Covid LIVE: Pfizer very close to agreement with govt, says AIIMS chief

Today's coronavirus numbers: Bengaluru (803 cases), Mumbai (570 cases), Chennai (410 cases), Kolkata (172 cases), Delhi (134 cases). Stay tuned for corona-related news

Corona updates: A day after reporting less than 50,000 fresh cases, India has now recorded 50,848 in the last 24 hours, taking the country's total coronavirus caseload past the 30-million mark. India also recorded a spike in new deaths with 1,358 fatalities being reported yesterday. The death toll now stands at 390,660.

India’s gene-sequencing consortia has classified the new Delta-plus mutation of coronavirus as a variant of concern, following 22 cases being reported across three states — Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. The ministry has issued an advisory to these states to take more focused and effective public health response measures. The chief secretaries of these states have been advised to take up immediate containment measures in the districts and clusters.

The variant is present in nine other countries — the US, the UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, China, Nepal, and Russia.

Kerala reported 12,617 new infections, followed by Maharashtra (8,470), Tamil Nadu (6,895), Andhra Pradesh (4,169), Karnataka (3,709), Delhi (134) and West Bengal (1,852).

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (5,987,521), Kerala (2,829,460), Karnataka (2,815,029), Tamil Nadu (2,436,819), and Andhra Pradesh (1,857,352).

World coronavirus update: Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with nearly 180 million confirmed cases and 3,897,329 deaths across nearly 200 countries recorded since China reported its first cases in December 2019. The US remains the worst-hit country with 34,433,611, followed by India, Brazil, France and Turkey.

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

1:49 AM

Bogus vaccination camp: Woman held for providing fake certificates

A woman was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the bogus vaccination drive held at a residential society in suburban Kandivali last month, police said, adding she used to provide fake ID cards and certificates to co-accused in the case.
 

The woman, identified as Gudiya Yadav who is attached to a vaccination centre in Goregaon, had played a vital role in the case. She was arrested after multiple rounds of questioning, an official said.
 

Police have so far arrested six persons, including Yadav, for allegedly duping members of the posh housing society by fraudulently organising a Covid-19 vaccination camp in the name of a private hospital on May 30.
 

The incident came to light after Hiranandani Heritage Residents Welfare Association (HHRWA) lodged a complaint with the police.
 

As per the complaint, the members of the society found that the Co-WIN portal did not have any record of their participation and the certificates issued to them after 'vaccination' were in the name of different hospitals. The residents were issued vaccination certificates in the name of Nanavati Hospital, Lifeline Hospital and NESCO Covid Camp, among others.
 

Similar cases came to light in Versova and Khar areas of the city. 
 

1:48 AM

Thane first civic body in MMR to complete 5 lakh vaccinations: Mayor

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has become the first civic body in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to complete 5 lakh Covid-19 vaccinations, city Mayor Naresh Mhaske claimed on Wednesday.
 

"Thane city completed vaccination of 5,03,040 persons," the civic body said in a release.
 

Mhaske said vaccination camps were organised in the city for several categories such as disabled people, senior citizens, transgenders, homeless people etc in the last few weeks.
 

"The drive to vaccinate those above 18 years is getting a huge response. The drive is on in 50 to 55 vaccination centers in the city and every effort was being made to vaccinate at least 10,000 citizens," he told reporters.
 

Mhaske claimed even prominent personalities reposed their faith in the inoculation drive conducted by the TMC.
 

8:51 PM

42 cases of Delta Plus variant in India: AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria

8:47 PM

Different Covid vaccines given to six in jab mix-up in Jharkhand

Six people in Jharkhand's Palamu district was administered Covishield vaccine as their second dose against coronavirus on Wednesday, though they had received a shot of Covaxin as the first, an official said.

 

This happened because of a mistake, but the change in the vaccine will not have any significant negative effect on them, Chief Medical Officer of the district, Dr Anil Kumar Singh, said.

 

"Those six people went to a community health centre at Hariharganj to receive their second dose of Covaxin. However, they were given Covishield due to lapse on the part of the employees there," Singh said. They will be under observation for 24 hours. READ MORE...

8:24 PM

Jammu and Kashmir reports 444 new Covid cases, four more deaths

Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday recorded 444 new Covid cases, taking the infection tally to 3,13,028, while four more deaths pushed the toll to 4,273, officials said.

 

Of the fresh cases, 138 were from the Jammu division and 306 from the Kashmir division of the union territory, they said.

 

Srinagar district recorded the highest of 98 cases. The number of active cases has dropped to 6,782 in the union territory, while 3,01,973 patients have recovered so far, they said. Meanwhile, the officials said there were 26 confirmed cases of Mucormycosis (black fungus) in the union territory as one fresh case was reported since last evening.

8:11 PM

Covid LIVE: Pfizer very close to agreement with govt, says AIIMS chief

7:59 PM

4,436 new Covid-19 cases, 123 deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka reported 4,436 new COVID-19 cases and 123 deaths on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections to 28.19 lakh and the toll to 34,287.

 

The day also saw 6,455 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 26,68,705.

 

Out of 4,436 new cases reported on Wednesday, 1,008 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 1,071 discharges and 24 deaths. The total number of active cases in the state stood at 1,16,450. While the positivity rate stood at 2.59 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 2.77 per cent.

7:52 PM

Need to aggressively follow Covid appropriate behaviour to avoid third wave: AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria

7:24 PM

Mask compliance still remains low in India despite most lethal wave: Survey

Mask wearing compliance still remains low in India despite it being one of the worst hit by the second wave of COVID-19, according to findings of a survey.

 

The mask compliance at vaccination centres also remains low, as per the survey conducted by online social media platform LocalCircles.

 

"Despite the most lethal COVID-19 wave that any country in the world has experienced so far, India's mask compliance is still low as indicated by the survey finding where 67 per cent of citizens say there is limited or no mask compliance in their area, district, or city," it said. READ ON...

7:14 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 4,684 new Covid cases

Andhra Pradesh reported 4,684 fresh cases of coronavirus, 7,324 recoveries and 36 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday. Consequently, the total positive cases increased to 18,62,036, recoveries to 17,98,380 and deaths to 12,452, the latest bulletin said.

 

The number of active cases declined further to 51,204, it said.

 

East Godavari district once again reported new cases in excess of 1,000, logging 1,171 in 24 hours while its neighbour West Godavari added 660. Chittoor registered 493 fresh cases.

7:08 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka reports 4,436 new cases in a day

6:50 PM

Jharkhand extends lockdown-like restrictions till July 1: Notification

Jharkhand extends lockdown-like restrictions till July 1: Notification

6:49 PM

Over 12,000 new Covid cases, 150 deaths reported in Kerala

Kerala reported 12,787 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the caseload to 28,42,247, while 150 deaths took the toll to 12,445. As many as 13,683 persons have been cured of the disease, taking the total recoveries so far to 27,29,967 and the active cases to 99,390, the state government said in a press release here.

 

While Ernakulam accounted for the highest number of 1,706 cases, Thiruvananthapuram recorded 1,501, Malappuram 1,321 and Palakkad 1,315. Of the positive cases today, 65 are health workers, 55 had come from outside the state and 11,992 had been infected through contact, the release said.

6:48 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 4,684 new Covid cases, 7,324 recoveries, and 36 deaths in last 24 hours

Andhra Pradesh reports 4,684 new Covid cases,  7,324 recoveries, and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours.

6:16 PM

Signs of brain inflammation found in people who died of Covid-19: Study

Scientists have found signs of inflammation and neurodegeneration in the brains of individuals who died of COVID-19, similar to what is observed in people who die of conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, PTI reported.

 

The findings by researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine, US, and Saarland University in Germany may help explain why many COVID-19 patients report neurological problems.

 

These complaints increase with more severe cases of COVID-19, and can persist as an aspect of "long COVID," a long-lasting disorder that sometimes arises following infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.