Covid LIVE: Karnataka sees 16,068 new cases in a day; 14,152 in Maharashtra

Coronavirus live updates: India reported 132,364 fresh Covid-19 infections today, taking the caseload tally to 28,572,359. Death toll stands at 340,702. Stay tuned for corona-related news

8:10 PM

NIOS cancels class 12 exams, to evaluate students on objective criteria

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has cancelled its class 12 examination in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on Friday.

 

"Keeping the safety and security of our students on priority, NIOS cancels class 12 examinations. Students will be evaluated based on objective criteria to be announced soon. This will benefit around 1.75 lakhs students," the minister tweeted.

 

The move comes in the wake of scrapping of class 12 exams by CBSE, CISCE and several state boards.

8:03 PM

Covid LIVE: Tamil Nadu sees 22,651 new cases in a day

7:58 PM

Madhya Pradesh sees 798 Covid-19 cases, 50 deaths, 2,045 recoveries

Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 798 COVID-19 cases and 50 deaths from the infection, taking its tally to 7,83,743 and toll to 8,257, an official said.

 

The day also saw 2,045 people getting discharged, taking the state's recovery count to 7,62,597, leaving it with an active caseload of 12,889, he said.

 

"Indore's tally rose by 246 to touch 1,51,049, while that of Bhopal reached 1,21,643 after the addition of 176 cases. The toll in Indore rose by two to reach 1,351. Bhopal has so far seen 945 deaths, including four in the last 24 hours. Active cases in Indore and Bhopal stand at 2,366 and 2,559 respectively," the official informed.

7:44 PM

Maharashtra has so far reported 6,003 cases of Mucormycosis

Maharashtra has so far reported 6,003 cases of Mucormycosis. 4,024 patients are under treatment while 1,450 have recovered from the disease. 503 patients have died due to mucormycosis in the state

7:39 PM

Rajasthan reports 1,006 new Covid cases, 40 deaths in the last 24 hours

7:29 PM

Covid LIVE: Kerala sees 16,229 new cases in a day; 10,413 in Andhra

Andhra Pradesh reports 10,413 new Covid positive cases, 15,469 recoveries and 83 deaths in the last 24 hours

 

7:15 PM

Telangana logs 2,175 Covid-19 positive cases, 15 deaths

Telangana on Friday reported 2,175 COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to over 5.87 lakh, while 15 deaths took the toll to 3,346.

 

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with253, followed by Nalgonda (178) and Khammam (144), a health department bulletin said.

 

Recoveries outnumbered the number of fresh cases with 3,821 people testing negative for the virus, taking the total number to 5,53,400. Active cases stood at 30,918. The total number of cumulative cases stood at5,87,664.

7:10 PM

Goa sees 576 new Covid-19 cases; 17 casualties

With the addition of 576 new cases of coronavirus, the tally of infections in Goa reached 1,58,423 on Friday, an official from the state health department said. Apart from this, 17 patients died of the infection during the day, raising the toll to 2,727, he said.

 

The count of recoveries rose to 1,46,597 after 1,160 patients were discharged from hospitals, leaving the coastal state with 9,099 active cases, the official said.

 

With 4,086 swab samples tested during the day, the total number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 8,38,789, he added. Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 1,58,423, new cases 576, death toll 2,727, discharged 1,46,597, active cases 9,099, samples tested till date 8,38,789.

7:02 PM

WHO warns of 'failure' unless rich countries speed up Covid vaccine sharing

Wealthy countries need to give more COVID-19 vaccines and follow the United States in making doses available immediately to cover a 200 million dose gap caused by Indian supply disruptions and manufacturing delays, a WHO senior adviser said on Friday.
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Warning of a "two-track recovery", the World Health Organization is urging wealthy countries to donate their surplus doses to poorer countries instead of giving them to less vulnerable groups, such as children. They have so far donated 150 million doses via the COVAX sharing scheme. READ MORE...

6:50 PM

Kerala reports 16,229 new cases, 25,860 recoveries, 135 deaths

Kerala logged 16,229 new COVID-19 cases and 135 deaths on Friday, taking the infection count in the state to 25,71,057 and the toll to 9,510. State health minister Veena George said the state had tested 1,09,520 samples and the test positivity rate was 14.82 per cent.

 

Meanwhile, 25,860 people recuperated from the disease, taking the total cured in the state to 24,16,639.

 

"Out of those found infected today, 89 reached the state from outside while 15,160 contracted the disease through their contacts.The source of infection of 913 are yet to be traced, while 67 are health workers," the minister said in a release.

6:36 PM

Covid vaccination centre at Delhi International Airport for staff

6:35 PM

523 fresh Covid cases in Delhi; 50 deaths

Delhi recorded 523 fresh COVID-19 cases and 50 fatalities on Friday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.68 per cent, according to data shared by the health department. According to the latest health bulletin, these new fatalities pushed the death toll due to COVID-19 here to 24,497.

 

On Thursday, Delhi had recorded 487 COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily count in over two-and-a-half months and 45 fatalities.

 

This was the first time the daily death count had gone below the 50-mark since April 11 when the tally was 48. The positivity rate on Thursday had stood at 0.61 per cent. On March 16, Delhi had recorded 425 cases and on March 17, the tally was 536, according to official data.

6:29 PM

Covid LIVE: Serum CEO thanks Biden administration for 'policy change'

6:16 PM

B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 drove surge in Covid cases in last 2 months

The surge of COVID-19 cases in the country in the last two months shows a correlation with the rise in B.1.617 variant of the SARS-CoV-2, according to INSACOG, a grouping of 10 national laboratories.

 

April and May witnessed a deadly second wave of coronavirus cases that swept through the country stretching the healthcare infrastructure to its limits.

 

According to INSACOG, the B.1.1.7 lineage of the virus, which was first identified in the United Kingdom is declining in proportion across India in the last one and half month. The B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus has been named 'Alpha'. The B.1.617 lineage of SARS CoV-2 was first reported from Maharashtra but it is now seen in other states such as West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana.

6:09 PM

Covid LIVE: Delhi sees 523 new cases in a day; positivity rate at 0.68%