1.351 variant, first identified in South African.

8:50 PM

PM Modi reviews progress of Covid-19 vaccination drive: PMO

8:42 PM

Black Fungus treatment: Maharashtra govt caps treatment rates for private hospitals

Cracking the whip on private hospitals, the Maharashtra government on Friday imposed limits on the treatment and surgery costs that can be recovered from patients afflicted by the dreaded mucormycosis (black fungus), a post-Covid disease.

 

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has approved a proposal by the Health Ministry fixing the charges to be levied by all private hospitals, till July 31, providing a huge relief to the common man.

 

The development comes a fortnight after the state government issued an order on May 18 to provide free treatment, including medicines, beds, etc, to mucormycosis patients under the Mahatma Jyotiba Jan Arogya Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, at 130 pre-determined hospitals, besides empanelling another 1000 hospitals.

8:35 PM

Data sharing going on with WHO to give recognition to Covaxin: Govt

Data sharing is going on with WHO to give recognition to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, the government said, noting that it wants to achieve this "milestone" as soon as possible.

 

Responding to a question on recognition of Covaxin by the WHO, NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul said the government is pursuing it.

 

"We have been working with both Bharat Biotech and the WHO to make it happen. There is data sharing going on and we are very keen that this milestone is achieved as soon as possible. We are pursuing it," he said. READ ON...

8:29 PM

Over 2 lakh kg Covid-19 biomedical waste generated daily in May, says report

Over two lakh kilograms of biomedical waste was generated each day last month by hospitals in India dealing with COVID-19 patients, a new report revealed on Friday.

 

The report titled 'State of India's Environment 2021', released by the Centre for Science and Environment, said 2,03,000 kg of COVID-19 biomedical waste was produced daily in May this year and it was roughly 33 per cent of India's non-COVID biomedical waste.

 

It said the COVID-19 biomedical waste generated per day in May was 46 per cent more than in April when 1.39 lakh kg of such waste was produced daily. In March, the daily figure was 75,000 kg, according to the report.

8:24 PM

973 new cases, 24 deaths and 1,207 recoveries reported in Mumbai today

8:16 PM

Maharashtra reports 14,152 new Covid cases, 289 deaths in last 24 hours

8:10 PM

NIOS cancels class 12 exams, to evaluate students on objective criteria

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has cancelled its class 12 examination in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on Friday.

 

"Keeping the safety and security of our students on priority, NIOS cancels class 12 examinations. Students will be evaluated based on objective criteria to be announced soon. This will benefit around 1.75 lakhs students," the minister tweeted.

 

The move comes in the wake of scrapping of class 12 exams by CBSE, CISCE and several state boards.

8:03 PM

Covid LIVE: Tamil Nadu sees 22,651 new cases in a day

7:58 PM

Madhya Pradesh sees 798 Covid-19 cases, 50 deaths, 2,045 recoveries

Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 798 COVID-19 cases and 50 deaths from the infection, taking its tally to 7,83,743 and toll to 8,257, an official said.

 

The day also saw 2,045 people getting discharged, taking the state's recovery count to 7,62,597, leaving it with an active caseload of 12,889, he said.

 

"Indore's tally rose by 246 to touch 1,51,049, while that of Bhopal reached 1,21,643 after the addition of 176 cases. The toll in Indore rose by two to reach 1,351. Bhopal has so far seen 945 deaths, including four in the last 24 hours. Active cases in Indore and Bhopal stand at 2,366 and 2,559 respectively," the official informed.

7:44 PM

Maharashtra has so far reported 6,003 cases of Mucormycosis

Maharashtra has so far reported 6,003 cases of Mucormycosis. 4,024 patients are under treatment while 1,450 have recovered from the disease. 503 patients have died due to mucormycosis in the state

7:39 PM

Rajasthan reports 1,006 new Covid cases, 40 deaths in the last 24 hours

7:29 PM

Covid LIVE: Kerala sees 16,229 new cases in a day; 10,413 in Andhra

Andhra Pradesh reports 10,413 new Covid positive cases, 15,469 recoveries and 83 deaths in the last 24 hours

 

7:15 PM

Telangana logs 2,175 Covid-19 positive cases, 15 deaths

Telangana on Friday reported 2,175 COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to over 5.87 lakh, while 15 deaths took the toll to 3,346.

 

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with253, followed by Nalgonda (178) and Khammam (144), a health department bulletin said.

 

Recoveries outnumbered the number of fresh cases with 3,821 people testing negative for the virus, taking the total number to 5,53,400. Active cases stood at 30,918. The total number of cumulative cases stood at5,87,664.

7:10 PM

Goa sees 576 new Covid-19 cases; 17 casualties

With the addition of 576 new cases of coronavirus, the tally of infections in Goa reached 1,58,423 on Friday, an official from the state health department said. Apart from this, 17 patients died of the infection during the day, raising the toll to 2,727, he said.

 

The count of recoveries rose to 1,46,597 after 1,160 patients were discharged from hospitals, leaving the coastal state with 9,099 active cases, the official said.

 

With 4,086 swab samples tested during the day, the total number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 8,38,789, he added. Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 1,58,423, new cases 576, death toll 2,727, discharged 1,46,597, active cases 9,099, samples tested till date 8,38,789.

7:02 PM

WHO warns of 'failure' unless rich countries speed up Covid vaccine sharing

Wealthy countries need to give more COVID-19 vaccines and follow the United States in making doses available immediately to cover a 200 million dose gap caused by Indian supply disruptions and manufacturing delays, a WHO senior adviser said on Friday.
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Warning of a "two-track recovery", the World Health Organization is urging wealthy countries to donate their surplus doses to poorer countries instead of giving them to less vulnerable groups, such as children. They have so far donated 150 million doses via the COVAX sharing scheme. READ MORE...

6:50 PM

Kerala reports 16,229 new cases, 25,860 recoveries, 135 deaths

Kerala logged 16,229 new COVID-19 cases and 135 deaths on Friday, taking the infection count in the state to 25,71,057 and the toll to 9,510. State health minister Veena George said the state had tested 1,09,520 samples and the test positivity rate was 14.82 per cent.

 

Meanwhile, 25,860 people recuperated from the disease, taking the total cured in the state to 24,16,639.

 

"Out of those found infected today, 89 reached the state from outside while 15,160 contracted the disease through their contacts.The source of infection of 913 are yet to be traced, while 67 are health workers," the minister said in a release.

6:36 PM

Covid vaccination centre at Delhi International Airport for staff

6:35 PM

523 fresh Covid cases in Delhi; 50 deaths

Delhi recorded 523 fresh COVID-19 cases and 50 fatalities on Friday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.68 per cent, according to data shared by the health department. According to the latest health bulletin, these new fatalities pushed the death toll due to COVID-19 here to 24,497.

 

On Thursday, Delhi had recorded 487 COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily count in over two-and-a-half months and 45 fatalities.

 

This was the first time the daily death count had gone below the 50-mark since April 11 when the tally was 48. The positivity rate on Thursday had stood at 0.61 per cent. On March 16, Delhi had recorded 425 cases and on March 17, the tally was 536, according to official data.

6:29 PM

Covid LIVE: Serum CEO thanks Biden administration for 'policy change'

6:16 PM

B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 drove surge in Covid cases in last 2 months

The surge of COVID-19 cases in the country in the last two months shows a correlation with the rise in B.1.617 variant of the SARS-CoV-2, according to INSACOG, a grouping of 10 national laboratories.

 

April and May witnessed a deadly second wave of coronavirus cases that swept through the country stretching the healthcare infrastructure to its limits.

 

According to INSACOG, the B.1.1.7 lineage of the virus, which was first identified in the United Kingdom is declining in proportion across India in the last one and half month. The B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus has been named 'Alpha'. The B.1.617 lineage of SARS CoV-2 was first reported from Maharashtra but it is now seen in other states such as West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana.

6:09 PM

Covid LIVE: Delhi sees 523 new cases in a day; positivity rate at 0.68%