Covid LIVE: Karnataka sees 18,324 new cases in a day; 15,229 in Maharashtra

Coronavirus live updates: India reported 134,154 fresh Covid-19 infections today, taking the caseload tally to 28,441,986. Death toll stands at 337,989. Stay tuned for corona-related news

Coronavirus live updates: Fresh infections continued to fall as it has been seven days since cases have not breached 200,000-mark. India reported 134,154 fresh Covid-19 infections today, taking the caseload to 28,441,986. Test positivity rate has fallen to 6.2%. Deaths, however, have not seen a proportionate decline. Today is the 44th consecutive day of over 2,000 daily Covid deaths reported from the country. With 2,887 new fatalities, the death toll is now at 337,989, MoHFW showed this morning. It continues to be the second worst-hit nation. 

India has achieved a significant milestone as the cumulative Covid-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 220 million-mark, according to the health ministry.

With 25,317 cases reported in the past 24 hours, Tamil Nadu is leading the state list. It is followed by Karnataka with 19,661 new infections. Maharashtra reported 15,169 cases. Kerala 19,760, and Andhra Pradesh 12,768 cases. The case count was 8,923 for West Bengal.

City-wise, Bengaluru continued to report most cases among major cities in India, with 4,095 new infections confirmed in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, Chennai reported 2,217 new cases, while the same at Kolkata was 1,040. The number of new cases in Mumbai and Delhi was 925 and 576 respectively.

The six most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (5,776,184), Karnataka (26,35,122), Kerala (2,566,099), Tamil Nadu (2,148,346), and Andhra Pradesh (1,717,156).

World coronavirus update: The world is seeing a slight decline in the number of fresh coronavirus cases that are recorded daily. 172,401,059 has been infected across the globe by the deadly contagion since November 2019. While 155,238,219 have recovered, 3,705,830 have died so far. The US remains the worst-hit country with 34,153,475, followed by India, Brazil, France and Turkey. However, in the past seven days, India has added the highest number of fresh cases at 1,150,501, followed by the Brazil (429,591) and Argentina (230,403).

3:22 AM

Noida's special vaccine drive for transgenders, divyang, elderly on June 7

A special campaign for anti-coronavirus vaccination of transgenders, elderly people living in old-age homes and divyangs (persons with disabilities) residing in Noida and Greater Noida would be held on June 7, officials said on Thursday.
 

The vaccination drive would be held at the auditorium of the Vikas Bhawan in Greater Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar District Social Welfare Officer Shailendra Singh said.
 

“The special campaign would be held from 10 am to 4 pm on June 7,” Singh said, adding all transgender community members who wish to get inoculated during the drive should get themselves registered by visiting Vikas Bhawan on June 4 and 5 and meet officials concerned in room 117 there.
 

Those wishing to get registered need to take a photocopy of their Aadhar card and carry their mobile phone to avoid any hassle during the procedure, he said.
 

For any other clarification over the registration process, the community members may contact social welfare department official Suneel Kumar on 7042563106, he added.
 

“Similar special campaigns would be carried out in the future also on instructions of the district magistrate in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” Singh said.
 

3:21 AM

UP Guv, CM ask urban and local bodies' representatives to encourage more people to take Covid jab

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday interacted with urban and local bodies' representatives and asked them to encourage more people to take the coronavirus vaccine.
 

Interacting with mayors, chairmen and councillors of local bodies through video-conferencing, they also asked them to ensure arrangements for pure drinking water, sewage management, roads and drainage in their respective areas, an official release issued here said.
 

Praising the chief minister, the governor said that despite recovering from the infection, he continued to guide Covid management and control programmes on a regular basis and called for encouraging maximum number of people for getting the vaccine in preparation for the expected third wave of the infection, it said.
 

She also stressed on organising programmes for creating awareness among mothers towards the risks of the virus in children, the release said.
 

Adityanath applauded the contributions made by everyone in fighting the second wave of coronavirus, it said.
 

3:20 AM

AAP student & teacher wings urge Kejriwal to open vaccine centres at govt-run DU colleges

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party's teachers' and students' wings have both written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting him to open coronavirus vaccination centres at 28 Delhi University colleges funded by the government.
 

They have also demanded that the students studying in these colleges be vaccinated for free before the possibility of a third wave of Covid-19.
 

The Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) and the Delhi Teachers' Association (DTA) on Thursday wrote to CM Kejriwal putting forth these demands.
 

DTA in-charge Professor Hansraj Suman said, “Similar to how the government has taken a decision to vaccinate common people, they should also think about the safety of students in colleges funded by them. Till they (students) have been vaccinated, they should not be asked to return to campus."
 

3:18 AM

Biden outlines plan to quickly share 25 mn Covid-19 vaccines to world

The White House laid out a plan for the United States to share 25 million surplus Covid-19 vaccine doses to the world, with the first shots shipping as soon as Thursday, and said it would ease other countries' access to U.S.-made supplies for vaccine production.
 

President Joe Biden said the United States would give the vaccines without expectation of political favors in return. The dose shipments are the first of some 80 million Covid-19 vaccines that Biden has pledged to provide internationally this month as concern grows about the huge disparity in vaccination rates between advanced economies and developing countries.
 

The United States will donate nearly 19 million doses through the COVAX international vaccine-sharing program, Biden said in a statement. Through COVAX, some 6 million doses would go to Latin America and the Caribbean, about 7 million doses to South and Southeast Asia and roughly 5 million to Africa.
 

The remaining doses, amounting to just over 6 million, would go directly from the United States to countries including Canada, Mexico, India and South Korea, he said.
 

"We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions," Biden said. "We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values." Although the United States is working through COVAX co-run by the World Health Organization, the White House retains final say in which countries receive U.S. doses and how many, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
 

9:29 PM

Covid another kind of war, Army has left no stone unturned in providing help: Gen Naravane

Covid is another kind of war and the Army stepped in by pulling out every resource and has left no stone unturned in providing relief to the people of the country, Army chief Gen M M Naravane said on Thursday

9:15 PM

Mumbai logs 961 Covid-19 cases; doubling rate now 500 days

Mumbai reported 961 new COVID-19 infections and 27 fresh fatalities on Thursday, while its average case doubling rate improved to 500 days, indicating the second wave is clearly on the wane, the city civic body said.
 

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s updated data, with the addition of 961 cases, the city's COVID-19 tally rose to 7,08,968, while the death toll increased to 14,965 after 27 more patients succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours.

9:03 PM

Joe Biden announces international Covid-19 vaccine sharing plan

The White House on Thursday unveiled President Joe Biden's plans to share COVID-19 vaccines with the world, including its intent to direct 75% of excess doses through the U.N.-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program.

 

The White House has previously stated its intent to share 80 million vaccine doses with the world by the end of June. The administration says 25% of doses will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners.

 

The long-awaited vaccine sharing plan comes as demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped significantly as more than 63% of adults have received at least one dose, and as global inequities in supply have become more glaring.

9:02 PM

US will share 80 million doses of our vaccine supply with the world: Joe Biden

9:01 PM

Maharashtra reports 15,229 Covid cases, 307 deaths; 25,617 recoveries

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 15,229 new COVID-19 cases and 307 fatalities, taking its caseload to 57,91,413 and death toll to 97,394, the health department said. As many as 25,617 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the number of recovered cases to 54,86,206.

 

The state now has 2,04,974 active cases.

 

The recovery rate marginally improved to 94.73 per cent from 94.54 per cent the day before. The fatality rate stood at 1.68 per cent. As many as 2,60,032 people were tested for coronavirus during the day, taking the number of samples tested so far to 3,57,74,626.

8:58 PM

18,324 new cases, 514 deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka continued to witness a slight increase in daily cases of COVID-19 as the state on Thursday reported 18,324 fresh infections, taking the tally to 26.53 lakh.

 

The day also saw 24,036 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases.

 

The state had reported 14,304 and 16,387 fresh cases on June 1 and June 2 respectively. With 514 deaths the toll in the state went upto 30,531.

8:49 PM

Covid relief package: Govt provides free ration to 55 crore people in May

The government on Thursday said it has provided 28 lakh tonne foodgrains free of cost to about 55 crore beneficiaries in May through ration shops under a scheme to provide relief to the people during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Also, about 1.3 lakh tonne of wheat and rice have been provided to 2.6 crore beneficiaries so far in June under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. The information was provided by Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey at a media briefing.

 

Elaborating on the implementation of the PMGKAY scheme, he said more than 63.67 lakh tonne foodgrains (around 80 per cent of total PMGKAY allocation for May and June 2021) have been lifted by states and UTs from FCI (Food Corporation of India) depot so far.

8:41 PM

Karnataka reports 18,324 new Covid-19 cases, 514 deaths, and 24,036 recoveries in the last 24 hours

Karnataka reports 18,324 new Covid-19 cases, 514 deaths, and 24,036 recoveries in the last 24 hours; active cases at 2,86,798

8:39 PM

CoviSelf: MyLab starts shipping Covid self-test kit, priced at Rs 250

Mylab Discovery Solutions on Thursday announced the commercial launch of its Covid self-test kit, CoviSelf, after receiving approval from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) last month. It is the first test kit for COVID-19 that can be self-administered by citizens at home in India. "This indigenous test kit will be distributed through to 95% of the PIN codes in the county and will be available over-the-counter at pharmacies and drugstores across India. Individuals can also order it online through Flipkart. To ensure safe deliveries, Flipkart also offers contactless payments for consumers and will leverage its safe and sanitized supply chain," the e-commerce major said in a statement. READ MORE...

8:32 PM

Covid LIVE: Maharashtra sees 15,229 new cases in a day

8:18 PM

Jammu and Kashmir records 1,801 fresh Covid-19 cases, 29 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded 1,801 fresh COVID-19 cases, raising the tally to 2,95,879, while 29 more deaths pushed the fatality count to 3,992 in the union territory, officials said.

 

Of the fresh cases, 554 were from the Jammu division and 1,247 from the Kashmir division, they said. The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest of 329 cases, followed by 194 in Budgam district and 153 in Jammu district.

 

The number of active cases has dropped to 30,657 in the union territory, while 2,61,230 patients have recovered so far, they said. The death toll in the union territory rose to 3,992 as 24 patients died of the virus in the past 24 hours, the officials said. They said there were 13 confirmed cases of mucormycosis (black fungus) in the union territory, adding one fresh case was reported since Wednesday evening.