LIVE: CBSE waives off exam fees for students who lost parents due to Covid

Coronavirus LIVE updates: India's active Covid-19 cases drop to 309,575. Delhi reported 28 Covid-19 cases and no fatality. Stay tuned for corona updates

Coronavirus updates: India recorded a spike of 26,115 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The country also witnessed 252 deaths, taking the death toll to 445,385. So far, India has recorded 33,504,534 corona cases in total. Delhi reported 28 Covid-19 cases and no fatality. Kerala recorded 15,692 new Covid-19 cases and Maharashtra 2,583 cases. 

Air India and Air Canada are resuming their flights from Delhi to Toronto and Vancouver with easing of entry restrictions by the North American country. While Air Canada's first departure from Delhi will be on Wednesday, Air India is yet to announce its schedule but has informed Delhi airport about its plan to start flights.

World coronavirus update: Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with 229,769,623 confirmed cases and 4,711,712 deaths across nearly 200 countries recorded since China reported its first cases in December 2019. The US remains the worst-hit country with 43,078,445 cases, followed by India, Brazil, UK and Russia. 

11:58 PM

Assam reports six more fatalities, 441 new COVID cases

New infections and COVID-19 deaths declined in Assam on Tuesday with the state logging 441 fresh cases as against 455 on the previous day.

 

The state registered six more fatalities during the day, while ten people had succumbed to the infection on Monday, a National Health Mission bulletin said.

 

The coronavirus tally stands at 5,98,864 while the toll has risen to 5,813.

 

Assam now has 3,734 active cases, an increase of 97 from the previous day's figure.

 

The fresh fatalities were reported from Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Hojai, Jorhat, Karimganj, and Udalguri districts.

10:28 PM

Covid-19 pandemic: What we know about Delta variant and children

Covid-19 cases among children are surging across the world amid Delta-fuelled outbreaks, spurring hospitalisations and raising concern about the risk of severe illness and persistent “long hauler” symptoms. It’s also prompted questions about the safety of schools.

 

How common is Covid in children?

 

In the US, as of September 16, more than 5.5 million children and adolescents had tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Academy of Paediatrics. That represents 15.7 per cent of all cases, though individuals under 18 make up 22.2 per cent of the US population. READ MORE...

10:23 PM

Active infections in TN near 17,000; state adds 1,647 new cases

Tamil Nadu has added 1,647 new Covid-19 infections, including a returnee from Andhra Pradesh, pushing the overall caseload to 26,48,688 till date, while 19 people succumbed to the virus, taking the toll to 35,379, the Health department said on Tuesday. Recoveries were lesser than new infections with 1,619 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 25,96,316 leaving 16,993 active infections, a medical bulletin said.

 

A total of 1,50,159 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined till date to 4,56,04,563.

 

As many as four districts comprised the majority of new infections with Coimbatore leading with 218 cases, followed by Chennai (198), Erode (112), Chengalpet (109) while the remaining were scattered across other districts. Five districts reported new cases below double digits, while there were no fresh deaths in 26 districts. Among the 19 fatalities, 16 succumbed in government healthcare facilities while three died in private facilities. Two of the deceased were without comorbidity or pre-existing illness, the bulletin said.

9:46 PM

Gujarat reports 14 new COVID-19 cases, zero death, 14 recoveries

Gujarat on Tuesday reported 14 new coronavirus cases, raising its infection tally to 8,25,751, while no fresh death due to the disease was reported in the state, the health department said.

 

The state's COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 10,082, said the department in a release. Also, 14 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the number of recovered cases in the state to 8,15,536, it said. 

9:13 PM

Total Covid vaccine doses administered in country crosses 82 cr: Govt

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 82 crore on Tuesday, the Union health ministry said. More than 68 lakh (68,26,132) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm, it said.

 

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night.

 

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.

8:59 PM

Gujarat reports 14 new Covid-19 cases, zero death, 14 recoveries

Gujarat on Tuesday reported 14 new coronavirus cases, raising its infection tally to 8,25,751, while no fresh death due to the disease was reported in the state, the health department said.

The state's COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 10,082, said the department in a release.

8:55 PM

Mumbai reports 352 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death; tests top 10 million

Mumbai reported 352 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday and one fresh fatality, the lowest death count in three weeks, while 363 patients recovered from the infection, a civic official said.

The metropolis also crossed the milestone of one crore COVID-19 tests. Mumbai reported less than 400 daily COVID-19 cases after a gap of six days and witnessed only one fatality for the first time since August 31.

8:45 PM

75.8% elderly claim gap between generations rose much rapidly during Covid: Study

About 75.8 per cent elderly claimed that the gap between generations has increased more rapidly during the past two years due to COVID-19, according to a new study.

Under the study, titled "Covid Impact on the Elderly in India" by the Agewell Foundation, its volunteers spread across the country interacted with 10,000 elderly persons (60-plus) during the month of August-September 2021.

8:22 PM

Johnson & Johnson says Covid booster shot shot 94% effective

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced that its booster shot, given two months after the first shot, provided 94 per cent protection against Covid-19 in the US.

When given two months after the first shot, the antibody levels rose four to six times higher than observed after the single shot, the company said in a statement.

A booster shot post six months after the first increased antibody levels nine-to 12-fold four weeks after the booster, regardless of age.

8:10 PM

818 new Covid-19 cases, 21 deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka logged 818 new Covid-19 cases and 21 deaths on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections to 29,69,361 and the toll to 37,648.

The day also saw 1,414 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 29,17,944.

8:00 PM

CBSE not to charge exam fees from students who have lost parents to Covid-19

Students appearing for Class 10 and 12 board exams next year will not have to pay any registration or examination fees if they have lost their parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

"The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the country adversely and keeping in view its impact on students, CBSE, as a special measure for the academic session 2021-22, has decided that neither the examination fees nor the registration fees will be charged by the Board from the students who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 pandemic," CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said.

7:53 PM

Delhi logs 39 Covid-19 cases, zero deaths; positivity rate at 0.06%

Delhi reported 39 COVID-19 cases and zero fatality on Tuesday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.06 per cent, according to the city government's health bulletin.

The cumulative case tally stands at 14,38,556, while over 14.13 lakh people have either been discharged or have recovered or migrated out, it said.

7:47 PM

Arms can't defend Covid -19 or future variants, collective science & political will can: Biden

7:45 PM

J&K sees 154 Covid recoveries, 145 new cases, 2 deaths

Recoveries outpaced new Covid cases in J&K on Tuesday with 154 recoveries, 145 new cases, and 2 deaths reported during the last 24 hours.

Officials said that 30 recoveries and 24 cases were reported from the Jammu division and 124 recoveries and 121 cases from the Kashmir division.

7:44 PM

Each death is an individual heartbreak, but our grief is a reminder of common humanity: Biden