Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra government extends restrictions till April 15

Coronavirus live updates: Mumbai surpassed it's record with 5,513 new infections and Pune reported 7,090 cases in the last 24 hours. Stay tuned for corona-related news

8:49 PM

Maharashtra increases no-mask fine to Rs 500

In an attempt to contain the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtra government has increased the fine to Rs 500 from the existing Rs 200 on anyone found without a mask in public, according to ANI.

The state government has issued a notification ordering the fresh guidelines implemented from March 27.

"Any person found to be without masks shall be fined an amount of Rs 500. Any person found to be spitting in public places will be fined an amount of Rs 1000", informed Maharashtra Government.

8:12 PM

Maharashtra's Nagpur reports 3,688 new Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra's Nagpur district reported 3,688 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 2,14,850 in the district, as per Civil Surgeon on Saturday, according to ANI. 

 

The district reported 3,227 people recoveries from the disease in the said period. With this, the total number of recoveries in the district goes to 1,72,634 so far. However, the active number of COVID-19 cases stands at 37,343.

7:40 PM

Covid strikes at the heart of top institutes; IIM-A has 40 active cases

The new wave of coronavirus in Gujarat has hit two of the country's premier educational institutions with IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Gandhinagar reporting active cases in double digits, according to PTI.

 

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad currently has 40 active cases of coronavirus, while IIT-G has 25 active cases, official sources said.

7:12 PM

Two-day lockdown imposed in Indore on Holi due to rising Covid-19 cases

In view of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, the state government has imposed a two-day lockdown in the city on Holi, according to ANI.

 

The district administration of Indore has ordered a lockdown on March 28 and March 29 (Holi) after discussing the concerns with the Crisis Management department over rising Covid-19 cases in the city on Thursday night.

6:31 PM

Maharashtra government extends Covid-19 curbs till April 15

The Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office announced the move on Twitter. 

6:28 PM

Covid safety protocols maintained in polling stations; Assam voters happy

The fear of COVID looms large and Assam's voters stepped out of their homes with caution to exercise their franchise and they seemed satisfied with the facilities to check the spread of the virus in polling stations in the first of the three-phased election in 47 of the 126 assembly constituencies, according to PTI.

 

Besides, voters were happy with arrangements to take care of children while their mothers voted, and ferry people with disabilities to polling stations.

 

For 65-year old Amiya Gogoi of the Duliajan assembly constituency, not casting her vote due to the pandemic was not an option as she has sincerely voted in every election since she came to her marital home as a bride 45-years ago.

5:53 PM

Opposition's allegations over statistics of Covid-19 deaths are false, baseless: Karnataka Minister

Karnataka Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar on Saturday said the allegations made by the leader of opposition Siddaramaiah regarding statistics about COVID-19 deaths is completely false and baseless, according to ANI.

 

"The allegations made by Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Twitter regarding statistics about COVID-19 deaths are completely false and baseless," said Sudhakar.

 

"The state government has no intention to hide any statistics nor is it necessary. It is also not possible to hide or fudge any data," he added.

5:25 PM

Exams will be conducted as per schedule with tight Covid containment measures: AP Education Minister

Andhra Pradesh Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh affirmed that the written examinations and practical exams will be conducted as per schedule amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, according to ANI.

Andhra Pradesh Education Minister held a video conference with Education department officials earlier today about the Covid situation in the state. Later he addressed the media.

4:37 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 947 new COVID cases

3:26 PM

Delhi Health Minister denies possibility of lockdown

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday denied the possibility of lockdown in the city despite the surge in the Covid-19 cases as he said that lockdown is not a solution and we'll have to learn to live with it, according to IANS.

 

He said, "There is no possibility of lockdown. There has already been a lockdown and there was a logic behind it. At that time, no one knew how the virus spreads. It was then said that there is a 14-day cycle from being infected to ending the infection. Then the expert said that if all the activities are locked for 21 days, the virus will stop spreading. Even then the lockdown kept extending but despite this, the coronavirus spread did not stop. I think lockdown is not a solution."

2:40 PM

Covovax trials begin in India, hope to launch it by Sept 2021: Adar Poonawalla

Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Saturday said clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccineCovovax have begun in India and the company hopes to launch it by September this year, according to PTI.

 

In August 2020, American vaccine company Novavax, Inc had announced a licence agreement with SII for the development and commercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in low and middle-income countries and India.

2:39 PM

Russia reports 8,885 Covid-19 cases, 387 deaths in past 24 hours

Russia has registered 8,885 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down from 9,167 the day before, taking the tally to 4,510,744, the coronavirus response center said on Saturday, according to ANI.

2:00 PM

Govt to widen Covid-19 vaccination drive soon: Harsh Vardhan

Amid surge in coronavirus cases, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan said that the Central government is planning to widen the umbrella of vaccine beneficiaries soon to cover other sections of the population, according to IANS.

 

While addressing 'Reshape Tomorrow Summit' organised by The Economic Times on Friday, he also spoke about the vaccination drive currently underway, India's investment in the "Test, Track and Treat" strategy and Make in India vaccine.

1:37 PM

Two deaths, 495 new Covid-19 cases in Telangana

Telangana recorded 495 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the gross to 3.05 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,685 with two more fatalities.

 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 142, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy districts with 45 and 35 cases respectively, a state government bulletin said on Saturday providing details as of 8 PM on March 26.

 

The bulletin said 247 patients recovered from the infection on March 26.

1:00 PM

Karnataka govt inefficiency, corruption, lies reason behind surge in Covid-19 cases: Siddaramaiah

Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged the state government's inefficiency, corruption and lies are the reasons for the rise in Covid-19 cases in the state.

 

"@BJP4Karnataka's inefficiency, corruption and lies are the reasons for the rise in #Covid19 cases in Karnataka. People of Karnataka are facing the crisis due to mistakes of the shameless @BJP4Karnataka government," he tweeted.

 

He further said that the Karnataka government has also lied about Covid-19 related deaths.

12:58 PM

128 new Covid-19 cases in Pondy, caseload rises to 40,964

Puducherry clocked 128 fresh cases of coronavirus on Saturday, pushing up total infection count to 40,964.

 

The toll in the union territory climbed to 680 as one more fatality was reported during the last twenty four hours.

 

The deceased, a male aged 72 years, had co morbidities and died of COVID pneumonia and acute respiratory disorder syndrome.

 

Director of Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, S Mohan Kumar said there were 846 active cases including 579 in home quarantine and as many as 39,438 patients recovered and were discharged so far.

12:39 PM

Coronavirus fallout: Spain's GDP drop in 2020 worst in 50 yrs

Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 10.8 per cent in 2020, the worst since 1970, amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, according to official data,

 

The data issued by the Spanish Statistical Office (INE) on Friday revealed the decline was the result of an important reduction in internal demand (consumer spending and investments) which was responsible for an 8.8 per cent drop in GDP with the remaining 2 per cent due to a fall in external demand, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

It is the first annual fall in Spain's GDP since a 1.4 per cent drop in 2013 and the worst annual contraction experienced by the country's economy since records began to be kept in the current format in 1970.

12:35 PM

Tokyo Olympics: IOC to cull accredited personnel due to Covid-19

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to grant accreditation only to those people who have essential and operational roles at this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. This step will significantly reduce the number of accredited people at the Games which will begin on July 23.

 

The decision was made on Friday by IOC's executive board which has either cancelled or reduced the IOC guest programme, invitations to former Olympic athletes and a number of other programmes.

 

It will also not grant accreditation to any accompanying guests in any category, Xinhua reported.

 

The IOC said the Japanese government required a very significant reduction in the number of accredited participants who do not have essential and operational responsibilities for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

12:01 PM

Mall hospital fire: Cooling operations continue 36 hours on

Cooling operations are still underway nearly 36 hours after a major fire erupted at a mall in Bhandup area here, which claimed the lives of nine patients in a hospital located there, fire brigade officials said on Saturday.

 

The fire had broken out at the Dreams Mall building in Bhandup area around shortly after Thursday midnight. It had erupted in a shop and spread to the Sunrise Hospital, located on the top floor of the four-storeyed mall building.

 

Nine patients undergoing treatment at the hospital, a Covid-19 designated facility, died due to suffocation as a result of the fire, while two other patients at the hospital had already died due to coronavirus before the fire broke out, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had said.

11:56 AM

Spike in fresh Covid-19 cases, India records 62,258 new infections

India saw 62,258 new coronavirus infections in a day, the highest single day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,19,08,910, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.

 

Registering a steady increase for the 17th day in row, the active cases have increased to 4,52,647 comprising 3.80per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.85 per cent, the data stated.

 

The 62,258new cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, the highest since October 16, 2020, while the death toll increased to 1,61,240 with 291 daily new fatalities, the highest in around three months, the data updated at 8 am showed. Read on...

11:29 AM

Covid-19 pandemic and risk-aversion halt SME juggernaut in FY21

The pandemic and the resultant risk aversion among investors for lesser-known names seem to have put the brakes on initial public offerings (IPO) of small and medium enterprises (SME) this financial year.

 

This financial year (FY21) has seen 25 SME IPOs hitting the market and garnering Rs 213 crore, the lowest in the last eight years.

 

The only other year when collection was lower was FY13. FY18 and FY19 were the best years for SME IPOs with collections of Rs 2,213 crore and Rs 1,620 crore, respectively. Read on...

11:20 AM

Woman in UP's Mathura tests positive for South African strain of coronavirus

A 50-year-old woman in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura has been found infected with a South African strain of coronavirus.

 

According to an official statement on Friday, the woman, identified as Heera Devi belongs to Barsana town of the district and she had tested positive for Covid-19 on March 3 at the Deen Dayal Veterinary University. The sample was found infected with the South African strain.

 

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has ordered to conduct the tests in the entire village to which the woman belongs.

11:13 AM

Iraq reports highest 6,490 daily Covid-19 cases, 822,095 in total

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Friday 6,490 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of nationwide infections to 822,095.

 

The ministry also said that 29 new deaths were recorded, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,157, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,495 to 736,747.

 

A total of 7,835,444 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 41,790 done during the day, according to the statement.

11:10 AM

UK records another 6,187 coronavirus cases, 70 deaths

Another 6,187 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,325,315, according to official figures released Friday.

11:08 AM

The second wave: Many under-40s on long list of Covid-19 patients in Nagpur

The second wave of Covid-19 cases in Nagpur has brought familiar challenges in its wake: Hospitals are stretched and businesses have been hit. But Dr Rajan Barokar sees another worrying trend each time he scans the daily admission list at Kingsway Hospitals, the largest private tertiary care hospital in Nagpur.

 

“Around 25 per cent of the 160 Covid-19 patients in our hospital are under 40. Some of them are in the intensive care unit, including a 17-year-old patient. This is worrisome. Last year, the proportion of hospitalised patients under 40 years was very low and none of them was in the ICU,” says Barokar, who heads the hospital's critical care department. Read on...

10:46 AM

Sachin Tendulkar tests positive for Covid-19

Sachin Tendulkar tests positive for Covid-19, quarantines himself at home

10:24 AM

India's Covid tally up by 62,258 in highest single-day jump since Oct 16

India's Covid tally up by 62,258 in highest single-day jump since Oct 16

 

10:23 AM

Coronavirus in India: At 31,581, India's daily net jump in active Covid cases highest to date

Coronavirus in India: At 31,581, India's daily net jump in active Covid cases highest to date

10:19 AM

Coronavirus update: India reports 62,258 new Covid-19 cases

India reports 62,258 new Covid-19 cases, 30,386 recoveries, and 291 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry.

 

Total cases: 1,19,08,910

Total recoveries: 1,12,95,023

Active cases: 4,52,647

Death toll: 1,61,240 

 

Total vaccination: 5,81,09,773

 

10:07 AM

Insurers see adverse claim ratio on Covid-specific health products

Covid-specific health products, introduced last year by many insurers and subsequently by the insurance regulator via two standard policies, have been a hit among consumers but insurers are having a hard time dealing with claims.

 

As of March 15, 13.3 million lives have been covered under specific products for a sum assured of Rs 13.29 trillion, shows the data compiled by the insurance regulator that is not publicly available.

 

The regulator’s two Covid standard products — Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak — have covered more than 4.7 million lives. Read on...