Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 15,817 new cases, 56 deaths in a day

Coronavirus live updates: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, MP, Delhi, Gujarat and Karnataka - are displaying an upward trajectory in the number of fresh cases. Stay tuned for corona-related news

12:12 AM

Khar police registers case against Kangana Ranaut, sister for copyright violation

12:11 AM

NEET (UG) 2021 exam to be held on August 1: National Testing Agency

11:34 PM

ISRO launches sounding rocket to study attitudinal variations

9:39 PM

Quad leaders agree to boost vaccine manufacturing in Indo-Pacific region: Foreign Secy

8:59 PM

Rajasthan: No fresh death due to coronavirus, 237 new cases reported

No fresh death was recorded in Rajasthan on Friday due to the novel coronavirus even though the state reported 237 new cases, the health department said.

 

The Covid-19 death toll in the state stands at 2,789 and the total cases at 3,22,518, the Friday health bulletin said, adding 2,242 of the infected people are under treatment.

 

As per the bulletin, 3,17,487 people have been discharged after treatment till now.

8:43 PM

Greece: 'Lockdown fatigue' blamed for fuelling mass protests

Faced with a surge in coronavirus infections and a wave of violent anti-government demonstrations, Greece's center-right prime minister accused political opponents Friday of exploiting lockdown fatigue.

 

Dozens of demonstrations have taken place in Athens and other Greek cities over the past month following multiple allegations of police brutality in enforcing a nightly curfew and other strict lockdown measures.

 

The protests were also fuelled by a recent decision to launch police patrols on university campuses as well as a hunger strike by a jailed militant group gunman to demand a prison transfer.

 

Often attended by thousands in defiance of lockdown restrictions, the protests have triggered nightly clashes between demonstrators and police.

8:32 PM

Schools in Punjab closed, night curfew imposed in 8 districts amid Covid surge

The Punjab government imposed night curfew in four more districts on Friday and closed all schools amid a rise in coronavirus cases in the state, officials said.

 

In total, the night curfew is imposed from 11 pm to 5 am in eight districts -- Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur.

 

The Department of School Education has declared "preparatory leaves" for all classes in government and private schools, state Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said.

 

However, the teachers will continue to remain present in the schools. The students who want to take any guidance from their teachers regarding exam preparation can come to school, the minister said.

8:19 PM

Somalia mourns former president who died of Covid-19

Somalia held a state funeral Friday for former president Ali Mahdi Mohamed, who died of Covid-19 earlier this week in neighbouring Kenya.

 

The seaside capital was brought to a standstill, with all the main roads blocked by the army and police as the hearse was transported to a mosque where the late president's family paid their last respects.

 

Somalia has declared three days of mourning during which the national flag will be lowered to half-staff in honour of Mohamed, who was 86.

8:04 PM

Maharashtra reports 15,817 new coronavirus cases, 11,344 discharges and 56 deaths in last 24 hours

Maharashtra reports 15,817 new coronavirus cases, 11,344 discharges and 56 deaths in last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:55 PM

Delhi's positivity rate far lower than in Maharashtra: Jain on spike in cases

Amid a sudden spike in daily Covid-19 cases in the city, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday the positivity rate in Delhi is still less than one per cent, "much lower" compared to the figures in Maharashtra and Kerala, and asserted that the city government was on a "full vigil" to combat the pandemic.

 

Delhi on Friday recorded 431 new Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day rise in nearly two months, while the positivity rate increased to 0.60 per cent, according to data shared by the health department.

6:44 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 210 Covid-19 cases, the highest after 2 months

Andhra Pradesh reported 210 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Friday, the highest after two months, pushing the gross up to 8,91,388.

 

In 24 hours ending 9 am on Friday, 140 patients had recovered and one more succumbed in the state, the latest bulletin said.

 

The number of active cases rose to 1,227 after a total of 8,82,981 recoveries and 7,180 deaths, it said.

6:07 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 1,780 new coronavirus cases, 3,377 recoveries and 14 deaths reported in Kerala today.

Coronavirus LIVE: 1,780 new coronavirus cases, 3,377 recoveries and 14 deaths reported in Kerala today.

5:21 PM

Germany regrets neighbours' move to pause AstraZeneca shots

Germany's top health official expressed regret Friday that some neighbouring countries have paused their use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine following reports of blood clots in some people, despite the lack of any evidence the shot was responsible.

 

Health Minister Jens Spahn said that while Germany takes reports of possible side effects from vaccines very, very seriously, both the European Medicines Agency and Germany's own vaccine oversight body have said they have no evidence of an increase in dangerous blood clots in connection with the shots.

 

I regret that on the basis of the knowledge of Friday morning some countries in the European Union have suspended vaccinations with AstraZeneca, Spahn told reporters in Berlin.

4:53 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: No reason to stop using AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, says WHO

Coronavirus LIVE: No reason to stop using AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, says WHO

4:42 PM

Odisha reports 64 new Covid-19 cases, 1 fresh fatality

Odisha's Covid-19 tally surged to 3,38,056 on Friday as 64 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 1,918, a health official said.

 

Thirty-seven new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 27 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing.

4:42 PM

Germany: Tough weeks ahead with rising cases

Germany's health minister says the country should prepare for several very challenging weeks amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

 

Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin on Friday that the situation remains tense, as the country's disease control center reported 12,834 newly confirmed cases in the past day, and 252 new Covid-related deaths.

 

The head of the agency, Lothar Wieler, said Germany is at the beginning of the third wave of infections following surges in cases last spring and in the fall.

4:32 PM

Uttar Pradesh reports 168 Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths in a day

The number of fresh Covid-19 cases reported daily in Uttar Pradesh has been showing an upward trend in the last 10 days with 187 new instances of the infection reported in a day, according to official data on Friday.

 

Two fresh Covid-19 fatalities took the death toll in the state to 8,743, he said.

 

Ten days ago, daily cases were in two-digits. Now it is seeing an upward trend, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.

4:30 PM

Japan intends to limit number of arrivals to 2,000 per day amid Covid-19

"Currently, to implement reliable quarantine measures, a limit will be imposed on the number of people entering the country, including Japanese citizens and returning foreigners, in the amount of 2,000 people per day," Akaba quoted.

 

Besides, the minister noted that the government called on airlines to introduce a limit on the numbers of passengers on international flights arriving in Japan.

 

The media outlet reported that several companies, including Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, have already voiced their intention to comply with the authorities' request, by reducing the numbers of passengers on international flights to 3,400 people per week.

4:12 PM

LIVE: Delhi reports 431 new cases, 356 recoveries and 2 deaths in last 24 hours

LIVE: Delhi reports 431 new cases, 356 recoveries and 2 deaths in last 24 hours

3:44 PM

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and wife Seema Athawale get coronavirus vaccine

3:35 PM

Pfizer, Moderna vaccines may greatly reduce risk of asymptomatic infection, study says

Patients without Covid-19 symptoms are far less likely to test positive, and unknowingly spread COVID-19 ten days after receiving a second dose of a messenger RNA vaccine, compared to those who have not been vaccinated, a study says.

 

Researchers from Mayo Clinic in the US noted that several vaccines are now clinically available under emergency use authorisation and have demonstrated efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19.

 

However, the impact of vaccines on asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection is largely unknown, they said.

3:13 PM

Manoj Bajpayee tests positive for Covid-19, under home quarantine

Manoj Bajpayee has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is currently under home quarantine, the actor's spokesperson said on Friday.

 

Bajpayee's spokesperson said the actor, who had commenced shooting for Kanu Behl-directed "Despatch" last month, was diagnosed with Covid-19 after the director got infected with it.

 

"Manoj Bajpayee was shooting for 'Despatch' film which is produced by Ronnie Screwvala and has tested Covid positive after his director got infected with it.

3:07 PM

Mumbai's 90% Covid patients in past 2 months from high rises

As many as 90 per cent patients in Mumbai, who tested positive for Covid-19 in January and February this year, were residents of high-rise buildings, while the remaining 10 per cent were from slums and chawls, the city civic body has said.

However, the situation has changed to some extent this month as the number of cases from slums are also going up, civic officials said.

 

Of the total number of 23,002 people, who tested positive for COVID-19 in the first two months of this year, 90 per centwere residents of building and 10 per cent others from slums and chawls, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)said in a release.

2:48 PM

India's self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing has proved beneficial for entire world: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India's self-reliance in Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing has proved beneficial for the entire world.

 

The Prime Minister, earlier in the day, flagged off 'padyatra' (foot march) from Ahmedabad to Dandi, as part of the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' program to mark the 75 years of India's independence.

 

Speaking at the Mahotsav here, Prime Minister Modi said, "To relieve the humanity of the crisis of Covid-19 pandemic, India's self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing has proved beneficial for the entire world. The achievements of India are not only our own today, but they are going to show light to the whole world."

2:44 PM

HDFC Bank to bear the cost of Covid vaccination for employees and family members

HDFC Bank to bear the cost of Covid vaccination for employees and family members

2:43 PM

Pak reports 2,701 new cases of coronavirus; total figure crosses 600,000

Pakistan's cases of coronavirus has crossed the 600,000 mark as the nation has reported 2,701 new patients with the disease in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Friday.

 

The National Health Services said that the number of total Covid-19 infections reached 600,198 while the death toll jumped to 13,430 after 54 more deaths in the last one day.

 

It reported that 568,065 people had recovered so far while some 1,709 were in critical condition. The number of active patients is 18,703.

2:38 PM

Covid-19: Six states account for over 85 per cent of new cases

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report a surge in daily Covid-19 cases, accounting for 85.6 per cent of the new cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

 

India's total Covid-19 active caseload has reached 1,97,237 and now comprises 1.74 per cent of India's total infections.

 

"Five states cumulatively account for 82.96 per cent of the total active cases in the country. Two states Maharashtra and Kerala- account for 71.69 per cent of India's total active cases," the ministry said.

2:01 PM

BWF cancels US Open and Canada Open due to Covid-19

Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Friday announced that the US Open 2021 -- a Super 300 tournament on the BWF World Tour -- and Canada Open 2021 has been cancelled. The US Open was due to take place from July 6-11 while the Canada Open was slated for June 29 to July 4.

 

"The ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and complications left local organisers no choice but to cancel the tournaments. The respective decisions of USA Badminton and Badminton Canada were made in consultation and agreement with the BWF," BWF said in a statement.

 

BWF also informed that Badminton Asia Championships 2021 has been postponed.

1:53 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Night curfew imposed in Pune, schools shut till March 31

Coronavirus LIVE:  Night curfew imposed in Pune in view of the rising coronavirus cases, schools shut till March 31

1:49 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Weekend lockdown in Maharashtra's Parbhani district

Coronavirus LIVE: Weekend lockdown in Maharashtra's Parbhani district amid rising coronavirus cases