Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra records 8,623 fresh cases, 51 deaths

Coronavirus live updates: Most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (2,130,000), Kerala (1,052,000), Karnataka (950,207) and Andhra Pradesh (889,585). Stay tuned for corona-related news

11:44 PM

More tests for Covid-19 needed, says WHO Chief Scientist

Chief scientist of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan on Saturday said there should be more COVID-19 tests as there was heterogeneity (on testing methods) among the states, according to PTI.

 

"Testing is really an important issue. At the beginning, WHO found that many countries did not have diagnostics and those which had it was not enough. In fact we found out that diagnostics was lower than it should be," she said while addressing a session at 'Shaastra' organised here at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.

11:23 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 118 new Covid-19 cases

Andhra Pradesh reported 118 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking the total count of cases to 8,89,799, according to ANI.

According to the state health department, Andhra Pradesh has 667 active COVID-19 cases as of now.

10:23 PM

Chhattisgarh records 240 new Covid-19 cases, five deaths

Chhattisgarh on Saturday reported 240 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths, taking the infection count to 3,12,419 and death toll to 3,833, according to PTI.

The number of recoveries reached 3,05,819 after 13 people were discharged from hospitals and 161 completed home isolation period.

9:58 PM

Kerala logs 3,792 new Covid-19 cases, 4,650 recoveries in last 24 hours

Kerala on Saturday reported 3,792 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the cumulative count of cases in the state to 10,56,149, according to ANI.

With 18 deaths registered in the last 24 hours, the death toll in the state reached 4,182.

9:13 PM

Madhya Pradesh sees 390 new Covid-19 cases, 241 recoveries

Madhya Pradesh on Saturday reported 390 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the tally of the infections to 2,61,403 while one more fatality pushed the toll to 3,863, according to PTI.

 

No fresh COVID-19 case was reported in 12 districts of the total 52 districts in the state.

 

A total of 241 patients were discharged from hospitals in Madhya Pradesh in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries to 2,54,874, the department said.

8:52 PM

Gujarat sees 451 new Covid-19 cases, 328 recoveries

Gujarat on Saturday reported 451 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the count of infections to 2,69,482, the state health department said.

With 328 people being discharged after treatment in the day, the tally of recoveries in Gujarat rose to 2,62,815, it said, adding that the state's recovery rate stood at 97.53 per cent.

Meanwhile, the overall death toll in Gujarat rose to 4,409 with one more person succumbing to COVID-19 disease during the day, the department said in a release.

The state is now left with 2,258 active cases.

8:47 PM

8,623 new coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, 51 deaths

Maharashtra reported more than 8,000 new Covid-19 cases on the fourth straight day on Saturday which took the caseload in the state to 21,46,777, a health official said.

The state reported 8,623 new infections and 51 deaths.

The death toll in the state due to the pandemic reached 52,092, the official added.

Lockdown in eastern Maharashtra's Amravati city was extended by one week. Weekend lockdown is also in place in Nagpur, Buldhana and Yavatmal in the region.

7:33 PM

S Africa ahead of schedule in first phase of Covid-19 vaccination

The first phase of Covid-19 vaccination programme in South Africa is ahead of schedule, health authorities said on Saturday after the second batch of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines landed in the country.

In the first week of the Sisonke' campaign to vaccinate healthcare workers as a priority, 6,648 patient-facing healthcare workers in the public and private sector were vaccinated, the Department of Health said in a statement.

"In just under one week, the Sisonke Programme has set up 18 vaccination sites, developed and implemented complex logistics, including cold chain management; distribution of vaccines and vial filling; trained additional vaccinators; set up an online electronic registration system and ensured the safe and timely vaccination of tens of thousands of healthcare workers, it said.

7:13 PM

Covid-19 recoveries cross 1-million mark in Kerala; 3,792 new cases

Kerala on Saturday crossed the 1-million mark in terms of total Covid-19 recoveries, while reporting 3,792 new positive cases and 18 deaths.

With the addition of the fresh cases, the infection count surged to 10,56,498 and the death toll to 4,182, state Health Minister K K Shailaja said in a release here.

As many as 4,650 people have recuperated from the disease on Saturday, taking the total cured in the state to 10,01,164, she said.

Currently, there are 50,514 people under treatment.

7:02 PM

Covid-19: 97 new cases recorded in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday recorded 97 new Covid-19 cases, taking the infection tally to 1,26,383, officials said

No fresh Covid-19-related death was reported in the past 24 hours, they said.

Of the new cases, 24 were from the Jammu division and 73 from the Kashmir division, officials said.

Srinagar district recorded the highest 44 cases followed by 11 each in Jammu and Udhampur districts.