Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 8,172 new cases, 124 deaths

Coronavirus LIVE updates: The national capital recorded 59 fresh cases and four more deaths due to the disease on Saturday

Coronavirus updates: India has recorded a spike of 38,079 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total caseload to 31,064,908, according to MoHFW. The death count increased to 413,123 with 560 new fatalities, the data showed.

Kerala reported 13,750 new infections, Maharashtra 7,761, followed by Tamil Nadu (2,312), Karnataka (1,806), Andhra Pradesh (2,345), West Bengal (882) and Delhi (66).

From the northeastern states, Assam reported 1,784 new cases and Manipur 796.

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (6,189,257), Kerala (3,117,083), Karnataka (2,878,564), Tamil Nadu (2,528,806), and Andhra Pradesh (1,932,105).

World coronavirus update: Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with 190,261,991 confirmed cases and 4,091,351 deaths across nearly 200 countries recorded since China reported its first cases in December 2019. The US remains the worst-hit country with 34,926,556 cases, followed by India, Brazil, Russia and France. 

To read updates from our yesterday's blog, click here

9:35 PM

Over 40 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in country: Govt

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has gone past 40 crore with over 46.38 lakh doses given on Saturday, according to the Union health ministry.

 

A total of 21,18,682 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years received the first dose, while 2,33,019 were administered the second dose of the vaccine on Saturday, the ministry said.

 

"India's cumulative COVID vaccination coverage has surpassed 40 crore (40,44,67,526)," according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.

8:46 PM

Maharashtra reports 8,172 COVID-19 cases, 124 deaths

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 8,172 new COVID-19 cases and 124 deaths which took the state's infection tally to 62,05,190 and death toll to 1,26,851, the health department said in a release.

 

As many as 8,950 patients were discharged from hospitals, pushing the total of recovered persons to 59,74,594. The state has a recovery rate of 96.28 per cent. The case fatality rate stood at 2.04 per cent, while there are 1,00,429 active cases in the state, the release said. There are 5,77,615 people in home quarantine while 4,156 people are in institutional quarantine. With 2,20,851 samples tested since Friday evening, the tally of coronavirus tests conducted in the state rose to 4,52,60,468. Mumbai city reported 469 COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths, taking its caseload to 7,30,703 and death toll to 15,690.

8:34 PM

Pandemic pushes back world economy by 5-10 years, says Bata Global CEO

The Covid-19 pandemic is probably the "most significant" world event of our lifetime and has unarguably pushed back the world economy and people by 5-10 years, said Bata Corporation Global CEO Sandeep Kataria.

 

Though the pandemic has impacted almost everything over the last 15 months, he expressed hope of leaving medical worries behind soon given the "innovativeness and ingenuity" shown by the human race during this period.

7:57 PM

Covid can make one more susceptible to developing active tuberculosis: Health Ministry

COVID-19 can make a person more susceptible to developing active tuberculosis as it is an "opportunistic" infection like black fungus but currently there is not enough evidence to suggest TB cases have risen due to the viral disease, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

 

The ministry said notification of tuberculosis cases had decreased by about 25 per cent in 2020 due to Covid-related restrictions and special efforts are being made to mitigate this impact through intensified case findings.

7:20 PM

59 new Covid cases, four more deaths in Delhi

The national capital recorded 59 fresh COVID-19 cases and four more deaths due to the disease on Saturday, while the positivity rate dropped to 0.08 per cent, according to data shared by the Health Department here.

 

The four new fatalities have pushed the death toll to 25,027, the latest bulletin said.

 

On Friday, Delhi had recorded 66 cases and one fatality, while the positivity rate was 0.09 per cent, while on Thursday the city had logged 72 cases and one death, with a positivity rate of 0.10 per cent.

 

The infection rate, which had reached 36 per cent in the last week of April, has come down to 0.08 per cent now.

7:16 PM

Around 87K people vaccinated against coronavirus in Delhi on Friday

Around 87,000 people were vaccinated against coronavirus in Delhi on Friday and less than one day's stock of vaccine was available in the city, according to official data. According to the CoWin portal, over 71,000 beneficiaries received vaccine jabs on Saturday.

 

The vaccination bulletin released by the Delhi government said over 92 lakh doses have been administered in the city since the inoculation exercise started on January 16. As many as 21.88 lakh people have received both the doses.

 

According to the Delhi government's data, the city had around 2.67 lakh vaccine doses left on Saturday morning. The health bulletin said the stock will last less than a day.

6:58 PM

16,148 fresh coronavirus cases, 114 deaths in Kerala in past 24 hours

Kerala on Saturday recorded 16,148 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the infection caseload to 31,46,981, while the toll rose to 15,269 with 114 more deaths.

 

As many as 13,197 people were cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 30,06,439, leaving 1,24,779 active cases, a state government release said.

 

Kozhikode logged the most number of cases (2105), followed by Malappuram (2033), Ernakulam (1908), Thrissur (1758), Kollam (1304), Palakkad (1140), Kannur (1084) and Thiruvananthapuram (1025).

6:36 PM

Bombay HC asks Centre about manner, method of COVID-19 vaccine allocation to states

The Bombay High Court on Saturday directed the Central government to file an affidavit detailing the manner and methods of allocating COVID-19 vaccines to states.

 

A division bench of Chief justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni passed this direction while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Yogeeta Vanzara, a city resident, who raised concerns over issues faced by the public in obtaining COVID-19 vaccination appointments through the CoWin portal.

5:39 PM

Travellers fume at UK move to keep restrictions on France

Tourists and the travel industry vented frustration and anger on Saturday after Britain reversed a plan to ease travel restrictions on France just two days after they were due to start, citing concerns about a variant of the coronavirus.

 

In an announcement late Friday, the U.K. government said people arriving from France must self-isolate for 10 days on entering Britain, even if they are fully vaccinated.

5:25 PM

Joint pain, backache common among many post-Covid cases: Delhi hospital

A leading private hospital in Delhi on Saturday claimed that joint pain and backache were the most common problems reported among post-Covid patients at its orthopaedic department.

 

Even after recovering from the coronavirus infection, a large number of people are struggling with post-Covid complications, ranging from weakness to hair fall and skin complications.

 

According to Dr Vishal Nigam, orthopedic and spine surgeon at the Moolchand Hospital, "Back pain and joint pain after Covid have been the most common presentation in orthopaedic clinics. Almost 15 per cent patients present with joint pains or arthralgia, and 45 per cent patients present with muscle pains or myalgia".

4:57 PM

Hiring activity witnesses uptick in June for most sectors: Report

With gradual easing of lockdowns, the overall hiring activity witnessed positive growth for most sectors in June, according to a report.

 

Hiring activity improved in June, suggesting a recovery for the non-tech sectors as well, based on newly added job listings during the month, according to a report by job site SCIKEY Market Network.

 

So far, the IT sector has been boosting at a fast pace, the report stated. Although, in June, the data revealed that a lot of other sectors have started showing improvement in the hiring activity, the report, based on hiring data posted on the SCIKEY Market Network's job portal, said.

4:26 PM

Assam govt to provide financial help to families of people who died due to Covid

The Assam government will provide one-time financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to families of people who have died of COVID-19, State Finance Minister Ajanta Neog said on Friday.

 

Presenting the budget for 2021-22 in the assembly, Neog claimed this is a first-of-its-kind scheme by any government in the country.

3:49 PM

Lok Sabha Speaker urges civil societies

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday asked non-government organisations to work towards spreading awareness about Covid-appropriate behaviour in the society to avoid the risk of a third wave, asserting that civil societies act as a bridge between the government and the people.

 

Birla also emphasised the need for generating employment by these organisations for those who have lost their job due to COVID-19 pandemic.

3:44 PM

Quarantine not required, Indian shooters to start training at venue from Jul 19

Not required to undergo any quarantine ahead of the Olympics, the Indian shooters will begin training at the venue from July 19, having got their rooms allotted at the Games Village after arriving in Tokyo in the wee hours of Saturday.

 

The shooting events will be held at the Asaka Shooting Range, which is located in Saitama Prefecture, north west Tokyo. The venue also hosted the shooting competition at the 1964 Olympics.

3:05 PM

Odisha's Covid-19 caseload surges to 952,111 as 2,182 more people test positive for the disease

Odisha's Covid-19 caseload surges to 952,111 as 2,182 more people test positive for the disease; death toll climbs to 4,992 with 67 more fatalities: Health department official