Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra records 8,293 new Covid-19 cases, 62 deaths

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Globally, more than 114.3 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,536,694

2:12 PM

Pakistan confirms presence of new UK strain, asks people get vaccinated

Pakistan government has warned people to follow Covid-19 precautionary guidelines and get vaccinated as the country has confirmed the presence of the UK strain of novel coronavirus. The new coronavirus strain was detected in the UK in December. It is hugely more transmissible than the virus's previous version, BBC reported.

 

The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) in an overnight statement said that Pakistan is among 92 countries in the world where the strain has been detected.

The new strain is being seen across the world and continues to be detected in samples in Pakistan. While this strain does not cause more severe disease, there is evidence that its transmission is faster, the statement stated. Read more

1:45 PM

Schools, colleges, pvt coaching classes to remain closed till March 14: Pune Mayor

Schools, colleges, pvt coaching classes here to remain closed till 14th Mar, due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. No public movement expect essential services allowed between 11pm to 6am. Restrictions imposed in Pune city earlier extended till 14 Mar: Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol, according to ANI

1:34 PM

Canada approves use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

Canada announced its approval of the use of the Covid-19 vaccine co-developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca on Friday, clearing the way for millions of more inoculations in the country.

 

"AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine is indicated for active immunisation of individuals 18 years of age and older for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019," said Health Canada in its news release.

 

"The efficacy of the vaccine was estimated to be 62.1 per cent. Overall, there are no important safety concerns and the vaccine was well tolerated by participants," it added. READ ON...

1:16 PM

113 coronavirus deaths reported in India in last 24 hours

12:48 PM

India's total active coronavirus cases reach 164,511; six states show surge in cases

India's total number of active COVID-19 cases has reached 1,64,511, which comprises1.48 per cent of the country's total infections, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday highlighting six states that have shown a surge in new cases in a span of 24 hours. It said 86.37 per cent of the new cases are from Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

 

A total of 16,752 new COVID-19 cases were registered in a span of 24 hours. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 8,623, followed by Kerala with 3,792 cases while Punjab reported 593 fresh COVID-19 cases. Eight states are displaying an upward trajectory in the daily new cases, the ministry said.

12:21 PM

Active case count hits zero, Arunachal turns coronavirus-free

Arunachal Pradesh became a coronavirus-free state on Sunday with the three active cases recovering from the disease, a senior health official said.

 

The total caseload in the northeastern state remained at 16,836, while the number of recoveries stood at 16,780, State Surveillance Officer Lobsang Jampa said.

 

No fresh COVID-19 case was reported in the past 24 hours, he said, A total of 56 people have so far died due to the contagion in the state. Arunachal Pradesh's recovery rate and positivity rate are at 99.66 per cent and zero per cent, respectively, the official said.

11:59 AM

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat show rise in new cases in last 24 hours

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have shown a surge in new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. 86.37 per cent of the new cases are from these six states: Government of India

11:53 AM

India reports highest new daily Covid-19 cases of Feb

Fresh Covid-19 cases are showing a worrying upward trend over the past one week, with the country reporting single-day rise of 16,752 cases in the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 1,10,96,731 on Sunday, Union Health Ministry said.

 

The rise is the highest in this month.

 

The positivity rate has been rising gradually, which is now at 1.48 per cent. As per the Ministry's data, there are 1,64,511 active cases at present after 11,718 patients were discharged in a day. Meanwhile, 113 more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the overall toll to 1,57,051, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

11:44 AM

Mann Ki Baat LIVE: We don't have to let our guard down against Covid-19, says PM Modi

Now that economy opening up, we do not have to let our guard down against Covid-19. Nation will progress fast if your healthy, happy and abiding: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in today's 'Mann Ki Baat'.

11:28 AM

Telangana ramps up Covid-19 testing

In view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases and the Centre sounding an alert, the Telangana health authorities have ramped up testing across the state. The authorities are now conducting 40,000 tests per day after 50 per cent drop since the roll out of the Covid vaccination drive on January 16.

 

The drop in the number of tests had come under flak from experts, who had cautioned against lowering the guard.

 

With the Union Health Ministry advising all the states to be on alert in the wake of the spike in coronavirus infections in some states over the last few days, the Telangana health department has restored the number of tests to the pre-vaccination level.

11:18 AM

India's active Covid-19 cases stand at 164,511: Union Health Ministry

India's active Covid-19 cases stand at 1,64,511 while 1,07,75,169 people have recovered from the disease so far: Union Health Ministry

10:52 AM

Chinese mainland reports six new imported Covid-19 cases

The Chinese mainland reported six new imported Covid-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 4,990, the National Health Commission said in its daily report om Sunday.

 

Of the new imported cases, two each were reported in Fujian and Yunnan, and one each in Tianjin and Guangdong, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Health Commission.

10:21 AM

India records 16,752 fresh Covid-19 cases, biggest single-day jump in 30 days

India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 1,10,96,731 on Sunday with 16,752 new infections, the highest in the last 30 days, according to Union health ministry data. The death toll mounted to 1,57,051 with 113fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The country had recorded 18,855 new infections on January 29.

 

The active caseload further increased to 1,64,511. It constitutes1.48 per cent of the total infections, the data stated. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,07,75,169, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.10 per cent. The case fatality rate stands at 1.42 per cent.

10:05 AM

Private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 for a shot of Covid-19 vaccine

Private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 for a dose of Covid vaccine in the second phase of India's vaccine programme that will target those above the age of 60 and also those above 45 years with comorbidities starting from March 1.

 

“States have been explained that the private hospitals functioning as covid vaccination centres can charge subject to a ceiling of Rs. 250 per person per dose along with the electronic and financial management mechanism,” a health ministry statement said.

 

Around 10,000 private hospitals enlisted under Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana, more than 600 hospitals enlisted under Central Government Health Scheme and other private hospitals enlisted under state governments' health insurance schemes can participate as Covid Vaccination Centers. At government hospitals, vaccination will be for free. READ ON...

9:35 AM

People violating coronavirus SOPs at 2021 Kumbh Mela Haridwar will be prosecuted: Uttarakhand Chief Secy

People violating coronavirus SOPs at 2021 Kumbh Mela Haridwar will be prosecuted. Pilgrims are required to register by uploading a medical certificate, RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours, following which E-pass will be issued for the fair: ANI quoted Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Om Prakash as saying.