Coronavirus LIVE: Covid-19 situation in Delhi stabilising, says NITI Aayog

Coronavirus live updates: At 18,55,341, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 894,004, Andhra Pradesh 872,288, Tamil Nadu 791,552, and Kerala 639,664

7:09 PM

Delhi reports 3,188 new Covid-19 cases, 3,307 recoveries and 57 deaths today

6:32 PM

Odisha reports 349 new coronavirus cases, six more deaths

Odisha reported 349 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the tally to 3,21,913, a Health Department official said. Six more deaths raised the state's toll to 1,784. Of the new cases, 198 were reported from different quarantine centres. Sundergarh district recorded the highest 46 new cases, followed by Khurda (44) and Angul (26).

 

While two deaths were reported from the Puri district, one patient each died in Jharsuguda, Khurda, Sambalpur and Sundergarh. There are 3,629 active cases in the state at present, while 3,16,447 patients have so far recovered. The state has altogether tested 62.14 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 32,184 on Monday. Odisha's positivity rate is 5.18 per cent, as per data released by the Health Department.

6:04 PM

Uttar Pradesh's Covid-19 death toll rises to 7,967

With 23 COVID-19 fatalities reported in Uttar Pradesh, the death toll due to the viral disease rose to 7,967 while 1,824 fresh cases raised the caseload in the state to 5,58,173, official data showed.

 

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the state government said out of the 23 fresh deaths, state capital Lucknow reported four deaths, followed by two deaths each in Kanpur, Varanasi, Shahjahanpur and Basti. Among the fresh cases, Lucknow topped the chart with 233 cases followed by 187 in Ghaziabad, 148 in Meerut, 126 in Varanasi and 114 in Gautam Buddh Nagar, the statement said.

 

In the past 24 hours, as many as 2,111 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the disease, and have been discharged. Till now, 5,28,832 COVID-19 patients have been discharged in the state. The count of active cases in the state stands at 21,374. In the last 24 hours, over 1.67 lakh samples have been tested in the state.

5:47 PM

Husband-wife first Indian-origin recipients of Covid-19 vaccine in UK

An 87-year-old man and his 83-year-old wife from the north east of England on Tuesday became the first Indian-origin couple in the world to get a vaccine against COVID-19, after they got injected with their first of two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab at a hospital in Newcastle. Dr Hari Shukla, a race relations campaigner based in Tyne and Wear, had been contacted by the National Health Service (NHS) based on the criteria set for the world's first vaccine to receive regulatory approvals in the UK last week.

 

His wife, Ranjan, then volunteered for the jab as she also falls within the first phase of people aged 80 and over, care home workers as well as NHS workers at high risk eligible to receive the "life-saving jab".

 

"Hari Shukla and his wife Ranjan have become the first two patients at Newcastle Hospitals and two of the first people in the world to receive the COVID-19 vaccine," Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said.

5:35 PM

Current cold chain capable of storing first lot of 3 crore Covid-19 vaccines for healthcare workers: Health Ministry

5:25 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Covid-19 situation in Delhi stabilising, says NITI Aayog

5:06 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 551 fresh Covid-19 cases, tally 8.72 lakh

Continuing the declining trend, Andhra Pradesh reported 551 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, pushing the gross positives to 8.72 lakh. The latest bulletin said 744 patients had recovered in 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday, making it a total of 8,60,368 so far. The state reported four fresh Covid-19 deaths in a day, taking the total to 7,042.

 

The number of active cases fell further to 5,429.

 

Only Krishna district continued to report a higher daily caseload as 108 fresh cases were added in 24 hours. The four other hotspot districts of Chittoor, East Godavari, Guntur and West Godavari, added between 50 and 100 each. The eight remaining districts reported below 50 new cases each, with Kurnool (3) and Anantapuramu (8) logging only a single digit score. In fact, Kurnool now has only 79 active cases, the lowest in the state and going by the trend it may soon be fully rid of the pandemic, health department authorities say.

4:40 PM

Covid-19 vaccination has to be people’s participation: Health Ministry

4:15 PM

Coronavirus Vaccine: Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech applied to Emergency Use Approval

3:52 PM

India's Covid-19 active caseload at 3.83 lakh, falls under 4% mark

India's COVID-19 active caseload has fallen below 4 per cent of the total infections reported so far, whilethe new recoveries outnumbering the daily new cases has improved the national recovery rate to 94.59 per cent as on date, the Union Health Ministry said. The active cases have drastically declined to 3.83 lakh. The total positive cases of the country are 3,83,866 and comprise 3.96 per centof the total caseload.

 

With a high number of COVID-19 patients recovering every day and the sustained fall in the mortality rate, India's steady trend of registering a dip in active cases continues, the ministry said.

 

"India has achieved a significant milestone in its fight against COVID.The new confirmed cases in a span of 24 hours have fallen below 27,000 (26,567) for the first time after nearly 5 months," the ministry said.

The new cases were 26,506 last on July 10. A total of 39,045 new recoveries were registered in a span of 24 hours. It has led to a net decline of 12,863 cases from the total active caseload in a day The total recovered cases have surged to91,78,946.

2:46 PM

15 new Covid-19 cases in Andamans; tally rises to 4,773

Andaman and Nicobar Islands COVID-19 tally rose to 4,773 as 15 more people tested positive for the virus, a health department official said on Tuesday. Of the 15 fresh cases, four were detected during contact tracing, while 11 have travel history, he said.

 

Seven more persons were cured of the disease on Tuesday, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,631, the official said. The Union Territory now has 81 active cases, while 61 people have so far died due to the infection, he said. The Andaman and Nicobar administration has conducted 1,40,961 sample tests for COVID-19 so far, he added.

2:36 PM

India in advantageous position with huge skilled workforce for post Covid-19 world

Observing that overcoming challenges in the post COVID-19 world and keeping up with the emerging trends is crucial for businesses, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was in an advantageous position with its huge pool of skilled workforce. In a written message to the three-day TiE Global Summit (TGS) being held virtually, Modi said over the last six and of years, the government has injected a new spirit through wide- ranging reforms in policies and governance and as a force multiplier, technology has been making a positive impact in lives of crores of people.

 

"Overcoming the challenges in the post COVID-19 world and keeping up with the emerging trends and opportunities is crucial for the businesses and enterprises to stay relevant.

 

In such a scenario India finds itself in an advantageous position with its huge pool of skilled workforce and demographic potential," he said in the message.

2:20 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Italy reports 13,679 new Covid-19 cases

Italy reported 13,679 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, which increased the overall infection tally to 1,742,557, according to the Health Ministry. Besides the new cases on Monday, the Ministry also confirmed 528 new fatalities in the same period, that took the death toll to 60,606, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Earlierm Health Minister Roberto Speranza said that a national coronavirus vaccination campaign will see the first tranche of 202 million doses to be distributed to some 40 million people in the first quarter of 2021. Unveiling the plan, Speranza explained that the vaccination would be free and voluntary.

 

"Our goal is to start with no obligation, but with persuasion and information in order to reach the herd immunity with about 40 million Italians," he told lawmakers.

2:07 PM

Less than 400 new Covid-19 deaths India in the last 24 hours: Health Ministry

1:44 PM

First patient in UK receives Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

A 90-year-old woman from Northern Ireland on Tuesday become the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine - marking the start of the UK's mass vaccination programme.

 

Margaret Keenan, from Enniskillen, said she felt "so privileged" to receive the jab at University Hospital, Coventry. Keenan become the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outside trial conditions, the BBC reported.

 

Since the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine got the green light from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) last week, the National Health Service said its workers have been working around the clock to manage the large-scale logistical challenge of deploying the vaccine.