Coronavirus LIVE: Saudi suspends entry from 20 countries, including India

Coronavirus live updates: Globally, more than 107.8 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,363,308

3:16 PM

Philippines logs 1,734 new Covid-19 cases

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Thursday 1,734 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 543,282.

 

The death toll climbed to 11,469 after 68 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. It added 423 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 500,335.

 

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 7.7 million people since the disease emerged in January last year.

1:46 PM

SC refuses to entertain plea on preventing sale of fake COVID-19 vaccines

The Supreme Court Thursday refused to entertain a plea seeking direction to the Centre for framing "strict" guidelines to prevent any chance of sale of fake coronavirus vaccines in the country.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said that though it understood the "motivation" behind filing of the PIL, it cannot pass general directions.

 

"We understand your motivation but you file a concrete case. We cannot pass general directions. We are not the legislature," the bench told lawyer Vishal Tiwari who filed the plea in his personal capacity. "If you (lawyer) want to persue this issue, you make out a case with concrete facts. We will allow you to withdraw with liberty to file it afresh," the bench said in the hearing conducted through video-conferencing.

1:35 PM

Heineken plans to cut 8,000 jobs as Covid-19 pandemic curbs sales

Heineken NV plans to cut 8,000 jobs as the beermaker’s business with bars and restaurants suffers from pandemic-related lockdowns.

 

The staff reductions, which amount to almost a 10th of the workforce, are part of a target for ^2 billion ($2.4 billion) in gross savings through 2023, Heineken said Wednesday. About a fifth of jobs at the brewer’s headquarters are set to be eliminated in the first quarter of this year. Read on...

1:25 PM

UK records another 13,013 coronavirus cases, 1,001 deaths

Another 13,013 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,985,161, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

 

The country also reported another 1,001 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 114,851. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it is very likely that people will get a coronavirus vaccine "booster" jab in the autumn to tackle the new variants.

1:23 PM

India will do best to facilitate Covid-19 vaccines: PM Modi to Trudeau

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday assured his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of Covid vaccines sought by Canada.

 

Trudeau, who made a telephone call to the prime minister, said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, it would be significantly because of India's tremendous pharmaceutical capacity and Modi's leadership in sharing this capacity with the world, according to a Prime Minister's Office (PMO) statement. Read on...

1:18 PM

Turkey may launch production of Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19

Turkey is ready to register and start the production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in case of improved results of its toxicological tests, Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said.

 

In late January, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which promotes Sputnik V in the international market, signed an agreement with a leading Turkish pharmaceuticals developer to produce the Russian vaccine in Turkey and started the transfer of technologies. Turkey could reportedly produce millions of Sputnik V vaccine doses per year. Read on...

1:17 PM

Chinese mainland reports no new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases

No new locally transmitted confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported Wednesday across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

 

Two new confirmed cases and one suspected case arriving from outside the mainland were reported on the same day, the commission said, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

No new deaths related to the disease were reported, it added. Read on...

1:13 PM

Kerala vaccination drive: Focus now on frontline workers in 2nd phase

After inoculation of health workers in Kerala for nearly a month, the focus of the coronavirus vaccination drive shifted on Thursday to frontline workers from the revenue, police, fire and local self-government departments.

 

Kerala had opted for Oxford-AstraZeneca's 'Covishield' vaccine.

 

Speaking to the media soon after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra said that he did so to instil confidence among the public about the vaccine's safety. Read on...

12:04 PM

Covid-19: India records 12,923 fresh cases, 108 more fatalities recorded

India's Covid-19 tally has climbed to 1,08,71,294 with 12,923 fresh cases reported in a day, while the number of recoveries has surged to 1,05,73,372, the health ministry said on Thursday.

 

The death toll in the country due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,55,360 with 108 more people succumbing to it, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

11:48 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 142,562 (Net increase: 1,051)

Deaths: 155,360 (Net increase: 108)

Cured: 10,573,372 (Net increase: 11,764)

Total cases: 10,871,294 (Net increase: 12,923)

Total vaccination: 7,017,114 (Increase over previous day: 405,349)

11:47 AM

Scientists unravel what makes some people Covid-19 super-spreaders

Obesity, age, and the state of Covid-19 infection influence the number of virus particles an infected person breathes out, according to a new study which says these factors determine if a person becomes a super-spreader of the virus.

 

The observational study, published in the journal PNAS, assessed 194 healthy people and also examined the findings of an experimental study of nonhuman primates with Covid-19. Read on...

11:15 AM

DATA STORY: In second net increase in 5 days, India's active Covid cases rise by 1,051

With 405,349 more vaccine shots being administered on Wednesday, the total number of people inoculated in India has reached 7,017,114 - that is 64.55% of its total caseload, and 0.5054% of population. Read on...

9:24 AM

4,825 frontline workers administered Covid-19 vaccine shots in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday

4,825 frontline workers administered Covid-19 vaccine shots in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday: Health official

9:23 AM

South African coronavirus variant detected in California for first time

Two cases of coronavirus strains first detected in South Africa have been reported in the US State of California, said Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday (local time).

 

Both cases were identified in the Bay Area, one in Santa Clara and the other in Alameda County, CNN reported.

 

Thirty labs across the state are working to sequence genomes and potentially uncover additional cases of variants, Governor Newsom said.

8:17 AM

Chinese mainland reports no new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases

No new locally transmitted confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported Wednesday across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

 

Two new confirmed cases and one suspected case arriving from outside the mainland were reported on the same day, the commission said, the Xinhua news agency reported. Read on...