Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala reports 22,064 new Covid cases; 2,052 in Karnataka

Coronavirus live updates: Kerala has half of all new Covid-19 cases in India; Google is deferring its date to bring employees back to office.

Coronavirus live updates: India reported on Thursday 43,509 new coronavirus cases and 640 deaths from the disease in the last 24 hours, said the health ministry in a statement.
 
India’s total cases increased to 31,528,114 and total fatalities are at 4,22,662. It has administered more than 450 million vaccine doses since start of the inoculation campaign.
 

Delhi’s government asked for suggestions on reopening schools and colleges, saying it wants to hear views as Covid-19 cases fall in the city.

World coronavirus updates: Alphabet Inc.’s Google postponed its date for bringing employees back to its offices by a month, and will require returning workers to be vaccinated. About 54 per cent of South Africans say they are unlikely to get a Covid-19 vaccine and almost half say they believe prayer provides more protection than the shots against contracting the disease, a survey showed, according to Bloomberg. 

2:08 AM

Assam records 1,299 new Covid cases, 20 more fatalities

Assam's COVID-19 tally rose to 5,64,030 on Thursday as 1,299 people tested positive for the infection, while 20 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 5,221, a bulletin issued by the National Health Mission said. Kamrup Metropolitan district reported the highest number of new cases at 184, followed by Lakhimpur (103), Golaghat (91), and Dibrugarh (70).

 

Four coronavirus deaths were reported from Jorhat while Barpeta, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, and Morigaon, reported two deaths each.

 

Chirang, Hailakandi, Hojai, Kamrup Metro, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Nalbari and Tinsukia reported one death each. The current death rate is 0.93 percent and the number of COVID-19 positive patients dying due to other causes is 1,347. Currently, there are 12,767 active cases in the state.

2:04 AM

645 children orphaned due to Covid pandemic in one year

The government on Thursday stated that a total of 645 children were orphaned due to the Covid-19 pandemic from April 2021 to May 28, 2021. The maximum number of children who lost their parents to Covid are from Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, the government said in the Parliament.

 

In Uttar Pradesh, 158 children were orphaned, while in Andhra Pradesh 119 children lost their parents because of Covid-19. Maharashtra comes next where 83 children were orphaned, followed by Madhya Pradesh (73).

 

Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that children in distress situations merit care and protection under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

11:11 PM

Tamil Nadu sees marginal rise in new Covid-19 cases

Tamil Nadu reported a marginal increase in the new COVID-19 cases after a decline seen in the last couple of months, said the Health Department of the State on Thursday. With 1,859 new cases today, the tally went up to 25,55,664 till date. Fatalities rose to 34,023 with 28 people dead in the last 24 hours. Recoveries outnumbered fresh cases. A total of 2,145 people got discharged, aggregating to 25,00,434 leaving 21,207 active cases, a bulletin said.

 

Coimbatore reported 188 cases, Erode 166, Chengalpet 113 and Thanjavur 102 while Perambalur saw six. Thirty-one districts reported new infections in double digits. There were no fresh deaths in 19 districts, the bulletin said.

10:49 PM

Kerala Minister asks people to avoid crowds

Kerala Minister of Health Veena George on Thursday said the next two to three weeks were crucialfor the COVID-19 mitigation process in the State. The Minister asked the people to avoid or reduce gatherings in view of the rising number of cases.

 

She told reporters here that the State government was identifying and treating the infected effectively.

 

"On Wednesday, we tested 1,96,902 samples and the test positivity rate (TPR) was 11.2 per cent. Today, we tested 1,63,098 samples and the TPR was 13.53 per cent," said the Minister. She said the Centre was impressed with the mitigation process in Kerala.

10:06 PM

Over 45.55 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far has crossed 45.55 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. Nearly 47 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Thursday, according to a provisional report at 7 pm.

 

The ministry said 22,83,018 vaccine doses were administered as first jabs and 4,34,990 as second in the age group of 18-44 years on Thursday.

 

Cumulatively, 14,66,22,393 people in the age group of 18-44 years across all states and Union Territories have received their first dose and 76,51,261 their second jab since the start of phase three of the vaccination drive.

9:43 PM

Mumbai reports 340 new Covid cases, 403 recoveries and 13 deaths in a day

9:42 PM

Goa records 90 new COVID-19 cases; two more casualties

With the addition of 90 new cases of COVID-19, the tally of infections in Goa rose to 1,70,900 on Thursday, an official from the state health department said.

 

At least 127 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 1,66,679, while the toll stood 3,144, as two patients died of the infection during the day, the official said.

 

With this, the coastal state currently has 1,077 active infections, he said.

 

As many as 3,876 swab samples were tested during the day, taking the total number of tests conducted in the state to 10,47,088, the official added.

 

Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 1,70,900, new cases 90, death toll 3,144, discharged 1,66,679, active cases 1,077, samples tested till date 10,47,088.

9:20 PM

Nashik sees 119 new COVID-19 cases; two more fatalities

With the single-day addition of 119 new cases of coronavirus, the tally in Maharashtra's Nashik district reached 4,02,326 on Thursday, a health official said.

 

The toll stood at 8,506, as two patients died of the infection during the day, while the count of recoveries rose to 3,92,790 after 153 patients were discharged from hospitals, the official said.

 

Of the total number of cases recorded so far, 2,28,224 were from Nashik city, 1,52,050 from other parts of the district, 12,586 from Malegaon, 5,550 from outside the district, the official data revealed.

 

As many as 22,41,539 swabs have been tested till date, of which 9,347 were tested on Thursday.

8:50 PM

276 new cases push Sikkim's Covid-19 tally to 26,132

Sikkim has reported 276 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the caseload to 26,132, a health department bulletin said on Thursday. The state reported four more fatalities in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 337, it said. Sikkim now has 3,297 active cases, while 269 Covid-19 patients have migrated to other states, and 22,229 people have recovered from the disease. (PTI)

8:37 PM

US economy returns to pre-pandemic level; labor market healing

The US economy grew solidly in the second quarter, pulling the level of gross domestic product above its pre-pandemic peak, as massive government aid and vaccinations against Covid-19 fueled spending on goods and travel-related services. The pace of GDP growth reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday was, however, slower than economists had expected. That was because businesses had to again draw down on meager inventories to meet the robust demand. Supply constraints, which have resulted in shortages of motor vehicles and some household appliances, are making it harder for business to replenish stocks. Read here

8:10 PM

Covishield single dose efficacy drops after 16 weeks in those above 60 years of age: Study

The efficacy of the single dose of Oxford-Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine Covishield dropped at 16 weeks for those above the age of 60, while 93 per cent of the younger population showed very good responses during the same duration, a university research here has shown. The vaccine is produced by University of Oxford and British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Astrazeneca. Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has entered into a collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to manufacture Covishield. (PTI)

7:16 PM

Covid R-value climbing steadily in country; Kerala, NE states top list

The R-factor, which indicates the speed at which Covid-19 infection is spreading in the country, is climbing steadily with Kerala and the northeastern states occupying top spots fuelling worries about the pandemic rearing its head again. Among the metro cities, the R-values of Pune and Delhi are close to one, suggests an analysis by researchers at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai. Read here

7:09 PM

Karnataka reports 2,052 new coronavirus cases

Karnataka reports 2,052 new coronavirus cases, 1332 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the state health department

6:31 PM

Maharashtra govt eases curbs in 25 districts; gyms, cinemas can operate

The Maharashtra government relaxed coronavirus-related restrictions in 25 districts, where the infection rate has stayed low for quite some time. The curbs will be eased in functioning of shops, theaters, cinemas and gyms. However, there would be restrictions on the number of people attending weddings. Read here

6:26 PM

Sunday restrictions to continue, says Maharashtra minister while announcing eased curbs