Coronavirus LIVE: 25,833 new cases in Maharashtra, highest since outbreak

Coronavirus live updates: Covid-19 positive cases rise unabated across the globe with 121,987,124

11:37 AM

Delhi records 536 Covid-19 cases in a day

Yesterday, 536 Covid-19 cases reported. Positivity rate in Delhi is 0.66%. Compared to other states, situation in Delhi is under control. The testing rate is 5% more than the national average. People shouldn't be careless & wear masks as much as possible: Delhi Health Minister

11:22 AM

Maharashtra coronavirus update: All government schools, colleges, hostels and private schools in Palghar shut

Maharashtra | All government schools, colleges, hostels and private schools in Palghar District to remain closed till further orders: Palghar Collector, Dr Manik Gursal

11:15 AM

No question Trump's Covid rhetoric fed anti-Asian bias, says White House

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday (local time) that former President Donald Trump's rhetoric around the coronavirus pandemic -- calling COVID-19 the "ChinaVirus" -- has contributed to discrimination against Asian Americans. The comments come in the wake of Tuesday's shootings in and around Atlanta that left several Asian women dead.

 

"I think there's no question that some of the damaging rhetoric that we saw during the prior administration calling COVID the "Wuhan virus" or other things led to perceptions of the Asian American community that are inaccurate, unfair, have raised, you know, threatening -- has elevated threats against Asian Americans. And we're seeing that around the country," Psaki said during a daily press briefing at The White House. Read on...

10:57 AM

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to hold a review meeting with concerned officials over rising Covid-19 cases

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to hold a review meeting with the Health Minister, Health Secretary and other concerned officials, over rising Covid-19 cases in the national capital. - Satyendar Jain, Delhi Health Minister

10:38 AM

Gujarat coronavirus update: All gardens, parks in Ahmedabad closed for the public

Gujarat: All gardens and parks in Ahmedabad closed for the public from today till further orders, due to a rise in Covid-19 cases

10:23 AM

Maharashtra coronavirus update: 3,639,989 people vaccinated so far

Maharashtra coronavirus update: 3,639,989 people vaccinated so far

10:13 AM

Need 'quick, decisive' steps to stop second Covid-19 wave: Modi tells CMs

In a first such warning against an emerging second peak of Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to take quick and decisive steps to check the spread of the virus. In an urgently called video-conference meeting, chief ministers were told to adopt the test, track and treat strategy to stop a new Covid wave. “While we do not want to create any panic, we have to take steps to rid ourselves of this trouble,” Modi said, adding that the country needs the same seriousness as last year. Read on...

9:47 AM

Covid-19 reinfections rare, but senior citizens vulnerable: Study

People who have recovered from a Covid-19 infection are likely to be protected from reinfection for at least six months, but according to a study published on Wednesday, that protection drops dramatically for people over the age of 65.

 

According to The Hill, The study -- which was published in The Lancet titled 'Assessment of protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 among 4 million PCR-tested individuals in Denmark in 2020: a population-level observational study' -- found that protection in the general population to be 80 per cent or higher in those younger than 65, but approximately 47 per cent in those aged 65 years and older, meaning they were more likely to be infected again.

 

"We found protection in the population to be 80% or higher in those younger than 65 years but to be approximately 47% in those aged 65 years and older. We did not see signs of waning protection against repeat infection within the year 2020," the scientists said in the discussion of the research paper.

9:45 AM

Coronavirus India update: Summary of March 18 data by MoHFW

Active cases: 252,364 (Net increase: 17,958)

Deaths: 159,216 (Net increase: 172)

Cured: 11,063,025 (Net increase: 17,741)

Total cases: 11,474,605 (Net increase: 35,871)

Total vaccination: 37,143,255 (Increase over previous day: 2,078,719)

9:17 AM

Section 144 extended till May 10 in UP's Ghaziabad to curb spread of Covid

In view of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, the administration here announced on Wednesday that the prohibitory orders issued under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will remain in force in the district till May 10.

 

Guidelines have been issued for multiplexes, shopping malls, educational institutes and hotels. Shopkeepers have been asked not to entertain customers who do not wear face masks.

 

District Magistrate (DM) Ajay Shankar Pandey told PTI that the orders were issued to curb the spread of the virus. Read on...

9:15 AM

Coronavirus in Gujarat: Bus ops to remain suspended from today until further orders

Gujarat: Due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) and Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System buses operation to remain suspended from today until further orders.

8:46 AM

China approves another vaccine against coronavirus for emergency use

China has approved the emergency use of a self-developed recombinant protein subunit vaccine against Covid-19, its main developer, the Institute of Microbiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said on Wednesday.

 

The vaccine (CHO Cells) completed phase-1 and phase-2 clinical trials in October 2020. Results support the safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine, with no severe adverse reactions reported.

 

The level of neutralising antibody elicited by the vaccine is comparable to other Covid-19 recombinant protein vaccines and mRNA vaccines in the world, according to an institute statement, the Xinhua news agency reported. Read on...

8:45 AM

Over 4.2 million people in Turkey receive second dose of Covid vaccine

More than 4.2 million Turkish people have received their second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech, the Turkish Health Ministry announced on Wednesday.

 

So far, over 12.2 million doses have been administered in total as part of the ongoing nationwide vaccination campaign, according to the data released on the ministry's website.

 

The number of people who received their first doses hit 7.9 million, the Xinhua news agency reported. Read on...

8:41 AM

Coronavirus update: Noida Police imposes restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC between March 17 and April 30

Noida Police imposes restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC between March 17 and April 30 as a precautionary measure in view of upcoming festivals and Covid-19

 

7:55 AM

Covishield safe, Covid-19 vaccination drive to go on with vigour: Govt

Even as concerns rise across the globe on the safety of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, India has found it safe, saying the nationwide inoculation drive can continue. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine — called Covishield in India — is manufactured in the country by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker by volume.

 

A senior member of the national Adverse Events Follo­wing Immunisation (AEFI) committee said that of the 38 autopsy reports they have studied of people who died after vaccination, they found nothing to link the deaths or adverse events to vaccination. “There are 71 deaths. We have received 38 autopsy reports so far. There is nothing to suggest that these were linked to vaccination,” said the person who has been a part of the AEFI committee since 2008. Read on...