Coronavirus LIVE: India to fulfill world's 70% vaccine needs, says Shah

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Globally, more than 106.3 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,318,841

1:26 AM

South Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccinations over variant data

South Africa will suspend use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 shot in its vaccination programme after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild to moderate infection caused by the country's dominant coronavirus variant.
 

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday the government would await advice from scientists on how best to proceed, after disappointing results in a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand.
 

The government had intended to roll the AstraZeneca shot out to healthcare workers soon, after receiving 1 million doses produced by the Serum Institute of India on Monday.
 

Instead, it will offer vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks while experts consider how the AstraZeneca shot can be deployed.
 

"What does that mean for our vaccination programme which we said will start in February? The answer is it will proceed," Mkhize told an online news briefing.
 

"From next week for the next four weeks we expect that there will be J&J vaccines, there will be Pfizer vaccines. So what will be available to the health workers will be those vaccines." "The AstraZeneca vaccine will remain with us ... up until the scientists give us clear indications as to what we need to do," he added.

1:26 AM

UP: Residential schools to reopen for Classes 9-12 from Feb 9

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday directed all residential schools to reopen for Classes 9-12 from February 9.
 

The residential schools include Jawahar Navodaya vidyalayas, Sainik schools, Rajkiye Ashram Padhati vidyalayas and other schools.
 

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said the decision has been taken to regularise the academic session, hit by the coronavirus pandemic, in the interest of the students as well as in view of the upcoming board examinations.
 

He said strict coronavirus protocol should be maintained by school authorities while resuming classes in their institutions.
 

8:52 PM

2,673 new COVID-19 cases in Maha; 1,622 recuperate, 30 die

Maharashtra recorded 2,673 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, which took its infection tally to 20,44,071, while 30 deaths pushed the toll to 51,310, the state health department said.

A total of 1,622patients were discharged during the day, which improved the recovery count to 19,55,548, it said.

There are 35,948 active cases in the state at present, the department said in a release.

As 49,553 coronavirus tests were conducted on Sunday, the total test count reached 1,49,77,683.

8:49 PM

India managed to keep its Covid-19 losses to minimum :Javadekar

Despite its huge population, India has succeeded in keeping its "coronavirus-related losses to a minimum" compared to the USA and other European countries, Union minister Praksh Javadekar said here on Sunday.

Speaking after flagging off a vehicle campaign aimed at dispelling rumours about COVID-19 vaccines, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said more than 50 lakh healthcare and frontline workers have been inoculated since the vaccination drive began on January 16.

This campaign will also spread awareness about the government's efforts towards achieving the aim of the "aatmanirbhar Bharat".

7:52 PM

Kerala adds 6,075 new cases to its coronavirus tally

Kerala reported 6,075 Covid-19 positives on Sunday, including a UK returnee, taking the total caseload to 9.68 lakh as the active cases touched 67,650, the stategovernment said.

As many as 5,948 have been cured of the illness and the recoveries have so far touched8.96 lakh, Health Minister K K Shailaja said in a release.

The total number of cases in the southern state is 9,68,438.

7:36 PM

India set to fulfil world's 70% Covid-19 vaccine needs: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said India is set to fulfil 70 per cent of the world's coronavirus vaccine needs and two vaccines are currently being exported to 14 countries.

He said the Modi government has worked to upgrade the health infrastructure in the country in the last six-and-a- half years.

Speaking at the inauguration of a private medical college, Shah also said that 55 lakh people in the country have been given COVID-19 vaccine in the last 21 days and the Centre is working to expedite vaccination process.

"India is set to fulfil 70 per cent of the world's coronavirus vaccine needs. Two vaccines are being exported to 14 countries," he said.

According to him, four more vaccines are in the pipeline.

7:27 PM

Covid-19: One death, 113 new cases recorded in UP

The Covid-19 death toll in Uttar Pradesh rose to 8,687 on Sunday with one more fatality, the lowest in many months of the pandemic, while 113 new cases pushed the infection count to 6,01,385, an official statement issued here said.

The lone Covid-19 death was reported from the state's Bahraich district, the statement issued by the Uttar Pradesh government said.

In the past 24 hours, 670 Covid-19 patients have recovered from the disease, taking the overall recoveries to 5,88,818, it said.

6:50 PM

Which Covid-19 tests are required for international travel?

In an effort to limit the spread of new coronavirus variants, many countries are requiring incoming travelers to show a recent negative test.

The US, for example, will accept results from either a test that detects the genetic material of the virus considered the most sensitive type of test or a rapid test that looks for viral proteins called antigens. The tests must have been taken no more than three days before departing for the U.S.

Health professionals usually give more sensitive lab tests via a nasal swab that take a day or more to yield results.

Rapid tests have a turnaround time of about 15 to 30 minutes and are increasingly used to screen people at testing sites, offices, schools and nursing homes. For some rapid tests, users can swab themselves at home.

6:40 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 73 Covid-19 cases, tally goes past 8.88 lakh

Andhra Pradesh recorded 73 fresh coronavirus cases taking the aggregate to over 8.88 lakh while nodeath was reportedin 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday.

The state also reported 82 more recoveries, a health department bulletin said.

With 33,980 tests, the total number of tests conducted stood at over 1.33 croreso far in the state.

6:29 PM

6075 new Covid-19 cases, 5948 recoveries reported in Kerala today

5:28 PM

COVID-19: Bangladesh kicks off countrywide vaccination drive

Bangladesh on Sunday launched its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive with lawmakers along with top administration and health officials taking the first shots of the vaccine.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque, who inaugurated the campaign at a virtual event at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) here, urged people not to spread propaganda against the vaccine, saying it is safe and has no side effects, Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

Lawmakers and top administration and health officials took the first shots of vaccine, the report said.

However, there have been tepid responses from vaccine seekers in the country, it said.

4:18 PM

27% of healthcare workers in Kashmir have antibodies: Covid sero survey

A sero survey conducted in various hospitals of the Kashmir Valley has found that around 27 per cent of the healthcare workers have antibodies against COVID-19.

 

"A sero prevalence study was conducted by Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar among healthcare providers of the Kashmir Division in January to detect SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies," said Muhammad Salim Khan, head of community medicine at GMC.

4:00 PM

Business confidence improves with rollout of vaccines: Think tank NCAER

The Business Confidence Index (BCI) developed by the Delhi-based economic think tank NCAER rose 29.6 per cent between second and third quarter of the current financial year on the back of rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in different countries, including India.

 

The proportion of respondents expecting that 'overall economic conditions will improve in the next six months' increased by 4.8 percentage points, from 29.8 per cent in 202021:Q2 to 34.6 per cent in 202021:Q3, said the NCAER's Business Expectations Survey (BES).

 

The proportion of respondents expecting that the 'financial position of firms will improve in the next six months' increased by 3.1 percentage points, from 27.7 per cent in 202021:Q2 to 30.8 per cent in 202021:Q3. Read on...

3:21 PM

Covid-19: India now 3rd topmost country to give highest doses of vaccine

India has become the third topmost country in the world in terms of the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, the Union Health Ministry said onSunday.

Only the United States and the United Kingdom remain ahead of India.

The ministry said12 states in India have vaccinated more than 2 lakh beneficiaries each. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 6,73,542 of all vaccinated beneficiaries.

Till February 7, 8 am, a total of 57.75 lakh beneficiaries have received thevaccine under the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination exercise.

3:07 PM

Israel eases restrictions 6 weeks after lockdown

Israel has started to ease restrictions nearly six weeks after entering its third nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Some businesses began reopening on Sunday and people are now allowed to move more than a kilometer (half a mile) from their homes. But schools remain shuttered and international flights are severely restricted.

Israel instituted its third national lockdown in late December as new infections spiralled out of control. Israel has recorded over 686,000 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic last year and 5,074 deaths, according to Health Ministry figures.