Coronavirus LIVE: 4,092 new cases in Maharashtra; 40 die, 1,355 recuperate

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Globally, more than 109 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,404,041

2:02 AM

Israeli study finds 94% drop in symptomatic Covid-19 cases with Pfizer vaccine

Israel's largest healthcare provider on Sunday reported a 94% drop in symptomatic Covid-19 infections among 600,000 people who received two doses of the Pfizer's vaccine in the country's biggest study to date.

 

Health maintenance organization (HMO) Clalit, which covers more than half of all Israelis, said the same group was also 92% less likely to develop severe illness from the virus.

 

The comparison was against a group of the same size, with matching medical histories, who had not received the vaccine.

 

"It shows unequivocally that Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is extremely effective in the real world a week after the second dose, just as it was found to be in the clinical study," said Ran Balicer, Clalit's chief innovation officer.

 

He added that the data indicates the Pfizer vaccine, which was developed in partnership with Germany's BioNTech, is even more effective two weeks or more after the second shot.

1:05 AM

Assam reports 5 new Covid-19 cases

Assam on Sunday reported five new Covid-19 cases, as per an official bulletin.
 

The state has so far reported 2,17,293 cases, and 1,087 persons have died, it said.
 

The overall positivity rate is 3.26 per cent against total testing of 66,71,847 samples so far.
 

During the day, the state reported more recoveries than the number of new infections as 15 persons were discharged, as per the bulletin.
 

There are 274 active cases in the state at present.
 

The National Health Mission said 1,347 more Covid-19 patients have died till now, but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the coronavirus as they had other ailments too.
 

In Assam, 2,14,585 Covid-19 patients have so far recovered.
 

NHM said that a total of 1,19,606 persons have so far received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine across the state, while 2,215 persons got the second dose.
 

1:02 AM

Israel, Cyprus reach tourism deal for vaccinated travelers

Israel and Cyprus announced a tourism agreement Sunday to allow citizens who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel between the countries without the need to quarantine.
 

The agreement between the two Mediterranean countries is a step toward restoring their tourism industries, which have been hit hard by the nearly year-long pandemic. Both countries have large tourism sectors.
 

Last week, Israel reached a similar deal with Greece.
 

“This opens up the possibility of restarting tourism in the near future,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “Cypriot tourists in Israel and Israeli tourists in Cyprus.” Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said he expected the deal to go into effect on April 1.
 

Anastasiades also said he was “very interested” in getting more details about a possible COVID-19 treatment being developed by Israel's Ichilov hospital and said that Cyprus would participate in upcoming clinical trials.
 

8:07 PM

Kerala's Covid-19 caseload crosses 10,00,000 mark with 4,612 cases

Kerala's Covid-19 caseload crossed the 10 lakh mark on Sunday, with the addition of 4,612 new cases, while 15 fatalities took the toll to 3,985, the state government said.

As many as 4,692 people have recovered in the last 24 hours ending 2 pm on Sunday and 63,484 were under treatment for the infection,

The cumulative caseload rose to 10,04,135, while total recoveries touched 9,36,398, Health minister K K Shailaja said in a press release.

A total of 61,483 samples were tested during this period and the test positivity rate was 7.46 per cent

7:50 PM

4,092 new Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra; 40 die, 1,355 recuperate

Maharashtra recorded 4,092 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, which took the state's infection tally to 20,64,278, while 40 deaths pushed the toll to 51,529, the health department said.

A total of 1,355 patients were discharged during the day. With this, the recovery count in the state grew to 19,75,603, it said.

There are 35,965 active cases in the state at present.

Currently, 1,74,243 patients are in home quarantine and 1,747 others in institutional quarantine, the department said in a statement.

7:08 PM

Bangladesh Covid-19 cases rise to 540,592, death toll reaches 8,274

Bangladesh reported 326 new COVID-19 cases and eight new deaths on Sunday, making the tally at 540,592 and death toll at 8,274, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The official data showed that 12,900 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

6:53 PM

Only 4 severe cases among 500,000 given Pfizer vaccine in Israel: Report

Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine was 93 per cent effective at protecting against the virus, a leading Israeli health care provider that has vaccinated half a million people with both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, said.

According to the health care provider, only 544 people -- or 0.1 per cent -- have been subsequently diagnosed with the Covid-19, there have been four severe cases and no one has died. Full protection against Covid-19 for people who have been vaccinated is believed to kick in a week after the second shot, so the Maccabi data covers all those of its members who are at seven or more days after receiving that second dose, reports The Times of Israel.

Maccabi's statistics are being closely monitored around the world, for giving the first major insight into how the vaccine performs outside of clinical trials. And they are being widely hailed for indicating that real-world effectiveness is close to 95 per cent efficacy cited after Pfizer's clinical trials, the report said.

6:06 PM

Serbia donates Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines to North Macedonia

Serbia on Sunday donated a first batch of 8,000 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines to North Macedonia, which is yet to deliver its first jabs.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev attended a border checkpoint handover ceremony of the shipment, praising friendship between the two neighboring Balkan states.

Serbia, a country of 7 million, has so far vaccinated some 600,000 people, mainly with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine and Russian Sputnik V, and to a lesser extent with the Pfizer jab.

6:04 PM

Congress will not let CAA be implemented if voted to power in Assam: Rahul

At his first public rally in Assam ahead of the assembly elections due in the next few months, Gandhi along with all the senior leaders on the dais wore a 'Gamocha' (Assamese scarf) on which symbolically the word CAA was crossed out, making it clear that Congress' opposition to the controversial law will be a major poll plank.

Gandhi hailed the contribution of former Assam Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Tarun Gogoi, who passed away recently, calling him Assam's soldier who united the state and spent his entire life protecting it.

In an apparent reference to former principal secretary to the Prime Minister Nripendra Misra being awarded the Padma Bhushan, the Congress leader, without naming anyone, said that in the same award list which had Tarun Gogoi, there was also the "name of a bureaucrat from PMO and I felt sad that the government of India had insulted Tarun Gogoi and this state".

5:34 PM

Centre and state govt working together on several development projects in Kerala, says CM Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said that the Centre and state government are working together on several development projects in the state. He made these statements as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated various development projects in Kochi.

Speaking at the occasion, Vijayan said, "This is a happy occasion for us Keralites. A handful of projects are coming to life in our state today. While some are being dedicated to the nation, the foundation stone is being laid for others. Both state and central government are working together in all these projects."

5:32 PM

Covid-19: Delhi reports 150 new cases, 2 deaths; positivity rate 0.26 pc

Delhi recorded 150 fresh Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Sunday, even as the positivity rate stood at 0.26 per cent, authorities said here.

No death related to the disease was recorded in the national capital on Saturday, the second time in February when the single-day fatality count was nil.

Before this, the city's daily Covid-19 death count was zero on February 9, after a gap of nearly nine months.

Delhi had recorded 96 coronavirus cases on January 27, the lowest in over nine months. It was also the first time the daily infection count stood below the 100-mark in that month.

5:21 PM

'Expressing our Amistad', says Jaishankar as 'Made in India' Covid-19 vaccines reach Mexico

Mexico has received a consignment of 'Made-in-India' coronavirus vaccine, announced External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday.

"Expressing our Amistad. Mexico receives Made in India vaccines," tweeted Jaishankar.

Yesterday, Indian Ambassador Manpreet Vohra said that 870,000 Made-in-India vaccines will reach here on Sunday morning. The doses were requested by Mexico.
 

5:04 PM

Puducherry launches a campaign to become Covid-free by February 28

A campaign has been launched to ensure there were no Covid-19 cases by this month end in the union territory, where the daily count has fallen to single digits, a Health department official said on Sunday.

 

Under the "Zero Covid by Feb28" campaign, all those who had come into contact with people infected with coronavirus would be identified and provided treatment, so that the further spread of the pathogen could be prevented, Health and Family Welfare Director S Mohan Kumar said. Read on...

4:47 PM

Proper fit of face masks is more important than material, says study

In order to provide the best protection against COVID-19, the fit of a face mask is more important in some cases than the material it is made of, according to a study which suggests new ways for manufacturers to test the effectiveness of masks.

While studies over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown the importance of wearing face masks in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, the researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK said there is a lack of understanding about the role that good fit plays in ensuring their effectiveness.

The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, conducted a series of different fit tests and found that when a high-performance facemasks -- such as an N95 mask -- is not properly fitted, it performs no better than a cloth mask.

According to the researchers, minor differences in facial features, such as the amount of fat under the skin, make significant differences in how well a mask fits.

3:50 PM

Telangana adds 146 new coronavirus cases; active cases remain low

Recoveries continued to eclipse new COVID-19 cases in Telangana as the tally of positive cases rose marginally to over 2.96 lakh while two deaths took the toll to 1,616, the state government said on Sunday.

 

As many as 177 people were cured of the disease against 146 fresh cases as of 8 pm on Saturday.

 

The maximum of 29 fresh cases were reported from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, followed by Rangareddy district with 11, a government bulletin said.

3:10 PM

India's national recovery rate among highest in the world: Health ministry

India has been recording a steady decline in the number of daily new deaths since October 1, 2020, while the national recoveryrateis amongst the highest in the world, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.

"Since 1st October 2020, the nation has seen an unabated decline in Case Fatality Rate. The Case Fatality Rate today stands below 1.5 (1.43%). India's Case Fatality Rate is one of the lowest in the world," it said.

The recoveries have surged to 1,06,11,731 with11,016 patients getting discharged in a span of 24 hours.

"India's Covid-19 recovery rate of 97.31 per centis amongst the highest in the world. The difference between the recovered and active cases has grown to 1,04,74,164 as on date," the ministry highlighted.

3:08 PM

Japan formally approves its first Covid-19 vaccine

Japan on Sunday formally approved its first Covid-19 vaccine and said it would start nationwide inoculations within days, but months behind the US and many other countries.

Japan's health ministry said it had approved the vaccine developed and supplied by Pfizer Inc.

2:29 PM

Russia registers 14,185 new Covid-19 cases

Russia registered 14,185 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 14,861 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,071,883, the coronavirus response center said on Sunday.

"Over the past day, 14,185 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 85 regions, including 1,587 cases (11.2 percent) that were detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the center said, adding that the cumulative case count has now reached 4,071,883, with the rate of increase at 0.35 percent.

2:12 PM

Odisha records 73 fresh coronavirus cases, tally mounts to 336,174

Odisha's Covid-19 caseload on Sunday surged to 3,36,174 after 73 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said.

The 73 new cases were detected in 19 of the 30 districts of Odisha, with 44 reported from different quarantine centres while the remaining 29 are local contact cases.

Bargarh district recorded the highest 14 new positive cases followed by Angul (8) and Sambalpur (6). As many as 11 other districts did not register any new cases since Saturday, the official said.

1:22 PM

Ethiopia reports 756 new Covid-19 cases

Ethiopia registered 756 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 145,704, the country's Ministry of Health said Saturday. The death toll from COVID-19 in the country reached 2,181 on Saturday evening after four new deaths were reported, the ministry said. Meanwhile, 155 more recoveries were logged, taking the national count to 128,019, it added.

 

Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, has so far reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the East Africa region. According to the latest figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the country's COVID-19 cases accounted for around 4 percent of Africa's total. The Ethiopian government has been urging the public to implement COVID-19 precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus.

12:26 PM

Humidity from masks may help lessen severity of coronavirus infection, say scientists

Not only do facemasks help protect people from getting or spreading the novel coronavirus, the humidity created inside masks also hydrate the respiratory tract and benefit the immune system, says a new study.

 

According to the research, published in the Biophysical Journal, the higher level of humidity in inhaled air could explain why wearing masks is linked to lower disease severity in people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus since hydration of the respiratory tract is known to benefit the immune system.

 

"We found that face masks strongly increase the humidity in inhaled air and propose that the resulting hydration of the respiratory tract could be responsible for the documented finding that links lower COVID-19 disease severity to wearing a mask," said the study's lead author, Adriaan Bax from the US NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

11:44 AM

Active Covid-19 cases in India stand at 137,567: Health Ministry

Active Covid-19 cases in country stand at 137,567, while 106,11,731 people have recovered from the disease: Union Health Ministry

11:35 AM

Common cold can't be termed as sign of coronavirus: AIIMS

A while ago, a group of general physicians in the UK claimed that common cold symptoms should not be taken for granted, instead treated as a sign of coronavirus. But there is a divergent view, the President of AIIMS, Bhopal and Jammu, Y.K. Gupta told IANS that cough, fever and common cold cannot be 100 per cent termed as signs of coronavirus.

 

Reportedly, 140 east London general practitioners (GPs) and health care professionals had written and signed an open letter to chief medical officer Chris Whitty and Susan Hopkins of Public Health England, claiming that patients usually experience typical symptoms of common cold like sore throat, a runny nose and headaches before testing positive for coronavirus.

Gupta, who was former Dean (Academics), and ex-Head, Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS New Delhi, said: "Common cold cannot be 100 per cent sign of coronavirus. Most common cold viral infections are on decline, but that does not mean that people should drop their guard. It is essential to wear mask and maintain social distancing."

11:10 AM

Almost 8 million vaccines administered so far in India: Health Ministry

10:56 AM

We could learn to live with Covid-19 like flu: UK Health Secy

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that he believes new treatments and vaccines will turn the novel coronavirus into a disease which "we can live with like we do flu".

 

Hancock, speaking to the Daily Telegraph newspaper on Saturday, said that new drugs should arrive in 2021 that will make coronavirus much more treatable, reports Xinhua news agency. He said vaccines would reduce the number of people admitted to hospital, bring down the number of deaths and cut transmission of the virus.

 

"I hope that COVID-19 will become a treatable disease by the end of the year," he said. "If Covid-19 ends up being like flu, so we live our normal lives and we mitigate through vaccines and treatments, then we can get on with everything again," he said.

10:29 AM

Covid-19 LIVE update: India records 12,194 new positive cases

India's tally of COVID-19 cases surpassed1.09 crore with12,194new infections, while the daily deaths were recorded below100 for the eighth time thismonth, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The total coronavirus cases rose to1,09,04,940. Thedeath toll increased to1,55,642 with 92 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

 

Thenumber of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,06,11,731 which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.31 per cent,while theCOVID-19 casefatality rate stands at 1.43per cent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 1.5 lakh.

10:08 AM

Andamans reports two new Covid-19 cases, tally rises to 5,009

Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported two new COVID-19 cases, pushing the coronavirus caseload in the union territory to 5,009, an official said on Sunday. The two new cases were detected in South Andaman district during contact tracing on Saturday, the official said. The union territory now has nine active COVID-19 cases and all the patients are in South Andaman district, he said.

 

Four more patients were cured of the disease on Saturday, taking the total number of COVID-19 recoveries in the archipelago to 4,938 while 62 people have succumbed to the infection so far, the official said. The administration has so far tested 2,45,745 samples for COVID-19 and the test positivity rate is 2.04 per cent, he added.

9:43 AM

India reports 12,194 new Covid-19 cases and 92 deaths in Past 24 hours: Health Ministry

9:10 AM

Brazil registers fifth consecutive day of over 1,000 Covid-19 deaths

Brazil registered 1,043 additional deaths due to the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, marking the fifth consecutive day that the single-day fatalities have remained above the 1,000 mark, the Ministry of Health said. The new fatalities have increased the overall death toll to 238,532, the second highest in the world after the US, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The Ministry also reported 44,299 new cases of Covid-19 also in the same period, bringing the national tally to 9,809,754, the third highest after the US and India. The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, is the hardest hit by the pandemic, with 56,191 deaths and 1,911,411 cases, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 554,040 cases and 31,383 deaths.

8:48 AM

Andhra Pradesh's active Covid-19 cases drop below 800

Andhra Pradesh's active Covid-19 cases on Saturday came down to 797 from 853 the previous day. In the past 24 hours, the state logged 54 new Covid cases, pushing the tally to over 8.88 lakh, even as 71 more persons have recovered from the disease.

 

Visakhapatnam district accounted for the highest number of cases at 9, followed by Krishna (8), Chittoor and East Godavari (7 each), Kadapa (6) and Guntur and Srikakulam (5 each). Among other places, West Godavari (2). Anantapur, Kurnool, Prakasam and Vizianagaram districts recorded no cases. First time, as many as four districts not reporting even a single infection.