Coronavirus LIVE: PM to interact with CMs on Covid situation on Wednesday

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Active cases in India have risen to 226,627. Stay tuned for corona-related news

9:06 PM

3.5 million Russians vaccinated against coronavirus

A total of 3.5 million Russians have been vaccinated with both doses of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, according to Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled the jab.

 

In a statement released on Monday, Dmitriev said that Russia is leading in Europe by the number of full vaccination courses against the coronavirus infection completed.

 

However, 3.5 million people constitutes just 2.4% of Russia's 146-million population, meaning it has fully inoculated a smaller share of the population than some countries in the European Union.

8:41 PM

PM Modi to with chief ministers on Covid-19 situation, vaccination drive on Wednesday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers on the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive on Wednesday as the Centre looks to ramp up the inoculation exercise amid a rise in infection in some states.

 

Official sources said Modi will hold a video conference to discuss the issues with chief ministers, an exercise which he has been holding regularly since the outbreak of the pandemic.

 

Modi's last interaction with chief ministers was in January before the vaccination roll-out. He had announced that the Centre will bear the expenses of vaccinating nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers in the first round and suggested that public representatives, a reference to politicians, should not be part of this initial exercise.

8:24 PM

15,051 new coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, 48 deaths

Maharashtra reported 15,051 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the state's caseload to 23,29,464, while 48 fatalities took the death toll to 52,909, the health department said. As many as 10,671 coronavirus patients were discharged, taking the rally of recoveries to 21,44,743.

 

With 92,363 coronavirus tests conducted during the day, the total number of samples tested went up to 1,76,09,248. There are 1,30,547active cases in the state.

8:07 PM

Maharashtra reports 15,051 new Covid-19 cases and 48 deaths in last 24 hours

8:05 PM

Kerala logs 1,054 fresh Covid-19 cases, 11 deaths

Kerala reported 1,054 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths on Monday, pushing the infection count to 10,92,673 and the death toll to 4,407. A total of 3,463 people recuperated from the disease today, taking the total cured to 10,60,560, while 27,057 are under treatment.

 

There are 1,43,461 people under observation out of which 4,152 are in isolation wards of various hospitals across the state. State health minister K K Shailaja said the state government had tested 38,410 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 2.74 per cent. Until now, the state has tested 1,23,29,604 samples.

7:54 PM

Delhi reports 368 new coronavirus, 306 recoveries, and three deaths in last 24 hours

7:33 PM

Piramal Enterprises to cover Covid-19 vaccination costs for employees taking jabs in India

Piramal Enterprises on Monday said it will cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccination for all its employees and their immediate family members who receive the jabs in India.

 

The company will absorb the cost of COVID-19 vaccination for all its employees and their immediate family members that are eligible and choose to receive the vaccination in India, Piramal Enterprises said in a statement.

 

The company has also set up virtual vaccine help desks across its offices in India to address employee queries on the vaccination including enabling registrations, information on vaccination centres, etc, it added.

6:49 PM

BMC, cops book actress Gauhar Khan for flouting Covid-19 norms

Sending out a strong message, Mumbai Police have booked Bollywood actress and model Gauhar Khan for allegedly violating Covid-19 protocols after testing positive, officials said here on Monday.

 

The Oshiwara police station lodged an FIR after a complaint lodged by the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) against Gauhar.

 

Hailing from Pune, Gauhar (37) recently got married to actor Zaid Darbar, the son of veteran music director Ismail Darbar. She had tested positive for Covid-19 on March 11. READ MORE...

6:43 PM

1,054 fresh Covid-19 cases and 3,463 recoveries reported in Kerala today

1,054 fresh Covid-19 cases and 3,463 recoveries reported in Kerala today

6:27 PM

India crosses the milestone of 31.5 million Covid-19 vaccinations: Ministry of Health

6:09 PM

No lockdown but restrictions to be made stricter: Maharashtra health minister

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Monday said fresh lockdown is no answer to the rising COVID-19 cases in the state, but restrictions will be made stricter. Though the number of cases has seen a rise in the last few days, the mortality rate remains low, he noted.

 

Maharashtra recorded this year's highest one-day spike of 16,620 new cases on Sunday.

 

"Lockdown is not an option but restrictions will be made more strict," Tope told reporters. As much as 85 per cent of new patients are asymptomatic and hence most of them have been advised home quarantine, he added.

5:58 PM

Former Karnataka CM and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah administered first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

5:46 PM

147 new coronavirus positive cases in Andhra Pradesh

The rise of COVID-19 cases continued in Andhra Pradesh as 147 were added afresh in 24 hours ending 9 am on Monday, pushing the gross to 8.92 lakh. A health bulletin said 103 patients had recovered and one succumbed in a day, as the active caseload increased to 1,443.

 

The total recoveries have touched 8,83,380 and deaths 7,185, it said.

 

Chittoor added 35, East Godavari 31, Guntur 21 and Srikakulam 10 new cases in a day. The remaining nine districts reported less than 10 fresh cases each.

5:33 PM

Covid-19 vaccine is safe, say AstraZeneca and UK regulator

The vaccines produced by Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca to protect against COVID-19 are safe and there is no evidence to suggest that the jabs are the cause behind blood clots as reported in some European countries, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical major and the UK's medicines regulator have said.

 

The interventions come as the Netherlands became the latest country to suspend the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, after some reports of blood clotting.

 

It follows the Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway and Iceland all pausing the administration of the vaccines as a precautionary measure after concerns raised around thrombotic events or clots.

5:25 PM

Over Rs 479 crore spent on Covid patients in Odisha private hospitals

Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on Monday said that over Rs 479.90 crore expenditure was incurred on the treatment of Covid-19 patients in the dedicated facilities, which are being run in partnership with private players in the state.

 

Replying to a written question, the Minister told the Assembly that so far the state government has allotted Rs 344.55 crore to the private hospitals for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

 

In order to fight the pandemic, the government had opened 30 government Covid hospitals and 33 dedicated Covid facilities in partnership with the private players, Das said. The highest Rs 59.41 crore was spent by the KIMS-dedicated Covid hospital in Bhubaneswar followed by IMS and SUM-dedicated Covid hospital at Rs 58.59 crore.

5:14 PM

Third Covid-19 wave: Pak shuts educational institutions in worst-hit cities for two weeks

Facing a third wave of the coronavirus, Pakistan has shut down all educational institutes in worst-hit cities for two weeks. Pakistan's coronavirus tally reached 607,453 on Monday after 2,253 new cases were reported in the country. The country's largest province, Punjab, recorded more than 1,000 cases for the sixth consecutive day.

 

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar warned the public against taking the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic lightly.

 

The provincial government has also reimposed restrictions and enforced smart lockdowns in various cities. Educational institutes in seven cities in the province - including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujarat, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot -- have been shut for two weeks from Monday.

4:26 PM

Russia registers 9,437 coronavirus cases in past 24 hours

Russia registered 9,437 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 10,083 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,400,045, the coronavirus response center said on Monday.

 

"Over the past day, 9,437 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 83 Russian regions, including 1,077 cases (11.4 percent) without clinical symptoms," the center said, adding that the cumulative case count has now reached 4,400,045, with the rate of increase at 0.21 percent.

 

Moscow confirmed 1,353 new coronavirus cases over the given period, down from 1,905 the day before. The Russian capital was followed by St. Petersburg with 933 new cases, down from 937 the day before, and the Moscow Region with 627 new cases, up from 605 on Sunday.

3:50 PM

Coronavirus positivity rate in Delhi is at 0.6%, says Satyendra Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Monday said that the COVID-19 positivity rate is at 0.6 per cent in the national capital.

 

"There were 407 cases in Delhi yesterday, today there are less than 400 cases. However, cases are repeatedly increasing and decreasing in Delhi. There was a time when the positivity rate was 15 per cent. According to WHO, this rate should positivity rate should be been less than five per cent and it is less than one per cent for the last two months," Jain told reporters here.

 

"The national capital is at a benchmark of COVID-19 cases with a 0.6 per cent positivity rate. In Maharashtra, the positivity rate is 16 per cent, Gujarat's positivity rate is three times of Delhi. The positivity rate has reached six times in Punjab, seven times in Kerala and 30 times in Maharashtra," he added.

3:28 PM

Five states account for over 78% new Covid-19 positive cases

Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report a surge in COVID-19 daily cases, accounting for 78.41 percentof the new cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. A total of 26,291 new cases were registered in a day. Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 16,620 (accounting for 63.21 per centof the daily new cases). It is followed by Kerala with 1,792 while Punjab reported 1,492 new cases.

 

"A rising trajectory of daily new cases is visible in eight states. These are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana," the ministry said.

 

Kerala has a consistently declining trend over the last one month, it stated. India's total COVID-19 active caseload has reached 2,19,262 comprising 1.93 per centof the total infections.

3:03 PM

Covid-19 negative report or vaccination proof must to attend any gathering in Amritsar

All those attending social gatherings in Amritsar will now have to show a COVID-19 negative report or proof that they have been vaccinated, the district administration has announced as it steps up vigilance to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

 

Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira passed the order on Sunday.

 

The ceiling of 100 people (for indoor) and 200 people (for outdoor) on various indoor and outdoor social/religious/sports/entertainment/cultural gatherings shall be strictly enforced.

2:26 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: AstraZeneca reassures safety of its Covid-19 vaccine

In the wake of several European countries suspending the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the company has said that there has been no evidence of increased blood clot risk from its jab.

 

The suspensions have come amid several reports of blood clots following vaccinations with the Covid jab developed by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant and the University of Oxford.

 

"Safety is of paramount importance and the Company is continually monitoring the safety of its vaccine," the company said in a statement on Sunday. READ MORE...

1:45 PM

As long as positivity rate is below 1%, Covid-19 situation well under control in Delhi: Satyendar Jain

Amid a spike in daily COVID-19 cases in the city, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the pandemic situation in the national capital is "under control" as long as the positivity rate is below one per cent. Interacting with reporters here, the minister 407 cases were reported on Sunday, and the positivity rate was 0.60 per cent, which is much below the one per cent-mark.

 

"The health bulletin for Monday will be issued soon, and today, about 350 cases have been recorded. So, we are alert, but as long as the positivity rate is below one per cent, the situation is well under control," he said.

 

The situation in Maharashtra and a few other states, where high positivity rates are being recorded, is different, Jain asserted.

1:28 PM

MP govt advises week-long quarantine to passengers from Maharashtra

In view of a spike in Covid-19 cases, the Madhya Pradesh government has issued new guidelines and said people coming to districts which share border with Maharashtra should be identified and advised a week-long quarantine.

 

Madhya Pradesh's eight districts - Chhindwara, Balaghat, Betul, Seoni, Khandwa, Barwani, Khargone and Burhanpur - shared border with Maharashtra.

 

"Passengers coming to the border districts from Maharashtra should be identified and they should be advised a week-long necessary quarantine. This provision should be publicised widely," as per the guidelines issued by MP's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dr Rajesh Rajora on Sunday evening.

12:58 PM

Uttarakhand govt to withdraw Covid-19 rules violation cases against 4,500 persons

Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Monday said that the Uttarakhand government has decided to withdraw cases registered in connection with Covid-19 rules violation during lockdown against over 4,500 individuals, who were distributing food or helping people.

 

"We had decided to withdraw cases registered in connection with Covid-19 rules violation during lockdown against over 4,500 individuals, who were distributing food or helping people. I have ordered to withdraw these cases in a day or two," Rawat told ANI.

12:57 PM

Brazil's Covid tally tops 11 million

Brazil's overall coronavirus caseload has increased to 11,483,370 after an additional 43,812 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

 

The country's death toll rose to 278,229 after 1,127 fatalities in same time, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Brazil's caseload and death toll is the second highest in the world after the US.

12:47 PM

Tamil Nadu: DMK president MK Stalin files his nominations for Kolathur constituency

12:44 PM

Telangana logs 157 fresh Covid cases, one death

Telangana has reported 157 new Covid-19 cases and one death in the last 24 hours, health officials said on Monday.

 

After recording over 200 cases for two consecutive days, the state saw 157 new infections but the drop may be due to fewer tests conducted during the last 24 hours.

 

The officials conducted 38,517 tests during the period as against over 50,000 a day earlier.

 

The fresh cases pushed the state's Covid tally to 3,01,318. One more person succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 1,654.

12:37 PM

Coronavirus update: Delhi has added 407 cases to take its tally to 643,696

Coronavirus update: Delhi has added 407 cases to take its tally to 643,696

12:29 PM

Australia hotel locked down over likely Covid spread

A quarantine hotel in the Australian state of Queensland has been placed under a lockdown, with genomic sequencing showing the likely spread of Covid-19 between overseas travellers.

 

Last week, a local doctor had tested positive for the B117 strain of virus after treating two patients who were transferred from the hotel to a nearby hospital, Xinhua news agency reported on monday.

 

Subsequent testing showed another guest who had been quarantining in a different room at the hotel had the same variant of the virus, raising the likelihood of further spread within the hotel.

12:21 PM

Iran suspends flights from Iraq over Covid strain

The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization announced that all flights to the country from Iraq have been suspended for a week in an effort to curb the spread of a Covid-19 strain.

 

This decision was made on Sundat as a pre-emptive measure to protect the the Iranian citizens against the variant which was first detected in Britain late last year, Xinhua news agency quoted the Organization as saying in a statement.

 

All the airlines are required to inform their passengers about the new measure in a timely manner, it added.