Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 6,218 new cases, 51 deaths in a day

Coronavirus live updates: With 2,100,884, Maharashtra is the worst-hit state, followed by Kerala (1,034,657), Karnataka (948,149), Andhra Pradesh (889,298), and Tamil Nadu (848,275)

4:31 PM

Covid LIVE: Vijayan writes to PM on Karnataka curbing inter-state movement

4:05 PM

Odisha's Covid-19 tally rises to 336,767 with 62 new cases

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 3,36,767 on Tuesday as 62 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said. Of the fresh cases, 37 were reported from quarantine centres and 25 detected during contact tracing.

 

Sambalpur district recorded the highest number of new cases at 12, followed by Khurda and Cuttack at seven each. Kandhamal and Nabarangpur districts have turned "coronavirus free" as no active case exists there, the official said. The state's COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 1,914 as no fresh fatality was reported since Friday last week. Fifty-three other coronavirus patients have died in the state due to comorbidities.

3:38 PM

Sri Lanka orders 13.5 mn AstraZeneca doses, likely to drop Chinese vaccines

Sri Lanka has ordered 13.5 million Oxford AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines in addition to the 500,000 doses gifted by India, and the country may not use Chinese vaccines in the second phase of immunisation, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.

 

Ramesh Pathirana, who is also the Minister of Plantations, said Sri Lanka is likely to go only with the AstraZeneca vaccines for the second phase of vaccination as the Chinese and Russian vaccines are not ready yet.

 

"The Chinese vaccine has not submitted the papers relating to phase three trials, said Pathirana.

3:20 PM

Russia records 11,823 Covid-19 cases, 417 deaths in past day

Russia has logged 11,823 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down from 12,604 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,189,153, the coronavirus response center said on Tuesday.

 

"Over the past day, 11,823 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 84 regions, including 1,312 cases (11.1 percent) that were detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the center said.

 

Russia's cumulative case count has now reached 4,189,153, with the rate of increase at 0.3 percent.

2:58 PM

Six States account for 84.62% of new coronavirus deaths

2:25 PM

India's Covid-19 active caseload falls below 1.5 lakh; no fresh deaths in 21 states, UTs

India's tally of active COVID-19 cases fell below the 1.5-lakh mark on Tuesday and was pegged at 1,47,306, comprising1.34 per cent of the total caseload, the Union Health Ministry said, highlighting 21 states and UTs have not reported fresh fatalities in a 24-hour-period.

 

A total of10,584 new infections and 13,255 recoveries were recorded in a span of 24 hours, leading to a net decline of 2,749 cases in the total active caseload, it said.

 

India's daily positivity rate remains below three per cent, the ministry noted. The country reported 78 new COVID-19 fatalities on Tuesday, the health ministry said, as it underlined that a steady decline is being observed in the number of daily new deaths.

1:47 PM

Covid-19 test mandatory for people arriving in Uttarakhand from five states

The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday issued an order to make the COVID-19 test mandatory for people coming from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the wake of a surge in coronavirus cases in these states.

 

"Due to the rise in COVID19 cases in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, travellers from these states have to undergo testing on arrival in Uttarakhand at state borders, railway stations and Dehradun airport," said Dehradun District Magistrate.

 

The decision was taken in face of a sudden rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in several states.

12:58 PM

Maharashtra CM to hold meeting with BMC to review Covid-19 situation

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is set to hold a meeting on Tuesday with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner and officials, to review the COVID-19 situation in the state.

 

This meeting comes amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state which has alarmed government officials. 5,210 more patients tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra, State Health Minister Rajesh Tope informed on Monday evening. Read on...

12:11 PM

How 'vaccine diplomacy' is helping some countries bolster their soft power

The Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to various new, repurposed or newly popular terms. The newest entry to the pandemic lexicon might be “vaccine diplomacy”, with some countries using their jabs to strengthen regional ties and enhance their own power and global status.

 

In early February, half a million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Pakistan, before soon also reaching 13 other countries including Cambodia, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan declared it a “manifestation of our brotherhood”, a sentiment echoed by the Pakistani government. Russia has similarly used its own Sputnik V vaccine to win friends and support, providing access to countries as yet unable to start their own vaccination programmes. Read on...

11:42 AM

Punjab CM to review Covid-19 situation with health experts, officers today

Punjab Chief Minister Captain (retired) Amarinder Singh will review the Covid-19 situation in the state with health experts and senior officers on Tuesday.

 

The review process will take place at 3 pm today.

 

Taking to Twitter, Raveen Thukral, Media Advisor to Punjab CM, said: "Punjab CM @capt_amarinder to review the #COVID19 situation in the state with health experts and senior officers at 3 pm today."

 

Punjab has recorded 148 new Covid-19 cases, 15 deaths and 225 recoveries during the last 24 hours, according to the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) today. 

11:24 AM

India detects 24,000 mutations in 7,000 variants of Covid

The genetic diagnostic laboratories in India have detected over 24,000 mutations in the strains of SARS-CoV-2 in the last one year, news agency IANS reported, quoting officials.

 

The officials added that the mutations have been detected in around 7,000 variants of the novel coronavirus which are under circulation in the country.

 

"We have detected around 24,300 mutations in 7,000 variants of the virus currently under circulation," an official who is a key member of National Task Force for Covid-19 informed.

 

The information was also corroborated by contacts working at laboratories which are part of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG) set-up by the Union Health Ministry in December last year in the backdrop of the emergence of a newly identified variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the UK, South Africa and some other parts of the world.

10:55 AM

Punjab CM to review Covid situation

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh to review the Covid situation in the state with health experts and senior officers today

10:27 AM

Mexico begins application of Chinese Sinovac vaccine

Mexican health authorities began to vaccinate older adults with a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, after a shipment of doses arrived on February 20.

Mexico's government designated the first shipment of the Sinovac vaccine to arrive in Ecatepec, a city in central State of Mexico that lies on the outskirts of the capital Mexico City, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

Early in the day, brigades of healthcare workers began to administer the vaccine to hundreds of residents aged 60 and over who went to the Las Americas cultural and sports centre to get vaccinated.

"The first call was very important because it lets us know there is interest on the part of the citizens and, above all, that they are hopeful this issue can now be eradicated from our population," Ecatepec Mayor Fernando Vilchis told reporters at the vaccination site.

10:22 AM

India reports 10,584 new Covid cases

9:59 AM

One new Covid-19 case in Andamans; tally at 5,015

The COVID-19 caseload in Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 5,015 as one more person has tested positive for the disease in the Union Territory, a health department official said on Tuesday.

The fresh case was detected during contact tracing, he said.

"The new patient was diagnosed with the disease on Monday after a gap of four days. Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not report any fresh case between February 18 and 21, which was encouraging," the official said.

The overall COVID situation is under control in the archipelago as the local administration has been strict to ensure that health safety protocols are followed to contain the spread of the disease, he said.