Covid LIVE: Maharashtra sees over 34,000 cases in a day; 1,350 in Mumbai

Coronavirus live updates: India reported a record of 4,529 new deaths and 267,334 fresh Covid-19 infections today, taking the caseload tally to 25,496,330. Stay tuned for corona-related news

12:37 PM

Kejriwal 'doesn't speak' for India: Govt tells Singapore about statement

The Singapore government on Wednesday conveyed to the Indian High Commissioner its strong objection to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal''s comments about a "Singapore variant" of Covid-19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

 

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Indian High Commissioner conveyed to the Singapore government that the Delhi chief minister has no competence to comment on Covid variants.

 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Delhi Chief Minister does not speak for India.

 

"Singapore Government called in our High Commissioner today to convey strong objection to Delhi CM''s tweet on "Singapore variant". High Commissioner clarified that Delhi CM had no competence to pronounce on Covid variants or civil aviation policy," Bagchi tweeted. Read on...

12:11 PM

Bihar: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav converts his government residence in Patna to Covid Care Centre

10:42 AM

West Bengal's former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya tests positive

West Bengal's former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya tests positive for Covid-19. He is under home isolation.

10:16 AM

West Bengal's former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya tests positive

West Bengal's former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya tests positive for Covid-19. He is under home isolation.

9:51 AM

Maharashtra coronavirus update: No Covid-19 vaccination in Palghar

Due to electricity failure and network issues today there will be no Covid-19 vaccination in the entire district: Palghar District Collector

9:41 AM

Corona cases in India

 

 

Active cases: 3,226,719 (Net reduction: 127,046)

Deaths: 283,248 (Net increase: 4,529)

Cured: 21,986,363 (Net increase: 389,851)

Total cases: 25,496,330 (Net increase: 267,334)

Total vaccination: 185,809,302 (Increase over previous day: 1,312,155)

9:28 AM

320,301,177 samples tested for Covid-19 up to May 18, 2021

9:15 AM

Brazil Covid cases rise by 75,445 in last 24 hours; death toll up by 2,513

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 75,445 to 15,732,836 within the past 24 hours, the national Ministry of Health said on late Tuesday.

 

According to the ministry, the death toll has risen by 2,513 to 439,050 people within the same period of time.

 

More than 14.24 million patients have recovered since the start of the outbreak.

 

A day earlier, the country confirmed more than 29,000 new coronavirus cases, with 786 fatalities. Read on...

8:53 AM

Global Covid-19 caseload tops 163.9 mn; deaths surge to more than 3.39 mn

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 163.9 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.39 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

In its latest update on Wednesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 163,946,965 and 3,399,045, respectively.

 

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 32,996,565 and 587,199, respectively, according to the CSSE. Read on...

8:50 AM

Bihar coronavirus update: Villages in Sakra Block of Muzaffarpur wears a deserted look

Villages in Sakra Block of Muzaffarpur wears a deserted look as people avoid going out on streets amid Covid-19 pandemic. Sarpanch says that 36 deaths have occurred in 27 days here due to cough and cold.

8:45 AM

Covid-19 crisis: Over no response, states relax global vaccine tender norms

Having received no response in the initial round of global tenders floated to procure Covid-19 vaccines, states like Uttar Pradesh and the civic body of Mumbai are now relaxing the criteria for procurement. This comes even as a few more states like West Bengal and Bihar are considering floating similar tenders.

 

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said they have extended the bid by one week. “We have extended the bid date by one week. We have received some queries. To increase broad participation we extended the expression of interest (EoI) date by a week to May 25,” the official said. Read on...

8:16 AM

Nepal confirms presence of third B.1.617.2 variant of coronavirus

After confirming two variants of coronavirus, Nepal on Tuesday confirmed that there were cases of third variant B.1.617.2 in the country.

 

Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population said three variants of the virus have been detected.

 

"B.1.617.2 is the new variant seen in India while B.1.617.1 is the one seen in the UK. Earlier last year, Nepal reported the variant arising from China. With this, three variants of virus have been detected," Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikari, Assistant Spokesperson for ministry stated in release. Read on...

8:05 AM

J&J working with Telangana-based company to manufacture Covid vaccine

US pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson has joined hands with Biological E Limited (Telangana-based pharma company) for the manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine, as per an official statement on Tuesday.

 

The company's vaccine named, Janssen Covid-19 vaccine is currently approved for use in the United States, the European Union and other nations including Thailand and South Africa.

 

"Johnson & Johnson is working with Biological E. Limited on the manufacturing of the Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. We believe Biological E. will be an important part of our global COVID-19 vaccine supply network, where multiple manufacturing sites are involved in the production of our vaccine across different facilities, sometimes in different countries and continents, before the vaccine can be distributed", read an official statement by Johnson and Johnson. Read on...

7:46 AM

Technology helped this doctor and his team treat 20,000 Covid-19 patients

Tucked away in a lane on Gangapur Road in Nashik, an ancient holy city in Maharashtra, is Vijay Nursing Home. The parking area there has been converted into an open-space facility with a tent to treat Covid-19 patients. This helps to maintain adequate airflow and ensures limited spread of infection at the facility.

 

Dr Atul Vadgaonkar, who runs the healthcare centre, and his team of doctors divide their time in various shifts to treat patients. The burden of Covid-19 on health systems and healthcare workers is substantial in India. This includes the personal risk of infection, fear of transmission to family members and exhaustion. Read on...

7:01 AM

Remdesivir may be dropped soon for treatment of Covid patients: Dr Rana

Ganga Ram hospital Chairperson Dr DS Rana on Tuesday said that Remdesivir is also being considered to be dropped from Covid-19 treatment soon as there is no evidence of its effectiveness in treating Covid-19 patients.

 

This move comes after, the use of convalescent plasma has been dropped from the recommended treatment protocols for Covid-19, according to advisory from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Read on...