Covid LIVE: Mumbai's daily cases below 2,000; Maharashtra's under 40,000

Coronavirus live updates: Strict lockdown or curfew has been imposed in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Karnataka. Stay tuned for corona-related news

1:53 AM

Odisha to float global tender to procure Covid-19 vaccines

Facing an acute shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, the Odisha government on Monday decided to float a global tender for procuring the vaccine to inoculate the states entire population, Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said.
 

The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
 

"It is felt that complete vaccination is the best way to protect precious lives of the people. Therefore, the Cabinet allowed the state government to go for global tender and get vaccines at the earliest," Mohapatra said.
 

The Odisha State Medical Corporation (OSMC) will float the global e-tender, a government notification issued at night said.
 

The state government constituted a 10-member Technical Committee and nine-member Managerial Committee to supervise the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines through the global tender, the notification said.
 

The technical committee, headed by Director Medical Education and Training Prof CBK Mohanty, will suggest to the state government how to procure the best quality vaccines being made by leading manufacturers across the world, official sources said.
 

1:51 AM

'Nepal is being overwhelmed by Covid. We need help': Oli

Nepal is battling a new and brutal wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has said as he appealed to the UK and other developed nations on Monday to urgently provide his country with essential medical items, life-saving drugs and vaccines to combat the pandemic.
 

In an opinion piece published in The Guardian newspaper, Oli, who lost a confidence vote in Nepal's House of Representatives on Monday, said the rise in the number of infections posed a serious challenge to the country's citizens and the entire health service system.
 

Nepal on Monday reported 9,127 new cases, the highest single day spike, in the last 24 hours taking the nationwide coronavirus infection tally to 403,794. It also reported 139 fatalities.
 

"Nepal's history is one of hardship and struggle, yet this pandemic is pushing even us to our limits. The number of infections is straining the healthcare system; it has become tough to provide patients with the hospital beds that they need," he wrote in the British newspaper.
 

1:50 AM

AI cancels Covid vaccination camp for 2 days due to 'non-availability' of vaccines

Air India on Monday told its employees that it will not be able to hold Covid-19 vaccination camps for them at the Delhi airport on Tuesday and Thursday due to "non-availability" of vaccines.
 

The airline had last Tuesday said it would vaccinate all its employees against Covid-19 by the end of this month as a pilots' body demanded inoculation of the flying crew on priority basis citing risk to their lives from the deadly infection.
 

In a communication to employees on Monday, Air India said: "The proposed Covid vaccination camp at GSD Complex, Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on May 11 and May 13 stands cancelled because government authorities have expressed inability to hold these camps due to non-availability of vaccines."
"Fresh dates will be notified once we get re-confirmation from government authorities," it added. India has been badly hit by the second wave of the coronavirus infection as hospitals in several states are reeling under shortage of vaccines, oxygen, drugs, equipment and beds.
 

After recording over four lakh fresh cases for four consecutive days, India witnessed a single-day rise of 3,66,161 Covid-19 cases on Monday, which pushed its tally to 2,26,62,575, according to the health ministry.
 

The death toll due to the viral disease climbed to 2,46,116 with 3,754 more people succumbing to it, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed. 
 

1:49 AM

Odisha's Ganjam district reports first child death due to coronavirus

A 10-year-old boy died of Covid-19 in a government-run hospital to become the first child victim of the disease in Odisha's Ganjam district, officials said on Monday.
 

Kailash Nayak, who was undergoing treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here, was also suffering from haemophilia, a disease in which blood does clot, and ketosis a state that happens when the body does not have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy.
 

He died on Sunday evening.
 

Nayak was admitted to the paediatric ward of the hospital on Friday with fever, cough and breathlessness. A test was conducted and he was found to be COVID-19 positive, following which he was shifted to the coronavirus wing on Saturday, officials said.
 

"A team of doctors from different departments was formed to treat the child. Despite all our efforts, he succumbed at about 7.40 pm on Sunday," said Ganjam Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange.
 

The boy was suffering from haemophilia and ketosis for a long time and was treated on multiple occasions, he said.
 

10:33 PM

Covid-19: All adults in Goa to be given Ivermectin drug

All people above 18 years in Goa will be given Ivermectin drug irrespective of their coronavirus status to bring down mortality, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Monday.
 

He said patients will be given Ivermectin 12 mg for a period of five days as expert panels from the UK, Italy, Spain and Japan have found a statistically significant reduction in mortality, time to recovery and viral clearance in Covid-19 patients treated with this medicine.
 

"I have given instructions for immediate implementation of prophylaxis (action taken to prevent disease) treatment," Rane said.

The minister said this treatment would not prevent Covid-19 infection but it can help reduce the severity.
 

"The Ivermectin 12 mg tablet will be made available in all the district, sub-district, PHCs, CHCs, sub-health centres, rural dispensaries for people to collect and start treatment immediately, irrespective of any symptoms or anything," Rane said.
 

Goa on Monday recorded 2,804 new cases of coronavirus, taking its tally to 1,21,650, while 50 more fatalities pushed the toll to 1,729, a health official said.
 

10:32 PM

Delhi sounds alarm of depleting vaccine stock; Jain says city has only a day's Covaxin jabs left

Delhi on Monday sounded an alert of its depleting vaccine stock, with Health Minister Satyendar Jain saying that the national capital has only one day's Covaxin jabs left and its Covishield doses will last for just three to four days.
 

Later in the day, AAP leader Atishi said the Delhi government will have to close vaccination centres where Covaxin is being administered to beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group after Tuesday evening if its stocks are not replenished.
 

"On Monday morning, Delhi had 2.74 lakh vaccine doses for people in the 18-plus category," she said, releasing the city's 'Vaccination Bulletin'.
 

"After Tuesday evening, the Delhi government will have to start closing down the vaccination centres where Covaxin is being administered (to the 18-44 age group). We will also have to shut down Covishield inoculation centres after four days," she said.
 

Delhi has so far received 5.5 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines for the 18-44 category, and over 43 lakh doses for 45-plus, and healthcare and frontline workers, according to government data released on Sunday.
 

10:31 PM

UEFA has issues with CL switch to London, Porto a backup

UEFA has given the British government until Tuesday to offer the travel waivers it requires to move the Champions League final to Wembley or the all-English game could be played in Portugal instead.
 

The May 29 showpiece is set to be moved from Istanbul after Turkey was added to England's "red list" of countries with severe coronavirus outbreaks.

Porto is one of the backup options after UEFA hit snags with its preferred location of London.
 

UEFA held talks with the British government on Monday but was unable to secure exemptions from quarantine for everyone they want to be able to attend a final in London -- including sponsors of the Champions League, their guests and media -- people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press.
 

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.
 

UEFA has given the British government until Tuesday to decide whether authorities can offer all the travel waivers required.
 

8:55 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Centre failed in their vaccination policy, says Owaisi

8:42 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Jharkhand to launch free vaccination for 18-44 age group

Jharkhand to launch free vaccination for 18-44 age group on May 14, says Chief Minister Hemant Soren

8:33 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: DoT dispels rumours on 5G trials responsible for case surge

8:26 PM

Novavax says its combined flu and vaccine shows promise in preclinical study

Novavax Inc said on Monday its combined flu and Covid-19 vaccine produced functional antibodies against influenza and the coronavirus in a preclinical study

8:21 PM

No need to waive patents, there will be enough vaccine supplies: BioNTech

The head of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech said Monday that there is no need to waive patents on coronavirus vaccines because manufacturers will be able to produce enough shots to supply the world over the coming year.

 

Ugur Sahin, the chief executive of BioNTech, rejected the US-backed proposal to temporarily lift some intellectual property rights for vaccines in order to boost global supply during the ongoing pandemic.

 

In a call with investors announcing the company's first-quarter net profit of 1.13 billion euros ($1.37 billion), Sahin said BioNTech and its US partner Pfizer had already delivered vaccines to more than 90 countries and more than doubled its forecast production capacity for the year. Read here

8:09 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Himachal Pradesh reports 4,359 new cases

Himachal Pradesh reports 4,359 new coronavirus cases, 2,355 recoveries and 53 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:07 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: West Bengal reports 19,445 new cases

West Bengal reports record 134 coronavirus deaths, 19,445 new cases, according to the health department

7:58 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 37,236 new cases

Maharashtra reports 37,236 new positive coronavirus cases, 549 deaths and 61,607 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:56 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Manipur reports 424 new cases

Manipur reports 424 new positive cases, 13 deaths and 87 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the health department

7:47 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Uttarakhand sees 5,541 new cases

Uttarakhand reports 5,541 new coronavirus cases, and 168 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total active at 74,480 and total positive cases at 249,814, according to the state health department

7:40 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai sees under 2,000 cases

7:39 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Jaishankar condoles passing away of Vinesh Kalra, Consul General, Mazar-e-Sharif

7:38 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka sees 39,305 new cases

7:31 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Jammu and Kashmir sees 3,614 new cases

Jammu and Kashmir reports 3,614 new coronavirus positive cases, 2,855 recoveries and 56 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total active cases are now 49,951, according to the state health department

7:20 PM

Controlling Covid my first priority: Himanta Biswa Sarma

New Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Monday said controlling the "alarming" Covid-19 situation in the state is his first priority and his aim will be to make the state one of the top five in the ccountry in the next five years.

 

Sarma, who was addressing the press after being sworn in, appealed to all insurgent groups of Assam, specially ULFA (I) to lay down arms and join the mainstream to sort out their issues and establish lasting peace in the state.

 

He said the first cabinet meeting of the second BJP government in the state will be held on Tuesday to discuss the prevailing situation vis a vis the Covid-19 pandemic and decide on measures to contain it. (PTI)

7:06 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Odisha govt to float a global tender to buy vaccines

7:03 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Tamil Nadu reports 28,978 new cases

Tamil Nadu reports 28,978 new coronavirus positive cases, 232 deaths and 20,904 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:01 PM

Centre in SC rules out door-to-door vaccination

The Centre has ruled out in the Supreme Court door-to-door vaccination of people and said the inoculation will be done at identified COVID Vaccination Centres (CVC), both government and private, registered on COWIN for "good, germane and rational reasons".

 

It said that four key requirements of CVC under the Covid-19 vaccination programme are availability of adequate space, adequate cold storage facility, adequate number of vaccinators and medical support staff and adequate arrangements for management of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI).

 

The Centre's reply came on the top court's query whether it plans to undertake nationwide mass awareness campaign for COVID-19 vaccination and ensuring outreach in rural areas and underprivileged sections by using mobile vans, vehicles and railways to vaccinate people near their doorsteps so as to minimize their travel and potential infection with Covid-19. (PTI)

6:47 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Rajasthan reports 16,487 new positive cases

Rajasthan reports 16,487 new positive cases, 160 deaths and 13,499 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

6:33 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala reports 27,487 new cases

Kerala reports 27,487 new coronavirus cases, 65 fatalities. Infection tally rises to 19,00,060, death toll 5,879. Number of active cases of the disease in the state stands at 419,726, according to the state health department

6:23 PM

Centre undertakes multiple initiatives to enhance Oxygen availability

In order to address the surge in demand for oxygen, the Central Government has undertaken key measures to increase the availability, streamline the distribution and strengthen the oxygen storage infrastructure in the country. The steps undertaken focused on the entire oxygen supply chain. These include efforts for improving oxygen production, enhancing tanker availability to optimize logistics, improving oxygen storage at the last mile, and easing norms of procurement. Read full govt release here

6:16 PM

Google testing new feature in Maps to enable sharing info on availability of beds, oxygen

Google on Monday said it is testing a new feature in Maps that enables people to ask about and share local information on availability of beds and medical oxygen in select locations.

 

This is part of the tech giant's efforts to support the relief efforts amid the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

"...we're testing a new feature using the Q&A function in Maps that enables people to ask about and share local information on availability of beds and medical oxygen in select locations. As this will be user generated content and not provided by authorised sources, it may be required to verify the accuracy and freshness of the information before utilizing it," it said. (PTI)

6:09 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Chandigarh extends corona curfew by one week

Chandigarh administration decides to extend corona curfew by another one week. The night curfew from 6 pm to 5 am will be implemented. Day-time movement will be allowed. (ANI)