Covid LIVE: PM Modi asks EU to back India, SA on patent waiver for vaccines

Coronavirus live updates: Coronavirus cases are surging rapidly in states like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, Odisha and Uttarakhand. Stay tuned for corona-related news

5:46 AM

Assam reports record 5,756 fresh cases, 50 deaths

Covid-19 infections in Assam rose to 2,89,069 on Saturday as the state reported its highest single-day spike of 5,756 new cases, according to a bulletin issued by the National Health Mission in Guwahati. The death toll rose to 1,628 after 50 more people succumbed to the disease, PTI reported quoting the bulletin.

9:13 PM

EU tells Biden to export vaccines now and worry about IP later

European Union leaders urged US President Joe Biden to lift restrictions on exports of Covid-19 vaccines to address the desperate needs of developing countries before embarking on complex discussions about whether patent waivers might also boost supply in the longer term, reported Bloomberg on Saturday.

 

Gathering in Porto, Portugal on Friday and Saturday shortly after the U.S. suggested suspending intellectual property rights to boost the supply of Covid shots, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Mario Draghi appealed in unison to the US president to follow the EU example and start shipping significant numbers of vaccines. They argued that any patent waiver will only increase supply in the long term and the world needs a faster solution.

9:06 PM

Maharashtra sees dip in daily cases

9:04 PM

MEA briefing on India-EU leaders' meet

8:57 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 53,605 new cases

Maharashtra reports 53,605 new coronavirus cases, 82,266 recoveries and 864 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:51 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 53,605 new cases

Maharashtra reports 53,605 new coronavirus cases, 82,266 recoveries and 864 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the statement

8:47 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Madhya Pradesh reports 11,598 new cases

Madhya Pradesh reports 11,598 new coronavirus cases, 4445 recoveries and 90 deaths, according to the health department

8:25 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: US CDC acknowledges virus is airborne

Coronavirus LIVE: US CDC acknowledges virus is airborne. It revised the guidelines, saying the principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 is through exposure to respiratory fluids carrying infectious virus. Exposure occurs in three principal ways: (1) inhalation of very fine respiratory droplets and aerosol particles, (2) deposition of respiratory droplets and particles on exposed mucous membranes in the mouth, nose, or eye by direct splashes and sprays, and (3) touching mucous membranes with hands that have been soiled either directly by virus-containing respiratory fluids or indirectly by touching surfaces with virus on them. Read full guidelines here

8:15 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Goa sees 3,751 new cases, 55 deaths, 3,025 recoveries

Goa's Covid-19 tally went up by 3,751 on Saturday to reach 1,16,213, while the toll increased by 55 and the recovery count by 3,025 during the day, an official said.

 

The state's toll stands at 1,612 and the number of people discharged is 82,214, leaving it with 32,387 active cases, he added.

 

With 8,115 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in Goa went up to 7,06,644. (PTI)

8:04 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai reports 2,678 cases in last 24 hours

8:03 PM

Fungal infection cases rising in second phase of pandemic, warn health officials

Cases of mucormycosis, a fungal infection, are rising among Covid-19 survivors, causing blindness or serious illness and even death in some cases, health officials in Maharashtra and Gujarat said on Saturday.

 

The cost of treatment for this disease is also a matter of concern, some doctors said.

 

Mathur Savani, chairman of Surat-based Kiran Super Multi-speciality Hospital, said mucormycosis patients are coming to his hospital from Surat district as well as other parts of Gujarat.

 

"Fifty mucormycosis patients are being treated at our hospital and 60 more are awaiting (treatment). They all came to our hospital in the last three weeks and have recovered from Covid-19 recently," Savani told PTI.

Seven such patients lost eyesight, he said.

 

The civil hospital in Surat has set up a separate facility for such patients, said in-charge Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr Ketan Naik. (PTI)

8:01 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Andhra Pradesh logs 20,065 new cases

Andhra Pradesh reported 20,065 fresh cases of Covid-19, 19,272 recoveries and 96 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday.

 

Saturday's toll was the highest after the 97 during the first wave on August 22 last year.

 

The latest health bulletin said the gross coronavirus positives touched 12,65,439 from 1.72 crore tests. (PTI)

7:47 PM

Covid care coaches deployed at 17 stations across seven states: Railways

The Railways on Saturday said its isolation coaches to treat mild Covid-19 cases have been deployed at 17 stations across seven states of the country.

 

At present, 298 coaches have been handed over to various states for Covid care with a capacity of over 4,700 beds, it said.

 

A total of 60 coaches have been deployed in Maharashtra where at Nandrubar, 116 admissions were registered with 93 subsequent discharges by state health authorities. A total of 23 patients are utilising the facility, the Railways said. (PTI)

7:32 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Former India hockey player M K Kaushik passes away

7:28 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Manipur sees 442 new cases

7:23 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Rajasthan reports 17,987 new cases

Rajasthan reports 17,987 new coronavirus cases, 160 deaths and 17,667 discharges in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:19 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Govt's 'Vaccine Maitri' appreciated at India-EU summit

The EU invited India to work towards an international treaty on pandemics within the framework of the WHO. In this context, we look forward to a successful Global Health Summit in Rome on 21 May 2021, co-hosted by the EU and Italy in the framework of the G20. Read the joint statement here

7:11 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Telangana reports 5,186 new cases

Telangana reports 5,186 new coronavirus cases, 7994 recoveries and 38 deaths today, according to the state health department

7:11 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Bihar govt caps price of CT Scan in private labs

7:02 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Puducherry sees 1,703 new cases

1,703 new coronavirus cases, 1,177 recoveries and 19 deaths reported in Puducherry in the past 24 hours; active cases at 13,585, according to the health department

7:01 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Ahead of India-EU summit, Jaishankar thanks Europe

6:56 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Uttar Pradesh records 26,847 new cases

Uttar Pradesh records 26,847 new cases, 34,721 recoveries and 298 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

6:55 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: NHAI exempts tankers carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen from toll fee

In order to provide uninterrupted passage for tankers and containers carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) across National Highways, the user fee for such vehicles at Toll Plazas has been exempted. Keeping in view the current unprecedented demand of the Medical Oxygen across the country due to Covid-19 Pandemic, containers carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen will be treated at par with other emergency vehicles such as ambulances for a period of two months or till further orders. Read full govt release here

6:50 PM

Smriti Irani makes surprise visit to Amethi, reviews Covid situation

Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday made a surprise visit to her parliamentary constituency Amethi and reviewed the coronavirus situation in the district.

 

At the district Covid control room, she directed officials to ensure that patients face no inconvenience and that there is no shortage of oxygen.

 

District Magistrate Arun Kumar and Chief Medical Officer Dr Ashutosh Dubey were present in the control room during the review meeting. (PTI)

6:48 PM

Coronavirus Latest: Haryana CM announces special screening drive in villages

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday announced to launch a special Covid screening drive in all the villages by constituting 8,000 multidisciplinary teams.

 

Presiding over a review meeting here, he said proactive strategies like conducting door-to-door health screening camps covering each house, constituting special dedicated multidisciplinary teams for screening and converting 'dharamshalas', government schools, Ayush centres into isolation centres to contain the virus.

 

"We have to protect rural areas from this deadly infection at any cost. Officers should ensure that special vigilance is kept on every village and for this a massive Covid-19 screening campaign should be conducted in all villages of the state," the Chief Minister said. (IANS)

6:38 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Govt permits Telangana to use drone flights for vaccine delivery

The Government is providing conditional exemption for experimental drone flights for vaccine delivery as part of constant endeavour to enhance the scope of drone usage in the country and assist the nation to fight Covid-19 pandemic.Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) & Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)have granted conditional exemption to the Government of Telangana for conducting experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights for delivery of vaccines.Exemption has been grantedfrom Unmanned Aircraft System {UAS) Rules, 2021. Read full govt release here

6:32 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Shivraj Singh Chouhan inspects 300 bed Covid facility in Sehore

6:29 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Uttarakhand reports 8,390 cases

Uttarakhand reports 8,390 coronavirus cases, 118 deaths and 4,771 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

6:27 PM

LIVE: PM Modi virtually participates in the meeting of European Council

6:26 PM

Allocate 500 ton medical oxygen to Tamil Nadu: Stalin to Modi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for increasing the medical oxygen allocation to 500 ton.

 

Stalin and Modi had a telecon on Saturday, said a state government statement.

 

According to the statement, Stalin had sought the central government's cooperation in the state government's action to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

 

Stalin also sought an allocation of 500 ton of medical oxygen to which Modi replied that the request will be processed. (IANS)