Covid LIVE: Maharashtra to reopen schools for classes 5-8 from August 17

Coronavirus live updates: India's vaccine production target for later this year looks difficult as economic recovery looks fickle.

2:27 AM

Increase in Covid cases in Kerala cause for worry: Goa CM

The rising number of Covid cases in Kerala is a cause for concern, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday. The Chief Minister also advised the general population to adopt precautions during the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, while stating that the state government would devise special SOPs for the festive season ahead after taking stakeholders into confidence.

 

"Kerala is witnessing a rise in third wave cases. We have made RTPCR compulsory for people travelling from Kerala, even as persons from other states are allowed entry with a Covid negative certificate or a double dose certificate," the Chief Minister said.

 

Sawant also said that Goa was continuing to witness daily Covid-related deaths and said that the state and its people should not drop their guard.

1:41 AM

Bengaluru reports 441 new Covid cases

Karnataka capital Bengaluru has reported 441 Covid positive cases in the last 24 hours while 434 persons recovered from the disease, health officials said on Friday. The death toll remained at single digit -- 7, taking the overall toll to 15,909.

 

The positivity rate dropped slightly from 0.70 per cent in the last week to 0.65 per cent this week. The total active cases in the state capital touched 8,560 on Friday. A total of 64,519 tests were done in the last 24 hours.

 

As many as 32 children below 9 years tested positive for Covid.

 

Mahadevapura zone still remains the worst hit with 798 positive cases. There are 162 active micro containment zones in Bengaluru and Mahadevapura zone tops the list with maximum number of containment zones (42). The recovery rate registered is 98.01 per cent.

12:15 AM

Covid TPR in Kerala stays above 13% with 19,948 new cases

For the second day in succession, Kerala's daily Covid test positivity rate (TPR) on Friday stood above 13 per cent, at 13.13 per cent, with 19,948 cases registered from 1,51,892 samples tested in past 24 hours, a statement said. The statement from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the number of active cases was 1,78,204 after 19,480 people got cured in the state.

 

The day also saw a high of 187 Covid deaths, taking the total toll to 17,515. Malappuram district continued to lead with new cases after 3,417 people turned positive, followed by Ernakulam with 2,310.

 

Meanwhile, with the Kerala government deciding to change the lockdown norms from the hitherto followed TPR to weekly infection population ratio (WIPR), it was pointed out that in 266 wards of 52 local bodies, the WIPR was above 10 and hence, these wards would come under triple lockdown category.

 

State Health Minister Veena George, who bore the brunt of the Congress-led Opposition in the Assembly's attack over "impractical and illogical norms" like insisting of RT-PCR test results for those going out to shops, said that so far, 2.16 crore people have been given vaccines, of which 63 lakh, or 43 per cent of the state population, have received one dose, while 18 per cent have got both.

11:35 PM

Chhattisgarh sees 109 COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths, 156 recoveries

Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 tally reached 10,02,958 on Friday as 109 people tested positive for the infection, while three deaths took the toll to 13,536, a health official said.

 

The recovery count stood at 9,87,642 after 60 people were discharged from hospitals and 96 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the number of active cases in the state at 1,780, the official informed.

 

"Raipur district reported 13 new infections, taking the caseload to 1,57,766, including 3,139 deaths. Jashpur recorded 11 new cases and Bastar and Janjgir-Champa 10 each, among other districts. No new cases were reported in Kabirdham, Rajnandgaon, Bemetara, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Gariaband, Mungeli and Surajpur districts on Friday," he said.

 

With 43,810 samples being examined during the day, the number of tests conducted in the state went up to 1,16,12,290, the official said.

10:26 PM

Andhra Pradesh logs 2,209 new Covid cases, 22 deaths

Andhra Pradesh on Friday recorded 2,209 new Covid cases, taking its cumulative tally over 19.7 lakh, while its active caseload rose to 20,593. As many as 1,896 more persons recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours, increasing the state's total number of recoveries to over 19.4 lakh.

 

East Godavari district reported the highest number of cases at 438, followed by Chittoor with 382, Nellore 307, Krishna 243, Prakasam 184, Guntur 183, West Godavari 140, Visakhapatnam 135, Kadapa 65, Srikakulam 41, Anantapur 34, Vizianagaram 30, and Kurnool 27. East Godavari tops the chart with more than 2.7 lakh cases, followed by Chittoor with 2.3 lakh.

 

Meanwhile, 22 more persons succumbed in the past 24 hours, taking the state's death toll to 13,490. With 81,505 more tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the total number of tests carried out in Andhra Pradesh so far has crossed the 2.5 crore mark.

9:23 PM

Over 50 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed 50 crore with more than 43.29 lakh doses given on Friday, the Union health ministry said.

 

"India soars high on #COVID19 vaccination, historic record of 50 crore doses administered to date!" Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet.

 

Elaborating on the increasing pace of vaccination, he said the country took 85 days to touch the figure of 10 crore. It then took 45 days to cross the 20-crore mark and 29 more days to reach 30 crore. India took another 24 days to reach 40 crore and 20 more days to cross 50 crore vaccinations.

 

"In a significant achievement, India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 50-crore landmark milestone (50,03,48,866)," the health ministry said.

9:02 PM

Facility augmentation of Bharat Biotech, 3 PSUs being supported to enhance Covaxin output: Govt

Facility augmentation of Bharat Biotech and three public sector enterprises is being supported for enhancing production of COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, Parliament was informed on Friday. The Department of Biotechnology has informed that the facility augmentation of Bharat Biotech and 3 public sector enterprises (PSEs) – Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd,  Indian Immunologicals Ltd; and Bharat Immunologicals Biologicals Corporation Ltd – is being supported for augmented production of Covaxin, Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

9:00 PM

Rajasthan reports no new Covid death, 20 fresh cases

Rajasthan Friday reported no death due to coronavirus, while 20 new cases were recorded, according to an official report. Among the new cases, Jaipur recorded the highest six followed by Udaipur where four people tested positive, the report said.

8:29 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra to reopen schools for classes 5-8 from August 17

8:11 PM

Nepal's coronavirus death toll crosses 10,000-mark

Nepal's coronavirus death toll crossed the 10,000-mark, as the country recorded 25 fresh virus-related deaths on Friday, according to official data. In the last 24 hours, Nepal reported 3,729 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of cases to 777,589, said the Ministry of Health and Population in its daily statement. The death toll stands at 10,019. In the same period, 1,885 people recovered from the disease.

8:10 PM

Sikkim reports 126 new Covid-19 cases, one more fatality

Sikkim has reported 126 fresh Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally to 27,652, a health department bulletin said on Friday. One more patient died of coronavirus, taking the death toll to 352 in the past 24 hours. The Himalayan state now has 3,250 active cases while 23,772 people have recovered from the infection, the bulletin said. (PTI)

7:24 PM

Covid-19: Delhi govt likely to undertake advanced sero survey

The Delhi government is likely to undertake an advanced sero survey to determine the prevalence of Covid-19 variants and identify susceptible pool among the residents of the city, according to discussions held during a DDMA meeting on Friday, officials said. The meeting to review the Covid situation in the city was attended by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others.

7:05 PM

Karnataka reports 1,805 fresh coronavirus cases

Karnataka reports 1,805 fresh coronavirus cases, 1,854 discharges, and 36 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:02 PM

Manipur reports 742 new Covid cases

Manipur reports 742 new Covid cases, 1,047 recoveries & 14 deaths in the last 24 hours.

6:58 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Lockdown in Tamil Nadu extended till August 23

6:26 PM

Early signs Covid-19 vaccines may not stop Delta transmission, England says

There are early signs that people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 may be able to transmit the Delta variant of the virus as easily as those who have not, scientists at Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday. The findings chime with those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which last week raised concerns that vaccinated people infected with Delta could, unlike with other variants, readily transmit it. The highly infectious Delta variant has become the dominant coronavirus type globally, sustaining a pandemic that has already killed more than 4.4 million people, including over 130,000 in Britain. (Reuters)

6:19 PM

Covovax vaccine for children will be available in the first quarter of 2022, says Serum CEO

Covovax vaccine for children will be available in the first quarter of 2022, says Serum CEO

5:40 PM

83 Covid cases of Delta plus variant reported in India till Aug 4: Govt

A total of 83 cases of Delta plus variant of Covid-19 have been reported in India till August 4 with Maharashtra registering 33 of these cases followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 and Tamil Nadu 10, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

5:39 PM

China pledges 2 billion vaccines globally through year's end

A pledge by China to supply 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to other countries this year expands the commitments made by a nation that is already the largest exporter of the shots by far. President Xi Jinping made the announcement Thursday in a message to an international forum China organized on vaccine cooperation. He also promised to donate $100 million to Covax, the program that aims to distribute vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

5:35 PM

Over half a billion doses of Covid vaccines administered in WHO South-East Asia Region

More than half a billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the WHO South-East Asia Region, with the maximum, 489 million doses, been given in India, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Countries across the region are making unprecedented efforts to reach more and more people with life-saving Covid-19 vaccines, demonstrating their commitment to contain the pandemic at the earliest, regional director, WHO South-East Asia Region, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, said in a statement. "We must continue these and also, stringently implement public health and social measures," she said. (PTI)

5:32 PM

J&J seeks emergency approval for single-dose Covid vaccine in India

Global healthcare major Johnson & Johnson on Friday said it has applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine in India. Earlier on Monday, the company had said that it remained committed to bringing its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine to India and looks forward to ongoing discussions with the Indian government.

5:30 PM

Over 23 mn unutilised Covid vaccine doses available with states, hospitals

Over 2.30 crore balance and unutilised Covid-19 vaccine doses are still available with states, Union Territories and private hospitals which are yet to be administered, the Health Ministry said on Friday. More than 51.16 crore vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far through all sources and 20,49,220 jabs are in the pipeline, it said. (PTI)

5:04 PM

SARS-CoV-2 antibodies remain stable or increase seven months after infection: Study

The levels of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 remain stable, or even increase, seven months after infection, according to a study of healthcare workers published in the journal Nature Communications on Friday. The researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in Spain also suggest that pre-existing antibodies against common cold coronaviruses could protect from Covid-19.

4:58 PM

Monthly production capacity of Covishield, Covaxin to be increased: Govt

The monthly vaccine production capacity of Covishield is planned to be increased from 11 crore doses to more than 12 crore doses per month and of Covaxin from 2.5 crore doses to around 5.8 crore, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

4:57 PM

July hiring activity at all-time high crossing pre-Covid levels: Report

Hiring activity in the country touched an all-time high in July, witnessing a 11 per cent sequential increase, indicating a strong revival of economic growth and a recovery of business from the impact of Covid-19, a report said on Friday.

4:56 PM

China reports 124 new Covid-19 infections as cases rise

China's coronavirus cases saw a new jump on Friday as the country reported 124 new infections, the highest in recent days, China's National Health Commission said. A day earlier, the country had reported 39 coronavirus cases. As the cases are on the surge, the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, further tightened epidemic prevention and control measures after a recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections, Xinhua reported.

4:41 PM

Karnataka to open schools from August 23 in phases

4:07 PM

Odisha reports 1,208 new Covid-19 cases, 66 fatalities

Odisha on Friday registered 1,208 new Covid-19 cases, which took the tally in the state to 9,84,731, while 66 fresh fatalities pushed the coronavirus death toll to 6,302, a health department official said.

 

Of the new cases, 702 were reported from quarantine centres and 506 detected during contact tracing.

 

Khurda district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 399, followed by 173 in Cuttack.

 

Boudh did not report any new case for the second consecutive day. (PTI)

3:34 PM

16 mn Australians in lockdown as Covid spreads to more areas

As Sydney's Covid-19 outbreak continues to escalate, breaches into neighbouring states and regions have forced some 16 million people along Australia's densely populated eastern coast into lockdown.

 

The state of Victoria and some regional areas in New South Wales (NSW) are the latest ones joining the ongoing lockdown gripping both Greater Sydney and its surrounding areas, as well as parts of Queensland, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

With these new restrictions that took effect on Thursday evening, an estimated 60 per cent of all Australians are under lockdown orders. (IANS)

3:19 PM

Delhi reports 44 new coronavirus cases

Delhi reports 44 new coronavirus cases, 41 recoveries and 5 deaths in the last 24 hours.