Coronavirus LIVE: Over 20 million vaccinated in 18-44 age group, says govt

Coronavirus live updates: India reported 152,734 fresh Covid-19 infections today, taking the caseload tally to 28,047,534. Death toll stands at 329,100. Stay tuned for corona-related news

10:25 PM

Bengal's Covid-19 death toll crosses 15,500 mark

West Bengal's Covid-19 death toll on Monday crossed the 15,500 mark after 131 more people succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, the health department said.
 

Daily coronavirus cases rose by 10,137 mounting the states overall caseload to 13,76,377.
 

The overall number of Covid-19 fatalities is 15,541 now, the department said in a bulletin.
 

As many as 17,856 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours improving the discharge rate to 92.55 per cent.
 

The overall number of people, who have recuperated from the infection, has gone up to 12,73,788.
 

Currently, the number of active cases stands at 87,048.
 

North 24 Parganas accounted for 33 deaths while Kolkata registered 28 coronavirus fatalities. The rest of the deaths were reported from several other districts, including 10 from South 24 Parganas.
 

The new positive cases included 2,376 from North 24 Parganas district and 1,324 from Kolkata, the bulletin said.
 

Since Sunday, 58,843 samples were tested for coronavirus in the state taking the total number of such examinations to 1,24,30,977.
 

10:24 PM

Gujarat doctors approach police for action against Ramdev

Prominent association representing doctors in Gujarat on Monday approached the Ahmedabad city police and sought registration of an FIR against yoga guru Ramdev for his alleged disparaging remarks against modern medicine and its practitioners.
 

Senior doctors and office-bearers of the Gujarat unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Ahmedabad Medical Association (AMA) submitted separate applications to the Navrangpura police, seeking action against Ramdev, who is in the eye of a storm over his remarks on allopathy and vaccines.
 

They urged the police to lodge an FIR against Ramdev under relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Disaster Management Act (invoked in view of the Covid-19 pandemic).
 

Police said they have accepted the "memorandums" from the doctors.
 

"We have accepted the memorandums given by the IMA and the AMA. However, the issue they have raised is beyond our jurisdiction," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-1, Ravindra Patel.
 

No FIR will be lodged in the city, he said.
 

10:22 PM

Battle against COVID: J'khand extends services of retiring govt doctors by up to 10 months

Facing shortage of medicos to fight against the deadly second wave of Covid-19 in the state, Jharkhand on Monday granted one time extension of services of retiring government doctors by up to 10 months, a state government official said.
 

Chief Minister Hemant Soren gave the nod to the proposal of the Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare in this regard.
 

Jharkhand is facing paucity of doctors and has only 1,597 doctors in the non-teaching cadre out of a sanctioned strength of 2,316 doctors.
 

While only 285 doctors are avaialble in the teaching category against a sanctioned strength of 591, a state government spokesperson said.
 

As per the decision, the chief minister has approved the proposal to extend the services of the state cadre health services doctors retiring between May 2021 and September 2021 to March 2022, the official said.
 

Of the total strength of the state health services doctors, 44 under the non-teaching category and 15 under teaching category are due to retire in the next one year.
 

Likewise services of those retiring between October 2021 and March 2021, have been extended by six months from the date of retirement, the spokesperson added.
 

10:22 PM

UK surge vaccinations fight variant from India

British health authorities are aiming to vaccinate 15,000 people in one day at London's Twickenham rugby stadium as part of a race to contain a fast-spreading coronavirus variant.
 

The strain, first identified in India, accounts for a majority of new cases in the UK, which is seeing a rise in infections after weeks of decline.
 

Scientists say the variant is more transmissible than even the previously dominant strain first found in the UK but current vaccines are effective against it.
 

Many scientists are urging the Conservative government to delay plans to lift social distancing and other restrictions on June 21, arguing that more people need to be vaccinated before measures can be eased safely. The government will announce its decision on June 14.
 

Three-quarters of U.K. adults have had one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and almost half have had both doses.
 

10:21 PM

Essential and most standalone shops can operate from 7 am to 2 pm in Nagpur

All essential as well as non-essential or standalone shops, including some exceptions, will now be allowed to remain open in Nagpur in Maharashtra between 7 am and2 pm from Monday to Friday under the 'Break the Chain' initiative of the state government.

 

An order stated by Nagpur civic chief Radhakrishnan B on Monday stated that the coronavirus positivity rate in the municipal corporation limits is less than l0 per cent and the occupancy of total oxygen beds available therein is less than 40 per cent, a criterion mentioned by the state government in its order issued on Sunday.
 

The new relaxations will apply from June 1 to June 15.
 

The order stated that all the essential shops that are currently allowed to operate between 7 am and 11 am are now allowed to operate between 7 am and 2 pm.
 

Similarly,all non-essential shops (stand-alone shops not located inside shopping centres/malls) shall be allowed to operate between 7 am and 2 pm from Monday to Friday.
 

The movement of people will remain restricted till 3 pm every day except for medical and other emergencies or for home deliveries allowed under the order datedMay 13, it said.
 

10:20 PM

Brazil to host Copa America after Argentina is stripped

Brazil will host Copa America for the second consecutive time after Colombia and Argentina were stripped of hosting rights for the tournament.
 

South American soccer body CONMEBOL announced the decision on Monday hours after it ruled out Argentina amid an increase in Covid-19 cases in the country. Colombia was removed as co-host on May 20 as street protests against President Iván Duque rocked the nation.
 

CONMEBOL said on Twitter that the tournament is confirmed to take place between June 13 and July 10. Brazil is the defending champion, winning the competition in 2019 as hosts.
 

“The host cities and the fixtures will be confirmed by CONMEBOL within hours. The oldest international tournament in the world will make the whole continent cheer!” the South American body said.
 

“CONMEBOL thanks President Jair Bolsonaro and his team, and also the Brazilian soccer confederation for opening the doors of this country for the safest sporting event in the world today. South America will shine in Brazil with all its stars," the soccer body said.
 

10:20 PM

Tamil Nadu temple priests, workers to get Rs 4,000 Covid-19 assistance

About 14,000 temple workers in Tamil Nadu including priests would be provided Covid-19 relief assistance of Rs 4,000 and a pack of essential commodities including ten kg rice, the government announced on Monday.
 

In about 36,000 temples under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the government, priests (Archakas and Bhattacharyas) and other workers do not get a regular monthly salary, the government said.
 

The workers and priests who depend on the visit of devotees and their contributions for their livelihood are facing a tough time in view of the lockdown due to the pandemic and it is the need of the hour to provide them relief, HR and CE Minister P K Sekar Babu said in a statement.
 

Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered Rs 4,000 one time relief assistance, 10 kg rice, and 15 grocery items to temple workers and priests after considering representation from them seeking financial assistance, he said.
 

In total, about 14,000 workers including priests would be benefitted and the assistance programme would be rolled out on June 3, the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, the Minister said.
 

10:05 PM

Economic impact of 2nd Covid wave not likely to be large: CEA

Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian on Monday said the overall impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on the country's economy is not likely to be large but cautioned about an uncertainty surrounding the pandemic going ahead.

 

He further said that given the circumstances due to the pandemic, it is difficult to forecast if the country would achieve a double digit growth in the current fiscal.

 

The Economic Survey 2020-21 released in January this year had projected GDP growth of 11 per cent during the current financial year ending March 2022.

 

Subramanian said it would be "difficult to predict exact growth number that the country may achieve as the path for pandemic still remains uncertain". Read more

Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian

10:01 PM

Consider plea to enhance limit to avail medical scheme, Madras HC tells govt

The Madras High Court has left it to the Tamil Nadu government to consider enhancing the threshold limit for receiving Covid-19 treatment under the Chief Minister's comprehensive health scheme.
 

"Since this is a matter of policy, it is left to the state to consider whether the upward revision of the minimum threshold limit would be appropriate," the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said on Monday.
 

The plea appears to be reasonable, the bench said and hoped that the threshold of Rs 72,000 per year would be substantially increased to allow a larger number of families to avail of the benefit under the scheme.
 

The bench was disposing of a PIL from one D I Nathan praying for a direction to the state government to devise a scheme to bring all private nursing homes, polyclinics and hospitals under their control, admit and provide free treatment effectively to the coronavirus affected people under the scheme.
 

10:01 PM

Kroos has medical tests at German team camp after Covid-19

Toni Kroos has arrived at Germany's preparation camp for the European Championship but the Real Madrid midfielder was to undergo medical tests Monday before he can start training with his teammates.
 

Kroos was only allowed to fly to the camp in Tyrol, Austria on Sunday after 14 days of quarantine and a negative test result for the coronavirus. Madrid said on May 17 that he tested positive while already in isolation after contact with another person who recorded a positive test.
 

The 31-year-old midfielder was to give blood samples and have an electrocardiogram among other tests on Monday to see what kind of training program he needs before he joins the rest of the team. He said last week on a podcast he hosts with his brother that he had a fever.
 

Kroos will miss Germany's warm-up friendly against Denmark on Wednesday.
 

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gündogan and Chelsea players Kai Havertz, Antonio Rüdiger and Timo Werner will also miss the game due to their involvement in the Champions League final on Saturday.
 

Bayern Munich players Leon Goretzka and Jamal Musiala are also out of Wednesday's game in Innsbruck. Goretzka, who is scheduled to join the squad on Tuesday, tore a muscle in a game for Bayern on May 8, while Musiala has been unable to train with the squad in Tyrol due to a muscular problem.
 

8:50 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Over 20 million vaccinated in 18-44 age group, says govt

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country exceeded 21.58 crore (21,58,18,547) as per the 7 pm provisional report today. Read full govt release here

8:42 PM

AirAsia India extends free cancellation, reschedule facility in lockdown-hit states

No-frills carrier AirAsia India has extended free cancellation and rescheduling facility for its flights to and from Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra following the extension of lockdown or strict restrictions by these states, a release said on Monday.

 

While the governments of Karnataka, Delhi and Tamil Nadu have extended the lockdown to June 7, West Bengal has extended it till June 15. Maharashtra, which was the first state in the country to impose lockdown-type restriction on April 22 amid the second wave, has also extended these curbs to June 15.

 

All AirAsia India guests who booked their flights before the announcement of the lockdown (in these states) can opt to cancel or change to another flight without incurring any change fees or cancellation charges, the airline said in a statement. (PTI)

8:30 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: CoWin doesn't collect infection history of a person, says govt

8:19 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai sees 676 new cases

8:17 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 15,077 new cases

Maharashtra reports 15,077 new coronavirus cases, 184 deaths, and 33,000 discharges in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:04 PM

SC concerned over reports on kids, rural India exposure in third Covid wave

Concerned over reports that kids and rural India may be exposed more in the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court Monday asked the Centre whether any study on these aspects has been conducted.

 

The top court also asked the Centre about its responsibility on the regulation of prices of vaccines and said it has seen prices of Remdesivir and some other medicines hitting the roof.

 

Has any study been carried out by any government for the rural areas. We have been told that children will be exposed in the third wave and that rural areas will be affected. We want to know the vaccination policy for that too, said a special bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat. (PTI)

7:52 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Telangana records 2,524 new cases

Telangana records 2524 new coronavirus cases, 3464 recoveries, and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours; case tally at 578,351, according to the state health department

7:49 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka records 16,604 new cases

Karnataka records 16,604 new coronavirus cases, 44,473 discharges, and 411 deaths in the last 24 hours; active cases at 3,13,730, according to the state health department

7:22 PM

Bangladesh's Covid caseload tops 800,000

As Bangladesh reported 1,710 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the country's cumulative count of infections has surpassed 800,000 mark on Monday.

 

As many as 36 more people died in the last 24 hours, taking the number of total deaths to 12,619, according to the country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Meanwhile, the number of all coronavirus cases jumped to 800,540.

 

Dhaka Tribune reported that it took 47 days for Bangladesh to cross the latest mark from 700,000 cases registered on April 14. (ANI)

7:21 PM

Indonesia reports 5,662 new Covid cases, 174 deaths

The Covid cases in Indonesia rose by 5,662 in the past 24 hours to 1,821,703, with the death toll adding by 174 to 50,578, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

 

According to the ministry, 5,121 more recovered patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries from the pandemic to 1,669,119.

 

The coronavirus has spread to all the country's 34 provinces. (ANI)

7:20 PM

Bharat Biotech to ramp up production of Covaxin to 100-120 mn doses by July

With ramping up of production capacities, nearly 25 crore 'Made in India' vaccines are expected to be available by August, a senior official has said and noted that it will go a long way in meeting the target of vaccinating one crore people daily against Covid-19.

 

There has been shortage of vaccines after it was decided to open up vaccination to all those above 18 years.

 

"Yesterday, SII in a letter mentioned that they will be manufacturing 10-12 crore of vaccine doses, which is almost 50 per cent ramping up (of their capacity) by June-end. Similarly, Covaxin is also going to increase its production and by July-end they will also produce between 10-12 crore doses (per month)," said Dr N K Arora, Chairman of Covid-19 working group under National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). (PTI)

7:18 PM

99 new Covid cases push Mizoram s tally to 12,087

Mizoram on Monday reported 99 new Covid-19, pushing the state's tally to 12,087, officials said.

 

The Covid-19 death toll rose to 40 as two more persons succumbed to the infection, they said.

 

A 64-year-old woman from Aizawl died of Covid-19 at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) on Monday, state information and public relations department said in its official Twitter handle. (PTI)

7:17 PM

Kerala CM writes to 11 CMs of non-BJP states to press Centre on procuring Covid-19 vaccines

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday wrote to 11 CMs of non-BJP ruled states seeking a united effort to press the Centre to procure Covid-19 vaccines and ensure free universal vaccination.

 

"Wrote to 11 CMs in the spirit of Cooperative Federalism. Quite unfortunate that Centre absolves itself of its duty to procure vaccines, ensure free universal vaccination.United effort to jointly pursue our genuine demand is the need of the hour, so that Centre acts immediately," Vijayan tweeted.

 

In his letter, the Chief Minister said statements to the effect that the responsibility to provide vaccine entirely falls within the realm of the states defy the very basis of the co-operative federal system. (PTI)

6:31 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Centre reviews progress of vaccination with states and UTs

As part of its commitment to pro-actively guide, review and monitor the Covid-19 vaccination drive in collaboration with States/UTs, Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) today held a review meeting through video conferencing with administrators from States and UTs on the progress of vaccination in States. This comes in the backdrop of more flexibilities given to States to enhance the pace of vaccination,and increased vaccine supplies for June 2021 shared with the States and UTs through the advance vaccine visibility calendar. This meeting was chaired by Union Health Secretary Shri Rajesh Bhushan. Read full govt release here

6:08 PM

Sikkim logs 146 new Covid cases, 3 more deaths

Sikkim's Covid-19 tally rose to 15,317 as 146 more people tested positive for the virus while three new fatalities pushed the death toll to 253, a health department bulletin said on Monday.

 

West Sikkim district registered 68 new cases followed by South Sikkim (50), East Sikkim (22) and North Sikkim district (6), it said.

 

The Himalayan state now has 4,021 active Covid-19 cases, while 10,829 patients have recovered from the disease. At least 214 Covid-19 patients have migrated to other states, it said. (PTI)

5:51 PM

Recalling CS will affect Covid fight, cyclone relief in Bengal: TMC

The Trinamool Congress on Monday said that the Centre's order to recall West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay will affect the fight against the raging Covid-19 pandemic and relief work after the devastation wreaked by cyclone Yaas in the state.

 

Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, eloquently and comprehensively pointed out the grounds on which the chief secretary should be allowed to continue his work in the state.

 

"At a time when West Bengal is faced with pincer attacks of cyclone devastation and Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre should not recall the official who is at the helm of the contingency measures. Neither was the state's views sought nor was it informed before the Centre recalled CS," Roy told PTI. (PTI)

5:42 PM

India's GDP grows 1.6% in fourth quarter, contracts 7.3% in FY21

Amid coronavirus pandemic, India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 1.6 per cent in the January-March quarter of fiscal year 2020-21, but witnessed a contraction of 7.3 per cent for the entire fiscal year, showed government data on Monday.

 

This is the second straight quarter of expansion since India exited a rare recession.

 

India’s GDP figures showed the growth at 3 per cent in Q4 of FY20, while growth for FY20 came at 4 per cent, an 11-year low. Read here

5:19 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Dehli's daily cases lowest since March 16

5:18 PM

'Zero vaccine policy acting like dagger in Mother India's heart', alleges Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the central government has a "zero vaccine policy" which is acting as a "dagger in Mother India's heart".

 

He also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over media reports which claimed that post-Covid the unemployment rate was in double digits in May this year.

 

"The zero vaccine policy of the Modi government is acting like a dagger in Mother India's heart. Sad truth," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

 

"One man and his arrogance + One virus and its mutants," he said in another tweet, citing a report that claimed that "97 percent of Indians are poorer post-Covid". (PTI)

5:02 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Chandigarh extends Covid norms till June 30