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

9:23 AM

India reports 16,752 new coronavirus cases and 113 deaths in last 24 hours: Health Ministry

9:13 AM

Delhi govt identifies private hospitals for Covid-19 vaccination of people above 60 years

The Delhi government has started preparations for the vaccination of people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities from March 1 and has identified private hospitals that will be roped in for the immunisation drive. Private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 per dose of COVID-19 vaccine, official sources said.

 

"So far 59 private hospitals have been identified and the number will be increased as per requirement," said a source associated with the Delhi government's COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

 

Currently, priority group people including health workers and frontline workers are being administered the vaccine at 212 government and private health centres in Delhi.

8:56 AM

More tests for Covid-19 needed, says WHO Chief Scientist

Chief scientist of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan on Saturday said there should be more COVID-19 tests as there was heterogeneity (on testing methods) among the states.

 

"Testing is really an important issue. At the beginning, WHO found that many countries did not have diagnostics and those which had it was not enough. In fact we found out that diagnostics was lower than it should be," she said while addressing a session at 'Shaastra' organised here at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.

 

8:27 AM

UK records another 7,434 coronavirus cases, 290 deaths

Another 7,434 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,170,519, according to official figures released Saturday.

 

The country also reported another 290 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 122,705. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.The latest figures were revealed as more than 19.6 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine.

 

The Britain's coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, remains unchanged at between 0.6 and 0.9, the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) announced Friday.

8:04 AM

Chile reports 4,523 new daily Covid-19 cases

Chile reported 4,523 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's total to 821,418, of which 23,585 are active, a health official said on Saturday.

 

Undersecretary of Healthcare Networks Alberto Dougnac explained that the regions with the highest numbers of confirmed cases in the last week are Coquimbo, O'Higgins, Valparaiso, and Los Rios.

 

Dougnac urged citizens to continue self-care measures, as every day "we must mourn the death of more compatriots." The Department of Health Statistics and Information reported another 76 deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 20,476.

7:58 AM

Brazil registers 1,386 deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours

Brazil registered 1,386 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 254,221, the Ministry of Health reported Saturday. A total of 61,602 new cases were reported, bringing the national tally to 10,517,232, according to the ministry.

 

Brazil has the second largest number of deaths from the coronavirus, following the United States, and the third largest number of cases, after the United States and India.

 

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous state in the country, is the hardest hit by the pandemic, with 2,037,267 cases and 59,428 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 582,164 cases and 33,035 deaths.

7:51 AM

14.2 million beneficiaries in India vaccinated against Covid-19 so far: Health Ministry

7:18 AM

Odisha makes Covid-19 test mandatory for people arriving from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, MP, Punjab

Odisha government on Saturday made the COVID-19 test mandatory for passengers arriving from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh.

 

"Passengers arriving from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh will undergo screening tests at the airport in Odisha," said Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das. "If found symptomatic, they will undergo an antigen test. Those testing COVID positive will be kept under isolation," he informed.

 

On February 24, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir for supporting them in public health measures for targeted COVID response and management.

7:17 AM

US approves single-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use

The United States authorised Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use on Saturday, adding a third vaccine to the US arsenal to fight the pandemic as the death toll due to the infection crosses 5.11 lakh. It is the first single-dose Covid-19 vaccine available in the US, and is one that "checks nearly all the boxes", CNN reported.

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the nation's third coronavirus vaccine. The official emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson's (J & J) single-dose vaccine comes after an FDA advisory panel voted 22-0 to recommend authorization on Friday.

 

The United States has reported more than 28.5 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and over 511,000 reported deaths. The demand of vaccines still far exceeds supply, these vaccines can't come soon enough.

7:05 AM

Free vaccines for the 60-plus, comorbid cases in govt hospitals from Mar 1

India will start the next stage of vaccinating those above 60 years of age and those above 45 with comorbidities, such as diabetes and heart ailments, from March 1, the government announced in a Cabinet briefing on Wednesday.

 

The vaccines will be given for free in over 10,000 government hospitals and will come for a price, which is yet to be decided, in more than 20,000 private centres. Around 270 million people are expected to be covered in the third phase of the vaccination drive. Of these, 100 million will be those aged above 60. READ MORE...

7:04 AM

Welcome to Business Standard LIVE BLOG on coronavirus