Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 14,317 new cases, 57 deaths in a day

The 7,25,930 beneficiaries who received the first dose of vaccine on Wednesday included 4,95,026 senior citizens and95,834 individuals aged between 45 and 60 years with specified comorbidities

10:37 PM

Night curfew imposed in Ludhiana from March 12 amid surge in Covid cases

Punjab: In view of increasing Covid-19 cases, District Collector Ludhiana has imposed night curfew in the district from 12th March between 11 pm to 5 am till further orders. Police & Army personnel on duty, Govt employees on duty, essential services, medical emergency exempted, according to ANI

9:28 PM

Over 26 mn vaccine doses given so far: Govt

8:53 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 44 students test positive at hostel in Maharashtra's Latur city, says health department

44 students test positive at hostel in Maharashtra's Latur city: Health department official

8:49 PM

Don't want to play with students' emotions but don't want to play with their health either: Maharashtra CM

Don't want to play with students' emotions but don't want to play with their health either. This extra time which I'm seeking is only for better preparations for staff and other essentials. I appeal to students and parents to not lend a shoulder for any political gun: Maharashtra CM

8:48 PM

LIVE: MPSC exam was postponed due to Covid. It will take place in a week's time, says Maharashtra CM

8:46 PM

44 students test positive at hostel in Maharashtra's Latur city: Health department official

44 students test positive at hostel in Maharashtra's Latur city: Health department official

 

8:39 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 14,317 new cases, 57 deaths in a day

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 14,317 new cases, 57 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

8:34 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Punjab reports 1,309 new cases and 18 deaths in last 24 hours

Coronavirus LIVE: Punjab reports 1,309 new coronavirus cases, 620 discharges and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department.

8:25 PM

Include retail employees in list of 'frontline workers' for Covid vaccination: Ficci to govt

Industry chamber Ficci has written to the Union Health Ministry seeking inclusion of retail industry staffers in the list of 'frontline workers' for the Covid-19 vaccination drive.

 

"The kirana community along with retail employees should be recognised as 'frontline workers' as they have been serving the nation tirelessly despite being the most vulnerable to the risk of infection.

 

"These frontline retail warriors should be prioritised in the initial phase of the vaccination rollout," said Arvind Mediratta, chairperson, Ficci Retail and Internal Trade Committee and MD & CEO - METRO Cash & Carry India Pvt Ltd.

8:18 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Chandigarh reports 108 new cases

Chandigarh reported 108 new coronavirus cases, taking the total infection count to 22,697, says health department

8:18 PM

Four new coronavirus cases in Noida, tally up to 25,643

Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagarrecorded four new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday that pushed the district's infection tally to 25,643, official data showed.

 

The active cases in the district came down to 82 from 85 the previous day, according to data released by the UP Health Department for a 24-hour period.

 

Seven patients got discharged during the period with the overall recoveries reaching 25,470, the fifth highest in the state, the data showed.

8:12 PM

Pfizer jab 97% effective against symptomatic Covid: study

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offers more protection than earlier thought with effectiveness in preventing symptomatic disease reaching 97 per cent, according to real-world evidence published Thursday by the pharmaceutical companies

7:50 PM

Goa's coronavirus tally reaches 55,676 with 69 new cases

Goa's coronavirus tally reaches 55,676 with 69 new cases, death toll rises to 803 with another fatality; active case count 704: Health department official

7:38 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Tamil Nadu reports 685 new cases, 543 recoveries and 5 deaths today

Coronavirus LIVE: Tamil Nadu reports 685 new cases, 543 recoveries and 5 deaths today

7:33 PM

Cancer patients less protected after first Covid vaccine jab, UK study finds

Cancer patients may not be protected to the same degree as the rest of the population after they receive their first of two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, a new UK study has found on Thursday.

 

A team of experts from King's College London and Francis Crick Institute found in the first real-world study of its kind that a shorter than the stipulated 12-week gap between the two vaccine doses for such patients appeared to be the answer.

 

The study's senior authors, Dr Sheeba Irshad and Professor Adrian Hayday, believe that there should be urgent re-evaluation of UK policy for the dosing interval for all cancer patients, and likewise for many other high-risk groups of immuno-suppressed patients.

7:22 PM

LIVE: Night curfew in Punjab's Patiala district from March 12 between 11 pm to 5 am

Punjab: Night curfew to be imposed in Patiala District from March 12 between 11 pm to 5 am; essential services, govt officials and medical emergency services exempted

7:18 PM

WHO still struggling to manage pandemic response

When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining the highly infectious virus could still be stopped.

 

A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of Covid-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most.

 

WHO waved its first big warning flag on January 30, 2020, by calling the outbreak an international health emergency.

7:18 PM

Karnataka reports 783 new coronavirus cases, 406 recoveries and 2 deaths

Karnataka reports 783 new coronavirus cases, 406 recoveries and 2 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department

6:54 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: UK defends AstraZeneca vaccine after Denmark halts jab over blood clot concerns

Coronavirus LIVE: UK defends AstraZeneca vaccine after Denmark halts jab over blood clot concerns

6:29 PM

Active cases touch over 33,000 in Kerala

Kerala's active Covid-19 cases touched 33,785 on Thursday as the state recorded 2,133 fresh infections and 3,753 recoveries, the government said.

 

The toll climbed to 4,355 with 13 more deaths.

 

While the caseload soared to 10,86,012, total recoveries went up to 10,47,226, Health minister K K Shailaja said in a statement.

6:17 PM

Greece outlines new coronavirus relief package

Greece's prime minister has outlined a new 2.5 billion-euro ($3 billion) package of relief measures for businesses and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic and related lockdowns.

 

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday the new stimulus package would provide relief for more than 500,000 businesses and freelancers, and millions of workers.

 

The country has been under various forms of lockdown restrictions since early November, with retail businesses and restaurants shut and strict limits imposed on movement outside the home.

 

The new package brings the total funds provided for pandemic relief measures to 11.6 billion euros so far in 2021, Mitsotakis said, adding that 24 billion euros were spent on supporting businesses and workers in 2020.

6:16 PM

Jammu and Kashmir reports 97 new Covid cases, one death

Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded 97 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,27,363, while one fresh death was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said.

 

Out of the new cases, 10 were from the Jammu Division and 65 from the Kashmir Division of the union territory, they said.

 

The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest of 39 cases, followed by 10 in Jammu district.

 

While 11 districts did not report any fresh cases, seven other districts had cases in single digits.

6:12 PM

Kerala reports 2,133 new coronavirus cases, 3,753 recoveries and 13 deaths today

Kerala reports 2,133 new coronavirus cases, 3,753 recoveries and 13 deaths in last 24 hours, according to the state health department 

6:10 PM

Germany: Virus restrictions saved 100,000 lives

The head of Germany's disease control agency says measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have saved more than 100,000 lives in the country since the start of the pandemic a year ago.

 

In a lecture Thursday to students at the Technical University of Munich, Lothar Wieler said his agency had calculated the lethality of a COVID-19 infection to be about 1.14 per cent for Germany, meaning a nationwide spread of the virus could have led to more than 800,000 deaths.

 

In our country, we saved ten thousands, if not (a) hundred thousand lives already by these public health measures, said Wieler, who heads the Robert Koch Institute.

5:55 PM

Denmark halts use of AstraZeneca vaccine over concerns of blood clots

The health authorities in Denmark said on Thursday that they are temporarily suspending the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure after some patients developed blood clots since receiving the jab, including one who died, digital news publisher The Local reported.

 

The move comes "following reports of serious cases of blood clots among people vaccinated with AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine", the Danish Health Authority said in a statement.

 

But it cautiously added that "it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots".

5:54 PM

Work-life balance during pandemic burdened women more than men: Report

A majority of women found it much more challenging to manage both professional work from home and personal responsibilities atthe same time than their male counterparts, according to a report.

 

About 61 per cent woman respondents felt that work-life balance during the pandemicwas much more challenging for women than men in their house, job portal SCIKEY Market Network said in a report.

 

It added that the pandemic has been affectingthe woman employees more due to the struggle of managing professional work from home and personal responsibilities atthe same time and location. Eighty-five per cent of women said it was challenging for them to work from home, while81 per cent believed that it was difficult to draw a boundary between personal and professional life, it noted.

5:40 PM

Delhi records 409 fresh Covid-19 cases, highest in over 2 months

Delhi recorded 409 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day rise in nearly two months, while the positivity rate rose to 0.59 per cent, according to health department data.

 

The city's infection tally stands at 6,42,439, the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department stated.

 

The death toll rose to 10,934 with three more fatalities, it said.

 

The number of active Covid-19 cases in the city rose to 2,020 from 1,900 on Wednesday, while the positivity rate climbed to 0.59 from 0.52 per cent the previous day.

5:30 PM

Israel vaccinates vast majority of its soldiers

The Israeli military says it has vaccinated the vast majority of its soldiers, allowing the military to resume many of its normal operations.

 

The army announced Thursday that nearly 80 per cent of its soldiers have either been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19. It expects that number to increase to 85 per cent in the coming days.

 

Military officials say they cannot force remaining soldiers to be vaccinated. But Brig. Gen. Alon Glazberg, the army's chief medical officer, says units in which 90 per cent of the soldiers have been vaccinated or recovered have been branded green status. Such units have much more flexibility in terms of training, gathering and operating.

5:29 PM

Of total vaccines given, 28.77 per cent was in private facilities, 71.23 per cent in public facilities: Govt

Of total Covid-19 vaccine doses administered so far, 28.77 per cent was in private facilities, 71.23 per cent in public facilities: Govt

5:26 PM

Be careful, watchful as pandemic is not over yet, says govt

Be careful, watchful as pandemic is not over yet. Don't take this virus for granted. Please embrace vaccines available: Govt