Coronavirus LIVE: Vardhan appeals to healthcare workers to get vaccinated

Coronavirus live updates: Global Covid-19 cases have crossed 110.8-million mark. USA tally stands at 28,523,524

10:32 PM

Chandigarh sees 259 Covid-19 cases, 176 recoveries, 3 deaths

With 259 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths reported on Friday, Chhattisgarh's caseload rose to 3,10,469 and toll to 3,793, a health official said, according to PTI. The recovery count touched 3,03,637 after 32 people were discharged from hospitals and 144 persons completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 3,039 active cases, he said.

"Raipur district saw 87 new cases, taking its total count to 55,009, including 800 deaths. Durg recorded 49 new cases and Raigarh 14. Of the three deaths recorded during the day, two took place on Friday and one on Thursday," he said. With 21,952 samples tested on Friday, the total number of tests in Chhattisgarh went up to 46,28,050, he added, as per PTI.

9:42 PM

Tripura Medical College OPD services shut down for 72 hours after rise in Covid cases

Tripura West collector orders closure of OPD services of Tripura Medical College & Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Teaching Hospital for 72 hours due to 'a sudden rise of Covid-19 cases among staff' of the medical college, according to ANI.

9:31 PM

Covid-19: 266 cases, 277 recoveries, 1 death in Gujarat

The COVID-19 caseload of Gujarat rose by 266 in the last 24 hours to reach 2,66,563, while the toll increased by one and the number of people discharged by 277, an official said on Friday, PTI reported. The toll in the state now stands at 4,404 and the recovery count is 2,60,475, or 97.72 per cent of the caseload, leaving it with 1,684 active cases, including 30 on ventilator support, he informed.

"Vadodara accounted for 51 of the new cases, followed by 47 in Ahmedabad, which was also saw the lone death, 46 in Surat and 29 in Rajkot," he added, as PTI. An official release said 8.09 lakh people have been covered so far in the COVID-19 vaccination drive underway.

9:17 PM

Pune reports 1,015 new Covid-19 cases, 493 recoveries

8:48 PM

Coronil has got Ayush Ministry certification as per WHO scheme: Patanjali

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved on Friday said its Coronil tablet has received certification from the Ayush Ministry as a medicine supporting Covid-19 treatment as per the World Health Organization's certification scheme. Patanjali also released what it claimed was research work supporting Coronil's efficacy in Covid-19 treatment. The Union Ayush Ministry had earlier categorised ayurvedic Coronil tablets as an 'Immuno-booster'. Read more

8:45 PM

Karnataka reports 386 new Covid-19 cases, 291 recoveries

8:23 PM

Mumbai records 823 new Covid-19 cases, highest daily rise since Dec

With the addition of 823 new Covid-19 cases, Mumbai on Friday recorded the highest single- day spike in infections since December last year, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. According to the civic body's data, the tally of coronavirus cases in the city has risen to 3,17,310, while the toll has reached 11,435 with five new casualties.

The city's daily count of infections crossed the 700 mark in the last two days, after it recorded less than 500 cases at the start of the week, the official said. As many as 440 patients were discharged from hospitals in the day, taking the count of recoveries to 2,98,435, the official data stated. With this, the city now has 6,577 active cases, it was stated, reported PTI. 

8:18 PM

No foreign strain of virus found in Amravati, Yavatmal: Maharashtra govt

New strains of coronavirus found in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have not been detected in Amravati, Yavatmal and Satara districts of Maharashtra where cases have spiked recently, the state government said on Friday, according to PTI. In view of increase in cases in Western Maharashtra's Pune, Sarata districts and Amravati and Yavatmal in Vidarbha region, genome sequencing of coronavirus samples from these areas was carried out, the health department said.

Four samples each from Satara, Yavatmal and Amravati were tested at B J Medical College laboratory in Pune. No mutation similar to that found in new strains in the UK, South Africa or Brazil was observed, it said in a statement. Similarly, no mutation in genome was found in 12 samples form Pune district, it said, as per PTI.

7:56 PM

Maharashtra reports 6,112 new Covid-19 cases, 2,159 discharges

7:32 PM

10,449,942 vaccinations carried out till 6 pm today: Health Ministry

10,449,942 vaccinations carried out till 6 pm today. The vaccination of the healthcare workers is 70,52,845 out of which the 1st dose has been given to 62,95,903 healthcare workers. 2nd dose has been given to 7,56,942 healthcare workers. 12 states, 7 UTs recorded over 75% of 1st dose of healthcare workers coverage-Bihar 84.7%, Tripura 82.9%, Odisha 81.8%, Lakshadweep 81%, Gujarat 80.1%, Chhattisgarh 79.7%, Uttarakhand 77.2%, MP 77%, Jharkhand & UP 75.6%, Himachal Pradesh 75.4%, Rajasthan 75%, said Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry according to ANI.

 

7:29 PM

Frontline workers received 3,397,097 vaccinations till 6 pm today: Health ministry

The vaccination for frontline workers has been for 3,397,097 till 6 pm today: Mandeep Bhandari, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry (ANI reported)

7:18 PM

Vardhan appeals to healthcare, frontline workers to get vaccinated against Covid

Union minister Harsh Vardhan appealed to all healthcare and frontline workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as per schedule, according to PTI. He also said the vaccines are safe and fulfil all the criteria of immunogenicity.

"I want to appeal to all healthcare and frontline workers to get inoculated with COVID-19 vaccine doses as per schedule. The vaccines are safe. Don't believe any rumour and misinformation," he said. He further said that no severe adverse event post-immunisation have been recorded in the country and those reported are also 0.0004 per cent. "No death has been recorded due to COVID-19 vaccination. All state governments have been asked to vaccinate every healthcare and frontline worker," he said, PTI reported.

7:02 PM

Pfizer vaccine 75% effective after first shot: Israeli study

A team of Israeli researchers on Friday showed that Covid-19 infections reduced by 75 per cent after the administration of the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The data, published in the peer-reviewed Lancet medical journal, centered on a study of around 9,000 Sheba healthcare workers, around 7,000 of which received their first dose in January.

 

The researchers at Sheba Medical Center found a 75 per cent decrease in all infections and an 85 per cent reduction in symptomatic infections between 15-28 days after vaccination, The Jerusalem Post reported. Read more

6:45 PM

Kerala reports 4,505 new Covid-19 cases and 4,854 recoveries

6:09 PM

Delhi reports 158 new Covid-19 cases, 157 recoveries

5:39 PM

Odisha's Covid-19 tally climbs to 336,513, over 540,000 inoculated

Odisha's Covid-19 tally mounted to 3,36,513 on Friday after 53 people tested positive for the virus, while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 1,914, a health department official said. Of the new cases, 31 were reported from various quarantine centres and the remaining are local-contact infections.

"Regret to inform the demise of 74-year-old male Covid positive patient of Bhubaneswar..." the Health and Family Welfare Department tweeted. A total of 53 other COVID-19 patients have died due to comorbidities, the official said.

4:54 PM

Sri Lanka to procure 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from India

Sri Lanka will purchase 10 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India, officials here have said. In January, under India's neighbourhood first policy, Sri Lanka received 500,000 doses of free vaccines. They were administered as a priority to frontline health workers and members of the Armed forces.

The State Pharmaceutical Corporation has signed the order with Serum Institute of India (SII) for 10 million doses, officials said. This agreement has been approved by the Attorney General on Monday, according to PTI.

4:21 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Dr Reddy's seeks emergency use nod for Sputnik V

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd on on Friday said it has initiated the process with Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use authorization (EUA) of vector-based vaccine candidate, Sputnik V, ANI reported. 

4:18 PM

Ayurveda economy has seen up to 90% growth post-Covid: Harsh Vardhan

The Ayurveda economy has witnessed up to 90 per cent growth after the Covid-19 pandemic, as Ayurveda has gained global acceptance, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday.

 

The sector has also witnessed a significant surge in export as well as investment, he said.

 

As per official data, Ayurveda is a Rs 30,000 crore industry, having an annual double-digit growth of 15 to 20 per cent.

 

"This (data) is of the pre-COVID era. Post-Covid, the economy of Ayurveda, which is Rs 30,000 crore with a growth of 15 to 20 per cent, has gone up to 50 to 90 per cent," he said.

4:09 PM

UP reports 104 new cases, 3 deaths

Three more people succumbed to Covid-19 in Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll from the disease to 8,712, while 104 fresh cases raised the infection tally to 6,02,592, officials said on Friday.

 

Additional Chief Secreatry, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here that 165 patients were also discharged in the past 24 hours after recovering from the virus.

 

The number of active cases in the state stands at 2,521 while 5,91,359 people have been treated and discharged, Prasad said.

4:07 PM

Sri Lanka to procure 10 million vaccine doses from India: Official

Sri Lanka will purchase 10 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India, officials here have said.

 

In January, under India's neighbourhood first policy, Sri Lanka received 500,000 doses of free vaccines. They were administered as a priority to frontline health workers and members of the Armed forces.

 

The State Pharmaceutical Corporation has signed the order with Serum Institute of India (SII) for 10 million doses, officials said. This agreement has been approved by the Attorney General on Monday.

 

Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield is being manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute. The SII has collaborated with Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for making the vaccine.

3:47 PM

India took 34 days to achieve 10 mn vaccinations: Govt

India took 34 days to achieve the landmark feat of one crore Covid-19 vaccinations, the second fastest in the world, the health ministry said on Friday.

 

The US took 31 days, while the UK took 56 days to surpass the one-crore vaccination mark.

 

Till 8 am on Friday, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) in the country was 1,01,88,007.

 

"A total of 1,01,88,007 vaccine doses have been administered through 2,11,462 sessions, as per the provisional report till 8 am. These include62,60,242 HCWs (1st dose), 6,10,899 HCWs (2nd dose)and33,16,866 FLWs (1st dose)," the ministry said.

3:38 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: EU to double Covax vaccine funding to 1 billion euros: Report

European Union to double Covax vaccine funding to 1 billion euros: Report

3:32 PM

Pandemic will force 18 million Indians to find a new occupation by 2030: Report

Covid-19 will have a lasting impact on labour markets, and as much as 18 million Indian workers will be forced to switch to a newer occupation by 2030 because of the pandemic, a report said on Friday.

 

The impact will be "disproportionately" felt on low-wage workers in retail, food services, hospitality, and office administration, the report by McKinsey Global Institute, a think-tank, said.

 

The pandemic has disrupted labour markets because companies have been forced to respond to a new dimension of work - physical proximity, an official statement explained.

3:31 PM

UK vows to share vaccines, but details thin as G-7 meets

Some of the world's wealthiest countries are promising to share coronavirus vaccines with the poorest, but details of when and how many remain scarce as leaders of the Group of Seven economic powers hold their first meeting of 2021 on Friday.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, which holds the G-7 presidency this year, is meeting virtually with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the United States to discuss international challenges -- chief among them the pandemic that has killed almost 2.5 million people around the world.

 

Wealthy nations have snapped up hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines against the virus, while some countries in the developing world have little or none.

3:25 PM

No new case of new Covid strain found in Yavatmal, Amaravati and Satara districts

Maharashtra: No new case of new Covid-19 strain has been found in Yavatmal, Amaravati and Satara districts, says state health department

3:23 PM

Face mask only shield against coronavirus: Maharashtra CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that swords and shields were used in the battles fought during Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's times but in the fight against the coronavirus, face mask is the only shield.

 

He made the statement at the Shivneri fort in Junnar tehsil of Pune district, where he paid homage to Shivaji Maharaj on his birth anniversary. Shivaji Maharaj was born on Shivneri fort in 1630.

 

Thackeray visited the fort in the morning and paid floral tributes to Shivaji Maharaj and his mother Jijabai.

 

Thackeray said that entire Maharashtra reveres Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a deity.

 

3:19 PM

Actor Suriya tests negative for Covid-19: Aide

South star Suriya has tested negative for Covid-19, almost two weeks after he was diagnosed with the disease, his close associate filmmaker Rajsekar Pandian said on Friday.

 

The 45-year-old actor had tested positive for the virus on February 7.

 

The "Soorarai Pottru" star returned home on February 11 after receiving treatment at a hospital here.

 

Pandian shared the news of Suriya's recovery from coronavirus in a post on Twitter.

3:16 PM

Aurangabad records 156 new Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra's Aurangabad reported 156 fresh cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing the infection count to 48,135 in the district, an official said on Friday.

 

The latest cases reported on Thursday have taken the number of active cases in the district to 602, the official said.

 

Of the fresh cases, 133 were reported from Aurangabad city and 23 from rural parts of the district, he added.

3:11 PM

Philippines logs 1,901 new cases, two mutations detected

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Friday 1,901 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the Southeast Asian country's total tally to 557,058.

 

The death toll rose to 11,829 after 157 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic, the DOH said. It added that 537 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 512,789.

 

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 7.95 million people since the viral disease emerged in January last year.