Covid LIVE: Kerala sees 26,701 new cases, 74 deaths in last 24 hours

Catch all the latest updates on coronavirus situation

8:19 PM

Kerala coronavirus update: 29,682 new cases; slight dip in TPR at 17.54%

Kerala continued to report a high number of COVID-19 infections, with 29,682 cases and 142 deaths on Saturday, while the Total Positivity Rate saw a slight dip.

 

The numbers took the total affected in the state to 41,81,137 and the fatality count to 21,422.

 

The TPR stood at 17.54 per cent, as compared to 17.91 on Friday.

 

The state has been consistently posting high numbers over the past few days, accounting for a bulk of the infections reported nationwide.

 

Among the districts, Thrissur reported the highest number of cases-- 3,474, followed by Ernakulam with 3,456 and Malappuram with 3,166.

6:15 PM

Passengers from India require negative RT-PCR report: Turkish Embassy

People travelling from India to Turkey will be required from Saturday to submit a negative COVID-19 report from RT-PCR test done not more than 72 hours before arrival, the Turkish Embassy here said.

The rule will also apply to those passengers who have been in India in the 14 days prior to their travel to Turkey.

In the updated rules for travellers from India to Turkey, the embassy said that effective from September 4, passengers who certify that they have had at least two doses (single dose for Johnson & Johnson) of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization or Turkey, provided that at least 14 days have passed since the last dose, will be exempted from mandatory quarantine.

Passengers who cannot provide the above mentioned certificate will be quarantined in their residence or the address they will declare, the statement said.

On the 10th day of quarantine, they will be subjected to a PCR test and if the result is negative, the quarantine will be terminated, according to the revised rules.

If the PCR test result is positive, treatment will be conducted in accordance with the COVID-19 guidelines of the country's Ministry of Health.

4:59 PM

Over 660 mn Covid vaccine doses provided to states, UTs so far: Govt

More than 660 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have so far been provided to states and Union territories by the Centre for free and under the direct state procurement category, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

It also said that more than 44,.9 million balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the states/UTs.

The Union government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of Covid-19 vaccination throughout the country, the ministry said in a statement.

"More than 66.07 crore (66,07,19,455) vaccine doses have been provided to states/UTs so far through (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category. Further, more than 85 lakh doses (85,63,780) are in the pipeline," it said.

The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to states/UTs for enabling better planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supply chain, the statement said.

 

4:59 PM

Over 660 mn Covid vaccine doses provided to states, UTs so far: Govt

More than 660 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have so far been provided to states and Union territories by the Centre for free and under the direct state procurement category, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

It also said that more than 44,.9 million balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the states/UTs.

The Union government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of Covid-19 vaccination throughout the country, the ministry said in a statement.

"More than 66.07 crore (66,07,19,455) vaccine doses have been provided to states/UTs so far through (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category. Further, more than 85 lakh doses (85,63,780) are in the pipeline," it said.

The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to states/UTs for enabling better planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supply chain, the statement said.

 

4:40 PM

Philippines lifts travel ban on India, 9 other countries from Sept 6

The Philippines on Saturday decided to welcome travellers from India and nine other countries from September 6, according to a Presidential Palace announcement.

The announcement came even as the country recorded its second highest number of COVID-19 cases with 20,310 infections on Friday, pushing the national tally to 2.04 million, The Manila Times newspaper reported.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to lift the current travel restrictions on India and nine other countries starting September 6, Presidential Palace spokesperson Harry Roque was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The other countries are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the official said.

4:23 PM

J-K govt sets target of administering one lakh Covid vaccine doses per day

Jammu and Kashmir government has set the target of administering one lakh Covid vaccine doses per day.

The decision was taken during the weekly meetings chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to review the Covid scenario in J-K.

During the meeting with deputy commissioners (DCs) and superintendents of police (SPs), the Lt Governor directed the joint team of police and civil administration to strictly enforce Covid protocol and take administrative actions against violators.

Sinha asked the DCs and Health department to effectively utilize the existing available stock of vaccines to meet the set target. He also directed to maintain the buffer stock of vaccines in all the districts.

1:33 PM

US Covid cases reach new daily high: CDC

The current seven-day moving average of daily new Covid-19 cases in the US was over 150,000, up 4.9 per cent from the previous week, according to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

The current seven-day moving average was 153,246, which was 123.6 per cent higher than the figure observed approximately one year ago and 1,217.0 per cent higher than the lowest record on June 18, 2021, Xinhua news agency quoted the report released on Friday as saying.

 

As of Saturday morning, the country's overall caseload and death toll stood at 39,848,170 and 647,573, respectively.

 

1:31 PM

'Covid jabs not recommended for 12-15 yr olds in UK'

The UK's vaccine advisory body announced that coronavirus jabs were not recommended for healthy children aged between 12 and 15.

 

The Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation (JCVI) provided the assessment on Friday, saying the jabs should not be recommended to those in this age group on health grounds alone, but the body has advised the government to look at "wider issues" including the impact of the virus on schooling, Xinhua news agency reported.

1:31 PM

COVID-19: Philippines to lift travel ban on India, 9 other countries

The Philippines will lift the travel ban for all inbound travelers from India and nine other countries starting Sept. 6 despite the rising COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Saturday.

 

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the recommendation of the inter-agency COVID-19 task force to lift the current travel restrictions in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

 

"International travelers coming from the above-mentioned countries shall, however, comply with the appropriate entry, testing, and quarantine protocols," Roque said in a statement.

1:29 PM

COVID-19 cases spike among children in Odisha

Coronavirus infection among children continued to rise in Odisha even as the total number of new cases dropped to 681 on Saturday, a Health Department official said.

 

The state had reported 849 new cases on Friday, he said.

 

Among the new patients, diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, there were 118 children, which was 17.32 of the total fresh cases detected. It was 14.13 per cent on the previous day, the official said.

1:24 PM

Brazil starts booster shots while many still await a 2nd jab

Some cities in Brazil are providing booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, even though most people have yet to receive their second jabs, in a sign of the concern in the country over the highly contagious delta variant.

 

Rio de Janeiro, currently Brazil's epicenter for the variant and home to one of its largest elderly populations, began administering the boosters Wednesday. Northeastern cities Salvador and Sao Luis started on Monday, and the most populous city of Sao Paulo will begin Sept 6. The rest of the nation will follow the next week.

1:10 PM

India sends 150 tonnes of oxygen to Sri Lanka to help it tackle coronavirus surge

India has sent about 150 tonnes more oxygen to Sri Lanka to help the island nation combat the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Sri Lanka on Friday extended its nationwide lockdown till September 13 amidst a surge in the number of COVID-19 deaths and mounting pressure on the healthcare system.

 

Lifeline from India to Sri Lanka close to 150 tonnes of oxygen from Vizag and Chennai reached the shores of Colombo," the Indian High Commission in Colombo tweeted on Saturday.

 

India since mid last month has been sending urgent supplies of oxygen to Sri Lanka following a personal request for assistance by the Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, it said.

 

1:08 PM

No serious health effects linked to mRNA Covid vaccines: Study

A team of researchers combining the health records of 6.2 million patients found no serious health effects that could be linked to the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA Covid-19 vaccines.

 

The study, published in the journal JAMA, indicates mRNA Covid-19 vaccines were not associated with significantly higher rates of 23 serious adverse events.

 

"These results from our safety surveillance are reassuring," said lead author Nicola Klein, from the Kaiser Permanente.

1:00 PM

Myanmar Junta backs Beijing amid tensions with US over COVID-19 origins

As the US-China spat over COVID-19 origins refuses to die down, Myanmar Junta has decided to stand by Beijing, saying the search "should not blame or put political pressure on other countries."

 

The military leadership also urged countries to step up cooperation in the fight against new variants of the virus and called on vaccine-producing countries to trade with, support, and provide assistance to other countries, especially developing countries, to promote vaccine production, The Irrawaddy reported.

 

12:45 PM

AirAsia Indonesia extends flight suspension until Sep 30

Low-cost airline AirAsia Indonesia announced that its temporary suspension of scheduled flight services has been extended till September 30 due to public mobility restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

"The temporary suspension of our scheduled flight services has been extended until September 30, 2021, in order to support efforts of the Indonesian government in controlling the COVID-19 situation in the country, which is still volatile," Xinhua news agency quoted the AirAsia Indonesia management as saying on Friday.