Coronavirus LIVE: Jharkhand health worker dies after receiving vaccine

Coronavirus live updates: Globally, more than 104.5 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,262,004

12:53 AM

Biden tells congressional Democrats would consider limits on who gets Covid-19 checks

President Joe Biden told congressional Democrats on Wednesday he would not back down on including $1,400 checks for struggling Americans in his COVID-19 relief plan but would consider tighter limits on who gets them, lawmakers and aides said.
 

Biden held a conference call with House of Representatives Democrats and talked with Democratic senators at the White House as the party prepared to use a procedural maneuver to push Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package through without Republican votes if necessary.
 

"We did have a conversation about the direct payments and how those might be modified in a way to ensure they're targeted," Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Biden's home state of Delaware, said as he left the White House Wednesday morning.
 

"But President Biden was clear with us and with our caucus yesterday, he's not going to forget the middle class, he's not going to walk back from a real commitment." Biden has made addressing the heavy human and economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 447,000 Americans and thrown millions out of work, a key focus of the early weeks of his administration.
 

12:49 AM

West Bengal's Covid-19 toll mounts to 10,195, over 12,700 inoculated

The Covid-19 toll in West Bengal climbed to 10,195 on Wednesday after seven more patients succumbed to the virus, the health department said.
 

The coronavirus tally rose to 5,70,581 with 201 fresh cases, it said in a bulletin.
 

The state now has 5,196 active cases, while 5,55,190 people have recovered from the disease.
 

North 24 Parganas district accounted for three deaths, while two fatalities each were reported from Kolkata and neighbouring Hooghly district, the bulletin said.

Out of the seven deaths, six were due to comorbidities where Covid-19 was incidental, it said.
 

Since Tuesday, 21,812 samples have been tested, taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 80,58,141.
 

Meanwhile, at least 12,725 people were administered Covid-19 vaccines at 350 sites across West Bengal, a senior official of the health department said.
 

"The CoWIN portal continued to be patchy, hampering the vaccination programme. At least 40-45 people could not get the shots as their names were missing from the portal," he added.
 

10:21 PM

Nagaland reports 16 new Covid-19 cases, tally rises to 12,117

Nagaland's Covid-19 tally rose to 12,117 as 16 more people tested positive for the infection on Wednesday, a senior health department official said. Director of Health and Family Welfare Dr Denis Hangsing said the 15 new cases were reported from Kohima and one from Dimapur. The state now has 66 active COVID-19 cases, while 11,815 people have recovered from the disease so far, he said.

Hangsing said 88 people have died of COVID-19 so far while 148 patients have migrated to other states. Of the total 12,117 COVID-19 cases, 5,002 are traced contacts, 4,674 are armed forces or security personnel, 1,868 returnees from other states and 573 frontline workers, he said. The state has so far tested a total of 1,25,331 samples for COVID-19, he added.

10:02 PM

Pvt nursing college in Karnataka sealed after 40 students test Covid positive

A private nursing college in Ullal, Mangaluru of Dakshina Kannada district sealed after 40 of its students tested positive for Covid-19. The students had arrived from Kerala, according to ANI.

8:46 PM

Delhi reports 150 new coronavirus cases, 153 recoveries and six deaths in the last 24 hours

8:32 PM

92 new coronavirus-related cases in Rajasthan

Rajasthan on Wednesday reported two coronavirus-related fatalities and 92 new cases as the state's COVID-19 toll increased to 2,770 and total cases rose to 3,17,766. Of the total cases, 1,692 are under treatment, the health bulletin said. According to the bulletin, 3,13,304 people have been discharged after treatment till now.

 

So far, 515 people have died in Jaipur, 302 in Jodhpur, 222 in Ajmer, 169 in Kota, 167 in Bikaner, 120 in Bharatpur, 119 in Udaipur, 109 in Pali and 101 in Sikar, it said. Of the new cases, 19 were reported from Kota, 17 from Jaipur, and 14 from Bhilwara among other districts of the state.

8:21 PM

Further opening of domestic flight ops will depend on Covid-19 situation, passenger demand: Govt

The civil aviation ministry on Wednesday told Rajya Sabha that further opening up of the domestic scheduled operations is subject to prevailing COVID-19 situation, status of operations and passenger demand for air travel. In the wake of the pandemic, scheduled domestic operations were suspended from March 25, 2020, and resumed in a calibrated manner from May 25, 2020. Currently, the operations have been opened up to 80 per cent of the summer schedule 2020.

 

"Further, opening up of the domestic scheduled operations is subject to prevailing COVID-19 situation, status of operations and passenger demand for air travel," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said in a written reply.

 

In another written reply, the minister provided a few figures based on inputs received from stakeholders on the impact of regulatory constraints on employment in the aviation sector amid the coronavirus pandemic.

8:08 PM

Maharashtra reports 2,992 new coronavirus cases, tally rises to 20,33,266

With the addition of 2,992 coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Maharashtra reached 20,33,266 on Wednesday, a state health department official said. A total of 7,030 patients recuperated and got discharge from hospitals, which pushed the recovery count to 19,43,335, he said. Thirty patients died due to the infection, taking the death toll to 51,169, the official said.

 

Of the 27 fresh fatalities, 18 were from the past 48 hours, five from the last week and remaining seven had taken place before that, but were added on Wednesday. There are 37,516 active cases in the state at present. Maharashtra's recovery rate now stands at 95.58 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.52 per cent, it said. At 504, Mumbai city reported the highest number of fresh cases in the state, while seven persons succumbed to the infection.

7:26 PM

Czech Republic crosses 1 million coronavirus cases

The Czech Republic has surpassed a milestone of 1 million confirmed coronavirus infections since the pandemic began. The Health Ministry said Wednesday that the day-to-day increase in new infections was 9,057 cases for a total of more than 1 million. The country of 10.7 million people has registered 16,683 virus-related deaths.

 

The number of new infections has fallen since they reached a record high of almost 18,000 in early January, but they have stagnated in recent days at still dangerously high levels despite a strict lockdown. Currently 93,043 people are ill with COVID-19 in the Czech Republic, with 1,002 of them in intensive care. The numbers are putting the health system of the Central European nation under heavy pressure.

7:14 PM

Kerala reports 6,356 new coronavirus cases today

7:08 PM

95 coronavirus cases, one death in Andhra Pradesh

Only 95 fresh COVID-19 cases were detected as 25,445 tests were conducted in Andhra Pradesh in 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday, consequent to which the total confirmed positives increased to 8,88,099. A health department bulletin said 129 patients got cured while one more succumbed in the state. The number of active cases fell further to 1,162 after a total of 8,79,780 recoveries and 7,157 deaths, it said.

 

So far, 1.32 crore sample tests were completed in the state that turned out an overall positivity rate of 6.72 per cent. In 24 hours, Krishna district reported 17 fresh cases while Guntur and Visakhapatnam added 16 each. The remaining 10 districts reported less than 10 new cases each. For the second day, Prakasam district did not report any new case, the bulletin said. Visakhapatnam also reported one COVID-19 death.

6:24 PM

40 nursing students test Covid-19 positive, college sealed in Karnataka

Forty nursing students from neighbouring Kerala have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting authorities to seal their college here as a precautionary measure on Wednesday, PTI report said.

 

The direction to seal the Aaliyah Institute of Nursing at Ullal in coastal Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, bordering Kerala, was given by the city municipality.

 

Municipal Commissioner Rayappa said 40 students from Kerala studying in the college tested positive for COVID-19 after which the district health officer, nodal officer and himself visited the college and issued the order.

5:45 PM

India Coronavirus Dispatch: Budget's vaccine outlay can cover 500 million people

Budget's Covid vaccine allocation can cover 500 million people

 

The allocation of Rs 35,000 crore in the Budget announced on Monday towards the country's Covid-19 vaccination programme will cover the cost of inoculating 500 million people, T V Somanathan, expenditure secretary in the finance ministry told the ThePrint. The Centre will allocate more funds towards the vaccination exercise later in the year, if and when necessary. The details for the later stages of the rollout are yet to be decided. While the exact costing and pricing of the doses are yet to be worked out, a rough estimate of Rs 700 a person for two doses has been factored in. Read more here...

5:22 PM

Philippines logs 1,266 coronavirus cases, total tops 530,000

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Wednesday 1,266 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the Southeast Asian country's total tally to 530,118. The death toll rose to 10,942 after 68 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic, the DOH said. It added that 130 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 487,721.

 

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 7.4 million people since the viral disease emerged in January last year.

 

Carlito Galvez, the National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer, told a virtual press conference that the Philippine government plans to administer the first batch of 117,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility to around 56,000 healthcare workers in four government COVID-19 hospitals in Metro Manila.

4:56 PM

AstraZeneca's first vaccine dose cuts Covid transmission by 67%: Study

Even just the first of the two-dose Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine can cut coronavirus transmissions by around 67 per cent and therefore have a "substantial effect" on controlling the spread of the deadly virus, according to a new Oxford University study on Wednesday.

 

The UK government described this as good news for the world because the impact of COVID vaccines on transmission has been a crucial unknown in the fight against the pandemic.

 

"The data indicate that (the vaccine) may have a substantial impact on transmission by reducing the number of infected individuals in the population," notes the report from the latest study. READ ON...

4:23 PM

Punjab: Five more students of Nawanshahr govt school test Covid-19 positive, total 19 now

Five more students of a government school here tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday, taking the tally to 19, officials said. Samples of 110 students of the Government High School in Saloh in Nawanshahr Tehsil were taken for testing on Tuesday, District Epidemiologist Jagdeep Singh said, adding five of them have returned positive.

 

More samples are being collected, he said. As many as 14 students and three teachers of the government school had tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. The school, which has 350 students, has been closed.

 

Singh, the District Epidemiologist, further said if needed the health department would also undertake random sampling of students of nearby Government Sr Secondary School, Hiala, as many class 11 and 12 students, who study there, hail from Saloh village. Schools in the state reopened in January, nine months after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to check the coronavirus pandemic.

3:10 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Jharkhand health worker dies after receiving vaccine

A health worker has died 36 hours after being administered COVID vaccine in Jharkhand, officials said on Wednesday. The health worker, identified as Mannu Pahan, was administered the Covishield vaccine at his workplace Medanta Hospital here on February 1 and he died on Tuesday night, the private medical establishment's CEO Dr Pankaj Sahni said.

 

Though 52-year-old Pahan did not have comorbidities, the cause of his death is being investigated, he said. After being administered the vaccine, Pahan returned to his village in Ormanjhi near Ranchi and even came to work on February 2. He fell ill in his village on Tuesday night and died while being taken to the hospital, Dr Ajit Prasad, nodal officer for the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the state, said.

2:24 PM

83.01% of the new coronavirus cases from six States and UTs: Health Ministry

1:46 PM

India fastest country to reach 4 million Covid-19 vaccination mark: Health ministry

India has become the fastest country in the world to reach the 4 million COVID-19 vaccination mark, achieving this feat in 18 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.  More than 41 lakh beneficiaries have been administered shotsunder the countrywide exercise till morning.

 

"As on February, 1, India was among the top five countries in terms of number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to people. India continues to undertake its vaccination drive at a fast pace," the ministry highlighted.

 

India's fight against COVID-19 is bringing daily successes on other fronts as well, it said. Fourteen states and UTs have not reported any deaths in a span of 24 hours including Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Lakshadweep, Ladakh (UT), Sikkim, Manipur, Puducherry, Goa, Odisha and Assam.

 

1:22 PM

Coronavirus update: Uttar Pradesh has added 172 cases to take its tally to 600,642

Uttar Pradesh has added 172 cases to take its tally to 600,642.

12:24 PM

Covid-19: 185 new cases, 2 deaths in Telangana

Telangana recorded 185 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally to 2.94 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,604 with two more fatalities.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 27, followed by Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts with 13 and 12 respectively, a state government bulletin said on Wednesday providing details as of 8 pm on February 2.

The cumulative number of cases stood at 2,94,924, while the cumulative number of recoveries were 2,91,312.

The total number of active cases were 2,008.

11:51 AM

Canada to produce coronavirus vaccine shots domestically before end of 2021

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada's National Research Council-owned Royalmount facility will produce millions of Covid-19 vaccine shots developed by Maryland-based Novavax.

 

The Canadian company in Montreal submitted its vaccine to Health Canada for regulatory approval last Friday. Its production is expected to start in the fall this year as the global market is contending with delivery delays and protectionist measures, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. Read on...

11:31 AM

Pakistan begins Covid-19 vaccine roll-out

Nearly a year after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that claimed 11,746 lives and infected more than half a million in Pakistan, the government began vaccinating the frontline warriors on Tues­day, with a 50-year-old doctor being the first health care worker (HCW) in the country to get the jab.

 

While a countrywide ca­m­paign is going to start formally on Wednesday in wh­i­ch over one million HCWs will be vaccinated aga­inst the coronavirus in a period of two months, an anaesthetist and critical care specialist, Prof Rana Imran Sikander, was the first doctor to have been vaccinated against the disease at PM Office in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Dawn reported.

 

On the occasion, the Prime Minister said: "I congratulate my team which has worked prom­ptly and vaccine was imp­orted. We are also thankful to China which has provided vaccine. Just like the vaccine has been inoculated to a doctor, it will be given to frontline health care workers who have been dealing with the Covid-19 patients.

10:31 AM

Hit by Covid-19 pandemic, oil giants Exxon, BP post huge 2020 losses

Oil giants Exxon and BP reported staggering losses for 2020 on Tuesday as the pandemic crushed energy demand and undercut oil prices.

 

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported the largest losses in its history nearly $20.1 billion for the fourth quarter, including more than $19 billion to write down the value of company assets. For the full year, it lost $22.4 billion.

 

BP PLC posted a profit of $825 million in the fourth quarter but still lost $18.1 billion in 2020. The results came after Chevron reported last week that it lost $5.5 billion last year. Read on...

10:07 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 160,057 (Net reduction: 3,296)

Deaths: 154,596 (Net increase: 110)

Cured: 10,462,631 (Net increase: 14,225)

Total cases: 10,777,284 (Net increase: 11,039)

Total vaccination: 4,138,918 (Increase over previous day: 188,762)

9:54 AM

New Zealand OKs its 1st coronavirus vaccine

New Zealand's medical regulator has approved its first coronavirus vaccine, and officials hope to begin giving shots to border workers by the end of March.

 

New Zealand has no community transmission of the virus, and border workers are considered the most vulnerable to catching and spreading the disease because they deal with arriving travellers, some of whom are infected.

 

Regulators on Wednesday gave provisional approval for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for people aged 16 and over.

8:19 AM

PM-Cares Fund to foot over 80% cost of 1st phase of Covid vaccination drive

The PM-CARES fund, which has been set up to provide relief during the coronavirus pandemic, has contributed over Rs 2,200 crore for the first phase of vaccination drive, which is looking to inoculate frontline healthcare workers, the Expenditure Secretary said on Tuesday.

 

Set up in March 2020, the exact collections made by the fund through voluntary contribution by individuals and corporates, are not known but the corpus managed by the PMO has been providing relief to pandemic-hit sectors. Read on...

7:34 AM

Delhi reported 114 new Covid-19 cases, 160 recoveries and 2 deaths

Delhi reported 114 new Covid-19 cases, 160 recoveries and 2 deaths on Tuesday.