Covid LIVE: Tamil Nadu sees record 36,184 new cases; 29,644 in Maharashtra

Coronavirus live updates: The country vaccinated 1,482,754 people in Thursday to take the total to 191,879,503.

12:53 PM

Pune company to launch home-testing kit on June 1

Mylab Discovery Solution will stock one crore home test kits that the government has approved for detecting Covid-19 at home. One kit costs Rs 250 and gives symptomatic patients results in 15 minutes. The Pune-based company said the kit will be rolled out nationally on June 1, PTI reported quoting an executive.

12:30 PM

Kerala to give free food to migrant workers

Kerala government will give migrant workers in the state 70,000 free food kits a lockdown continues to slow down Covid-19 cases. As many as 1,88,945 migrant workers have been identified in the organised and unorganised sectors for the kits, PTI reported.

12:03 PM

Puducherry reports 1,702 new cases

Puducherry reported 1,702 new coronavirus cases and 26 deaths from the disease. The 1,702 new infections took the overall tally in the union territory to 93,167, PTI reported.

11:40 AM

Mizoram's total cases rise to 9,740

Mizoram on Friday reported 296 new Covid-19 cases to take the total tally to 9,740, PTI reported quoting a health department official. It was the state’s most number of cases in day. The death toll is unchanged at 30.

11:19 AM

High Court pulls up Uttarakhand govt

The Uttarakhand High Court has blamed the state government for not ensuring that Covid-19 protocols were followed while holding religious events like Kumbh Mela and Char Dham Yatra. "First we make the mistake of Kumbh Mela, then there is Char Dham. Why do we repeatedly cause embarrassment to ourselves?" the court said as it heard a While hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

10:57 AM

Odisha reports highest single-day spike

Odisha on Friday reported the highest single-day spike of 12,523 new Covid-19 cases and a record 27 more deaths, PTI reported quoting a Health Department. The new cases were recorded after testing 61,665 samples on Thursday, taking the positivity rate to 20.30 per cent.

10:28 AM

India's recovery rate for Covid-19 cases improves

India's active cases—people being treated for Covid-19, reduced to 30,27,925 and comprise 11.63 per cent of the total infections. The national recovery rate improved to 87.25 per cent, PTI reported quoting the health ministry’s numbers.

10:04 AM

India's daily death toll in pandemic stays above 4,000

9:45 AM

UK cases of Covid variant from India more than double in week

The number of UK cases of a coronavirus variant from India more than doubled for a second week as authorities also monitor a new mutation of the virus, adding fresh doubt to U.K. plans to fully unlock the economy. Health officials have now detected 3,424 cases of the B1.617.2 variant, also known as VOC-21APR-02, Bloomberg reported quoting a Public Health England statement.

9:20 AM

Karnataka to resume vaccinations for 18-44 age

Karnataka will resume vaccinations for people in the 18-44 years age group from Saturday, PTI reported. Frontline warriors will be the first to receive the jabs. Eight days ago, the state government had suspended vaccinations for the age group due to supplies.

9:04 AM

Govt's privatisation plans run into Covid-19

India’s government is battling "unknown factors" as it moves with its plan to privatise state-owned companies. A civil servant told Business Standard the government will carry on with its plans. With over three quarters of the financial year still left, the government is hopeful to complete the transactions we have listed in the budget, the official said.

8:15 AM

Argentina tightens lockdown

Argentina will impose a stricter lockdown for nine days as cases and deaths have shot up in recent weeks. President Alberto Fernandez announced that all non-essential, in-person activities are suspended from Saturday, including schools, sports, churches and social gatherings, Bloomberg reported.

7:22 AM

Singapore reports 41 new cases: Media

Singapore has reported 41 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the total number of infections in the nation to 61,730. Singapore also reported the death of a 70-year-old person in the last 24 hours due to coronavirus, PTI said quoting the The Strait Times.

7:00 AM

IMF says it will 'scale up' collaboration with India

The International Monetary Fund says it is ready to strengthen dialogue and scale up technical collaboration with India. “Our great sympathies and support to the people of India, and what is happening there relative to the pandemic, to those who have lost their lives and are suffering as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” said a spokesperson for the agency in Washington, according to PTI.

6:25 AM

Jharkhand coronavirus update: 2,056 new positive cases reported

Jharkhand reports 2,056 new positive cases, 4,326 recoveries and 60 deaths in the last 24 hours.

 

Total positive cases: 3,24,884

Active cases: 26,511