Covid LIVE: We have a window of 6-8 months before 3rd wave, says N K Arora

Coronavirus live updates: 'Vaccine hesitancy in some places is dangerous', says PM Modi. Stay tuned for corona-related news

3:28 AM

Tamil Nadu govt allows re-opening of textile showrooms, jewelleries in 23 districts

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday allowed re-opening of textile showrooms and jewelleries in 23 districts of the state from June 28, as part of the relaxation in lockdown norms.
 

The additional relaxation was given following pleas and opinions from people and traders' bodies, an official release said.
 

The said establishments can operate from 9 am to 7 pm with 50 percent customers and cannot run air conditioners in their shops, the release, quoting Chief Minister M K Stalin, said.
 

Earlier, the government had allowed a number of relaxations with effect from Monday, after categorising the 38 districts in the state into three separate groups in keeping with the incidence of covid-19 cases for the purpose of easing curbs.
 

The first category of 11 districts--seven in western parts (including Coimbatore) and four in Cauvery delta region like Thanjavur, have relatively higher number of coronavirus cases.
 

The 23 districts in the second category include Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Kanyakumari, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipet and Sivaganga.
 

The government's relaxations in lockdown norms, effective Monday, include re-opening places of worship and malls in the third category--Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpet and resumption of public transport among others in the 23 districts coming under the second one.
 

3:27 AM

Assam reports 1,523 new Covid-19 cases, 37 more deaths

Assams Covid-19 tally rose to 5,00,644 on Sunday as 1,523 more people tested positive for the infection while 37 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,440, the National Health Mission bulletin said.
 

Kamrup Metropolitan reported the highest number of new cases at 149, followed by Sonitpur (137), Jorhat (109), and Golaghat (95).
 

Dibrugarh and Jorhat reported seven deaths each, followed by five in Sonitpur, three each in Golaghat and Tinsukia, two in Goalpara, and one each in Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Chirang, Hailakandi, Kamrup Metropolitan, Majuli, Morigaon, Sivasagar, and Udalguri districts, the bulletin said.
 

The NHM said 1,347 more Covid-19 patients have died till now, but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the Covid-19 virus as they had other ailments too.
 

The 1,523 new cases were detected out of testing of 55,131 samples on Sunday and the positivity rate for the day was 2.76 per cent, the NHM y bulletin said.
 

The state had reported 2,640 coronavirus positive cases on Saturday against the testing of 1,27,887 samples.
 

Assam currently has 25,790 active Covid-19 cases.
 

The overall positivity rate stands at 3.45 per cent against the total testing of 1,45,22,574 samples so far.
 

3:26 AM

North Macedonia gets 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines

North Macedonia on Sunday received a shipment of 500,000 doses of Chinese Sinovac vaccines that will allow authorities to continue mass immunisation in the country, which has slowed over the past two weeks because of vaccine shortages.
 

The vaccine shipments arrived at the country's main airport on two planes.
 

North Macedonia received another shipment of more than 100,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines through the COVAX system on Saturday.
 

The small Balkan country had struggled earlier with vaccine shortages, and mass immunization had begun in early May after North Macedonia received a shipment of 200,000 Sinopharm vaccines.
 

Nearly 25 per cent of the country's 2.1 million people have been vaccinated with at least one dose so far.
 

The Covid-19 epidemic in North Macedonia has drastically slowed down this month and authorities have decided to ease almost all restrictions by removing a curfew, and allowing bars and restaurants to organise weddings and other celebrations with 50 per cent of normal capacity. Protective masks are mandatory only indoors.
 

3:26 AM

South Africa to tighten Covid-19 restrictions for 14 days

South Africa will tighten Covid-19 restrictions for 14 days as current containment measures are insufficient to cope with the speed and scale of new infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
 

The country, the worst-hit on the African continent in terms of recorded cases and deaths, is in the grip of a "third wave" of infections.
 

It recorded almost 18,000 new cases on Saturday, approaching the peak of daily infections seen in a second wave in January, and local scientists say the Delta coronavirus variant first identified in India seems to be spreading fast.
 

"Additional restrictions are necessary... Our focus is on limiting social contacts while preserving the economy," Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation.
 

8:53 PM

Gujarat sees 112 Covid cases, 3 deaths, 305 recoveries

The Covid-19 tally in Gujarat rose by 112 on Sunday to reach 8,23,244, while the toll increased by three and the recovery count by 305, an official said.

 

The state has so far seen 10,051 deaths and 8,09,506 people have been discharged post recovery, which is 98.33 per cent of the caseload, leaving it with 3,687 active cases, including 21 critical ones, the official informed.

 

"Ahmedabad led with 24 cases, followed by Vadodara with 21, Surat with 20 among others. The three deaths took place in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Bhavnagar," he said. (PTI)

8:36 PM

Rahul Gandhi urges PM Modi to end vaccine shortage

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should end the "shortage" of COVID-19 vaccines, which should be available to every citizen, and not make excuses to distract from this important issue.

 

He said this after the prime minister in his "Mann Ki Baat" monthly radio address talked about ending vaccine hesitancy.

 

"The only thing to do is to end the shortage of vaccines. The rest are all excuses for diverting attention," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi using the hashtag 'Mann ki Baat'. Read here

8:18 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: West Bengal reports 1,836 new cases

8:02 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Bihar reports 185 fresh cases in a day

7:55 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Tamil Nadu reports 5,127 fresh cases

7:35 PM

Kerala reports 10,905 new cases, 62 deaths in last 24 hours

Kerala reported 10,905 new cases of Covid-19 and 62 deaths in the last 24 hours, the state health department said on Sunday.

 

Kerala also witnessed 12,351 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

 

As per the state government data, there are 99,591 active cases in the state while the death toll has mounted to 12,879.

 

As many 50,040 new Covid-19 cases were reported in India in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative count of infections to 3,02,33,183, informed the Union Health Ministry on Sunday. (PTI)

7:16 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Manipur reports 669 fresh cases in a day

7:06 PM

Govt says 1.35 bn doses will be available between Aug-Dec

The Centre informed the Supreme Court in an affidavit that a new Covid-19 vaccine would be available soon for adolescents (12-18 years) from Zydus Cadila.

 

It also said that 1.35 billion doses would be needed to vaccinate the adult population August onwards, and it expects availability of the same. This is a downward revision of the earlier estimate of 2.1 billion doses that the Centre had indicated it expects between August and December.

 

“It is submitted that Zydus Cadila, which is developing DNA vaccines, has concluded its clinical trial for those between the age group of 12 to 18 years and subject to the statutory permissions, the same may be available in near future for children of the age group of 12 to 18 years,” the Centre said in an affidavit to the top court. Read here

6:59 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka reports 3,604 fresh cases

6:41 PM

It's any day better than no business: Wedding industry heaves sigh of relief as Delhi unlocks

For the wedding industry in the national capital, it is the permission to reopen rather than the hope to make some profit that has shown a sliver of hope after three months of no business.

 

The Delhi government on Saturday allowed weddings at banquet, marriage halls and hotels with 50 people in attendance, and reopening of gyms and yoga centres at 50 per cent capacity under the phased unlock process initiated with an improvement in the city's COVID-19 situation.

 

The relaxations will come into force from 5 am on Monday.

 

Wedding planners and banquet hall owners welcomed the Delhi government's decision. They, however, said they do not hold any hopes for making profit this season.

 

"We are glad that we have been allowed to open at least. After paying the employees from our pockets and incurring losses, we will at least be able to make the ends meet," said Sunil Juneja of Precious Moments Banquets. (PTI)

6:33 PM

Delhi needs 4.5 million doses in July: AAP MLA Atishi

The Delhi government has informed the Centre that the city needs 45 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines in July to keep up the current vaccination rate of 1.5 lakh jabs daily, AAP MLA Atishi said on Sunday.

 

"More than 45 lakh doses will be needed if the pace of vaccination increases," she said.

 

According to the city's vaccination bulletin, 25 per cent of Delhi's population in the 18-44 age group has received at least one dose of vaccine. (PTI)

6:10 PM

Covishield dose interval relaxed for Olympic-bound athletes: Centre to SC

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that the athletes, sportspersons and accompanying staff of the Indian contingent attending the Tokyo Olympics, students undertaking foreign travel for education and persons working abroad will be administered the second dose of the Covishield vaccine prior to the prescribed time interval (after 28 days but before 84 days).

 

Presently, based on the recommendations of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NGVAC), the schedule of Covishield under the National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy is to administer the second dose at an interval of 12-16 weeks (after 84 days) from the date of administration of the first dose.

 

In a 380-page affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday in a suo motu matter on Covid management, the Centre has said the health ministry has received several representations from students as well as states such as Kerala regarding relaxations for the administration of the second dose of Covishield before the currently stipulated 84-day interval for students going abroad for higher studies.

5:56 PM

Coronavirus Latest: 45 more deaths, 222 new cases in Uttar Pradesh

The Covid-19 death toll in Uttar Pradesh rose to 22,518 on Sunday with 45 more fatalities, while 222 new cases pushed the infection tally to 17,05,596, according to an official statement issued here.

 

Of the fresh fatalities, six deaths each were reported from Lucknow and Allahabad, followed by five in Kanpur, the statement said.

 

Of the new cases, 23 were reported from Lucknow followed by 17 from Kanpur, 15 from Varanasi and 14 from Gonda, it said. (PTI)

5:48 PM

Zydus' Covid-19 vaccine for kids to be out by July-end: Top govt advisor

The dreaded third wave of coronavirus is likely to hit India late, according to an ICMR study, said a top expert advising the Central government.

 

"ICMR has come up with a study which says the third wave is likely to come late. We have a window period of six-eight months to immunise everybody in the country," said Dr N K Arora, Chairman of Covid working group, according to an ANI report.

 

"In the coming days, our target is to administer 10 million vaccine doses every day," he said. Read here

5:19 PM

Railways improves operating ratio to 97.45% in Covid-hit 2020-21

Limited train services for most of the year with no subsidies or concessions and severely tightening of expenses have led to the Railways better its operating ratio to 97.45 per cent in the financial year 2020-21 from 98.36 per cent the previous fiscal, according to an RTI reply.

 

Operating ratio is the amount spent to earn every Rs 100. The lower it is the better. It is used to measure the operational efficiency of any organisation. Higher the operating ratio, lower the financial resources available for expansion and growth.

 

The improvement in the running costs of the Railways means the national transporter was able to lower its expenditure and make up for the shortfall in passenger traffic through revenue generated by freight operations. (PTI)

5:04 PM

Delhi Gym Association hopes for positive response from people on reopening after 2 months

Delhi Gym Association is hopeful for a good response from people after Gyms and yoga centres have been allowed to reopen in the national capital from Monday at 50 per cent capacity.

 

All fitness centres have been shut for over two months in order to contain the spread of Covid-19 and combat the second wave of the pandemic.

 

However, even after witnessing a crumbling health care system that saw severe oxygen and bed shortages, the people running this business are positive that there will be a good response from Delhiites. (PTI)

4:45 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi sees 89 fresh cases

4:35 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Andhra Pradesh sees 4,250 fresh cases

4:24 PM

Covid vax may not be enough, masks, distancing must continue: WHO

As the highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus disease is spreading rapidly across the globe, being vaccinated may not be enough, people must continue wearing masks, maintain social distancing and other Covid-appropriate behaviours, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

 

According to the global agency, the Delta variant (B16172), first detected in India in October last year, has now spread to at least 92 countries, CNBC reported. It is becoming the dominant variant of the disease worldwide. Read here

4:19 PM

Rise in cases of depression, panic attacks, insomnia due to Covid-related trauma: Experts

Inability to mourn with family members or cope with grief alone due to Covid constraints has led to an increase in cases of depression, anxiety, insomnia and other mental health disorders among people in Delhi who have been affected directly or indirectly by the pandemic, experts said.

 

Several hospitals and clinics in the national capital are registering a spike in the number of patients complaining of symptoms related to pyschological ailments triggered by post-traumatic stress, they said.

 

Delhi had reeled under a brutal second wave of the pandemic which claimed a massive number of lives daily, with the oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals, having added to the woes.

 

Hospital premises and crematoriums had witnessed distressful scenes, with grieving family members, many in full PPE kits, trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones. (PTI)

4:15 PM

Punjab govt to install 75 more oxygen plants by July end

The Punjab government will install 75 more oxygen plants in the state by July end, boosting the supply of the life-saving gas ahead of a possible third Covid wave, Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said on Sunday.

 

Mahajan said all relevant departments have been asked to complete the installation of pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants by July end, ensuring pressure and purity of oxygen.

 

With this, the demand for medical oxygen will be met at all healthcare institutes in Punjab, she said in an official statement after chairing a high-level meeting to review the installation of the PSA plants and allied works. (PTI)

3:50 PM

Availability of Covid vaccine for kids will pave way for school reopening: AIIMS chief

Making Covid-19 vaccine available for children will be a milestone achievement and pave the way for reopening of schools and resumption of outdoor activities for them, AIIMS Chief Dr Randeep Guleria has said.

 

He said the data of phase two and three trial of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin on two to 18 years age group is expected by September. The vaccine can be available for children in India around that time following approval from the drug regulator, he said.

 

"If the Pfizer vaccine gets approval before that, then it can also be an option for children," Dr Guleria told PTI on Saturday.

 

According to a senior government official, pharmaceutical major Zydus Cadila is also likely to soon apply to the Drugs Controller General of India for emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D, which it claims can be given to both adults and children.

3:44 PM

Availability of Covid vaccine for kids will pave way for school reopening: AIIMS chief

Making Covid-19 vaccine available for children will be a milestone achievement and pave the way for reopening of schools and resumption of outdoor activities for them, AIIMS Chief Dr Randeep Guleria has said.

 

He said the data of phase two and three trial of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin on two to 18 years age group is expected by September. The vaccine can be available for children in India around that time following approval from the drug regulator, he said.

 

"If the Pfizer vaccine gets approval before that, then it can also be an option for children," Dr Guleria told PTI on Saturday. (PTI)

3:32 PM

Malaysia indefinitely extends virus lockdown

Malaysia's leader says the country will indefinitely extend a near-total lockdown that's been in place for a month, as coronavirus infections remain high.

 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday said the lockdown won't be eased unless daily new cases fall below 4,000, the vaccination rate reaches 10 per cent and demand is reduced for intensive care in hospitals. The national Bernama news agency quoted Muhyiddin as saying he hopes this will happen by mid-July.

 

The lockdown was set to expire Monday. (AP)

3:29 PM

Jharkhand records three more fatalities, 98 new cases

Jharkhand recorded three more Covid-19 deaths and 98 new cases in the last 24 hours, a health department bulletin said on Sunday.

 

The deaths which were reported from East Singhbhum, Bokaro and Khunti district pushed the Covid-19 death toll to 5,110.

 

The 98 new Covid-19 cases took the tally to 3,45,259.

 

Ranchi district reported 18 new cases followed by Simdega (12) and Latehar (9), the bulletin said. (PTI)

3:14 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Haryana govt extends lockdown till July 5, but with some relaxations