Covid LIVE: Restrictions announced in Dehradun for tourists till Sept 21

Coronavirus live updates: India administers 75 million Covid-19 vaccine doses; China's southeastern Fujian experiences another outbreak.

12:54 AM

Assam registers 496 new COVID-19 cases, 9 more deaths

Assam logged 496 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, 71 less than that of the previous day, the National Health Mission said.

 

With nine patients succumbing to the disease, the COVID-19 death toll has increased to 5,767 from 5,758 on Monday. Seven people had died of the disease on Monday.

 

Of the fresh fatalities, three deaths were reported each from Golaghat and Jorhat and one each in Kamrup (Metro), Charaideo, and Darrand, according to the bulletin.

 

The current death rate is 0.97 per cent and the number of COVID-19 positive patients dying due to other causes is 1,347. Kamrup Metropolitan registered the highest number of new cases at 138, followed by Golaghat (35), Jorhat (34), and Charaideo (31). Currently, the state has 4,319 active cases and the coronavirus tally is 5,96,162.

11:33 PM

Single-day recoveries outnumber fresh COVID-19 cases in Nagaland

Single-day recoveries exceeded fresh COVID-19 cases in Nagaland for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday as 43 more people recuperated from the disease while 37 new infections were reported, a health bulletin said.

 

The new cases pushed the tally to 30,694 and 28,538 people have recovered from the disease thus far. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients was 92.97 per cent during the day.

 

The demise of a coronavirus patient in Dimapur district has raised the death toll to 646. Nagaland currently has 571 active cases, while 939 COVID-19 patients have migrated to other states. Over 3.49 lakh samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state so far. A total of 937,570 doses of vaccines have been administered to 671,661 people in Nagaland as of Monday, said State Immunisation Officer Dr. Ritu Thurr.

10:30 PM

COVID is still out there, warns UK PM as he sets out winter plan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday warned that COVID is still out there as he set out his winter strategy for dealing with the pandemic without having to resort to further lockdowns.

 

Addressing a Downing Street press conference, he pointed to higher coronavirus case numbers than this time last year making things "actually more challenging" for the government. However, he said the success of the country's vaccination programme meant that the easing of lockdown can continue, with a backup Plan B in place to reimpose some restrictions over time.

 

Covid is still out there. The disease sadly still remains a risk. But I'm confident we can keep going with our plan to turn jabs jabs jabs into jobs jobs jobs, said Johnson.

9:41 PM

Vaccine doses administered in country crosses 75.81 cr

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 75.81 crore on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said.

 

More than 54 lakh (54,72,356) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm, it said.

 

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

 

According to ministry data, 57,41,31,961 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 18,40,67,370 beneficiaries received their second dose of vaccine, as per the 7 pm provisional report.

 

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined.

9:11 PM

Tamil Nadu logs 1,591 new Covid-19 infections, 27 fatalities

Tamil Nadu reported less than 1,600 new COVID-19 cases for the second day, adding 1,591 fresh infections pushing the overall caseload to 26,37,010 till date, while 27 people succumbed to the virus taking the toll to 35,217, the Health department said on Tuesday.

 

The state has been witnessing an increasing trend with regard to new infections over the last few weeks and was adding over 1,600 daily infections. However, on Monday, the new infections fell to 1,580.

 

Meanwhile, recoveries marginally dipped when compared to the new cases with 1,537 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 25,85,244, leaving 16,549 active infections, a medical bulletin said.

8:53 PM

Telangana: 336 new Covid-19 cases, one death

Telangana on Tuesday reported 336 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,62,202 while the death toll rose to 3,898 with one more fatality, PTI reported.

 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 96, followed by Ranga Reddy and Warangal Urban (24 each) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM on Tuesday.

 

It said 306 people recuperated from the infectious disease on Tuesday. The cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6,53,022.

8:29 PM

Mumbai logs less than 400 Covid-19 cases for 4th day in row; 5 die, 408 recover

Mumbai reported 367 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the fourth straight day of under-400 cases, and five fresh fatalities, while 408 more patients recovered from the disease, a senior civic official said, PTI reported.

 

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said that with these additions, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 7,35,770, while the death toll climbed to 16,033. 

8:28 PM

38 fresh Covid-19 cases in Delhi, no new fatality

The national capital recorded zero fatality due to the coronavirus on Tuesday, along with 38 fresh infections at a positivity rate of 0.05 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here, PTI reported.

 

The national capital had recorded 17 COVID-19 cases, the lowest since March 28 last year, and zero death on Monday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.04 per cent.

 

The capital has recorded only one fatality due to the infection in September so far.

8:15 PM

Restrictions announced in Dehradun for tourists till Sept 21

7:58 PM

MP reports 7 new coronavirus cases, zero death; active tally at 126

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 7,92,360 on Tuesday with the addition of seven fresh cases, while no new death due to the infection was reported in the state, a health department official said, according to PTI.

The death toll remained unchanged at 10,517, he added. 

7:57 PM

Karnataka reports 559 Covid-19 cases

7:15 PM

Goa records 109 Covid-19 cases, two deaths

Goa reported 109 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Tuesday, the state heath department said, PTI reported.

The tally of infections recorded in the state thus rose to 1,75,000 while the death toll reached 3,219.

The number of recovered patients in the state rose to 1,71,064 as 92 persons got discharged from hospitals during the day.

7:14 PM

Mizoram's Covid-19 positivity rate at alarming 16.39%

Triggering widespread concern, the Covid-19 positivity rate in Mizoram has jumped to 16.39 per cent, the highest in India, officials said on Tuesday, IANS reported.

 

According to health officials in Aizawl, in mountainous Mizoram, where the first Covid-19 death was reported on October 28, 2020, six months after the northeast region's first coronavirus fatality in Assam and seven months after India's first in Karnataka, around 1,000 people are testing positive for Covid on every single day during the past two weeks.

 

Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry data on Tuesday said that the active ratio in Mizoram is 18.34 per cent against Kerala's 4.77 per cent.

6:49 PM

Andhra Pradesh records 1,125 new Covid-19 cases, tally at 20,31,974

Another 1,125 cases were added to Andhra Pradesh's COVID-19 tally, pushing it up to 20,31,974 on Tuesday, PTI reported.

 

Recoveries increased to 20,03,543 as 1,356 more people got cured in 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday, a health department bulletin said.

6:14 PM

Kerala sees 15,876 new cases, 129 deaths in last 24 hrs

6:14 PM

UK panel recommends Covid-19 booster jabs for over-50s, healthcare workers

Britain's expert advisory panel on Tuesday recommended that a third booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine would be beneficial for people aged over 50 and frontline healthcare workers to boost their protection against the deadly virus over the winter months, PTI reported.

 

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's (JCVI) recommendation notes that six months after a second COVID vaccine dose is the optimum timing to boost immunity with another dose, with the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines among those ideal for use as a third jab.

 

"Getting a dose too early may mean they do not need it as they still have a high level of protection, and as we've seen with the gap between the first and second dose, you don't want to have it too early," JCVI Chair Professor Wei Shen Lim told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.

6:05 PM

Kerala HC speaks tough on Covid rule breaches

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday expressed their displeasure in the way Covid protocols were violated last week at the famed Sree Krishna Temple Guruvayoor during the wedding of business magnate Ravi Pillai's son, IANS reported.

 

The court, seeing the pictures which appeared in the various media, took suo moto cognisance of the violations and directed the administrator of the Guruvayoor Devaswom Board -- the body that runs the temple -- to explain.

 

The court pointed out that there was a crowd, clearly indicating there were more people than the prescribed numbers and the 'nadapanthal' (the portion in front of the temple) was decorated with cut-outs and flowers.

5:10 PM

UK delays post-Brexit border checks, citing pandemic impact

Britain announced Tuesday it is delaying the start of post-Brexit border checks on food imports from the European Union, saying trade disruption from the coronavirus pandemic has already piled pressure on businesses, AP reported.

 

The delay means checks on EU agricultural and animal products that were due to start from October won't be introduced until next year.

 

The U.K. said the pragmatic new timetable would ease pressure on businesses grappling with supply chain disruptions from the pandemic. It said customs declarations and controls will be introduced on Jan. 1, but safety and security declarations won't be required until July 1.

5:10 PM

Odisha logs 428 fresh Covid-19 cases, lowest in five months

The daily COVID-19 caseload maintained its downward curve in Odisha, which recorded 428 infections on Tuesday, the lowest single-day spike in five months, a health department official said, according to PTI.

 

The state's coronavirus tally stood at 10,17,261, while four more fatalities pushed the death toll to 8,108, he said.

 

On Monday, it had reported 471 fresh cases.

 

5:03 PM

Severe Covid can increase self-attacking antibodies: Study

Hospitalised Covid-19 patients are substantially more likely to harbour autoantibodies -- antibodies directed at their own tissues or at substances their immune cells secrete into the blood -- than people without Covid-19, according to a new study emphasising the need for vaccination, IANS reported.

 

Autoantibodies can be early harbingers of full-blown autoimmune disease.

 

"If you get sick enough from Covid-19 to end up in the hospital, you may not be out of the woods even after you recover," said PJ Utz, professor of immunology and rheumatology at the Stanford University in the US.

4:17 PM

Covid lockdown extended in Aus capital

The Covid-19 lockdown in Australia's capital city of Canberra has been extended by a month as the country continues to battle the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, IANS reported.

 

Andrew Barr, chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said on Tuesday that Canberra will remain in lockdown until October 15, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Restrictions were due to end on Friday after 36 days in lockdown but Barr said the risk to the community remained high.

4:16 PM

Mizoram reports 1,502 fresh cases

3:36 PM

Night curfew to be imposed in 8 Gujarat cities from Sept 15-25

3:35 PM

Indian study finds big drop in Covid antibodies within four months of vaccination

A study of 614 fully vaccinated health workers in India found a "significant" drop in their COVID-fighting antibodies within four months of the first shot, Reuters reported.

3:08 PM

Our attention at this moment should be to vaccinate all adults, says V K Paul

3:08 PM

Hope WHO takes decision on Covaxin nod quickly: V K Paul

3:05 PM

WHO nod for Covaxin expected before Sept-end, says V K Paul

2:56 PM

Putin to self-isolate as Covid cases detected in his entourage

President of Russia Vladimir Putin said coronavirus cases have been detected in his entourage, forcing him to self-isolate for "a certain period", RIA news agency reported.

 

Putin will no longer travel to Tajikistan this week for regional security meetings, but will take part in them through video conference, the news agency reported.

2:37 PM

All schools in Himachal Pradesh to remain shut till Sept 21

2:21 PM

Majority of Australians support Covid vax mandate: Poll

A new poll revealed on Tuesday that a majority of Australians are in favour of Covid-19 vaccine mandates, IANS reported.

 

According to the Guardian Essential poll of 1,100 voters, more than 80 per cent of Australians think vaccines should be mandatory for health and disability care workers, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Three-quarters of respondents supported compulsory inoculations for air travellers and teachers and teacher's aides.