Covid LIVE: Zydus plans to make 100 mn-120 mn doses of ZyCov-D annually

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Kerala reported 21,116 new infections, Maharashtra 5,225, Andhra Pradesh (1,501), Tamil Nadu (1,702), Karnataka (1,432), Delhi (25). Stay tuned for corona-related news

12:43 AM

Covid cases in Bengaluru, Dakshina Kannada come down

Karnataka recorded 1,453 new Covid cases, 1,408 recoveries and 17 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health bulletin on Friday. Authorities have managed to bring down cases in Bengaluru Urban and Dakshina Kannada with stricter measures. The two districts registered the highest number of Covid cases in the state for over a week. Though they continue to be testing the highest number of samples, the numbers of new cases have decreased.

 

The positivity rate for the day stood at 0.83 per cent and the case fatality rate recorded was 1.16 per cent. The total active cases stood at 21,161.

 

Bengaluru logged 352 cases, 318 recoveries, and one death in the last 24 hours. The new cases included 15 children in the age group of 0 to 9 and 30 aged 10 to 19 years.

12:06 AM

Bengal reports 758 new COVID-19 cases, nine more fatalities

West Bengal on Friday reported nine more COVID-19 deaths, which took the toll to 18,346, a health department bulletin said. The coronavirus caseload in the state mounted to 15,41,747 as 758 more people tested positive for the infection, it said.

 

At least 767 people were cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 15,13,766.

 

The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state currently stands at 98.19 per cent. West Bengal now has 9,635 active cases, the bulletin said. The state has so far conducted over 1.65 crore sample tests for COVID-19, including 47,262 since Thursday, it added.

11:54 PM

Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine for children above 12 years gets EUA in India

The world’s first DNA plasmid vaccine, indigenously developed ZyCoV-D, the Cadila Healthcare (Zydus Cadila) three dose vaccine for Covid-19 received the emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for use in adolescents 12 years old and above.

 

This makes it India’s first Covid-19 vaccine to be available for this age group. The vaccine has many other firsts. For one it is based on DNA plasmid technology, secondly it will be administered using needle-free injection system (NFIS), and thirdly it remains stable in room temperatures for three months. This is also a three-dose vaccine given on day zero, day-28 and day-56.

 

The Cadila Healthcare stock ended down 1.38 per cent on the BSE on Friday. READ MORE...

 

10:53 PM

Punjab reports 59 new Covid-related cases

Punjab on Friday reported three more Covid-related deaths, taking the toll to 16,351, while 59 new cases pushed the infection tally to 6,00,180, according to a medical bulletin. The fatalities were reported from Fazilka, Gurdaspur and Mohali. The toll includes one death which was not reported earlier. The number of active cases dropped to 538 from 571 on Thursday.

 

Amritsar reported 15 new cases, followed by Mohali (7), and Faridkot (6) among other places.

 

With 86 recoveries from the infection, the number of cured people reached 5,83,291, according to the bulletin. Chandigarh reported five cases of COVID-19, taking the total count to 62,056, according to the medical bulletin. The toll increased to 812 with the death of a 25-year-old woman. The number of active cases in the city was 43 while the number of cured people was 61,201.

10:32 PM

A momentous feat: PM Modi after Zydus Cadila's COVID vaccine gets emergency use authorisation

With indigenously developed Zydus Cadila's COVID-19 vaccine receiving emergency use authorisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed it as a "momentous feat" and said the approval to the world's first DNA-based vaccine against the coronavirus is a testimony to the innovative zeal of India's scientists.

 

The Department of Biotechnology on Friday said indigenously developed Zydus Cadila COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D has received approval for emergency use authorisation from the Drug Controller General of India and it will be administered to people 12 years and above.

 

With the emergency use authorisation (EUA), ZyCoV-D has also become the first vaccine to be administered to those in the age group of 12-18 years in the country.

10:13 PM

1,667 COVID-19 cases; 24 deaths in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu on Friday logged 1,667 COVID-19 infections, pushing the overall caseload to 25,97,603, while 24 deaths took the toll to 34,663. Recoveries eclipsed new cases with 1,887 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 25,43,319, leaving 19,621 active infections, a health department bulletin said. A total of 1,63,177 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 4,05,91,577.

 

Coimbatore reported the most number of cases (199) , Chennai 185, Erode 158 and Chengalpet 102.

 

Perambalur and Ramanathapuram recorded the least number of new infections with four cases each. Twenty seven districts reported new cases in double digits, while there were no fresh deaths in 25 districts. All those who succumbed to the virus had comorbidities, the bulletin said.

10:09 PM

Guj sees 17 Covid-19 cases; over 275,000 people vaccinated

Gujarat reported 17 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 8,25,272, while the toll remained unchanged at 10,078, an official said on Friday.

10:08 PM

Nagaland logs 92 new Covid-19 cases, 1 fresh fatality

Nagaland's COVID-19 tally rose to 29,482 on Friday as 92 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 609, a health bulletin said.

9:34 PM

WHO asks experts to join virus advisory group

The World Health Organisation has issued a call for experts to join a new advisory group to address the agency's attempts to further investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

8:54 PM

UP records 26 new cases, 2 deaths

Twenty-six more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, bringing the infection count to 17,09,076 on Friday, while the death toll climbed to 22,791 with two fresh fatalities, a health bulletin issued here said,  according to PTI.

The latest deaths were reported from Raebareli and Prayagraj, it said.

8:33 PM

Maha reports 4,365 Covid-19 cases, 105 deaths

Maharashtra reported 4,365 new coronavirus cases and 105 deaths on Friday, while 6,384 patients recovered from the viral infection, a health department official said, according to PTI.

The state's infection tally thus rose to 64,15,935, while the death toll reached 1,35,672. 

8:32 PM

Rajasthan records 14 Covid cases, no death

Rajasthan on Friday recorded 14 coronavirus cases, taking the number of infections to 9,53,995, officials said, adding no new death was reported in the last 24 hours, PTI reported.

The death toll stands at 8,954.

Of the fresh cases, four each were reported from Udaipur and Sawaimadhopur, followed by Alwar where three persons were tested positive.

8:07 PM

India approves Zydus' DNA-based three-dose Covid vaccine for emergency use

India's drug regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday approved Zydus Cadila's three-dose COVID-19 DNA vaccine for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above, bringing in the sixth vaccine authorised for use in the country.

7:49 PM

Kerala allocates Rs 3.2 crore for 87 kids orphaned by Covid

The Kerala government on Friday announced it has sanctioned Rs 3.2 crore for providing financial support to 87 children who lost parents due to Covid, IANS reported.

State Health Minister Veena George said that a sum of Rs 3 lakh would be deposited in the name of the children, and monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 will be given till age 18.

7:46 PM

UK approves Regeneron/Roche antibody cocktail

The UK drug regulator has approved an antibody cocktail developed by Regeneron (REGN.O) and Roche (ROG.S) to prevent and treat COVID-19, it said on Friday, as the nation battles rising hospitalisations due to the more infectious Delta variant, Reuters reported.

7:45 PM

England's Covid R number estimate rises to 0.9 to 1.2

The estimated range for England's COVID-19 reproduction "R" number rose to 0.9 to 1.2, according to official data released on Friday, compared to 0.8 to 1.0 in last week's figures, Reuters reported.

7:39 PM

India approves Zydus' DNA-based vaccine for emergency use

7:06 PM

Scientists argue against US decision to roll out Covid booster shots

Scientists have criticised the US decision to roll out Covid booster shots for all Americans stating that the data isn't compelling, the media reports said, according to IANS.

Top US health officials including CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky, acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr Janet Woodcock, and White House chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci, had this week, announced plans for a third dose of Covid vaccine eight months after a second shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

Experts argue this move is a misuse of resources and not based on data, Daily Mail reported.

7:05 PM

Recovered Covid patients can donate kidneys: Study

People who have recovered from coronavirus can safely donate their kidneys, according to the findings of a multi-centre study based on 31 transplant cases, PTI reported.

The transplant surgeries were conducted after the first wave of the pandemic between July and September last year. All donors were those who had mild infection.

The study was prompted by the unavailability of literature on kidney transplants in case the donor is a person who has recovered from COVID-19, said Dr Sanjiv Gulati, director, Nephrology, Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj.

7:02 PM

England's Covid prevalence drops to 1 in 80

6:34 PM

Covid-19 cases cross 2 million mark in AP

Coronavirus cases crossed the two million mark in Andhra Pradesh, touching 20,00,038 on Friday, PTI reported.

The first Covid-19 case in the state was registered on March 12, 2020 when a person who returned from Italy tested positive for the dreaded virus in SPS Nellore district.

It took over 13 months, from March 12, 2020 to April 23, 2021, for AP to record one million COVID-19 cases, but the second million came in a span of only four months.

6:32 PM

Sri Lanka announces lockdown

6:28 PM

Kerala reports 20,224 new Covid-19 cases

5:55 PM

Quarantine, Covid-19 testing remain key concerns for international travellers: Report

Quarantine and COVID-19 testing remain key concerns for international travel even as domestic travel in India begins its recovery following the second wave of the pandemic, according to a research report, PTI said.

 

The research report from Collinson also showed that while physical wellbeing has been at the forefront of discussions around the recovery of the travel sector, travellers are now just as worried about their mental wellbeing as they are about their physical wellbeing.

 

The report is based on analysis and data comparison of 18,500 travellers in late-2019 (pre-pandemic) and 12,607 travellers in late-2020 (during the pandemic).

5:51 PM

New Zealand PM Ardern extends nationwide lockdown

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended New Zealand's strict nationwide coronavirus lockdown on Friday, saying the full extent of the Delta outbreak was still unknown, Reuters reported.

5:49 PM

Haryana: Rs 2 lakh to be given to poor families who lost members to Covid

5:21 PM

Two arrested for running illegal clinic for Covid vaccination

Two persons were arrested for allegedly opening a clinic illegally for COVID-19 vaccination in the Jaidpur area here, police said on Friday, PTI reported.

A complaint was filed by Dr Sunil Kumar at CHC in Satrikh that some persons have opened a fake clinic and were administering Covid vaccines, they said.

Police swung into action and arrested Brijendra Kumar and Sandeep Kumar from the clinic and recovered a Covishield vial and fake vaccination cards, they said.

5:21 PM

Sikkim reports 82 fresh Covid cases

Sikkim reported 82 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours taking the state's tally to 29,157, according to a health department bulletin issued on Friday, PTI reported.

The Covid-19 death toll remained unchanged at 364 as no fresh fatality due to the disease was registered.

The Himalayan state now has 1,706 active cases, while 26,807 people have recovered from the infection, the bulletin said.

5:16 PM

Asia extends lockdowns, adds curbs to fight surge in Delta infections

Nations from Australia to Vietnam announced more drastic curbs and longer lockdowns for citizens on Friday, as authorities struggle to rein in outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

4:30 PM

Centre wants state govts to say there were no deaths due to oxygen shortage: Sisodia