Coronavirus LIVE: Andhra, Karnataka cases top 100,000 in southern spike

Coronavirus latest news: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has reached 1,464,991. US has 4,374,785 cases, and Brazil 2,419,901. Stay tuned for coronavirus LIVE updates

2:51 AM

Covid-19 crisis: Employment of young women hit most amid lockdown

Centre for Monitoring Indian Eco­nomy’s (CMIE) Consumer Py­ra­mids Household Survey has provided the fastest and most detailed description of the impact of the lockdown on employment in India. Administrative data also provide some interesting insights into the impact of the lockdown on employment. Most administrative data lack the comprehensive coverage that a large and representative sample survey enables. Nevertheless, they add value and enhance our understanding of the most debilitating economic shocks of the times. Read more

2:50 AM

Moderna Covid-19 vaccine could be ready for use by end of year, says US

Moderna Inc's vaccine against Covid-19 could be ready for widespread use by the end of this year, US and company officials said on Monday, after the drugmaker announced the start of a 30,000-subject trial to demonstrate it is safe and effective, the final hurdle prior to regulatory approval.

 

The trial is the first such late-stage study under the Trump administration's program to speed development of measures against the novel coronavirus, adding to hope that an effective vaccine will help end the pandemic. Moderna shares were up 7.5 per cent.

1:15 AM

Arvind Kejriwal says Delhi's Covid-19 recovery rate has gone up to 88 per cent, expresses happiness that there was no need to reimpose lockdown in national capital unlike several other cities

1:14 AM

147 more people test Covid-19 positive in Tripura: Chief Minister

1:14 AM

3,044 Covid-19 cases and 38 deaths reported in Pune today. Death toll rises to 1,737

1:12 AM

Jammu and Kashmir to allow 'home quarantine' of asymptomatic Covid-19 patients with no comorbidities

12:26 AM

Experimental Covid-19 vaccine is put to its biggest test

Experimental Covid-19 vaccine is put to its biggest test The biggest test yet of an experimental Covid-19 vaccine got underway Monday with the first of some 30,000 Americans rolling up their sleeves to receive shots created by the US government as part of the all-out global race to stop the outbreak.

 

Final-stage testing of the vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., began with volunteers at various US sites given either a real shot or a dummy without being told which.

 

It will be months before results trickle in, and there is no guarantee the vaccine will ultimately work against the scourge that has killed about 650,000 people around the world, including almost 150,000 in the US.

11:46 PM

Centre should clear West Bengal's dues to help state tackle Covid-19 effectively: Mamata Banerjee

11:35 PM

Delhi allows street vendors, hawkers to operate from 10 am to 8 pm

The Delhi government on Monday issued an order allowing street hawkers and vendors in the city to operate from 10 am to 8 pm for an initial period of one week.

The order issued by Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, however, said weekly bazaars were not allowed.
 

"...Rehri-Patriwallahs (street vendors) are allowed to work from 10 am to 8 pm, initially for a period of one week, in NCT of Delhi (except in containment zones), subject to all instructions guidelines issued by Government of India and Government of NCT of Delhi, to contain the spread of COVID-19, such as face covering, social distancing, hygiene practice etc," the order stated.

11:33 PM

Single-day recoveries in Bengal outnumber new Covid-19 cases

For the first time, more Covid- 19 patients were discharged from hospitals in a single day in West Bengal than the number of new cases detected, as per the state Health Department bulletin issued on Monday.

 

The state reported 2,112 new cases, while 2,166 people were discharged from different hospitals in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said.

 

The total number of cases rose to 60,830 with the detection of the fresh infections, it said.

 

Further, 39 patients died of Covid-19, taking the toll to 1,411.

 

There are 19,502 active cases, which is lower than that of Sunday's as recoveries were more than fresh cases, it added.

11:20 PM

Trump national security advisor Robert O'Brien tests positive for Covid-19: White House

11:19 PM

Assam Covid-19 cases and deaths update

11:17 PM

US drugmaker earnings heat up this week with spotlight on vaccine news

Several major US drugmakers will report second-quarter results this week, with investors eager for fresh details from Pfizer Inc, Merck & Co and others on their efforts to develop vaccines and therapies against the novel coronavirus.

 

The earnings reports, including from Gilead Sciences Inc - maker of one of the only treatments that has shown a benefit for hospitalized Covid-19 patients - will be closely watched for any developments that could help contain the pandemic, which has claimed some 650,000 lives worldwide and upended economies.

 

The supply, pricing and profitability for these potential products also will be hot topics for companies reporting this week, including Eli Lilly and Co, which is developing an antibody treatment for the still rapidly-spreading disease.

 

Earnings reports are also due from British drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline Plc and AstraZeneca Plc and France's Sanofi, which are working on vaccines in various stages of development.

11:15 PM

Covid-19: Graduation, PG exams via open book mode in Madhya Pradesh in September

11:14 PM

Mamata thanks PM Modi for cooperation in tackling Covid crisis

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his cooperation in tackling the COVID-19 crisis in West Bengal, but alleged that "a few people holding constitutional posts" are disturbing the state government regularly.

 

Banerjee was apparently targeting West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has been at loggerheads with the state government over a host of issues ever since taking office in July last year.

 

Both the state and the central governments are elected bodies and they should work together, she said during an online programme where the prime minister inaugurated new Covid-19 testing facilities in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

11:14 PM

Israeli team in India to jointly conduct 'final stages' of research to develop rapid Covid-19 test kits

10:51 PM

CAB staffer recovers from Covid-19

The Cricket Association of Bengal's non-permanent staffer Chandan Das recovered from Covid-19 as the 37-year-old tested negative on Monday.

 

Das, who works in the civil engineering department on a temporary basis, tested positive earlier this month and was admitted to a private hospital.

 

"We are happy to inform you that Chandan Das has tested negative. Hope he would be able to resume his normal routine life soon. However, that would only be after he receives the go ahead from the doctors," CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said in a statement.

 

Chandan thanked CAB for its support during the hard times.

10:50 PM

10 new Covid-19 cases in Sikkim; tally rises to 555

Sikkim on Monday reported 10 new Covid-19 cases, taking the Himalayan state's tally to 555, an official said.

 

Director General (DG)-cum-Secretary, Health, Dr Pempa T Bhutia said that all new cases have been admitted to various hospitals and Covid care facilities.

10:49 PM

13 BSF personnel, 21 jail inmates in 245 new Chhattisgarh cases

With 245 people, including 13 BSFpersonnel and 21 inmates of a central jail, testing positive for coronavirus in Chhattisgarh on Monday, the state's count of infections rose to 7,863, a health official said.

 

The death toll climbed to 45 after two more persons succumbed to the viral infection, he said.

 

Also, a total of 228 patients were discharged in the day, taking the number of recovered cases to 5,172, he said.

 

Of the fresh cases, 88 were reported from Raipur district, 50 from Bilaspur, 49 from Durg, 18 from Rajnandgaon, 14 from Balodabazar, five from Mahasamund and four each from Bemetara and Kabirdham districts, he said.

10:48 PM

Bihar's principal health secy transferred amid surging Covid-19 cases

The Bihar government on Monday removed Health Department's Principal Secretary Uday Singh Kumawat and replaced him with senior IAS officer Pratayaya Amrit, the third to occupy the position since Covid-19 ripped through the state.

 

The top-level reshuffle comes days after the Indian Medical Association's Bihar chapter wrote to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar demanding Kumawat's removal due to his "indifferent behaviour" towards doctors.

 

Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey had reportedly complained to the chief minister that Kumawat was not listening to him.

 

According to a notification issued by the General Administration Department (GAD), Amrit, the 1991-batch IAS officer and principal secretary of the Disaster Management Department, will be the new principal secretary of the Health Department while Kumawat has been made advisor of the Bihar State Planning Board, Patna, till further orders.

10:28 PM

Six Covid-19 patients booked for playing football at facility

Six Covid-19 patients have been booked for playing football without wearing masks inside an isolation facility in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra, a district official said on Monday.

 

A case has been registered at Kodoli police station.

10:26 PM

Moderna vaccine could be ready for use by end of year, US says

Moderna Inc's vaccine against Covid-19 could be rolled out by the end of this year, US officials said on Monday, after the drugmaker announced the start of a 30,000-subject trial to demonstrate it is safe and effective, the final hurdle prior to approval by global regulators.
 

The trial is the first such late-stage study under the Trump administration's program to speed development of measures against the novel coronavirus, adding to hope that an effective vaccine will help end the pandemic. Shares of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna rose 9 per cent.

Moderna has received nearly $1 billion from the US government, which is helping to bankroll several vaccine candidates under its Operation Warp Speed

10:26 PM

324 new Covid-19 cases and 4 deaths reported in Jharkhand today. The total count stands at 8,803

10:23 PM

Tripura reports highest single-day spike of Covid-19 deaths

Four more Covid-19 patients died in Tripura on Monday, the highest single-day fatality in the state, as the toll rose to 17, minister Ratan Lal Nath said.

 

All the four patients were undergoing treatment at the Agartala Government Medical College, he told reporters at the civil secretariat here.

 

"The youngest of them was a 40-year-old from Melaghar in Sepahijala district," Nath, who is also the cabinet spokesperson, said.

 

Among those who died during the day was an 84-year-old man from the Shantipalli area in Gomati district who was was admitted to the hospital on July 23 with breathing problems, Nath said, adding that he was then found to be positive.

10:22 PM

Delhi records 613 fresh cases, lowest in two months

The national capital recorded 613 fresh coronavirus cases on Monday, the lowest in the last two months, and its recovery rate jumped to 88 per cent, but Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the people not to be complacent and asked them to take all necessary precautions.

 

Kejriwal, who claimed that city's virus management model is being discussed around the world, launched a job portal to help people who have lost their livelihood due to the Covid-19 pandemic and announced that his government will pass an order to allow street vendors and hawkers to restart their work.

 

With 613 fresh coronavirus cases on Monday -- the lowest since May 27 when 1,024 fresh cases were recorded-- the coronavirus count in the city reached 1,31,219. The death toll climbed 3,853 following 26 more fatalities.

10:06 PM

224 more test Covid-19 positive in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand's Covid-19 tally rose to 6,328 on Monday with 224 more people testing positive while the pandemic toll shot up to 66 with the death of three more patients, the state health department said.

 

A 28-year-old Covid-19 patient died at AIIMS Rishikesh. According to the hospital, the cause of his death was cardiac arrest, tubercular meningitis, aspiration pneumonitis, Type 1 respiratory failure, Covid-19 infection, the state health department said in a bulletin.

 

A 30-year-old man succumbed at Sushila Tiwari Govt. Hospital, Haldwani due to ARDS, Type 1 respiratory failure, pancytopenia, bilateral pneumonitis, acute kidney injury, septicemia, shock, it said.

10:02 PM

Chhattisgarh govt extends lockdown in coronavirus-hit areas till August 6

10:02 PM

Lesser number of Covid-19 tests conducted on Sundays in Delhi

Lesser number of coronavirus tests are being conducted on Sundays in the national capital as compared to the rest of the days, data available from the Delhi government's health bulletin shows.

 

The lesser number of tests coincide with fewer fresh cases on Sundays.

 

Officials said one of the major reasons behind the low numbers (of Covid-19 tests) on Sundays is that many people do not know that the testing centres are open on that day.

 

The health bulletins,issued on Mondays, contain data of the last 24 hours.

 

On July 4, a Saturday, authorities conducted 23,136 tests -- 9,873 RT-PCR tests and 13,263 rapid antigen tests -- and found 2,244 of them positive.

10:01 PM

Complete lockdown not a solution, says Kerala Govt

The Kerala government on Monday said a complete lockdown was not a solution to halt the spread of coronavirus but containment measures in affected areas will be further strengthened as the state's infection tally touched 19,727 with 702 fresh cases.

 

A special cabinet meeting held on Monday decided not to go in for a total lockdown in the state, a line suggested at the all-party meeting last week, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

 

He said the government had also heldvarious meetings, including with all political partyleaders, health experts and media editors, and the general opinion was against a lockdown.

 

The common opinion was to strengthen the restrictions in clusters to check local transmission, he said adding Police will intervene and take strict action in case of violations.

9:58 PM

US manufacturing sector gathers momentum, rising Covid-19 threatens recovery

New orders for key US-made capital goods increased by the most in nearly two years in June and shipments accelerated, but the gains were likely insufficient to avert the deepest plunge in business investment and economic activity since the Great Depression in the second quarter because of the Covid-19 crisis.

 

The improvement in manufacturing reported by the Commerce Department on Monday was driven by pent-up demand following the reopening of businesses. The budding recovery is threatened by a resurgence in new cases of the coronavirus, which has forced some authorities in the hard-hit South and West regions to either close businesses again or halt reopenings.

 

"The sugar rush from re-openings has now faded and a resurgence of domestic coronavirus cases, alongside very weak demand, supply chain disruptions, historically low oil prices, and high levels of uncertainty will weigh heavily on business investment," said Oren Klachkin, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York.