Coronavirus LIVE: 5,214 new Covid-19 cases in Kerala; tally nears 1 mn-mark

Coronavirus live updates: Globally, nearly 107 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,335,361

Coronavirus live updates: India recorded 8,947 fresh Covid-19 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The total number of active cases in the country has fallen to 143,625, while the caseload tally stands at 10,803,533. Globally, nearly 107 million people have been infected by the virus. The country continues to be second-most-affected globally, and ranks 18th among worst-hit nations by active cases.

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (2,044,071), Kerala (968,438), Karnataka (942,518), Andhra Pradesh (888,423), and Tamil Nadu (841,797).

As of today, 6,035,660 people have been vaccinated in India, out of which, healthcare workers who have been vaccinated are 5,412,270. Around 623,390 frontline workers have been vaccinated since February 2. 

World coronavirus update: Coronavirus cases rise unabated across the globe, with nearly 107 million infected by the deadly contagion. While 78,972,963 have recovered, 2,335,361 have died so far. The US remains the worst-hit country with 27,698,569, followed by India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom. However, it terms of the total number of active cases, US tops the charts, followed by France, UK, Brazil and Belgium.

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news.

2:45 AM

Odisha's Covid-19 tally mounts to 335,797, over 342,000 inoculated

Odisha's Covid-19 caseload climbed to 3,35,797 on Tuesday with 105 new infections, a health department official said.
 

The death toll, however, remained unchanged at 1,910 as no fresh fatality was reported since Monday, he said.
 

The state also registered 108 recoveries taking the number of cured persons to 3,33,139, which is 99.20 per cent of the caseload.
 

Odishas case fatality ratio now stands at 0.56 per cent while its positivity rate recorded 4.25 per cent, he said.
 

The state now has 695 active cases, which is 0.20 per cent of the caseload.
 

Sixtythree of the new cases were reported from different quarantine centres, while the remaining are local contact infections.
 

Sundergarh district reported the highest of 14 fresh cases followed by 13 each in Cuttack and Khurda districts.
 

Eight other districts - Boudh, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Nayagarh and Nabarangpur did not register any Covid-19 case in the last 24 hours.
 

Malkangiri is the lone district which is coronavirus- free, he said.
 

The state has so far reported 1,910 fatalities of which the highest of 336 deaths have been reported from Khurda district followed by Ganjam (248), Sundergarh (173), Cuttack (142) and Puri (117), the official said.
 

A total of 53 other Covid-19 patients have died due to comorbidities.
 

Odisha has so far conducted over 79.05 lakh sample tests, including 20,441 on Monday.
 

Official sources said as on February 9, at least 3,42,254 people, including 26,529 health care and frontline workers have been administered Covid-19 vaccine shots across the state.
 

11:43 PM

Maharashtra reports 2,515 new Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra has reported 2,515 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to PTI. The total count of COVID-19 cases has risen to 20,48,802 and the state has 1,69, 499 active cases.

With 2,554 more patients discharged, the total discharges have risen to 19,61,525. As per the state Health Department, 35 COVID-19 deaths are reported in the state in the last 24 hours. A total of 1,50,58,995 samples have been tested so far in the state.

11:34 PM

UK records another 12,364 coronavirus cases, 1,052 deaths

Another 12,364 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,972,148, according to official figures released Tuesday, according to a PTI copy. The country also reported another 1,052 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 113,850. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The latest figures were revealed as Britain is stepping up efforts to speed up vaccine rollout to bring the pandemic under control. More than 12.6 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures. Britain aims complete the vaccination of the top priority groups, which cover 15 million people, by mid-February and offer all adults their first dose by autumn.

Earlier Tuesday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced tough fines up to 10,000 pounds (about 13,780.77 U.S. dollars) and jail terms up to 10 years for those breaking quarantine rules designed to prevent new coronavirus variants from entering the country.

10:06 PM

Over 12,700 people get Covid-19 vaccine shots on Tue in Delhi; highest in a day

More than 12,700 beneficiaries received COVID-19 vaccine shots in Delhi on Tuesday in the fourth week of the inoculation drive, the highest single-day turnout by numbers till date, officials said, according to PTI. The turnout was over 70 per cent, a marked improvement from the figures a day before -- 9,740 (54 per cent turnout). Besides healthcare workers, frontline workers, who include, police, civil and defence staff, and DJB and electricity department employees, among others, are also getting jabs since the last couple of days.

Also, the number of scheduled days, from initially being four days -- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday -- have now been extended to six days a week, Monday-Saturday. After a sluggish start, since the exercise was kicked off on January 16, the inoculation drive picked up pace in the past few days. The targeted number for vaccination on February 9 was 15,100, officials said, as per PTI.

"Today, 12,717 people were administered coronavirus vaccine, and AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) was reported in seven persons. This is the highest number (of people vaccinated) achieved in a day so far," a senior official of the Delhi Health Department said.

10:04 PM

Over 6.5 mn healthcare, frontline workers vaccinated against Covid-19

As many as 65.28 lakh healthcare and frontline workers have been vaccinated against Covid-19 on the 25th day of the countrywide Covid-19 vaccination program, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Tuesday. "The cumulative number of healthcare workers and frontline workers vaccinated against Covid-19 is 65,28,210 (as at 6:30 pm today), as per the provisional report. 1,34,616 sessions have been held so far. Of the cumulative coverage, 55,85,043 are healthcare workers and 9,43,167 are frontline workers," the Ministry said in a release.

According to the Ministry, as many as 2,69,202 beneficiaries were vaccinated till 6:30 pm today. "Of these, 1,02,941 were healthcare workers, while the other 1,66,261 beneficiaries were frontline workers. 7,860 sessions were held till 6:30 pm today. Final reports would be completed for the day by late tonight," it said. A total of 25 adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) have been reported till 6:30 pm on the 25th day of the vaccination drive, it said.

8:52 PM

No new coronavirus death in Uttar Pradesh, 113 new cases

No coronavirus death was reported in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, while there were 113 new cases, an official said. No fresh case has been reported from 37 of the total 75 districts in the past 24 hours, an official said.

 

The recovery rate rose to over 98 per cent. There are now only 3,306 active cases and there is not a single active case in a district, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said.

 

Of the active cases, 908 are in home isolation and 332 undergoing treatment in private hospitals, while the remaining are in different government facilities, he said. As many as 8,691 deaths have been reported so far and 5,89,565 people have recovered, Prasad said.

8:37 PM

2,515 new coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, 35 deaths

Maharashtra reported 2,515 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, taking the tally of cases in the state to 20,48,802, said an official from the state health department.

 

As many as 35 people succumbed to the disease, taking the total fatality count to 51,360, he said.

 

Of new deaths, 25 were from the past 48 hours, eight from the last week and two deaths had taken place before that. A total of 2,554 patients were discharged from hospitals on Tuesday, taking the overall number of recoveries in Maharashtra to 19,61,525, the official said. The state now has 34,640 active cases.

8:05 PM

Fines, jail term for breach of UK's new Covid-19 travel rules

The UK on Tuesday introduced a series of enhanced new measures for travellers entering its borders, including fines of up to 10,000 pounds and a 10-year jail term for the most extreme breaches of quarantine rules from a "red list" of countries perceived as being at a high risk of transmitting variants of coronavirus.

 

In a statement to the House of Commons, Health Secretary Matt Hancock unveiled the new rules to come into force from next Monday, which also include two additional compulsory PCR tests on arrival during a 10-day hotel quarantine as part of a 1,750 pounds pre-booked package covering accommodation, transport and testing.

 

"From Monday, all international arrivals will be required by law to take further PCR tests on day two and day eight of that quarantine, said Hancock. "If either of these post-arrival tests comes back positive, they will have to quarantine for a further 10 days from the date of the test, he said.

7:49 PM

Kerala's Covid-19 cases nearing 10 lakh mark; 5,214 new cases reported

Kerala recorded 5,214 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, pushing the caseload to 9,77,394, while the toll mountedto 3,902 with 19 additional fatalities. As many as 6,475 people were cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 9,09,102. The active cases touched 64,131, Health minister K K Shailaja said in a press release.

 

In the last 24 hours ending 2 pm, 69,844 samples were tested and the test positivity rate was 7.47 per cent. A total of 1,02,14,097 samples have been examined so far, according to the release. Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam reported 615 fresh cases today, the highest, while Kollam logged 586, Kottayam 555 and five districts accounted for over 400 cases

7:35 PM

Jammu and Kashmir reports 55 new coronavirus cases

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 55 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking its infection tally to 1,25,007, even as no fresh death due to the disease was reported in a span of 24 hours, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 17 were from the Jammu division and 38 from the Kashmir division of the union territory, they said.

 

The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest number of 19 new cases. The figure includes 11 travellers.

 

While nine districts did not report any fresh cases, 10 other districts had fresh cases in single digits. The number of active cases was 593 in the union territory, while 1,22,470 patients have recovered so far, the officials said. The death toll in the union territory due to the pandemic stands at 1,944.

7:10 PM

National-level panel discusses 8 AEFI cases, finds no deaths due to Covid-19 vaccination: Health Ministry

The first meeting of the national-level AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunisation) committee discussed eight AEFI cases and found that no deaths had occurred due to Covid-19 vaccination, according to the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday. The first meeting of national-level AEFI committee was held on 5 February to investigate the reasons for AEFI post-vaccination.

 

Addressing a press conference here, Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Health Ministry said that the committee found that no deaths were related to vaccination.

 

"A meeting of National AEFI Committee was held on February 5, 2021. They discussed eight AEFI cases. Causality assessment of 5 cases, 2 deaths and 3 hospitalized cases, conducted. In hospitalised cases, all 3 recovered completely and discharged. Two cases were diagnosed as anaphylaxis and they classified as vaccine-product related reaction (known and expected reactions following vaccinations). One case was diagnosed as syncope and classified as immunisation triggered stress response (anxiety reaction). They found that no deaths were related to vaccination," Bhushan said.

6:25 PM

97% people satisfied with overall vaccination experience: Health Ministry

Ninety-seven per cent of the people who gave their feedback after receiving COVID-19 vaccine dose are satisfied with the overall experience, Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

 

Addressing a press conference here, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said under CoWin response system, the Health Ministry is using a Rapid Assessment System (RAS) of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) for taking feedback from the people receiving COVID-19 vaccine dose during pan-India COVID-19 vaccination drive.

 

CoWin is a mobile app to manage the vaccination drive. Bhushan said the process of taking feedback started from January 17, 2021.

6:15 PM

Maharashtra minister Satej Patil tests positive for Covid-19

Maharashtra minister Satej Patil on Tuesday informed that he had tested positive for novel coronavirus. Taking to social media, the minister of state for home in the MVA government said, "I have tested positive for COVID-19. My health condition is good and have started medication as advised by doctors."

 

Sources close to the minister said he had recently come back from the United States of America and had got himself tested as a precautionary measure, and the report returned positive.

5:56 PM

Indian Army using dogs to detect Covid-19 to cut time delay

5:41 PM

After more than 10 months, no Covid-19 deaths recorded in Delhi: Authorities

After more than 10 months, no Covid-19 deaths recorded in Delhi; 100 fresh cases reported: Authorities