Coronavirus LIVE updates: Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally hits 2-million mark

Coronavirus live updates: India has given the first dose of covid antidote to almost 800,000 beneficiaries five days into the nation-wide vaccination drive

11:11 PM

Covid-19 vaccination: 27,682 inoculated on Thursday

Nearly 28,000 healthcare workers were administered COVID-19 vaccines in Telangana on Thursday as against the targeted 48,447. The total number of those inoculated on the sixth day of the vaccination drive was 27,682, covering 57 percent of the beneficiaries, a health department release said. The cumulative number of those vaccinated as on Thursday was 97,307.

The cumulative percentage of beneficiaries who received the vaccine till Thursday was 68 per cent. No serious or severe case of AEFI (adverse events following immunization) was reported on Thursday, the release said. However, six cases of minor AEFI were reported on and all are stable. All 33 districts in the state have conducted COVID-19 vaccination on Thursday for healthcare workers in the government sector (both Central and state), it said.

10:44 PM

VK Sasikala tests Covid positive, admitted to hospital

Sasikala, an aide of former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa, has tested positive for COVID-19: Victoria Hospital, Bengaluru.

9:41 PM

Vaccination for BSF jawans begins in Agartala

9:34 PM

Serum Institute to offer Rs 25 lakh compensation to families of dead

Cyrus S Poonawalla, chairman and MD of Serum Institute of India, on Thursday said the vaccine major will offer a compensation of Rs 25 lakh in addition to the mandated amount to families of persons who died in a fire at the company's premises in Pune. Five men died after a fire broke out in a five-storeyed under-construction building at the firm's Manjari premises in Pune on Thursday.

All were construction workers whose bodies were recovered by fire brigade personnel from the fifth floor, police said, adding nine others were evacuated from the spot. "Today is an extremely sorrowful day for all of us at Serum Institute of India. Regrettably, there were losses of lives in the fire that broke out in our under installation facility situated at the Special Economic Zone at Manjari," Poonawalla said in a statement. "We are deeply saddened and offer our condolences to the families of the departed. In this regard, we will be offering a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to each of the families, in addition to the mandated amount as per the norms," he added.

9:02 PM

6,229 coronavirus cases, 21 more deaths in Kerala

Kerala recorded 6,229 new cases of coronavirus and 21 related deaths on Thursday taking the total number of those affected by the virus in the state to 8.69 lakh, while the toll surged to 3,545. One more person who returned from the UK tested positive for COVID-19, taking the number of those coming from Britain and being infected to 66, state health minister K K Shailaja said.

 

"41 out of those have been cured so far," the minister added.

 

Among the districts, Ernakulam reported the highest number of patients on Thursday with 771, followed by Malappuram 657 cases and Kottayam 647 cases. Kasaragod reported the lowest with 87 cases.

8:48 PM

Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy 39 per cent in Delhi-NCR: Survey

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is as high as 39 per cent in the Delhi-NCR with about one-fifth of the respondents saying that they will not take the jab, according to a telephonic survey conducted by the NCAER. The government launched the world's biggest vaccination drive on January 16 to protect people from COVID-19.

 

The findings of the fourth round of the Delhi-NCR Coronavirus Telephone Survey (DCVTS-4) conducted by the economic think-tank NCAER showed that about 20 per cent respondents were certain about not taking the vaccine. Of this, 22.4 per cent were from rural areas and 17.5 per cent from urban locations.

 

The survey further showed that an additional 4 per cent of respondents said they would not take the jab as they are already infected, while about 15 per cent said they were unsure about taking the vaccine.

8:11 PM

145 people infected with UK variant of Covid-19 in India: Govt

The number of people who have tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19 in India has climbed to 145, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated health care facilities by respective state governments, the ministry had said earlier.

 

Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others.

 

Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on, the ministry said. The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium) labs.

8:02 PM

SII building caught fire due to some ongoing welding work: Maharashtra Health Minister

7:52 PM

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally hits 2-million mark

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on Thursday with the addition of 2,886 fresh cases. With the new cases, Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally rose to 20,00,878. The grim milestone was reached more than 10 months after the first coronavirus case was reported in the state in second week of March 2020. Maharashtra has also become the first state in the country to reach the 20-lakh COVID-19 caseload mark.

 

The state reported 52 more deaths due to the infection, taking the fatality count to 50,634. Also, 3,980 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the tally of recovered people to 19,03,408. The state now has 45,622 active cases of COVID-19.

7:24 PM

Elected representatives above 50 yrs likely to be vaccinated in next round

Elected representatives above 50 years of age are likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the second round of the ongoing inoculation drive after over three crore healthcare and frontline workers are vaccinated in the first round.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, most of his Cabinet ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, a majority of chief ministers and top-rung leaders of all political parties besides MPs and MLAs fall in this category.

 

A government source, however, insisted that there is no specific timeline for the vaccination of top politicians. READ ON...

6:54 PM

Free entry in lord Jagannath temple with negative coronavirus report

After opening doors of lord Jagannath temple for the devotees without COVID-19 negative report, Sree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) Thursday urged Odisha government to provide coronavirus vaccines to servitors and their family members on a priority basis.

 

SJTA Chief Administrator Krishan Kumar in a letter to Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, P K Mohapatra emphasised on the necessity of undertaking early vaccination of servitors of the 12th century shrine.

 

"Devotees are allowed to enter the shrine from January 21, 2021 without insisting upon any COVID-19 negative certificate. It is expected that large numbers of devotees will be visiting daily.

 

"Therefore, chance of the Sevayats getting infected on account of the virus cannot be ruled out as they will be coming in the close contact with the devotees," Kumar said in the letter.

6:32 PM

Five dead in Serum Institute fire; Covishield facility unaffected

Five persons died and nine were evacuated from a building in the Serum Institute of India's Manjari premises here after a fire broke out at the facility on Thursday, police said. Covishield vaccine production won't be hit due to the fire, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said.

 

The Manjari facility is where the Covishield vaccine used in the nationwide inoculation drive against the pandemic is made. The building where the fire broke out is part of the under-construction site of the Serum facility and is one km from the Covishield manufacturing unit, sources said.

 

"I would like to reassure all governments & the public that there would be no loss of #COVISHIELD production due to multiple production buildings that I had kept in reserve to deal with such contingencies at @SerumInstIndia," Poonawalla tweeted.

 

"We have just received some distressing updates; upon further investigation we have learnt that there has unfortunately been some loss of life at the incident. We are deeply saddened and offer our deepest condolences to the family members of the departed," Poonawalla added.

6:09 PM

Five died during fire incident at SII premises in Pune

5:47 PM

PM Modi to interact with beneficiaries, vaccinators of Covid-19 inoculation drive in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with beneficiaries and vaccinators of the COVID-19 inoculation drive in Varanasi on Friday via video conferencing. The participants in the interaction will share their first hand experience of vaccination, the Prime Minister's Office said on Thursday.

 

The interaction follows Modi's continuous dialogue and discussion with scientists, political leaders, officials and other stakeholders to proactively ensure smooth conduct of the world's largest vaccination drive, it added.

 

Varanasi is Modi's Lok Sabha constituency. He had launched the nationwide inoculation drive on January 16 with over three crore healthcare and frontline workers prioritised to get the jabs initially.

5:21 PM

No loss of Covidshield production after fire incident at SII premises in Pune: Adar Poonawalla

4:53 PM

South Africa to pay $5.25 a dose for AstraZeneca vaccine from India's SII

South Africa will pay $5.25 per dose for 1.5 million shots of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII), a senior health ministry official said on Thursday, more than some wealthier countries are paying, Reuters reported.

 

The price is higher than the $3 a dose that South Africa and other countries on the continent are due to pay for the same vaccines under an African Union (AU) arrangement, and the price European Union countries have agreed to pay.

 

The SII doses are intended for South Africa's frontline healthcare workers, who have been under huge strain during a second wave of coronavirus infections. They are due to start arriving before the end of the month, before the AU doses become available from March. 

4:29 PM

Uttar Pradesh reports six more Covid-19 deaths, 195 new cases

Uttar Pradesh recorded six COVID-19-linked fatalities on Thursday, taking the death toll due to the disease to 8,597 in the state, while 195 fresh cases pushed its infection tally to 5,97,823. The number of active coronavirus cases in the state stands at 7,717.

 

"In the last 24 hours, six deaths and 195 fresh cases were reported in the state and 345 people were discharged," Principal Secretary, Health Alok Kumar told reporters. "There are 7,717 active cases in the state and the total number of recoveries has risen to 5,81,509. Of the active cases, 2,577 are in home isolation, while the death toll has climbed to 8,597," he said.

 

So far, over 2.66 crore samples have been tested for COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, including more than 1.39 lakh on Wednesday, the officials said.

4:18 PM

One NDRF team moved for Serum Institute in Pune where a fire broke out

4:12 PM

Fire in Serum Institute; Covishield facility not affected

Three persons were evacuated from a building in the Serum Institute of India's Manjari premises here after a fire broke out there on Thursday, police said. There is no impact on the Covishield vaccine making process as the fire broke out in a facility away from the place where the anti-coronavirus vaccines are made, sources said.

 

Deputy Commissioner of Police Namrata Patil told PTI the fire broke out at 2.45 pm on the fourth and fifth floor of the SEZ 3 building in the Serum Institute premises.

 

"As per the primary information, three people have been evacuated," she said. Viral visuals from the site showed smoke billowing out from the Serum Institute facility.

 

"We have sent water tenders to the spot," a fire brigade official said, adding the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The Manjari facility is where the Covishield vaccine used in the nationwide inoculation drive against the pandemic is made. The building where the fire broke out is part of the under-construction site of the Serum facility and Covishield production has not been affected by the fire, sources said.

3:58 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Fire breaks out at Serum Institute building in Pune

A fire broke out at the Serum Institute of India's Manjari premises here on Thursday afternoon, a fire brigade official said.

 

"The fire broke in a building in the premises. We have sent water tenders to the spot," the official said.

 

The Manjari facility is where Covishield vaccine, used in the nationwide inoculation drive against the coronavirus pandemic, is made.