Covid LIVE: Maharashtra posts biggest single-day spike of 31,885 new cases

Coronavirus live updates: Centre has decided to open up vaccination drive for all above 45 yrs of age from April 1. Stay tuned for corona-related news

3:18 AM

India to focus on domestic vaccine demand; will not expand export for few months: Report

India will focus on meeting the domestic demand for coronavirus vaccines in view of a spike in Covid-19 infections in several states and it will not expand export of vaccines for next few months, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
 

They, however, said all commercial contracts and export commitments will be honoured and that India will continue to help countries around the world to deal with the pandemic.
 

So far, India has supplied 60.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to around 80 countries.
 

The total supplies include vaccine doses sent as grant assistance, under commercial contract and through COVAX, which is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
 

The people said India will fulfil the existing commitments made to various countries and exports will depend on domestic demand.
 

"There will be no expansion of exports for next few months. The situation will be reviewed after around 2-3 months as we are focusing on ramping up vaccine production," said one of the people cited above.
 

India started supplying the vaccine doses to foreign countries on January 20. The first countries to receive such vaccines were from the neighbourhood.   The government has already announced that people who are 45 and older can be vaccinated from April 1.
 

3:17 AM

Belgium reverting to lockdown amid spike in virus cases

Belgium is reintroducing strict lockdown measures in response to a worrying surge of new Covid-19 infections, with the government saying Wednesday that schools would close and residents would have limited access to non-essential businesses.
 

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the virus variant first identified in Britain is taking a heavy toll on the health of the country's people: Confirmed cases increased 40% over the last week, and hospital admissions rose 28% following a long stable period.
 

“It's difficult to take such a decision, and for many it will be a deception," De Croo said after an emergency meeting with regional leaders. “But I'm convinced that we are going to break this third wave." Under the government's new order, schools and universities will no longer welcome students for in-person classes starting Monday, although kindergartens will remain open. The government's goal is to resume in-person teaching from April 19, after the Easter break.
 

“The largest number of infections is in the 10 to 19 age group,” De Croo said, noting that children and young adults who show no or few Covid-19 can infect parents and grandparents who become very sick and end up in the hospital.
 

A total of 22,763 people have died from coronavirus-related causes in Belgium, which was among the countries hit hardest when the pandemic emerged last year.

About 1 million of Belgium's 11.5 million residents have received a first vaccine dose, and De Croo said the vaccination program in nursing homes had already helped reduce Covid-19 deaths.
 

11:11 PM

With 5,185 Covid-19 cases Mumbai reports a new high

Mumbai on Wednesday reported its highest one-day rise in Covid-19 cases so far with 5,185 new infections coming to light, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
 

It took the caseload in the country's financial capital to 3,74,611, the civic body said.
 

With six deaths, the fatality count stood at 11,606.
 

On the other hand, 2,088 persons were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recoveries to 3,31,322.
 

There are 30,760 active patients, the BMC said.
 

The growth rate of the viral infection between March 17 and 23 in the city was 0.79 per cent while recovery rate was 90 per cent, it said.
 

There are 39 active containment zones which include slums and chawls while 432 buildings have been sealed so far after patients were found there.
 

11:10 PM

Spaniards line up for AstraZeneca amid concerns over vaccine

Desperate to finally put the coronavirus pandemic behind them, thousands of Spaniards lined up to get shots of AstraZeneca on Wednesday as the European country became the latest to restart the vaccine whose credibility has suffered a series of setbacks recently.
 

Like neighboring countries that had halted use of the vaccine while examining possible adverse effects, Spain's health officials are now trying to restore confidence in the shot, one of three currently available in the European Union.
 

That is particularly critical at a time when many countries on the continent are struggling to ramp up slow vaccinations while they see infections spike again.
 

Spain's pivot back to AstraZeneca comes just a day after another blow to its reputation, when American officials said that the British-Swedish drug company may have included “outdated information” in touting the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in a U.S. trial.
 

11:10 PM

US Covid-19 cases top 30 million as states race to vaccinate

The United States crossed 30 million coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as states accelerate the vaccination process by lowering age limits.
 

Health authorities are racing to vaccinate in the face of the first uptick in new cases on a weekly basis since January.
 

Against the advice of health experts, several states have lifted mask mandates and more infectious variants have also spread across the nation.
 

Although cases are trending higher in 30 out of 50 states compared with the previous week, health officials hope the vaccinations will prevent a rise in deaths. The United States has lost a total of 544,000 lives to the virus. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR) New York on Monday joined Florida and a handful of other states that have made vaccines available to people who are at least 50 years old.
 

In the past two weeks, many states including Alaska, Arizona and Texas have lowered down their eligibility age for coronavirus vaccines.
 

Arizona lowered the eligibility age to 16 at state-run vaccination sites in three populous southern counties, effective Wednesday. Three other counties already have eligibility at 16, but most are at 55.
 

9:01 PM

Covid-19 LIVE: Maharashtra posts biggest single-day spike of 31,885 new cases

Maharashtra reported as many as 31,855 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, its highest ever single-day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, a health official said. This took the state's overall caseload to 25,64,881.

 

Before this, the state's highest daily spike of 30,535 cases was recorded on March 21. With 95 new deaths, the fatality count rose to 53,684, the official said. As 15,098 patients were discharged during the day, the recovery count reached 22,62,593. The number of active COVID- 19 cases now is 2,47,299.

8:45 PM

Gujarat reports 1,790 new Covid-19 cases, highest one-day rise

Gujarat recorded 1,790 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, its highest one-day rise since the pandemic began, the state health department said.

 

It took the caseload to 2,92,169, while eight deaths pushed the toll to 4,466, it said.

 

Two deaths each were reported in Ahmedabad and Surat and one each in Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Vadodara. With 1,277 patients getting discharged, the number of recovered cases rose to 2,78,880. The state's recovery rate now stands at 95.45 per cent.

8:24 PM

Maharashtra reports 31,855 new Covid-19 cases and 95 deaths in a day

8:12 PM

Delhi reports 1,254 new coronavirus cases, 769 recoveries and six deaths

8:09 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1,636 new Covid-19 positive cases in a day

The COVID-19 graph continued its upward trend in Tamil Nadu, with the state logging 1,636 new cases and 12 fatalities on Wednesday, taking the caseload to 8,71,440 and toll to 12,630. According to a health department bulletin, 1,023 patients were discharged today, pushing the cumulative number to 8,49,064, leaving 9,746 active cases.

 

Chennai accounted for most of the new infections with 633 cases being reported, aggregating to 2,43,287 till date. The metropolis also leads in the number of fatalities with 4,211 deaths.

7:54 PM

Kerala reports 2,456 new coronavirus positive cases in past 24 hours

Kerala reports 2,456 new coronavirus positive cases, 2,060 recoveries and 10 deaths in the past 24 hours.

7:53 PM

Mumbai reports 5,185 new Covid-19 cases and six deaths today

7:41 PM

Punjab is the fastest growing state in terms of Covid-19 infections

Analysis of Covid-19 infections since the start of March shows that cases in Punjab have been growing on an average at 0.8% daily, in contrast cases in Maharashtra have been growing at 0.7%. For India, the compounded daily growth rate in cases for March has been 0.2%. READ MORE HERE...

7:39 PM

Gujarat reports 1,790 new coronavirus positive cases in last 24 hours.

Gujarat reports 1,790 new coronavirus positive cases, 1,277 recoveries and eight deaths in the last 24 hours.

7:16 PM

Uttarakhand reports 200 new coronavirus cases and 49 recoveries today, no deaths reported

Uttarakhand reports 200 new coronavirus cases and 49 recoveries today, no deaths reported