Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tests positive

Coronavirus live updates: Globally, more than 105.5 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,292,656

11:21 PM

Covid-19 vaccination for frontline personnel in Telangana to begin from Saturday

Covid-19 vaccination for frontline personnel, including police,municipal, panchayat raj and revenue staff, would begin in Telangana from Saturday. The total number of these beneficiaries is 1,88,402, an official release said on Friday. The state government has conducted inoculation for government and private healthcare personnel since the programme began on January 16.

The cumulative number of personnel vaccinated as of Friday was 1,93,485, it said. Meanwhile, state Health Minister Eatala Rajender told reporters that the spread of COVID-19 is on the wane in the state with only a few hundred cases being reported daily. The number of deaths is also either one or two per day, he said.

11:21 PM

Covid-19 vaccination for frontline personnel in Telangana to begin from Saturday

Covid-19 vaccination for frontline personnel, including police,municipal, panchayat raj and revenue staff, would begin in Telangana from Saturday. The total number of these beneficiaries is 1,88,402, an official release said on Friday. The state government has conducted inoculation for government and private healthcare personnel since the programme began on January 16.

The cumulative number of personnel vaccinated as of Friday was 1,93,485, it said. Meanwhile, state Health Minister Eatala Rajender told reporters that the spread of COVID-19 is on the wane in the state with only a few hundred cases being reported daily. The number of deaths is also either one or two per day, he said.

11:20 PM

Covid-19 vaccination for frontline personnel in Telangana to begin from Saturday

Covid-19 vaccination for frontline personnel, including police,municipal, panchayat raj and revenue staff, would begin in Telangana from Saturday. The total number of these beneficiaries is 1,88,402, an official release said on Friday. The state government has conducted inoculation for government and private healthcare personnel since the programme began on January 16.

The cumulative number of personnel vaccinated as of Friday was 1,93,485, it said. Meanwhile, state Health Minister Eatala Rajender told reporters that the spread of COVID-19 is on the wane in the state with only a few hundred cases being reported daily. The number of deaths is also either one or two per day, he said.

10:36 PM

84 new Covid-19 cases in Haryana, 1 death

Haryana recorded 84 fresh coronavirus cases on Friday, while one death due to the infection took place in the state, a health department's bulletin said. The death of a coronavirus patient was reported in Gurgaon. The fatality count in the state has now risen to 3,027, it stated. The 84 fresh cases included 23 from Gurgaon and 18 from Panchkula districts.

The total number of infections reported in the state reached 2,68,293, the bulletin said. The number of active cases in the state is 949, while 2,64,317 patients have recovered. The recovery rate was 98.52 percent, it stated.

10:24 PM

India fastest country to reach 5 million Covid vaccinations mark: Health ministry

India has become thefirstcountry in the world to reach the5 million COVID-19 vaccinationmark in just 21 days, the Union Health Ministry said asnearly 53 lakh beneficiaries have been administered shotsunder the countrywide inoculation exercise till Friday evening. The USA, the UK and Israel have reached 5 million vaccinations in 24, 43 and 45 simultaneous days respectively.

"The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program was conducted successfully on the twenty-first day as well," the ministry said. The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against COVID-19 is nearly 53 lakhs. A total of 52,90,474 beneficiaries were vaccinated through 1,04,781 sessions, as per the provisional report comprising data collected till Friday 6 pm. As many as "3,31,029 beneficiaries have been vaccinated till 6 pm on the 21st day of the vaccination drive,"the ministry said, adding, thefinal reportwould be completed bylatein the night. The final report would be completed for the day by late Friday night, the ministry said.

8:50 PM

2,628 new coronavirus cases, 40 deaths in Maharashtra

Maharashtra reported 2,628 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the case tally to 20,38,630, an official of the state health department said. As many as 40 COVID-19 fatalities were recorded during the day which pushed the death toll to 51,255, he said.

 

As many as 16 of these deaths were from the past 48 hours, seven had taken place in the last week and remaining 17 had taken place before that but were reported now, the official said.

 

A total of 3,513 patients were discharged from hospitals on Friday, taking the overall number of recoveries in Maharashtra to 19,52,187. There are 33,936 active coronavirus cases in the state. Maharashtra's case recovery rate now stands at 95.76 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.51 per cent.

8:20 PM

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tests positive for coronavirus

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh says he has tested positive for coronavirus.

8:10 PM

Only 27 got hospitalised after receiving Covid-19 vaccine: Health Ministry

7:51 PM

Third phase of Covid-19 vaccination covering people aged above 50 likely to begin in March: Govt

The third phase of vaccination against the coronavirus is likely to commence in March and will cover 27 crore people aged 50 years and above and those with co-morbidities, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Lok Sabha on Friday. Replying to questions on vaccines and the vaccination drive against the coronavirus during the Question Hour, Vardhan said nearly five million people have been inoculated in the country so far.

 

He added that the vaccination drive for frontline workers has begun this week.

 

"In coming days, 27 crore people who are of above 50 years of age and those under 50 with co-morbidities will be vaccinated," Vardhan said.

 

The vaccination drive began on January 16, starting with healthcare workers and then the frontline workers, both estimated to be around three crore.

7:19 PM

India completed 5 million vaccinations in 21 days: Union Health Ministry

We completed 50 Lakh (5 million) vaccinations in 21 days. In the US it took 24 days, 43 days in the UK and 45 days in Israel: Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Union Health Ministry

6:38 PM

Nearly 5 million beneficiaries vaccinated against Covid-19: Health Ministry

Nearly 50 lakh beneficiaries have been inoculated under the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination exercise, while India's total active cases have dropped to1.51 lakh, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. India's total active cases continues to follow a consistent downward slideconsisting of just1.40 per centof total infections.

 

Following a downward trajectory,12,408 daily newcases were recorded in a span of 24 hours.

 

"India's cases per million population (7,828) areamongst the lowest in the world.This count is much higher for countries like Russia, Germany, Italy, Brazil, France, UK and USA," the ministry said. READ ON...

 

6:26 PM

Himachal schools to shut for 48 hours if Covid-19 case reported

The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Friday decided that if any teacher or employee or student in government institutes is found Covid-19 positive, the institute would be closed for 48 hours and would be opened after sanitisation as per protocol.

 

It was decided that students of Classes 6 and 7 would also attend their respective schools from February 15, while those of Class 1 and 4 would attend the online classes.

 

The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, also decided to suspend serving cooked meals in schools under Mid-Day Meal Scheme till March 31. During this period, dry ration would be provided to students and the cooking cost would be transferred in the accounts of the beneficiaries. The academic session would start from April 1.

6:08 PM

India’s 112 deaths per million population amongst the lowest globally

5:38 PM

Delhi reports 154 new coronavirus cases, 140 recoveries and two deaths in last 24 hours

Delhi recorded 154 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, while the death toll rose to 10,873 with two new fatalities. The fatality count on Friday was same as that on February 2, the lowest in the last 10 months. These new cases came out of the 59,964 tests conducted the previous day. The positivity rate stood at 0.26 per cent, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department.

 

The infection tally in the city stood at over 6.35 lakh and the death toll mounted to 10,873 with two new fatalities, authorities said. The active cases tally on Friday slightly rose to 1,206 from 1,194, according to the bulletin. The total number of tests conducted the previous day, included 37,770 RT-PCR tests and 22,194 rapid antigen tests, the bulletin said.

5:02 PM

India received requests for Covid-19 vaccine supply from 22 nations so far: Health Minister

4:33 PM

Expert panel had recommended against granting emergency use authorisation to Pfizer's vaccine: Officials

Just two days before pharma major Pfizer announced withdrawal of its application for emergency use authorisation of its COVID-19 vaccine in India, an expert panel of the country's drugs regulatory authority had recommended against granting such approval to the firm at this stage, officials said on Friday. Pfizer on Friday said it has decided to withdraw its application for emergency use authorisation of its COVID-19 vaccine in India.

 

It was the first pharmaceutical firm to seek such an authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on December 5 for its COVID-19 vaccine, after it secured such clearance in the UK and Bahrain.

 

On February 3, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) deliberated on Pfizer's application. The firm presented its proposal for emergency use authorisation of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b before the committee, an official said.

4:13 PM

After effects of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine not serious, shows UK study

A new study in the UK has revealed that while many people have reported after effects of the Pfizer Covid vaccine, the most common symptoms are of a non-serious nature. Most symptoms happen in the first two days after vaccination, with headache, fatigue and chills or shivers being the most common, according to the findings of the ongoing ZOE Covid Symptom Study app released on Thursday.

 

The researchers found that previous exposure to coronavirus makes it more likely that someone will experience systemic effects after vaccination.

 

The team analysed reports from nearly 40,000 people who were vaccinated in December - 23,308 people who had received just one dose, and 12,444 who had both. The results showed that around four in ten people who received their first dose had at least one after effect in their arm, most commonly pain and swelling in the day or two after the jab.

3:53 PM

Nearly 50 lakh beneficiaries vaccinated in India against Covid-19

Nearly50 lakh beneficiaries have been inoculated under the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination exercise, while India's total active cases have dropped to1.51 lakh, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. India's total active cases continues to follow a consistent downward slideconsisting of just1.40 per centof total infections. Following a downward trajectory,12,408 daily newcases were recorded in a span of 24 hours.

 

"India's cases per million population (7,828) areamongst the lowest in the world.This count is much higher for countries like Russia, Germany, Italy, Brazil, France, UK and USA," the ministry said.

 

It said17 states and UTshave alower case per million population than the national average. Lakshadweep has the lowest average of 1,722 cases per million among all states and UTs.

3:12 PM

India Coronavirus Dispatch: Over 100 mn HCQ pills have been distributed

The Central Government has distributed millions of pills of an anti-malarial drug called hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as part of its Covid-19 relief programme, according to a report in the Quartz.

 

The Centre has distributed nearly 112 million tables of HCQ which is used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases or malaria. While there were claims in the early days of the pandemic that the drug was effective against coronavirus, by mid-2020 the WHO and several countries had quashed these claims. In June, the WHO halted HCQ trials and said the existing data showed the drug neither reduced fatalities, nor helped patients with moderate forms of the disease. However, the Indian government continued to send HCQ pills to the states, the report said. Read more here

 

2:55 PM

Will give free Covid-19 vaccine to all: Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami

2:32 PM

Delhi’s figure of 581 deaths per million is the highest among all states

2:04 PM

US fails to track Covid-19 variants: Report

The US has failed to develop a surveillance system that would allow researchers to track dangerous mutations of the novel coronavirus, according to a media report. To discover consequential genetic variations of the virus, like more transmissible variants first identified in Britain and South Africa, research is essential, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday citing the Guardian report as saying.

 

However, as of January 29, the US had only plotted and shared the genetic sequences of 0.3 per cent of its Covid-19 cases, ranking 30th in the world, the report said.

 

"It's just been a head-in-the-sand approach," Diane Griffin, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health was quoted in the Guardian report as saying. "It was really a failure of leadership."

11:12 AM

Pfizer withdraws application for emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine in India

Pfizer Inc has withdrawn an application for emergency-use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine in India that it has developed with Germany's BioNTech, the company told Reuters on Friday.

 

The US-based pharma company, which was the first drugmaker to apply for emergency use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine in the country, had a meeting with India's drugs regulator on Wednesday and the decision was made after that, the company said.

9:40 AM

Maharashtra coronavirus update: Thane district records 254 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths

With the addition of 254 new coronavirus cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra rose to 2,54,896, an official said on Friday.

 

The new cases were reported on Thursday.

 

As three more patients succumbed to the infection, the death toll in the district increased to 6,168, he said.

 

The Covid-19 mortality rate stood at 2.42 per cent, the official said.

 

So far, 2,45,504patients have recuperated from the infection, reflecting a recovery rate of 96.32 per cent, he said.

9:31 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 151,460 (Net reduction: 3,565)

Deaths: 154,823 (Net increase: 120)

Cured: 10,496,308 (Net increase: 15,853)

Total cases: 10,802,591 (Net increase: 12,408)

Total vaccination: 4,959,445 (Increase over previous day: 509,893)

8:07 AM

Unequal allocation of vaccines could cost the world economy $9.2 trn

The global economy’s recovery risks being dampened or even derailed by the lag in coronavirus vaccinations for poorer nations relative to their wealthier peers.

Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker shows 4.54 million doses were given on average across the world each day over the last week, but it’s far from an even spread. The US and UK make up about 40 per cent of the 119.8 million doses administered globally.
 

Developing and emerging markets are, by and large, doing far less well. In Africa, only Egypt, Morocco, Seychelles and Guinea are recorded as having given any of the vaccines at all. Much of Central Asia and Central America has yet to begin vaccinating, or is moving slowly. Read on...