Covid LIVE: Karnataka sees below 6,000 cases in a day; 9,118 in Tamil Nadu

Coronavirus live updates: Number of infections dip in country but experts urge caution as states start easing lockdowns.

Coronavirus live updates: India reported 67,208 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, taking the total to 2,97,00,313. The death count climbed to 3,81,903 with 2,330 fresh fatalities. 

The government has defended its decision to double the gap between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine to up to 16 weeks, after three scientific advisers said there was no agreement on such a wide interval. The pilot launch of Russian vaccine Sputnik V, which was initiated in Hyderabad, has now been extended to nine other cities, media reports said.

The government is considering offering as much as Rs 50,000 crore of credit incentives to boost health care infrastructure in the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported quoting sources. The programme will allow companies to access funds for ramping up hospital capacity or medical supplies with the government acting as a guarantor. 

12:59 AM

Odisha constitutes panel to study cause of Covid infection despite vaccination

As part of its planning to tackle the possible third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Odisha government on Thursday constituted an eight-member technical committee to study the cause of coronavirus infections among people even after complete vaccination.
 

The technical committee headed by Institute of Life Science, Bhubaneswar Director Dr Ajay Parida will have experts as its members.
 

"The technical committee will report its observation to the state for guidance and further action," Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, P K Mohapatra said.
 

The state government set up the panel after noticing that a number of coronavirus infections are being reported among people who have completed the full vaccination schedule.
 

"This needs further epidemiological, microbiological, immunological, genome and clinical studies for planning/preparedness of the state for possible future waves of Covid-19," a notification issued by the Health Department said.
 

Meanwhile, the state government has also decided to vaccinate People Living with HIV (PLHIV) on a priority basis.
 

12:58 AM

Russian regions make vaccines mandatory for many workers

Authorities in four Russian regions have made coronavirus vaccines mandatory this week for workers in retail, education and other service sectors, part of an effort to boost the country's low immunisation rates as Covid-19 infections continue to soar.
 

Moscow, where infection tallies spiked sharply this month, first announced the requirement Wednesday, and the surrounding Moscow region, the Siberian region of Kemerovo and the Far East region of Sakhalin promptly followed.
 

Officials in the four regions ordered businesses and institutions involved in retail, education, health care, public transportation, beauty, entertainment and other industries that serve a large number of people to ensure that at least 60% of their staffs are fully vaccinated.
 

12:58 AM

AAP govt again sends file on doorstep delivery of ration scheme to L-G: CMO

The AAP dispensation has again sent the file on its doorstep delivery of ration scheme to Lt Governor Anil Baijal, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office on Thursday, amid a tug of war between the Centre and the Delhi government over it.
 

According to the statement, the chief minister said the scheme had attained finality and required no further approval for its implementation, and questioned the L-G's earlier observations on it.
 

Earlier this month, the Arvind Kejriwal government had claimed that the scheme was rejected by the L-G contending that the Centre's approval was not sought for it and there was a pending case in the court.
 

"The CM said that the instant matter before the L-G is not the approval of the scheme as the scheme has already attained finality. CM wrote in the note that it was unfortunate that the scheme has been put on hold due to L-G's observations," the statement said.
 

Kejriwal has again sent the file to the L-G and said that it was according to the law and the objections raised by the Centre earlier have been addressed, the statement said.
 

12:57 AM

Push for US commission to investigate virus

There's a push on Capitol Hill and beyond for a full-blown investigation of the coronavirus outbreak by a national commission like the one that looked into 9/11.
 

The proposal comes amid lingering questions over the government's response to the crisis and the origin of the virus that has killed more than 600,000 Americans.
 

A bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine would establish such a commission.
 

“The death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic is more than 200 times that of the 9/11 attacks — but Congress has yet to establish a similar blue ribbon commission to investigate the vulnerabilities of our public health system and issue guidance for how we as a nation can better protect the American people from future pandemics,” Menendez and Collins wrote in an essay this week in The New York Times.
 

The inquiry could include a look at the origins of the virus; early warnings and other communication with foreign governments; coordination among federal, state and local agencies; the availability of medical supplies; testing and public health surveillance; vaccination development and distribution; the uneven effect on minorities; and government relief policies.
 

However, its prospects are unclear. Many are concerned politics will get in the way of any inquiry, as happened when Republicans came out against a commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. 
 

9:00 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 726 new cases in Punjab

8:54 PM

Case against firm, two private labs for fake test reports during Kumbh

The Uttarakhand government on Thursday lodged a case against a company and two private labs for fudging coronavirus test reports during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela in April.

 

The firm, Max Corporate Service, Nalwa Laboratories Private Limited of Hisar and Delhi-based Dr Lalchandani Lab have been accused of issuing fake negative test reports.

 

The Uttarakhand High Court had directed the state government to test 50,000 samples daily to control the spread of Covid during the religious congregation, for which the Health Department awarded the contract to Max Corporate Service, who further hired the two labs. (PTI)

8:47 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai sees 666 fresh cases in a day

8:46 PM

India to favour talks on 'vaccine passports' with focus on vaccine equity

While countries like Japan deciding to issue "vaccine passports" as proof of immunisation for its citizens travelling abroad, India on Thursday said that it will favour discussion with a greater focus on vaccine equity, since many developing nations are yet to inoculate a large per cent of their population.

 

At his daily press briefing, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: "As you are aware, there is an ongoing global debate on this issue of so-called vaccine passports. We feel that this has to be linked to the larger issue of vaccine equity given that many developing countries have not yet been able to vaccinate a large per cent of their population."

 

"We would favour discussions on the subject of vaccine passports with greater focus on vaccine equity," he added. Read here

8:37 PM

Pfizer's arthritis drug can cut death risk in patients with severe Covid

An arthritis drug -- Tofacitinib -- developed by US biopharmaceutical Pfizer has shown to be effective in reducing the risk of death or respiratory failure in hospitalised adult patients with Covid-19 pneumonia who were not on ventilation, according to a study.

 

Tofacitinib belongs to a class of drugs called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. It is approved in the US to treat conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

 

The efficacy of Tofacitinib was tested on 289 patients hospitalised with severe Covid across 15 locations in Brazil. Half of these patients received 10 mg twice daily plus standard of care which includes glucocorticoids, while the other half were prescribed placebo twice daily plus standard of care for up to 14 days. Read here

8:31 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Telangana sees 1,492 new cases in a day

8:22 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 9,118 new cases in Tamil Nadu

8:16 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka sees 5,983 new cases

8:07 PM

MP: 20,000 security guards to be inoculated in special vaccination drive in Indore

A special vaccination drive will be launched to inoculate 20,000 private security guards against Covid-19 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh minister Tulsiram Silawat said on Thursday.

 

Along with policemen, private security guards have also played an important role during the Covid-19 pandemic. We will also vaccinate them against the infection on priority, said Silawat, who is the minister in-charge of Indore district.

 

Special camps will be organised at different places in the city to vaccinate 20,000 private security guards, additional superintendent of police (ASP) Manisha Pathak Soni said. (ANI)

7:57 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Himachal Pradesh reports 292 new cases

7:41 PM

69 deaths, 336 fresh virus cases in UP

Sixty-nine more people died from coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday as 336 fresh cases surfaced, taking the state's infection count 17,03,733, according to a health bulletin.

 

So far, the infection has killed 22,030 people in the state.

 

Of the 69 fresh deaths, 11 were reported from Lucknow, seven from Kanpur Nagar, six from Shahjahanpur, five from Fatehpur, three from Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Jalaun and two each from Varanasi, Gonda, Pilibhit, Basti, Hathras, Kannauj, Banda, Kanpur Dehat and Chitrakoot. (PTI)