LIVE: After Centre's warning, Karnataka tightens curbs on Kerala passengers

Covid-19 live updates: India administers more than 12 million doses Tuesday; Uttar Pradesh grapples with mystery fever as Covid cases fall.

11:19 PM

Delhi records zero deaths, 36 new cases; positivity rate 0.06%

No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi on Wednesday, while 36 fresh cases were reported with a positivity rate of 0.06 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. This is the 20th time since the start of the second Covid wave in the national capital that zero fatality has been logged in a day.

 

On July 18, July 24, July 29, August 2, August 4, August 8, August 11, August 12, August 13, August 16, August 20, August 21, August 22, August 23 and August 24, August 26, August 27, August 28 and August 29 too, no daily deaths due to COVID-19 was recorded, as per official data.

 

On March 2 this year, the national capital had reported zero death due to the virus. On that day, the number of single-day infections stood at 217 and the positivity rate was 0.33 per cent. The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stood at 25,082 on Tuesday. The second wave swept the city during April-May period.

10:53 PM

Over 300 Mumbaikars getting vaccinated per minute against COVID-19: Maha govt

As many as 336 people are getting vaccinated against coronavirus in Mumbai every minute considering the number of doses administered in the last few days, the Maharashtra government claimed on Wednesday. A total of 97 lakh vaccine doses have been administered at civic-run vaccination centres and private hospitals in the city to date, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

 

At least 71 lakh people have got a first dose, while 26 lakh people are now fully vaccinated, the data revealed.

 

Over 1.6 lakh people were vaccinated in Mumbai on August 21, 27 and August 29, while 1.39 lakh got the jab on Wednesday, the state government said. Higher vaccination coverage of people in Mumbai will ensure greater protection and strengthen our preparation for the predicted third wave, " state minister Aaditya Thackeray said in the statement. Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said the civic body had adequate number of doses in stock as of Tuesday.

10:13 PM

Cumulative Covid vaccine doses administered in India cross 66 crore: Health ministry

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 66 crore on Wednesday, the Union health ministry said. More than 69 lakh (69,42,335) vaccine doses have been administered on Wednesday as per the 7 pm provisional report. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

 

Cumulatively, 25,89,65,198 individuals in the age group of 18-44 years across states and Union Territories have received their first dose and 2,97,99,597 have received their second dose since the start of phase-three of the vaccination drive, according to the health ministry data.

 

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

9:38 PM

Nagaland logs 74 fresh COVID-19 cases

Nagaland's COVID-19 tally rose to 30,157 on Wednesday as 74 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. Dimapur district recorded the highest number of new cases at 47, followed by Kohima (12), Mokukchung (8), and Phek (5), it said.

 

The state now has 805 active cases, while 27,838 people have recovered from the infection, including 76 in the last 24 hours.

 

The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state now stands at 92.31 per cent. No patient succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, keeping the death toll unchanged at 620. Altogether 894 COVID-19 patients have migrated to other states, he said. Nagaland has thus far tested 3,22,851 samples for COVID-19 and inoculated over 8.60 lakh people, of whom 2.03 lakh received both doses, the bulletin said.

8:56 PM

Assam CM lauds IIT Guwahati for its role in tackling Covid-19

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday lauded Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) for its efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state, PTI reported.

The chief minister was addressing the 28th Foundation Day of the institute as the chief guest.

From the initial stages of the pandemic, IITG has been providing sophisticated instruments to National Health Mission (NHM) to conduct COVID-19 testing, Sarma said.

8:51 PM

Mandaviya reviews availability of Covid-19 essential drugs and their buffer stocks

Union Minister for Health and Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday reviewed the supply and availability of COVID-19 related essential medicines in the country, PTI reported.

During the review, it was noted that sufficient stocks of all the essential medicines are available, a Health Ministry statement said.

Raw materials for these drugs are also available in enough quantities.

8:50 PM

English study finds long Covid affects up to 1 in 7 children months after infection

As many as 1 in 7 children may have symptoms linked to the coronavirus months after testing positive for COVID-19, the authors of an English study on long COVID in adolescents said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

8:26 PM

J-K reports 110 Covid-19 cases, one death

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 110 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the infection tally to 3,25,529, while one fatality pushed the death toll to 4,409, officials said, according to PTI.

Out of the fresh cases, 16 were from Jammu division and 94 from Kashmir division of the union territory, they said.

The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest number of 52 new cases, followed by Budgam with 18.

8:25 PM

322 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths in Telangana

Telangana on Wednesday recorded 322 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,58,376, while three more fatalities took the toll to 3,876, PTI reported.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 76, followed by Karimnagar (27) and Warangal Urban (25) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM on Wednesday.

Recoveries outnumbered fresh cases with 331 people recuperating from the infection, taking the cumulative number till date to 6,48,648, leaving 5,852 active cases.

 

8:24 PM

No fresh death in Delhi due to Covid

7:53 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1509 new cases

7:40 PM

RT-PCR test mandatory for int'l arrivals in Karnataka

7:38 PM

Covid negative certificate mandatory for students, employees entering from Kerala: K'taka

7:31 PM

Covid: Cases of depression, social media addiction on the rise among youth, say docs

Cases of anxiety, depression and social media addiction have been on the rise among the youth during the Covid pandemic, a private hospital said on Wednesday, PTI reported.

Doctors at Apollo Hospital said curbs on outdoor activity since the outbreak of the pandemic have led to issues of irritability, erratic sleep, appetite problems and weight gain becoming more common among youths.

"The number of OPD consultations for young adults have doubled for anxiety, depression, gaming and social media addiction and inability to concentrate and focus on studies," said Dr Sandeep Vohra, senior consultant, mental health and psychiatry.

7:30 PM

1,159 Covid-19 cases, 21 deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka reported 1,159 fresh COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections to 29,50,604 and the toll to 37,339, PTI reported.

The day also saw 1,112 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 28,94,827.

Bengaluru Urban accounted for most number of cases (359), as the city saw 232 discharges and seven deaths.

7:25 PM

Centre tells TN, K'taka to prevent inter-state spread with Kerala

6:43 PM

Centre warns TN, K'taka of inter-state spread due to Kerala surge

6:39 PM

RT-PCR test mandatory for int'l passengers arriving at Mumbai airport

6:37 PM

Andhra Pradesh logged 1,186 cases

Andhra Pradesh logged 1,186 fresh Covid-19 cases, 1,396 recoveries and 10 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday, PTI reported.

The state's Covid-19 chart now showed 20,15,302 total positives, 19,86,962 recoveries and 13,867 deaths so far. 

6:36 PM

Uttarakhand reports 25 new cases

6:36 PM

North Korea turns down Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine doses: Report

North Korea has rejected roughly three million COVID-19 vaccine doses developed by China's Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O), saying the shots should be sent to harder-hit countries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing UNICEF.

6:08 PM

Covid death toll crosses 8K in Odisha

With 53 more persons dying of Covid-19, the total deaths due to the coronavirus has crossed 8,000 mark in Odisha, the health department said on Wednesday. Now, the Covid death toll in the state stands at 8,022, IANS reported.

As per the data shared by the state health department, the highest deaths of 19 persons were confirmed from Khordha district, followed by six each from Keonjhar and Jagatsinghpur and five each from Puri and Cuttack districts.

Similarly, the government has said that another four persons died due to Covid-19 in Jajpur, two in Kendrapara and one each from Nayagarh, Nabarangpur, Mayurbhanj, Jharsuguda, Bolangir and Angul districts.

6:08 PM

Nashik sees 102 new COVID-19 cases, three deaths

Nashik district in Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 102 fresh COVID-19 cases and three deaths while 70 patients recovered, health officials said, according to PTI.

The new additions pushed the tally of infections in the Nashik district to 4,05,517, death toll to 8,583 and the number of recoveries to 3,95,917, they said.

With 4,645 new tests, the number of samples examined for coronavirus so far in the district went up to 24,58,727, officials added.

6:05 PM

Kerala sees 32,803 new cases, 173 deaths in last 24 hrs

5:25 PM

WB govt thinking about vaccinating children: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said the government is thinking whether children will be required to be vaccinated in view of the COVID third wave and assured that everyone in the state will be given their jabs, PTI reported.

If required the government will carry out inoculation programmes for children similar to the pulse polio drive, she said.

Banerjee said 12 lakh people in Bengal got their COVID jabs on Tuesday and in the urban areas 75 per cent of the population have been inoculated.

 

5:23 PM

Schools, colleges reopen in Telangana with Covid norms in place

Schools, barring residential government institutions, resumed offline classes in Telangana on Wednesday, with COVID-19 protocols in place, while colleges too resumed in the state, PTI reported.

The resumption of classes for 1st to 12th standards followed a High Court Order on Tuesday, granting schools permission to do so, while staying government residential schools from holding off-line classes for four weeks.

 

The Court also directed that no children in any class be compelled by school managements to physically attend offline classes if parents were not inclined to send them.

5:19 PM

ED conducts search operations in Kolkata in connection with Covid-linked corruption

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at 10 locations in Kolkata in connection with its probe into corrupt practices such as hoarding, profiteering and black marketing of COVID-related essentials, an agency source said, according to PTI.

The central agency has registered six cases against persons who are allegedly involved in hoarding and overcharging of essential life-saving drugs such as Remdesevir injection, he said.

"We launched a crackdown on those who hoarded COVID-related essential items and indulged in black marketing during the second wave of the pandemic. Our teams are conducting searches at 10 locations in Kolkata," the ED source said.

4:51 PM

MMR, Tdap vaccines linked with increased protection against severe Covid-19: Study

The Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) and Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Tdap) vaccines have been associated with increased protection against COVID-19 and reduction in severity of the disease, according to a study, PTI reported.

The researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US noted that vaccines are designed to induce a strong and long-lasting immune response through the creation of memory T cells and B cells.

The MMR vaccine, given during early childhood, and Tdap preventive, given every 10 years, are known to elicit a protective response against the diseases from which the vaccines get their names, they said.

4:51 PM

Kerala govt's 'over-reliance' on antigen tests turn homes into Covid clusters: Cong

The Opposition Congress on Wednesday said the LDF government's over-reliance on "less accurate" antigen tests had resulted in the state homes turning into COVID-19 clusters, PTI reported.

4:50 PM

France starts Covid-19 booster shot campaign for the elderly

France on Wednesday started administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccine to people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions to shore up their vaccine protection, as the highly contagious delta variant is spreading in the country, AP reported.

People can get the shot on condition a minimum six-month period has passed since they got fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

Those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab can get a booster shot of Pfizer or Moderna at least four weeks after they first got vaccinated.