Coronavirus LIVE: At 40,414 cases, Maharashtra sees highest one-day spike

Coronavirus LIVE updates: The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu

10:27 PM

Maharashtra sees highest one-day spike of 40,414 Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 40,414 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the highest rise so far in a single day, taking its tally beyond 27 lakh to 27,13,875, the state health department said.

 

The state had reached the 26 lakh-mark of cases only on March 25.

 

 

With 108 fresh fatalities due to Covid-19 infection, the overall toll in Maharashtra reached 54,181, it said.

 

Mumbai also reported the highest number of new cases in a day on Sunday, by adding 6,933 infections, taking its overall tally to 3,98,724.

 

With eight more deaths, Mumbai's fatality count rose to 11,653, the department said.

 

In Maharashtra, 17,874 patients were discharged during the day, taking the total count of recoveries to 23,32,453.

 

The state is now left with 3,25,901 active cases, the department added.

8:53 PM

Maharashtra govt imposes curfew in Mumbai from 8pm to 7 am amid surge in Covid cases

8:38 PM

Uttar Pradesh reports 1,446 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths

8:37 PM

Punjab reports 2,963 fresh Covid-19 cases, 69 deaths in 24 hours

8:19 PM

Mumbai reports 6923 new Covid-19 cases, 8 deaths in 24 hours

8:12 PM

1,081 new coronavirus cases in Rajasthan

Rajasthan reported 1,081 Covid-19 cases on Sunday which took the tally to 3,30,676 while two more fatalities pushed the death toll in the state to 2,813, according to an official report, PTI reported. The new cases included 209 in Jaipur, 172 in Jodhpur, 98 in Kota, 89 in Udaipur and 65 in Ajmer, it said.

The fresh deaths were reported in Rajsamand district, according to the report. It said that a total of 3,20,704 people have recovered from the disease and the number of active cases in the state is 7,159.

8:10 PM

Delhi reports 1,881 new Covid-19 cases, 9 deaths in 24 hours

7:40 PM

Kerala sees rise in Covid-19 cases with 2216 infections

Kerala recorded 2,216 fresh coronavirus cases, including 23 health workers on Sunday, pushing the total infection count to 11.17 lakh, according to PTI. As many as 1,853 people have been cured of the infections, taking the total recoveries to 10,88,522 as the active cases touched 24,582, Health Minister K K Shailaja said in a press release.

The virus caseload has mounted to 11,17,993. In the last 24 hours ending 2 pm, 47,229 samples were sent for testing and the test positivity rate shot up to 4.69 per cent.

7:10 PM

Gujarat: IIM-A infection count rises to 45 over last two weeks

Five more people have tested positive for coronavirus at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), taking the number of the infected students, faculty and staff to 45 over the last two weeks, the institute said on Sunday, according to PTI. Out of these 45 people who have tested positive for coronavirus since March 12, 44 are currently in quarantine, it said.

These 44 people include 31 students, a faculty member, and 12 staff members and others, as per the Covid-19 dashboard of the IIM-A. With the five additions, the total number of the infected people at the IIM-A reached 172 since September 8, 2020, it said. The Covid-19 cases started surging at the IIM-A from the second week of March after a student tested positive on its campus after a gap of nearly a month.

Within ten days, ten more people tested positive, and the number went up to 46 by March 27, it said. In the last 208 days, the institute had conducted 3,792 tests- both the rapid antigen and RT-PCR- for detection of coronavirus.

6:47 PM

1,005 covid cases in Andhra Pradesh, highest single day rise since November 26

Andhra Pradesh reported 1,005 fresh cases of coronavirus on Sunday, the highest single-day rise after November 26, pushing the gross up to 8,98,815, reported PTI. The state now has 5,394 active cases, the highest number since the 5,259 on December 9.

A health department bulletin said 324 patients had recovered and two more succumbed to the infection in the state in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday. The total recoveries have now touched 8,86,216 and the toll was 7,205, it said. Guntur district reported the highest number of 225 fresh cases in a day, followed by Chittoor 184, Visakhapatnam 167 and Krishna 135.

6:30 PM

Nagpur reports 3,970 new Covid-19 cases, 58 deaths in 24 hours

6:20 PM

Covid-19 spike: Bombay Bar Association seeks online court hearings

Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, the Bombay Bar Association has written to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Dipankar Datta, to permit virtual hearings before the principal bench of the court, reported PTI.

In a letter written on Saturday, the BBA urged the Chief Justice to conduct hearings through a video conferencing interface, or, to at least permit a hybrid system of physical and virtual hearings to control crowds in courtrooms, as per PTI.

6:11 PM

Karnataka reports 3082 new Covid-19 cases, 1285 discharges

5:43 PM

Maharashtra CM asks officials to prepare for lockdown-like curbs if rules continue to be violated

5:38 PM

Delhi adds 200 containment zones in two days, total 1,506

Delhi has been seeing a sharp increase in new coronavirus cases in the last two weeks, especially since March 23 when the daily tally crossed the 1,000 mark for the first time this year, and the number of containment zones is also seeing a rapid upward trend, with 800 added in less than a week, according to IANS. While 1,558 cases -- the highest so far in 2021 -- were reported on Saturday, 200 zones were also added in two days till then.

The national capital city had reported 1,101 cases on Tuesday, 1,254 on Wednesday, 1,515 on Thursday, and 1,534 on Friday, as per Delhi Health Department data. With increasing number of Covid-19 cases, the city has seen the number of containment zones, rise to 1,506, out of which around 800 have been added in last one week, and 200 in Friday and Saturday, the Health Department said, as per IANS.

5:04 PM

Odisha reports 290 new Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours; tally at 340,194

Odisha's Covid-19 tally mounted to 3,40,194 on Sunday as 290 more people, including 10 students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here, tested positive for the disease, an official said. Of the new cases, 171 were reported from quarantine centres and 119 detected during contact tracing.

 

 

The coastal state recorded over 200 fresh cases for four consecutive days, starting from March 25. It had reported 210 new cases on Saturday, while 234 more people were diagnosed with the disease on Friday and 214 on Thursday. Read more

5:02 PM

All India Students Assocation calls for vaccination of students, teachers

The All India Students' Association on Sunday called for free vaccination of students, teachers and support staff of all educational institutions "to save another academic year from destruction", PTI reported. The student body also demanded that all educational institutions be reopened with adequate safety measures so that physical classes can resume.

In a statement, AISA alleged that the "ill-planned" lockdown last year "destroyed the learning and teaching process" in schools, colleges and universities and online education resulted in students dropping out due to the lack of access to internet and smartphones. "As the Modi government has pompously publicised the developed vaccine and announced vaccination of senior citizens, the All India Students' Association demands the following: students, teachers and staff of schools, colleges and universities of the country must be given free vaccination for COVID. All campuses must be reopened immediately with all adequate safety measures," it said.

4:36 PM

Negative RT-PCR report mandatory for visiting Gujarat from April 1

The Gujarat government has announced that a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test report will be mandatory for those arriving from other states from April 1, according to ANI. "From April 1 onwards, people entering Gujarat from other states will have to mandatorily show a negative RT-PCR report," said Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel on Saturday.

He further said that the test report should not be older than 72 hours. There has been a surge in Covid-19 cases in Gujarat in the past few days, with 2,276 new infections in the last 24 hours, as per the health ministry's update on Sunday morning. There are 10,871 active cases in Gujarat.

4:18 PM

Japan to allow people to choose Covid-19 vaccine

People in Japan will be given a choice of a coronavirus vaccine, a senior official in charge of the vaccination campaign, Fumiaki Kobayashi, said Sunday. "We'll create an environment where people have a choice," the official said as quoted by the JIJI news agency, ANI reported.
 

The government will publish information on which COVID-19 vaccines are available at each vaccination site, Kobayashi reportedly said. Japan's vaccination campaign started in February with BioNTech/Pfizer jabs. In addition to Pfizer, the country is set to receive AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines as well.

3:42 PM

Over 60 million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India so far

India has registered a significant achievement in its fight against Covid-19 by crossing six crore vaccination on Sunday. According to the Health Ministry statement, at least 6,02,69,782 vaccine doses have been administered through 9,85,018 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today, ANI reported.

 

These include 81,52,808 Health Care Workers (1st dose), 51,75,597 HCWs (2nd dose), 88,90,046 Front Line Workers (1st dose) and 36,52,749 FLWs (2nd Dose), 66,73,662 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st Dose) and 2,77,24,920 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years. Read more

3:04 PM

Over 470 children below 10 years infected with Covid in Bengaluru since March 1

Over 470 children below the age of 10 have been infected with Covid-19, since the beginning of this month in Bengaluru, as the city is witnessing a spike in infections, PTI reported. A total of 244 boys and 228 girls have been infected from March 1 to 26, official data showed.

The cases among children were limited to eight to nine daily during the early days of this month but they have steadily risen to 46 on March 26. According to some experts, unlike in the past children are now vulnerable because they are more exposed to outdoor activities, functions and gatherings, as also schools reopening for a certain age group, which was not the case earlier due to lockdowns.

"There is more and more exposure of children because of the opening of schools, also a lot of functions and gatherings. Earlier they used to be protected, but since they are exposed to several of these events, the risk has also gone up considerably," Dr Giridhara R Babu Professor and Head Lifecourse Epidemiology, Public Health Foundation of India told PTI.

2:59 PM

4,204 prisoners released on bail, 41 on parole after Covid outbreak in J&K: DGP, prisons

Over 4,200 prisoners were released on bail and 41 on parole since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March last year, Director General of Police (DGP), Prisons, V K Singh has said, PTI reported.

He said there is only one Covid positive patient among the prisoners, who is being treated at a hospital in Kathua district.

"Since March last year, 4,204 inmates were released on bail and 41 on parole, in pursuance of decisions taken by the high-powered committee (constituted on the Supreme Court's directions to decongest jails to ensure social distancing among prisoners)," Singh said, as per PTI.

2:14 PM

Kejriwal won't attend public Holi programmes, appeals to people to avoid crowds

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said he will not attend any public Holi programme due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases and appealed to the people to celebrate the festival with their families and avoid crowds, according to PTI.

The national capital recorded 1,558 cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, the highest since since December 15 when 1,617 people tested positive for the virus, according to official data.

"Corona cases have increased in the last few days, in view of this, I am not attending Holi programs being organized in public this time. Appeal to all of you to just celebrate Holi with your family and avoid crowds, follow the rules of Corona prevention," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
 

1:59 PM

Brazil reports over 3,000 coronavirus deaths for two straight days

Brazil recorded 3,438 deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday, said the country's Ministry of Health. It is the second consecutive day that Brazil has reported more than 3,000 daily deaths, and the third since the disease was first detected in the country in February last year, according to ANI. Brazil recorded 3,650 deaths on Friday, the highest daily count since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The death toll from Covid-19 in the country now stands at 310,550, according to ministry data. Meanwhile, the ministry reported 85,948 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the national caseload to 12,490,362. Brazil is currently one of the global epicenters of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the world's second-worst outbreak in terms of both deaths and infections, only after the United States.

1:28 PM

40 people test Covid-19 positive at IIM Ahmedabad

As many as 40 people including students and a professor tested positive for coronavirus at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Twenty-five students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar found to be COVID-19 positive, according to ANI.

 

"As many as 40 people including students and a professor -- were found positive in tests conducted at the institute and they were isolated," said Mehul Acharya, deputy health officer, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

 

When talking about IIT, an IIMA official said that currently there are 25 Covid-19 positive students on campus.

 

"Many are asymptomatic and recovering fast. All our academic activities are in online mode from last year. Entry and exit from the campus have been restricted. We regularly share precautionary guidelines for all the residents of the campus," the official said.

1:10 PM

PM Modi lauds people's discipline during last year's janata curfew, fight against Covid-19

In the 75th episode of 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India has put up a spirited fight against COVID-19. He lauded corona-warriors and the discipline of the people during last year's janata curfew.

 

"It was in March last year that the nation heard about janata curfew. From very early on, the people of India have put up a spirited fight against COVID-19," PM Modi said. The respect has been shown to corona-warriors through clapping, clanging of utensils, lamp lighting touched the heart of the corona warriors, he added.

 

The Prime Minister further said that last year the question was whether there would be a vaccine for COVID-19 and by when would it be rolled out but today the world's largest vaccination drive is underway in India. "Mann ki Baat" is the Prime Minister's monthly radio address to the nation, which is broadcast on the last Sunday of every month.

1:05 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 25 students of IIT Gandhinagar test Covid-19 positive

25 students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar in Gujarat have tested positive for coronavirus infection, said IIT officials

12:40 PM

Eight States/UTs have a weekly positivity rate higher than national average of 5.04%: Health Ministry

11:58 AM

Pakistan records over 4,000 new Covid-19 positive cases in last 24 hours

The worsening COVID-19 situation in Pakistan does not seem to abate just yet, as the country recorded over 4,000 new cases in the last 24 hours.

 

Citing the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Geo News reported that 57 people died from the virus while 4,767 more contracted the disease on Saturday.

 

With the 57 new deaths, the total coronavirus death toll in Pakistan reached 14,215. However, the total active COVID-19 cases stand at 40,120. According to Geo News, the national positivity ratio of COVID-19 cases has jumped to 10.4 per cent.

11:43 AM

No dearth of Covid-19 vaccine doses in Odisha says Dharmendra Pradhan

Days after the Odisha government raised concern over shortage of Covid-19 vaccine doses in the state, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured on Saturday that there was no dearth of jabs in the state.

 

"I spoke to my senior cabinet colleague Dr Harsh Vardhan regarding panic being created by the Odisha government regarding availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Odisha. He assured me that there is no dearth of availability of doses of the vaccines," Pradhan said.

 

The Odisha government on Friday had requested the Central government to supply COVID-19 vaccines for at least 15 days in advance to the state in order to continue the uninterrupted inoculation drive.