Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 8,744 new cases in last 24 hours

The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 20 million, the Union Health Ministry said

10:25 PM

Over 22 mn vaccine doses given till 9 pm today: Govt

10:12 PM

239 new Covid cases in Delhi, positivity rate 0.50%

Delhi recorded 239 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths on Monday, as the positivity rate rose to 0.50 per cent, the Health Department said, according to PTI. The new cases came from 47,689 tests, including 35,968 RT-PCR tests and 11,721 rapid antigen tests conducted the previous day, the bulletin issued by the department said.

The number of active cases stood at 1,730 on Monday. Three new deaths took the toll to 10,924, according to the data. The positivity rate rose to 0.50 per cent from 0.31 per cent a day before. On Sunday, 286 new cases and two deaths were recorded. The city had registered 321 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily count in nearly one-and-a-half months, and a death on Saturday, and 312 cases and a fatality on Friday.

9:02 PM

Maharashtra reports 8744 new Covid-19 cases, 9068 discharges

8:51 PM

LIVE: Karnataka reports 436 new cases

Karnataka reports 436 new Covid-19 cases, 478 recoveries and five deaths in the last 24 hours

 

8:33 PM

CBI begins vaccinating its officials against COVID-19

The CBI on Monday started anti-Covid-19 vaccination of its officials with its acting director Praveen Sinha taking the first shot, officials said.

 

The agency continued its investigations and prosecution process during the pandemic even though over 680 officials, about nine per cent of the total staff, contracted the virus while working on various cases and four officials succumbed to the deadly disease.

 

After getting nod from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, several senior officers led by Sinha took the jab on the first day of the process.

8:21 PM

555 new coronavirus cases in Gujarat, one death, 482 recoveries

With 555 new Covid-19 cases coming to light on Monday, Gujarat's caseload rose to 2,73,941, the state health department said.

 

The number of recovered cases went up to 2,66,313 with 482 patients getting discharged from hospitals.

 

The death of a Covid-19 patient in Ahmedabad pushed up the toll to 4,416, said the department in a release.

 

The state's recovery rate stands at 97.22 per cent.

8:17 PM

Goa sees 54 Covid-19 cases, 110 recoveries, no death

Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 54 and reached 55,463 on Monday, while the day saw 110 people getting discharged, an official said.

 

The death toll remained unchanged at 799 for the third consecutive day, he added.

 

The state has a recovery count of 54,032, leaving it with 632 active cases, the official said.

7:59 PM

LIVE: Tamil Nadu reports 556 new coronavirus cases

Tamil Nadu reports 556 new coronavirus cases, 532 recoveries and three deaths today, according to the state health department

7:47 PM

No major report of discordant results reported by Covid-19 testing labs: Govt

Till now no "major report of discordant test results" has been reported by Covid-19 testing laboratories, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told Rajya Sabha on Monday.

 

He was responding to a question on whether capping the price of Covid-19 tests has forced several labs to use relatively inexpensive kits raising the risk of false negative and compromising data.

 

Keeping in view fast tracking of approval of test kits, increasing indigenous manufacturing, inclusion of alternative platforms like CBNAAT and GeneXperts, improved market availability at competitive prices, the Union health ministry has advised state governments and union territory (UT) administrations to negotiate with private labs and fix mutually agreeable prices for Covid-19 testing, Choubey said.

7:46 PM

Serum seeks govt's intervention over import of Covid vaccine raw material from US

Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, has sought the central government's intervention so as to enable the firm import essential raw materials from the US for uninterrupted manufacturing and supply of Covid-19 vaccines.

 

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla,Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Pune-based SII, Prakash Kumar Singh said the US government has invoked the Defence Production Act because of which the firm is facing difficulties in importing necessary products like cell culture medias, raw material, single-use tubing assemblies and some specialty chemicals from the US.

 

He said in the letter that Covishield vaccine manufactured by the SII is being widely used in India and across the globe and millions of people have been vaccinated with it.

7:23 PM

Covid-19 vaccination drive coverage was initially low due to issues in Co-WIN, hesitancy: Govt

At the start of the Covid-19 vaccination drive, fewer beneficiaries than planned attended inoculation sessions due to transient technical issues in the Co-WIN portal, vaccine hesitancy etc, which have progressively been addressed, Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

 

The rate of vaccination coverage has subsequently increased, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said in a written reply.

 

"More than 50 lakh healthcare workers and frontline workers have been vaccinated in 21 days in India, which is the fastest rate in the world," Choubey said.

 

A total of 93.6 lakh healthcare workers and 77.9 lakh frontline workers have been registered as on January 31.

7:18 PM

Dharavi reports highest daily cases since October

Mumbai's largest slum cluster Dharavi on Monday reported 18 Covid-19 cases, the highest daily figure since October and a steep rise from the mostly single digit cases it was logging over the past few days.

 

A senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said the area's caseload has gone up to 4,166.

 

Dharavi had reported 16 new cases on February 26 this year.

7:10 PM

Hand gloves for voters, PPEs for Covid-19 infected in TN assembly polls

Covid-19 infected voters would be given personal protective equipment (PPE) kits while others hand gloves for casting their votes in the elections to Tamil Nadu assembly next month as part of preventive measures in view of the pandemic, state Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said here on Monday.

 

On the day of polling, every voter would be given hand gloves before voting to ensure there was no chance of transmission of infection through the Electronic Voting Machine, he said.

 

All other norms to help prevent Covid-19, including screening people with thermal scanners, would be followed during the polling on April 6, the official told a press conference at the Secretariat.

7:06 PM

Schools, colleges reopen in first step of UK's lockdown easing

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the national effort that has gone into fighting against coronavirus as schools and colleges opened on Monday to mark the step one in the UK's phased roadmap to lift strict lockdown restrictions in place for months to control the spread of Covid-19.

 

Secondary schools and colleges will be inviting students for their first rapid lateral flow test, with schools and colleges having discretion on how to stagger the return of their students over this week to facilitate testing and a safe return to the classroom.

 

After three initial tests onsite, students will be provided with two rapid tests to use each week at home.

6:50 PM

Kerala logs 1,412 new Covid-19 cases

Kerala reported 1,412 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, while 3,030 people have recovered from the infection, with the active cases in the state touching 39,236, the government said.

 

While the total virus caseload soared to 10,79,088, as many as 10,34,895 people have been cured of the disease, Health minister K K Shailaja said in a press release.

 

It said a South African returnee was among those who tested positive for the virus.

 

In the 24 hours ending 2 pm, 39,046 samples had been tested and the test positivity rate was 3.62 per cent.

6:37 PM

42,848 armed forces personnel have tested Covid-19 positive till date: Naik

A total of 42,848 personnel of tri-services have tested positive for Covid-19 till date, said Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik on Monday.

 

The number of COVID-19 positive cases in the Indian Army have been 32,690 and the fatality rate stands at 0.24 per cent till date, Naik said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

6:36 PM

Defying pandemic, feminists in Spain decry far-right attacks

Women in Spain are marking this year's International Women Day with static protests, bicycle fun-rides and a myriad of small-sized events creatively organized to prevent gatherings that could trigger a new spike of coronavirus contagion.

 

Spain's Constitutional Court on Monday rejected last-minute appeals by unions and women's rights groups to hold any kind of street protest in the Spanish capital, following similar recent rulings by lower-level courts.

 

The decision has enraged many who argued it was possible to raise their voice in favor of gender equality and against discrimination without endangering public health.

6:10 PM

LIVE: Andhra Pradesh reports 74 new cases

LIVE: Andhra Pradesh reports 74 new coronavirus cases, 61 recoveries and 2 deaths in the last 24 hours.

6:05 PM

Amid concerns of shortage, Kerala receives additional 48,000 Covaxin doses

Amid widespread complaints of Covid-19 vaccine shortage in Kerala, as many as 48,960 doses ofCovaxin, the indigenous vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech, have reached the state now.

 

Thiruvananthapuram received 16,640 doses of vaccine, while Ernakulam 19,220 doses and Kozhikode got 13,120 doses of the vaccine, state Health Department sources here said on Monday.

 

According to information received from the union Health Ministry, more doses of vaccine would reach the state in the coming days and the number of vaccination centres can be increased as per its availability, they said.

5:19 PM

Brent hits $70 for first time since pandemic began after Saudi attack

Oil prices climbed above $70 a barrel for the first time since the start of the coronavirus crisis, after the U.S. Senate passed a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package and a Yemeni group attacked Saudi Arabia's oil industry.

 

Benchmark Brent climbed as high as $71.38 a barrel in early Asian trade, its highest since Jan. 8, 2020. By 1110 GMT, it was trading up 12 cents or 0.2% at $69.48, still hovering around its highest level in more than a year.

 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 14 cents or 0.2% at $66.23 after touching $67.98 a barrel, its highest since October 2018.

 

Brent and WTI prices have climbed for four consecutive sessions.

5:18 PM

Germany ramps up use of AstraZeneca vaccine

Germany is looking to ramp up the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after authorities last week gave the green light for it to be administered to people 65 and over.

 

Hundreds of thousands of doses have been gathering dust in recent weeks due to the restrictions on who could get the vaccine and misgivings among some who were eligible. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Germany has received 2.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot so far but administered just 721,000.

 

Berlin is opening a sixth vaccine center Monday at the former Tempelhof airport in the center of the city that will administer only the AstraZeneca vaccine.

4:26 PM

Sri Lanka's Covid-19 death toll surpasses 500

The death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has surpassed the 500 mark in Sri Lanka after five more deaths were reported on Sunday, official statistics from the Health Ministry showed Monday.

 

To date, 502 deaths from the virus have been reported in the island country while the total number of positive patients has reached 85,695.

 

Out of the total infected since March 2020, 82,059 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, bringing down the active patient count to 3,134.

4:25 PM

A pandemic, a plan and a return to golf with no interruption

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan keeps the screenshot his daughters sent him as a tease one year ago. Now it's a reminder of how quickly celebration gave way to concern and uncertainty in a week like no other.

 

The photo is Monahan being interviewed by CNBC on Monday of The Players Championship to announce the tour's new multi-billion dollar media rights deal, while the ticker on the bottom of the TV shows stock prices in the biggest free fall since the 2008 recession.

4:08 PM

Covid-19: New Zealand to only use Pfizer vaccine

New Zealand says it will now use only the Pfizer vaccine to inoculate its population against the coronavirus, departing from earlier plans to use four different vaccines.

 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the strategy Monday, saying the decision was based on the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness. She said this would make it easier and fairer for all New Zealanders to have access to the same vaccine.

 

However, the strategy may also be driven in part by delays in getting vaccines approved. So far, New Zealand's medical regulators have approved only the Pfizer vaccine and are reviewing two other shots.

4:06 PM

Afghanistan receives 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine from Covax facility

The UN children's agency says Afghanistan has received nearly half a million coronavirus vaccine doses via the global Covax initiative.

 

War-torn Afghanistan received 468,000 AstraZeneca vaccines on Monday, the first shipment through Covax, UNICEF said in a statement.

 

The vaccines were made by the Serum Institute of India, and arrived in the capital of Kabul aboard an Emirates flight, UNICEF said. More vaccines will arrive in the coming weeks and months.

3:56 PM

Covid-19: Singapore to start vaccinating migrant workers

Singapore will start vaccinating migrant workers against Covid-19 as part of its national immunisation strategy, starting with 10,000 people living in the country's five largest dormitories.

 

This batch of 10,000 workers have never been infected by Covid-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday, announcing the vaccination programme for the migrant workers.

 

The migrant workers, which include a huge number of Indians, make up about 90 per cent of Singapore's Covid-19 tally, which stands at 60,046. The death toll is 29.

3:45 PM

After delays, Israel starts vaccinating Palestinian workers

After delays, Israel started vaccinating Palestinians who work inside the country and its West Bank settlements on Monday, more than two months after launching an immunisation blitz of its own population.

 

Palestinian labourers who crossed into Israel at several West Bank checkpoints received their first doses of the Moderna vaccine from Magen David Adom paramedics.

 

The vaccination drive orchestrated by COGAT, Israel's military agency coordinating government operations in the West Bank, had been beset by postponements.

3:42 PM

Norway's marriages dropped 19% due to pandemic

Norway saw a 19 per cent drop in marriages in 2020 compared to the previous year, which had already seen the lowest figure since 1927.

 

Norway's statistics agency said Monday that the pandemic and measures to counter it led to the fall. In 2020, 16,200 weddings were performed.

 

On top of that, the decline of 3,000 marriages from 2019 to 2020 is unparalleled and is the largest decline from one year to another since 1919, said Ane Margrete Toemmeraas of Statistics Norway.

3:34 PM

PCB shuts offices after senior official tests positive for Covid-19

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday decided to close down offices at its headquarters in Lahore after a senior official tested positive for COVID-19.

 

The PCB decided to adopt a safety first approach soon after the official tested positive and asked its employees to work from home.

 

The Covid-19 case comes just a few days after the PCB was forced to postpone the Pakistan Super League in Karachi after six cricketers and a support staff tested positive for the disease.

3:09 PM

Tamil Nadu Minister Sellur K Raju receives Covid-19 vaccine