Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala reports 1,792 fresh cases, 15 deaths in 24 hrs

Coronavirus live updates: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 120,040,943. While 96,578,602 have recovered, 12,659,064 have lost their lives

Coronavirus LIVE UPDATES: India reported 25,320 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday pushing the overall tally to 11,359,048, according to Health Ministry. The death toll from the deadly infection jumped to 158,607. 

The cumulative tally of vaccination has crossed 20.9 million mark in the country after 9,47,090 vaccines were administered on Saturday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. "Total 9,74,090 vaccine doses were given till 7 p.m. on Saturday out of which 8,05,014 beneficiaries were administered the first dose while 1,69,076 healthcare workers and frontline workers received the second dose, as per the provisional report. Final reports would be completed for the day by late night," the officials said.

World coronavirus updates: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 120,040,943. While 96,578,602 have recovered, 12,659,064 have lost their lives. Meanwhile, the US continues to be the worst-hit country with 30,043,662 cases.

2:41 AM

UK records another 4,618 coronavirus cases, 52 deaths

Another 4,618 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,258,438, according to official figures released on Sunday.

 

The country also reported another 52 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 125,516. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

More than 24.1 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

 

The data were revealed as experts raised concerns over the difference between vaccination rates in richer and poorer areas in England, where black, Asian and other minority ethnic populations are often the majority.

 

A research by The Guardian newspaper has found the vaccine gap was most pronounced in the borough of Southwark, south London.

 

In the richest areas in the borough, 95 percent of those aged 60 or older had been vaccinated by March 7, but the number fell to only 70 per cent of people in the poorest areas of Southwark, according to the London-based newspaper.

2:40 AM

Africa's confirmed Covid-19 cases pass 4.02 mn

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,025,390 as of Sunday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

 

The Africa CDC, the specialised healthcare agency of the African Union (AU), said that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 107,523, while 3,610,997 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease.

 

The most affected countries in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases are South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

South Africa has lost 51,261 lives to the disease, the most among African countries, followed by Egypt at 11,256, and Morocco at 8,718, according to the Africa CDC.

2:38 AM

Anthony Fauci: Donald Trump should urge his followers to get vaccinated

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday he wishes former President Donald Trump would use his popularity among Republicans to persuade more of his followers to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
 

In a round of interviews on the morning news shows, the government's top infectious disease expert lamented polling showing that Trump supporters are more likely to refuse to get vaccinated, saying politics needs to be separated from commonsense, no-brainer public health measures.

 

Fauci said it would be a game changer for the country's vaccine efforts if the former president used his incredible influence among Republicans.

 

If he came out and said, Go and get vaccinated. It's really important for your health, the health of your family and the health of the country,' it seems absolutely inevitable that the vast majority of people who are his close followers would listen to him, Fauci told Fox News Sunday.

 

There was no immediate comment from the former president's office Sunday.

 

Trump has urged people to get vaccinated, doing so again two weeks ago at a conservative political gathering in Florida.

 

But he hasn't been among former presidents and other public officials who have been vaccinated on camera to encourage others to get the shot. It was revealed only recently that he was vaccinated in private at the White House before leaving office in January.
 

8:57 PM

Covid-19: No time to declare victory as there's always risk of surge back up: US' Dr Fauci

There is time to declare a victory in America's fight against the coronavirus as there is always the risk of a surge back up, White House chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.

The US is going in the right direction, Fauci told Fox News in an interview.

When you see a plateauing at a level of anywhere between 50,000 and 65,000 cases a day, that is absolutely no time to declare victory because we know from previous urges that we've had over the year that when you see that leveling off at a high level, there's always the risk of a surge back up, he said.

8:33 PM

Covid-19: 250 new cases, one more death recorded in Rajasthan

The Covid-19 death toll in Rajasthan rose to 2,790 on Sunday with one more fatality, while 250 new cases pushed the infection count to 3,22,969, a health department bulletin issued here said.

A total of 3,17,726 people have been discharged after treatment so far, it said.

A total of 2,453 people are currently undergoing treatment, the bulletin said.

8:16 PM

J-K records 105 new Covid-19 cases, no fresh deaths

Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday recorded 105 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,27,640, while no fresh death was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said.

Out of the fresh cases, 25 were from the Jammu Division and 80 from the Kashmir Division of the union territory, they said.

The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest of 51 cases, followed by 16 in Jammu district.

While five districts did not report any fresh cases, 12 other districts had cases in single digits.

8:00 PM

1,792 Covid-19 cases, 15 deaths in Kerala

Kerala logged 1,792 fresh Covid-19 cases, including nine health workers and 15 related deaths on Sunday, taking the caseload state to 10.91 lakh and the toll to 4,396.

As many as 3,238 people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 10,57,097, health minister K K Shailaja said.

A total of 50,565 samples were examined on Sunday, taking the overall number to 1,22,91,194.

The test positivity rate stood at 3.54 per cent.

7:12 PM

Chile becomes Latin America''s Covid-19 vaccination champion

After being among the world's hardest-hit nations with Covid-19, Chile is now near the top among countries at vaccinating its population against the virus.

With more than 25 per cent of its people having received at least one shot, the country of 19 million on South America's Pacific coast is the champion of Latin America, and globally it is just behind Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

That's a far cry from the beginning of the pandemic, when Chile was criticised over its inability to trace and isolate infected people. So what is the secret to its success?

Government officials and health experts say it was the country's early negotiations with vaccine producers, as well as its past experience with robust vaccination programs, a record praised by the World Health Organization.

6:40 PM

Malaysia reports 1,354 new Covid-19 cases, four more deaths

Malaysia reported 1,354 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the national total to 323,763, the country's health ministry informed on Sunday.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that 14 of the new cases are imported and 1,340 are local transmissions.

Another four deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 1,210.

6:04 PM

Delhi reports 407 fresh COVID-19 cases

5:57 PM

Highest single day spike in Andhra Pradesh since Jan 8 as 298 cases reported

The number of active coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh shot up to 1,400 as 298 were added afresh, the highest single day spike since January 8, that took the gross to 8,91,861.

In 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday, 164 patients had recovered and two more succumbed in the state, a health department bulletin said.

The total recoveries now touched 8,83,277 and toll 7,184, it said.

The state has now completed 1.45 crore tests that turned out an overall infection positivity rate of 6.14 per cent.

5:41 PM

Odisha logs 71 new COVID-19 cases; Patnaik sets 'zero infection' target

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday set a target of "zero infection" even as the COVID-19 tally in the state mounted to 3,38,192 with 71 fresh cases.

In a video message, Patnaik appealed to people to follow health safety protocols so that the state can achieve the goal and requested them not to be complacent with the daily number of new coronavirus cases remaining below 100.

"With your support, the COVID situation is currently under control in Odisha. The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised our initiatives to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Although the single-day spike in coronavirus cases is below 100, zero infection is our target," he said.

The COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh has worsened due to a significant rise in the number of new cases, he said.

5:32 PM

Chhattisgarh govt plans to allow use of Covaxin in state: Minister

The Chhattisgarh government is considering allowing the use of Covaxin, a vaccine against Covid-19, in the state after the Centre dropped its 'clinical trial mode' tag, state Health Minister T S Singh Deo said on Sunday.

 

In January, Singh Deo had requested Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to halt the supply of Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, to the state until its phase-3 trials are completed and results are made available.

 

The Serum Institute of India (SII)-made vaccine Covishield is being used in the state as part of the vaccination drive. Read on...

4:19 PM

Delhi records 407 new Covid-19 cases; positivity rate 0.60 pc

Delhi recorded 407 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, crossing the 400-mark for the fourth consecutive day, while the positivity rate stood at 0.60 per cent, according to data shared by the health department.

The death toll climbed to 10,941 with two more fatalities, as per the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department.

The city had recorded 419 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, while431 cases were recorded on Friday, the highest single-day spike in over two months. The count on Thursday was 409.

Delhi had registered 370 new cases on Wednesday and 320 on Tuesday. The city had reported three Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday and four on Tuesday.

4:17 PM

Telangana's daily Covid count surges to 228

The daily Covid-19 count in Telangana continued to be on the rise as the state reported more than 200 cases for a second consecutive day on Sunday.

As many as 228 people tested positive for the infection during the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative tally to 3,01,161.

For the first time after nearly two months, the state on Saturday reported more than 200 cases. The number of Covid-19 cases jumped from 216 to 228.

According to the daily media bulletin released by the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation reported 46 new cases, followed by Rangareddy at 17 and Medchal Malkajgiri with 15. Only three districts reported no cases while in the remaining 27 districts, the count was in single digit.