Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 25,681 new cases, 70 deaths in a day

Coronavirus live updates: Covid-19 cases rise unabated across the globe with 122,516,517 infected by the deadly contagion. Stay tuned for corona-related news

10:53 PM

Union Home Secy writes to states, reiterates significance of following Covid norms

10:09 PM

Sec 144 extended in Rajasthan till April 21 amid surge in Covid cases

9:21 PM

Delhi reports 716 new Covid-19 cases, 4 deaths in 24 hours

8:58 PM

3,062 new coronavirus cases in Mumbai, new high since pandemic began

Mumbai reported the highest spike of 3,062 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking its caseload to 3,55,897, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

 

With 10 deaths since Thursday evening, the death toll increased to 11,565. The day before too the city had set a new record of daily cases at 2,877, but on Friday new cases crossed the 3,000-mark. The city has recorded ten or more deaths in a day thrice this year. On January 5 and January 21, the city had reported 11 and 10 fatalities, respectively.

8:46 PM

872 new coronavirus positive cases, one death in Haryana

Haryana reported 872 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the tally to 2.78 lakh, the Health Department said. Another fatality in Kurukshetra district took the toll to 3,090 in the state. There are 4,380 active cases and the recovery rate was 97.31 per cent, according to a bulletin.

 

On Thursday, the state recorded 633 new infections and six deaths. The 872 new cases include 184 in Gurgaon, 166 in Panchkula, 114 in Karnal, 88 in Ambala and 85 in Kurukshetra, it added.

8:34 PM

Pune reports 5,065 new Covid-19 cases, 2,211 recoveries, and 24 deaths in the last 24 hours

8:34 PM

Madhya Pradesh sees 1,140 COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths, 556 recoveries

Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 1,140 COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 2,73,097, while seven deaths increased the toll to 3,901, an official said. He said 556 people were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries in Madhya Pradesh to 2,62,587. Four of 52 districts in the state did not report a new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, the official pointed out.

 

"A death each was reported from Bhopal, Gwalior, Ujjain, Chhindwara, Khandwa, Shajapur and Umaria. Indore's caseload rose by 309 to reach 63.510, while that of Bhopal touched 46,383 with the addition of 272 cases. The active caseload in the two cities is 1,960 and 1,495 respectively," he said.

8:21 PM

India crosses milestone of 4 crore coronavirus vaccinations: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

India crosses milestone of 4 crore coronavirus vaccinations: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

7:54 PM

Maharashtra reports 25,681 new coronavirus cases and 70 deaths in a day

7:41 PM

Nagpur records 3,235 new Covid-19 cases; 35 casualties

As many as 3,235 persons tested positive for coronavirus, while 35 died of the infection in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Friday, an official said. With the addition of the latest cases and fatalities, the count of infections in the district has risen to 1,85,787 and the toll has reached 4,563, he said.

 

At least 1,245 patients were discharged from various treatment facilities during the day, raising the count of recoveries to 1,55,655, he said. This leaves the district with 25,569 active cases, the official said. As many as 16,066 samples were tested during the day, taking the total number of tested conducted to 14,46,816, he added.

7:23 PM

Mumbai reports 3,062 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths in the last 24 hours

6:29 PM

Chhattisgarh man dies after Covid-19 vaccination, probe begins

A 62-year-old man died in Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district on Friday after he took the COVID-19 vaccination a day earlier, PTI reported Vibhisan Banjare, a resident of Savitripur, was administered COVID-19 vaccine at the local government health and wellness centre on Thursday evening and died this morning, said Dr NK Mandape, Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Mahasamund.

 

"He was kept under observation for 30 minutes before he was allowed to go home after the vaccination. As per his family, Banjare complained of pain in his shoulder where he got the vaccination injection and was also sweating profusely. He was declared dead in a hospital in Basna," the official said.

 

Mandape said a team had been constituted to probe the case under District Immunisation Officer Dr Arvind Gupta. Gupta said other members of Banjare's family were also vaccinated and they are in normal condition. It was not immediately known whether Banjare was suffering from any kind of illness, he added.

6:28 PM

India's Stelis Biopharma to make 200 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine

Bengaluru-headquartered Stelis Biopharma has joined domestic pharmaceutical firms Gland Pharma and Hetero becoming the third Indian company to partner with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, to produce and supply the Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus.

 

The RDIF-Stelis agreement, which involves the initial production and supply of about 200 million doses of the vaccine, was reached under the aegis of Enso Healthcare, RDIF’s coordination partner for sourcing Sputnik V vaccines in India.

 

Stelis will commence supplies from September quarter of 2021 and will also continue to work with RDIF to provide additional supply volumes beyond the initial agreement. It is the biopharmaceutical entity of Strides Pharma Science, which is planning to demerge and list it on a standalone basis. READ MORE...

6:19 PM

Kerala reports 1,984 new coronavirus cases and 1,965 recoveries in the last 24 hours

Kerala reports 1,984 new coronavirus cases and 1,965 recoveries in the last 24 hours

6:00 PM

Provide Covid-19 vaccine services at least 8 hours a day: Punjab CM to hospitals

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday asked all private and government hospitals to offer hassle-free vaccination services for at least eight hours daily till March 31. There should be no requirement of a separate certificate if an eligible person aged 45 and above brings a medical record regarding co-morbidities, he directed.

 

The directions were given at a review meeting chaired by the chief minister, in which he took note of the low vaccination numbers in the state.

 

According to an official statement, he expressed concern that of 1,291 registered private facilities, 891 have reportedly not administered a single dose. He asked the district administration to come down heavily on such hospitals, stressing that private health facilities need to join the government battle against coronavirus.

5:51 PM

If rules aren't followed, strict measures will be taken in: Maharashtra CM

5:29 PM

Punjab orders fresh curbs, shuts educational institutions to check virus

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases in Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered massive state-wide restrictions beginning Saturday which include closing of all educational institutions till the end of the month and

 

restrictions on cinema and mall capacities.

 

The chief minister on Friday also appealed to the people to keep social activity in their homes to the bare minimum for the next two weeks to break the transmission chain. Not more than 10 visitors should be entertained in homes, he urged. All educational institutions, other than medical and nursing colleges, will remain closed till March 31, an official statement said. READ ON...

5:02 PM

Vaccination centres will operate till 9 pm starting March 22, adequate manpower to be deployed: Delhi govt

Vaccination centres in national capital will operate till 9 pm starting March 22, adequate manpower to be deployed: Delhi govt

4:57 PM

Five states account for 80.63% of daily Covid-19 cases, says Health Ministry

Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh continue to report a surge in fresh COVID-19 cases and they account for 80.63 per cent of the daily new cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

 

"Some states in the country are reporting a surge in the daily new COVID-19 cases. Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh together account 80.63 per cent of the daily new cases," according to a statement.

 

As many as 39,726 new daily cases were reported in last 24 hours. Maharashtra continues to record the highest daily new cases at 25,833, 65 per cent of the daily cases, followed by Punjab with 2,369 while Kerala reported 1,899 new cases.

4:29 PM

Amid Covid surge, Maharashtra govt issues fresh restrictions till March 31

The Maharashtra government on Friday imposed fresh restrictions in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. According to the order, all drama theatres and auditoriums in the state should operate at 50 per cent capacity.

 

In case of violations, concerned theatres and auditoriums will be ordered to remain closed till the pandemic ends, and penalties will also be attracted.

 

Apart from that, all private offices, except related to health and other essential services, must also operate at 50 per cent capacity. These measures will be in force till March 31. READ ON...

4:17 PM

Covid-19 vaccination drive to be extended in coming days: Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said the COVID-19 vaccination drive will be extended in the coming days and asserted that there should not be any misconceptions about the two Indian vaccines being administered in in the country.

 

During the Question Hour in Lok Sabha, Vardhan said India has vaccinated 3.5 to 4 crore people so far and side effects of the vaccines has been recorded at 0.000432 per cent.

 

"Every vaccine doesn't require universal immunisation and all these priority groups whom we are vaccinating today like healthcare staff first and then senior citizens and people aged between 45 and 59 years, it will be extended in the coming days all these are based on experts' opinion.

3:11 PM

Analysis shows children between 0-14 years less affected by Covid-19: Govt

Analysis shows that children in the age group of 0-14 years are less affected by COVID-19, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

 

He said in a written reply that infection among children is mild and most of them remain asymptomatic. "Hence no specific action plan has been formulated in the current response phase to minimise the adverse effects of COVID-19 on such children," he said.

 

Very rarely a severe illness, in form of multi-system inflammatory syndrome, has been identified, Vardhan said, adding this happens usually three to six weeks after the infection. The Department of Pediatrics, AIIMS, is documenting the long term effect of COVID-19 infection in children, he said.

2:24 PM

Odisha logs 100 plus new Covid-19 cases after 40 days

After a gap of 40 days, Odisha on Friday registered 100 plus new COVID-19 cases pushing the state's coronavirus caseload to 3,38,599, a health department official said.

 

The 110 new cases were detected in 22 of Odisha's 30 districts, with 64 cases reported from quarantine centres and the remaining 46 are local contact cases.

 

Cuttack district reported the highest of 20 cases of which 13 were from a private college hostel. With this, the number of cases from a single institute in Cuttack city mounted to 25. Earlier on Thursday, 12 students had tested positive for the infection following which they were put in quarantine.

1:58 PM

Coronavirus circulated undetected months before first Covid-19 cases in China: Study

The novel coronavirus was likely circulating undetected for at most two months before the first human cases of COVID-19 were described in Wuhan, China in late-December 2019, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Science, used molecular dating tools and epidemiological simulations to date the emergence of the virus to as early as October 2019.

 

The team, including researchers from University of California San Diego in the US, note that their simulations suggest that the mutating virus dies out naturally more than three-quarters of the time without causing an epidemic.

 

"Our study was designed to answer the question of how long could SARS-CoV-2 have circulated in China before it was discovered," said senior study author Joel O Wertheim, an associate professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

1:51 PM

India's Covid-19 recovery rate improves to 96.26%: Health Ministry

1:25 PM

Chris Gayle thanks PM Modi for sending Covid-19 vaccines to Jamaica

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping Jamaica by providing COVID-19 vaccines under the Vaccine Maitri initiative.

 

As part of the Vaccine Maitri initiative aimed to assist countries in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the Made-in-India vaccines reached Jamaica last week.

 

"Honourable Prime Minister Modi, people of India and Government of India, I want to thank you for the donation of vaccine to Jamaica. We appreciate it, thank you so much. India I will be seeing you soon and thanks once again," Gayle said in a video posted on Friday by the official Twitter handle of India in Jamaica. Read on...

1:22 PM

Coronavirus circulated undetected months before first Covid-19 cases in China: Study

The novel coronavirus was likely circulating undetected for at most two months before the first human cases of Covid-19 were described in Wuhan, China in late-December 2019, according to a study.

 

The research, published in the journal Science, used molecular dating tools and epidemiological simulations to date the emergence of the virus to as early as October 2019.

 

The team, including researchers from University of California San Diego in the US, note that their simulations suggest that the mutating virus dies out naturally more than three-quarters of the time without causing an epidemic.

12:11 PM

No one should have any doubts about the Covid-19 vaccines: Health minister in Lok Sabha

I urge all to take the vaccine shots: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in Lok Sabha

11:33 AM

Covid-19 patients above 65 years of age more prone to reinfection, says study

While most people who have had Covid-19 are protected from catching it again for at least six months, elderly patients above 65 years of age are more prone to reinfection, says a new study published in The Lancet journal.

 

The scientists from Denmark's Statens Serum Institut analysed data collected as part of the country's national Covid-19 testing strategy, through which more than two-thirds of the population (four million people) were tested in 2020.

 

According to the scientists, while prior infection gave those under the age of 65 years around 80 per cent protection against reinfection, for those 65 and older it conferred only 47 per cent protection, indicating they are more likely to catch Covid-19 again.

11:15 AM

Coronavirus in India: Bihar govt cancels leaves of doctors, healthcare workers, paramedical staff till April 5

Coronavirus in India: Bihar govt cancels leaves of doctors, healthcare workers, paramedical staff till April 5.