Covid LIVE: EU regulator OKs Pfizer vaccine booster for 18 and older

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Kerala recorded 12,297 cases, Maharashtra 2,692, Delhi 33, Karnataka 664, Tamil Nadu 1,531 cases in the last 24 hours. Stay tuned for corona updates

12:56 AM

70% India's adult population administered first dose of vaccine: Mandaviya

Seventy percent of India's adult population has been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday as the total doses given across the country crossed 91 crore.

 

According to officials, 25 percent of the adult population has been administered both doses.

 

"Strong Nation, Rapid Vaccination: India has administered the first dose of #COVID19 vaccine on 70% of the population. Under PM @NarendraModiji, India is achieving new landmarks in the fight against the pandemic. Keep it up India, let us fight Corona," the minister said in a tweet.

 

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country under the nationwide anti-coronavirus inoculation drive crossed 91 crore on Monday.

 

More than 71 lakh vaccine doses have been administered till 9.50 PM, according to the Co-WIN portal.

11:51 PM

Punjab reports 18 new cases, 1 death

One more Covid-related death was reported in Punjab on Monday, while 18 new cases took the infection count to 6,01,739, according to a medical bulletin. The death toll due to coronavirus in the state rose to 16,521. Among the new cases, Jalandhar reported three, followed by two each in Amritsar, Kapurthala and Patiala, as per the bulletin.

 

The number of active cases is 272.

 

Thirty-more people recovered from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 5,84,946, the bulletin said. Chandigarh reported six cases, raising its tally to 65,243. No fresh death was reported in the past 24 hours, and the toll stood at 819. The number of active cases in the city was 38, while the number of cured persons was 64,386.

10:58 PM

Nashik reports 72 new COVID-19 cases, 134 recoveries

The COVID-19 tally in Nashik district of Maharashtra rose to 4,08,793 with the addition of 72 new cases on Monday, officials said.

 

The death toll in the district remained unchanged at 8,639 as no new fatality was registered during the day, they said. As many as 134 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered cases to 3,99,243, the officials said. As many as 26,01,777 swab samples have been tested so far for detection of coronavirus, of which 4,974 were examined during the day, they added.

10:08 PM

Gujarat records 14 new COVID-19 cases, zero death, 22 recoveries

Gujarat on Monday recorded 14 new cases of coronavirus, pushing the COVID-19 tally to 8,26,016, while no fresh death due to the infection was reported in the state, the health department said.

 

With 22 patients getting discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, the number of recoveries rose to 8,15,762, leaving Gujarat with 172 active cases, it said. The state's COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 10,082 with no new fatality reported during the day, the department said in a release. District-wise, Ahmedabad recorded six new cases, Surat five, Bhavnagar, Vadodara and Valsad one each, the release said.

9:40 PM

Tamil Nadu records 1,467 new COVID-19 cases, 16 deaths

Tamil Nadu continued to maintain a declining trend in the COVID-19 cases with the State on Monday reporting 1,467 new Coronavirus positive cases and 16 deaths.

 

Chennai with 181 fresh cases, Coimbatore 155 and Chengalpattu 103, are among the three districts that accounted for the maximum numbers, taking the caseload to 26,69,962.

 

A passenger who arrived from Qatar added to thel 1,467 fresh cases, today, according to a bulletin from the State health department. With 16 deaths including 6 in private and 10 in government facilities, the toll has risen to 35,666.

9:00 PM

At 2,026, Maharashtra logs lowest Covid-19 cases after Feb 2; 26 die, 5,389 recover

Maharashtra on Monday reported 2,026 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest after February 2, and 26 fatalities, taking the tally of infections to 65,62,514 and the death toll to 1,39,233, a health department official said.

On February 2, Maharashtra had reported 1,927 COVID-19 cases.

As compared to Sunday, when Maharashtra reported 2,692 COVID-19 cases and 41 fatalities, the state witnessed a marginal dip in the count of infections as well as deaths due to coronavirus infection.

8:49 PM

EU regulator OKs Pfizer vaccine booster for 18 and older

The European Union's drug regulator gave its backing Monday to booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older.

 

The European Medicines Agency said the booster doses “may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older”.

 

The agency also said it supports giving a third dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine to people with severely weakened immune systems at least 28 days after their second shot.

 

The recommendations go to health authorities in all 27 EU member states. Some countries already have begun administering booster shots.

8:44 PM

Ayush hospitals in Delhi helped Covid-19 patients recover: Satyendar Jain

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, three Ayush hospitals in Delhi served coronavirus patients and helped in their recovery by lending them a healing environment, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Monday.

He was addressing a function to mark 75th years of Independence and 225th year of homoeopathy.

During the pandemic, three Ayush hospitals -- Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurvedic Charak Sansthan, Nehru Homeopathic Hospital and Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College and Hospital -- treated coronavirus patients, he said.

8:33 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1,467 fresh cases, 16 deaths

8:11 PM

207 new Covid-19 cases, two deaths in Telangana

Telangana on Monday reported 207 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,66,753, while the toll rose to 3,923 with two more fatalities.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 61, followed by Karimnagar (15) and Medchal Malkajgiri (14) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM.

The number of recoveries outnumbered fresh cases with 239 people recuperating from the infectious disease, taking the cumulative number till date to 6,58,409.

8:01 PM

397 new Covid-19 cases, 13 deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka on Monday logged 397 new COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 29,78,286 and the toll to 37,832.

The day also saw 693 discharges, which took the total number of recoveries in the state to 29,28,433.

Out of 397 new cases reported on Monday, 166 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 121 discharges and five deaths.

The total number of active cases in the state was 11,992.

7:32 PM

Mumbai reports 341 new cases, 2 deaths and 520 recoveries

7:14 PM

Goa reports 43 Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths, 85 recoveries

Goa's COVID-19 tally reached 1,76,681 on Monday after 43 cases were detected, while the death toll increased by three to touch 3,320, an official said.

The discharge of 85 people took the recovery count to 1,72,632, leaving the state with an active tally of 729, he said.

With 3,649 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in Goa went up to 13,69,371, he added.

6:48 PM

12 new cases push Sikkim's Covid tally to 31,537

Sikkim on Monday reported 12 new Covid-19 cases, six less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 31,537, a health department bulletin said.

The death toll remained at 388 as no new fatality due to the infection was registered in the last 24 hours, it said.

Of the fresh cases, 11 were recorded in East Sikkim and one in West Sikkim.

6:34 PM

Maharashtra: With Covid-19 cases rising, strict curbs in 61 Ahmednagar villages

Strict lockdown-like restrictions were imposed from Monday till October 13 in 61 villages having more than 10 COVID-19 cases in Ahmednagar district, some 122 kilometres from here, officials said on Monday.

These villages are in Akole, Karjat, Kopargaon, Newasa, Parner, Pathardi, Rahata, Sangamner, Shevgaon, Shrigonda, and Srirampur tehsils, Ahmednagar Collector Rajendra Bhosale said.

"The district is witnessing 500-800 cases daily and positivity rate is over 5 percent. Therefore, directions were issued to implement precautionary measures in villages having more than 10 active cases. Since protocols were not being followed fully, we have imposed strict restrictions in 61 villages in 11 tehsils," he said in an order.