Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai reports 529 cases in a day; 1,470 in Bengaluru

Coronavirus live updates: India records 70,421 new cases, 3,921 deaths in the last 24 hours. Delhi lifts lockdown, while Haryana and Uttarakhand extend it. Stay tuned for corona-related news

9:04 AM

Corona update: Karnataka sees 7,810 new cases

Karnataka reports 7810 new Covid-19 cases, 18,648 recoveries and 125 deaths in the last 24 hours.

 

Total cases 27,65,134  

Total recoveries 25,51,365

Death toll 32,913

Active cases 1,80,835

9:00 AM

Haryana records 43 deaths, 339 fresh coronavirus cases

Haryana on Sunday reported 43 Covid-related deaths taking the cumulative fatality toll to 8,992 while 339 fresh infections pushed the total case count to 765,861.

 

According to the health department's daily bulletin, the latest deaths include six each from Hisar and Panipat and five from Sirsa.

 

Meanwhile, among the districts, Sirsa reported 33 cases while 31 cases were from Palwal.

8:44 AM

In India's pandemic, the rich buy luxury cars and the poor lose their homes

Mercedes-Benz AG recently introduced its Maybach sport utility vehicle in India--right in the middle of a fierce second wave of the pandemic. The 50 cars the German automaker wanted to sell by the end of 2021 were lapped up in a month. It turns out that just as the rich were scrambling to own these $400,000 wheels, annual per capita income was sliding below $2,000, with the country falling behind neighboring Bangladesh.

 

Emerging economies have historically tolerated higher inequality, hoping to hit the inflection point in the Kuznets curve, beyond which incomes keep rising but disparities fall. Whatever the merits of the controversial hypothesis, the gap opened up by Covid-19 is no price of progress. The situation that India finds itself in today--brisk sales of luxury cars and soaring net worth for billionaires amid widespread joblessness and depleted savings--reflects a lack of fiscal imagination. The state’s reluctance to do more could prove costly. Poor households ate less last year, and economists are warning of another wave of intense food deprivation. Read on...

8:16 AM

Goa extends curfew till June 21

he coronavirus-induced curfew in Goa was on Sunday extended till June 21 as the positivity rate in the state stood at 14 per cent, an official said.

 

The curfew was first imposed on May 9 and has been extended several times since then, as the state witnessed its positivity rate reaching a high of 51 per cent before dipping gradually to the level now, he added.

 

While essential services are exempt from the curfew, casinos, bars, restaurants, shops, river cruises, schools, colleges, educational institutions etc will remain shut, and social, sports, cultural and academic functions would be prohibited.

8:02 AM

British PM wants further probe into virus origin

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain wants further investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Speaking at the end of the Group of Seven summit in southwest England, Johnson says that while it doesn't look as if this particular disease came from a lab, the world needs to “keep an open mind.” Though the notion was once dismissed by most public health experts and government officials, the hypothesis that Covid-19 leaked accidentally from a Chinese lab is now under a new US investigation ordered by President Joe Biden.

 

The G-7 leaders endorsed calls for a “timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based” further investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

 

Many scientists still believe the virus most likely jumped from animals to humans.

7:58 AM

AstraZeneca shots have good risk-benefit profile for over 60s, says EMA official

The head of the EU drug regulator's Covid-19 task force said on Sunday that AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine had a favourable risk-benefit profile for all age groups and particularly for those aged over 60.

 

Italian newspaper La Stampa earlier quoted European Medicines Agency (EMA) task force chief Marco Cavaleri as saying countries should avoid giving the vaccine to people aged over 60 in addition to younger age groups, amid fears over very rare blood clotting and as alternative vaccines become available.

7:57 AM

Lockdown restrictions to be eased in 19 districts of Karnataka from June 14

Karnataka will begin the unlock process from Monday as Covid-19 cases started showing a declining trend in the state, except for 11 districts.

 

The state government had imposed stringent restrictions on April 27 to contain the spread of coronavirus cases.

 

According to a government order, the restrictions have been relaxed from 6 am to 2 pm in 19 districts instead of existing 6 am to 10 am.

 

However, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Davangere, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Bengaluru Rural, Mandya, Belagavi and Kodagu the restrictions will be relaxed from 6 am to 10 am only as the cases are still on the higher side.

7:54 AM

Zydus Cadila may soon seek emergency use authorisation for Covid-19 vaccine

Zydus Cadila may soon seek emergency use authorization (EUA) for its DNA-plasmid technology-based Covid-19 vaccine from India’s drug regulator. If approved, this would be the first DNA-plasmid vaccine in the world.

 

This could also be India’s first vaccine for children aged 12 years and above as the company has conducted trials on the age group. The decision, however, lies with the regulator.

 

India has three Covid vaccines already — Covaxin (Bharat Biotech), Covishield (Serum Institute), and SputnikV (DRL). Sources in the government and the company confirmed that the Ahmedabad-based firm may seek an emergency use authorization from the Drug Controller General of India in around a week. “The data analysis from the phase 3 trials is almost ready. The company may soon seek EUA for its vaccine,” a government official said. Read on...

7:50 AM

Iran coronavirus update: 8,195 new cases, 3,028,717 in total reported

Iran reported on Sunday 8,195 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total infections to 3,028,717.

 

The pandemic has so far claimed 82,098 lives in Iran, up by 187 in the past 24 hours, the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education said in a briefing published on the ministry's official website.

 

A total of 2,652,792 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 3,445 remain in intensive care units, the ministry said.

 

The report added that 21,563,119 tests have so far been carried out across the country.By Sunday, 4,327,533 people have received coronavirus vaccines in Iran, and 827,106 have taken both doses. Read on...