Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra, Delhi, UP, Karnataka see record daily cases

Coronavirus live updates: India has added 2,142,934 fresh Covid-19 cases since April 1. Mumbai registered 9,925 new cases, Delhi 17,282 in the last 24 hours. Stay tuned for corona-related news

3:31 AM

Gujarat govt 'suppressing' Covid-19 death figures: Congress

As crematoriums in several cities of Gujarat operate round-the-clock since the last couple of weeks, the opposition Congress on Friday accused the BJP government of suppressing actual Covid-19 death figures in the state.
 

The state government has cited ICMR guidelines to claim there is no tinkering with death figures.
 

Congress MLA Vimal Chudasama, citing a data sheet which suggested that though 39 persons, who were admitted to the Veraval civil hospital of Gir-Somnath district as Covid-19 "positive" patients, had died in the last 17 days, these fatalities did not get reflected in the tally released daily by the Health Department.
 

"As per the state government records, not a single Covid-19 patient has died in the entire Gir-Somnath district in recent times. But now, I have the proof, signed by an official, which clearly suggests that 39 coronavirus patients have died in the last 17 days at Veraval civil hospital" said the MLA, who represents the Somnath seat in the assembly.
 

Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi alleged that the Vijay Rupani government is "suppressing figures to hide the reality from the people".

3:30 AM

German's IDT to make 10 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses in 2021

German vaccine-maker IDT Biologika said Friday it plans to bottle this year some 10 million doses of the coronavirus shot developed by AstraZeneca.
 

IDT Biologika and AstraZeneca previously announced they would expand production capacity for the British-Swedish company's vaccine at a plant in the German town of Dessau by the end of 2022.
 

The new agreement was made possible because a third manufacturer, Merz Pharma, relinquished the production capacity it had reserved with IDT for the second quarter.
 

IDT produces vaccines for several pharmaceutical companies. In March, the company announced that for three months it would make the single-dose Covid-19 shot developed by Johnson & Johnson.
 

Chief Executive Officer Juergen Betzing said Friday that IDT was also in talks with the developers of Russia's Sputnik V shot, which has yet to be approved for use in the European Union.
 

The AstraZeneca vaccine is restricted to people over 60 in Germany due to concerns over rare blood clots in some recipients. Among those who received it recently are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
 

3:30 AM

US setting up $1.7 billion national network to track virus variants

The US is setting up a USD 1.7 billion national network to identify and track worrisome coronavirus mutations whose spread could trigger another pandemic wave, the Biden administration announced Friday.
 

White House officials unveiled a strategy that features three components: a major funding boost for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments to ramp up coronavirus gene-mapping; the creation of six “centers of excellence” partnerships with universities to conduct research and develop technologies for gene-based surveillance of pathogens, and building a data system to better share and analyze information on emerging disease threats, so knowledge can be turned into action.
 

“Even as we accelerate our efforts to get shots into arms, more dangerous variants are growing, causing increases in cases in people without immunity,” White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt told reporters. That “requires us to intensify our efforts to quickly test for and find the genetic sequence of the virus as it spreads.” The new effort relies on money approved by Congress as part of President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief package to break what experts say is a feast-or-famine cycle in U.S. preparedness for disease threats. The coronavirus is only one example. Others pathogens have included Ebola and Zika, and respiratory viruses like SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, which did not become major problems in the United States.
 

Typically, the government scrambles to counter a potential threat, but funding dries up when it recedes. The new genomic surveillance initiative aims to create a permanent infrastructure.
 

3:29 AM

Covid-19: Mismatch between govt's death figures, bodies arriving for last rites in Bhopal

Last rites of 108 people who died of coronavirus in Bhopal were performed on Thursday, a figure vastly different from the Madhya Pradesh government's claim on Covid-19 fatalities that day, according to records maintained by crematoriums and graveyards in the state capital and officials working there.
 

The government had claimed that only eight people had died of the infection in Bhopal district in the last 24 hours (on Thursday).
 

According to the records with two crematoriums and a graveyard, last rites of 156 people were performed on Thursday in the state capital. Of them 108 were coronavirus-infected, the documents showed.
 

"Eighty-eight people were cremated in our crematorium on Thursday. Of them, 72 were the ones who had died of coronavirus," Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat (crematorium) secretary Mamtesh Sharma told PTI.
 

Out of the 72 Covid-19 deceased, 45 were from Bhopal, while 27 were from other districts, he said.
 

Coronavirus patients who come from other districts to Bhopal for treatment and die here are cremated in the state capital itself, Sharma said.
 

Bhadbhada and Zada graveyards are authorised to perform the last rites in the district. But due to a rise in fatalites, another crematorium, Subhash Nagar Vishram Ghat, too, has been roped in for funerals, Sharma said.
 

3:28 AM

Covid-19: After Maha govt plea, Railways develops policy to transport liquid medical oxygen

The Railways Friday formulated a policy for the transportation of liquid medical oxygen in cryogenic tankers after a plea by the government of Maharashtra, one of the worst affected states by the coronavirus pandemic.
 

The policy, made public late Friday night, said the cryogenic tankers will be transported as a paid-for roll on-roll of (Ro-Ro) service to various destinations across states.
 

The circular said Maharashtra's health secretary had requested for the transport of medical oxygen in cryogenic containers.
 

"The matter has been examined. Competent authority has approved the transport of liquid medical oxygen in cryogenic containers," it said, detailing the charges to be levied for the service.
 

The circular said the staff accompanying liquid oxygen trucks to be loaded on the Ro-Ro service will be charged second class ticket for the journey and only two persons will be allowed to accompany the truck.
 

The empty flow direction of the containers will also be charged by the railways.
 

Maharashtra is among states worst-affected affected by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
 

Earlier this week, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said there was a shortage of medical oxygen in the state and had sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support for addressing the issue.
 

8:46 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Nine more fatalities, 842 new cases in Himachal

Himachal Pradesh recorded nine more Covid-19 fatalities on Friday, pushing the death toll to 1,155, while 842 fresh cases pushed the infection count to 74,195, an official said.

 

The active cases in the state climbed to 7,711, the official said.

 

Special Health Secretary, Nipun Jindal, said three people each died in Shimla and Hamirpur and one each in Sirmaur, Mandi and Una districts. (PTI)

8:25 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Uttar Pradesh records 27,426 new cases

Uttar Pradesh records 27,426 new coronavirus cases, 103 deaths and 6,429 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:16 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 63,729 new cases

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 63,729 new coronavirus cases, 45,335 discharges and 398 deaths, according to the state health department.

8:06 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi reports nearly 20,000 cases in record daily spike

7:55 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Rajasthan records 7,359 fresh cases

Rajasthan records 7,359 fresh coronavirus cases, 31 deaths and 2,791 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:53 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Andhra Pradesh reports 6,096 new cases

Andhra Pradesh reports 6,096 new coronavirus cases, 20 deaths and 2,194 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department.

7:45 PM

Give RT-PCR test reports immediately, Bombay HC tells labs

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has said that laboratories must send RT-PCR tests to people on Whatsapp or as hard copies immediately, the order coming after an intervenor said people were facing difficulty getting their reports as testing facilities were not parting with it till it was uploaded on the Indian Council of Medical Research portal.

 

A division bench of Justices Z A Haq and A B Borkar was on Thursday hearing a bunch of petitions pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic and its order was made available on Friday.

 

The court was informed by intervenor Mukesh Chandak, a doctor, hat several times the ICMR server was slow and this added to the trouble of people waiting for their RT-PCR reports. (PTI)

7:33 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka govt issues fresh restrictions on social gatherings

7:25 PM

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar says all-party meeting will be held tomorrow to take stock of Covid situation

7:13 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: EC bans rallies, public meetings in West Bengal from 7 pm to 10 am

EC bans rallies, public meetings in West Bengal from 7 pm to 10 am beginning Friday due to rise in Covid-19 cases

7:13 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Uttarakhand reports 2,402 new cases

Uttarakhand reports 2,402 new coronavirus cases including 1,051 in Dehradun and 539 cases in Haridwar, taking the total number of cases to 118,646, according to the state health department.

6:51 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Nagpur reports 6,194 fresh cases

Maharashtra: Nagpur district reports 6,194 fresh coronavirus cases, 75 deaths and 5,894 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to health department officials.

6:49 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 24 saints who attended Kumbh Mela tested positive today

24 saints, who attended Kumbh Mela, have tested positive for coronavirus today; so far, 54 of them tested positive for the disease, says SK Jha, Chief Medical Officer, Haridwar. 

6:37 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: ICSE exams for Classes 10 and 12 deferred, new dates in June

Coronavirus LIVE: ICSE exams for Classes 10 and 12 deferred, new dates to be announced in June

6:23 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka reports 14,859 new cases

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka reports 14,859 new positive cases, 4,031 discharges and 78 deaths, according to the state health department.

6:18 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi CM holds review meeting over beds availability

6:12 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala reports 10,031 new cases

Kerala reports 10,031 new coronavirus cases, 3,792 recoveries and 21 deaths. Death toll stands at 4,877 while 11,32,267 persons have recovered, so far, according to the state health department.

6:10 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Goa reports 927 fresh cases

Goa reports 927 fresh coronavirus cases, 282 recoveries and 6 deaths; case tally at 65,499, according to the state health department.

5:56 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Telugu film star and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan tests positive

Coronavirus LIVE: Telugu film star and Jana Sena Party chief K Pawan Kalyan has tested positive, is stable

5:50 PM

India remains badly placed to tackle Covid spread: Fitch Solutions

Despite several healthcare reforms, India remains badly placed to tackle the third wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping the nation, Fitch Solutions on Friday said, adding the unprecedented crisis has highlighted the need to increase investment in the healthcare sector.

 

After some success in curbing the virus considerably, India's economy had returned to functioning normally by the second half of 2020.

 

"However, over recent weeks, the virus has started spreading rapidly, partly due to complacency on the social distancing measures and mask-wearing policies," Fitch Solutions said in a note.

 

With daily Covid-19 cases crossing the grim milestone of 2 lakh, several hospitals across the country are stretched beyond their capacities in handling the rising burden of the highly infectious disease. (PTI)

5:43 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar tests positive

5:26 PM

Odisha govt suspends all exams and physical classes in universities and colleges

Odisha government suspends all examinations and physical classes in Universities and Colleges coming under the State Higher Education Department from April 19.

5:14 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Kejriwal directs district magistrates to increase oxygen beds

5:13 PM

Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, UP have over 100,000 active Covid cases each

The union government on Friday said that three states --- Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra --- have over 100,000 active coronavirus cases each in the country.

 

With Friday's addition of over 200,000 cases, India saw a net increase of 97,866 in active infections, highest in a day, to take its count to 1,569,743. India’s share of global active coronavirus cases now stands at 8.76 per cent (one in 11). The country is second among the most affected countries by active cases.

 

Both Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh continue to report very high number of daily new cases and deaths. Chhattisgarh has reported nearly 6.2 per cent increase in weekly new coronavirus cases based on Seven-day moving average. Read here

4:42 PM

Covid surge: Harsh Vardhan reviews preparedness of Delhi AIIMS

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan reviewed preparedness of AIIMS New Delhi in light of recent surge of coronavirus cases in the national capital. “We defeated the virus when we did not know much about it and we can do it again,” he said. Think about developing new models that can be implemented and replicated in other parts of the country, Harsh Vardhan told the medical community. “Covid-appropriate behaviour: the biggest social tool we have to break the transmission chain.” Read full release here