Coronavirus LIVE: 6,185 new Covid-19 cases in Kerala in past 24 hours

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,886,807, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 903,425, Andhra Pradesh 876,336, Tamil Nadu 801,161, and Kerala 677,255

9:12 AM

Over 100,000 sign up for coronavirus vaccine in Saudi on Day 1 of registration

Over 100,000 people in Saudi Arabia have signed up for the coronavirus vaccination on the opening day of vaccination registration, the Saudi Health Ministry said.

 

"Up until now, 100,546 people have signed up through the application on... smartphones to receive the coronavirus vaccine," the ministry said in a statement.

 

On Tuesday, the Saudi Ministry of Health announced the beginning of registration for the coronavirus vaccination. The vaccine will primarily be available to people over 65, those at risk of becoming infected as a result of their professional activities, or those with chronic diseases. Read on...

9:07 AM

Chinese mainland reports no new locally transmitted Covid case

The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported no new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday.

 

A total of 12 imported Covid-19 cases were reported across the mainland on Tuesday, the commission said in its daily report, Xinhua reported.

 

One new suspected case arriving from outside the mainland was reported in Shandong. No new deaths related to the disease were reported.

 

A total of nine Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery in the Chinese mainland on Tuesday.

9:05 AM

The virus trains: How unplanned lockdown chaos spread Covid-19 across India

The crowds surged through the gates, fought their way up the stairs of the 160-year-old station, poured across the platforms and engulfed the trains.

 

It was May 5, around 10 a.m. Surat was beastly hot, 106 degrees. Thousands of migrant laborers were frantic to leave — loom operators, diamond polishers, mechanics, truck drivers, cooks, cleaners, the backbone of Surat’s economy. Two of them were Rabindra and Prafulla Behera, brothers and textile workers, who had arrived in Surat a decade ago in search of opportunity and were now fleeing disease and death. Read on...

8:59 AM

Nitish Kumar government approves free coronavirus vaccine for all in Bihar

In line with its poll promise, the Nitish Kumar government on Tuesday approved a proposal for providing free anti-coronavirus vaccine to all the people of the state. The decision was taken at the first meeting of the cabinet.
 

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that Bihar would be given free vaccines against Covid-19 during the state polls.

 

8:52 AM

Bank of Japan to buy $6 billion in cash to combat potential market turmoil

The Bank of Japan has decided to tap $6 billion in cash from a government account in a rare arrangement to ensure it has enough ammunition to combat any market disruptions caused by a recent resurgence in coronavirus infections.

 

Under the arrangement announced on Wednesday, the central bank will buy dollar cash from the Ministry of Finance any time through to the end of March next year at the prevailing market exchange rate at the time. Read on...

7:31 AM

Major rise in domestic violence during Covid, many gains could be reversed

More than a quarter of the women surveyed in seven states said they had experienced domestic violence, data released in the first phase of the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) indicate.

 

Nine states reported an increase in the number of women who said they had faced sexual violence as children, and eight states reported a decline in their sex ratios. A marginally higher share of women said they had worked in the last year and were paid in cash--and not in kind--but the numbers could be misleading, experts say. Read on...