Coronavirus LIVE: Tamil Nadu reports 4,013 fresh cases; 2,082 in Karnataka

Today's coronavirus numbers: Bengaluru (593 cases), Mumbai 676 cases), Chennai (238 cases), Kolkata (137 cases), Delhi (93 cases). Stay tuned for corona-related news

6:04 PM

Singapore PM lauds Sikh community for their services during pandemic

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday lauded the local Sikh community for providing support to people through various assistance programmes during the Covid-19 pandemic regardless of race, religion or background.

 

Wearing a white Sikh turban, Prime Minister Lee, who attended the inauguration ceremony of Silat Road Sikh Temple which was renovated during the pandemic, greeted the community members with a "Sat Sri Akal".

 

Prime Minister Lee said that places of worship, including the Silat Road temple and other Gurdwaras, have had to cope with disruptions brought about by the pandemic. (PTI)

5:44 PM

Jharkhand HC slams SIT in remdesivir black marketing case

The High Court of Jharkhand has reprimanded the SIT formed to probe black marketing of remdesivir, an anti-viral drug used in the treatment of Covid-19, for keeping it in the dark in making the Ranchi Rural superintendent of police a government witness in the case.

 

SP Naushad Alam's name came up during the investigation as one of the accused persons claimed that he had arranged remdesivir for the IPS officer who wanted the medicine for a person.

 

Chargesheet has been filed against two persons in the case last month in the trial court. (PTI)

5:35 PM

Auto ambulances to carry Covid patients introduced in TN

Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K Ramachandran on Satuday flagged off six auto ambulances in Coonoor in Nilgiris district to carry Covid-19 patients.

 

Being a hilly district, the roads and pathways were too narrow for the movement of bigger ambulances, so auto ambulances were introduced, he said.

 

The number of Covid cases started declining after efforts taken by Chief Minister M K Stalin to ensure facilities like beds, medical oxygen and other infrastructure, Ramachandran said at a function. (PTI)

5:17 PM

Centre sanctions funds from PM-Cares for new vaccine-testing lab

The Centre has sanctioned funds from the PMCares Fund for setting up a vaccine-testing laboratory here, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said on Saturday.

 

I thank Honble PM Shri narendramodi Ji for sanctioning funds for setting up of Vaccine Testing Lab at Hyderabad. A big step forward towards comprehensive development of pharma sector in Hyderabad, which will also boost production of Covid-19 vaccines, Reddy, a Lok Sabha member from Secunderabad, tweeted.

 

The increased focus on vaccine production against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated more vaccine- testing laboratories in the country, Reddy said in a press release. Read here

5:09 PM

Cannot allow local train travel for lawyers at present as experts fear third wave: HC

The Bombay High Court on Saturday said it cannot permit lawyers to travel by suburban trains at least till the end of July as the Maharashtra State Covid-19 Task Force apprehends a third wave of the pandemic.

 

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni said that the court cannot override medical experts' opinion by a judicial order.

 

At least till the end of July, it may not be possible (to allow lawyers to commute by trains). The State Covid Task Force feels that the third wave may start if trains are opened to all. You (lawyers) will have to wait for one more month, the court said. (PTI)

4:43 PM

Coronavirus Latest: Indonesia records highest daily spike of 27,913 new cases

Coronavirus Latest: Indonesia records highest daily spike of 27,913 new cases

4:17 PM

Europe in vaccination race against coronavirus' delta variant

Countries across Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations and outpace the spread of the more infectious delta variant, in a high-stakes race to prevent hospital wards from filling up again with patients fighting for their lives.

 

The urgency coincides with Europe's summer holiday months, with fair weather bringing more social gatherings and governments reluctant to clamp down on them. Social distancing is commonly neglected, especially among the young, and some countries are scrapping the requirement to wear masks outdoors.

 

Incentives for people to get shots include free groceries, travel and entertainment vouchers, and prize drawings. The president of Cyprus even appealed to a sense of patriotism. Read here

4:15 PM

Ethiopia registers 73 new Covid-19 cases

Ethiopia registered 73 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 276,323 as of Friday evening, the country's Ministry of Health said.

 

The ministry said that two new deaths and 62 more recoveries were reported on Thursday, bringing the national counts to 4,327 and 260,327 respectively, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the largest number of Covid-19 cases in the East Africa region.

 

Figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Ethiopia's Covid-19 cases accounted for about 5 per cent of Africa's total. (IANS)

3:40 PM

Tripura extends curfew till July 9

The Tripura government has extended the Covid curfew from 2 pm to 5 am in Agartala and eight other urban local bodies (ULBs) till July 9, a notification said.

 

However, the night curfew from 6 pm to 5 am has been lifted from the villages.

 

The Covid curfew in the ULBs, first imposed on May 16 and then repeatedly extended, was scheduled to end on July 2.

 

"The Covid curfew will remain in force in the jurisdiction of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and eight other ULBs till July 9," the notification issued by Chief Secretary Kumar Alok said. (PTI)

3:37 PM

World Coronavirus Dispatch: Delta strain dominates discourse across nations

North Korea's Kim slams officials for vague Covid crisis, Europe's travel stocks hit bumps, and other pandemic-related news across the globe. Read here

3:20 PM

US donates 2.5 million Moderna vaccine doses to Pakistan

Pakistan has received 2.5 million doses of the Moderna mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 from the United States.

 

Charge d' Affaires at the US embassy here Angela P. Aggeler said the vaccines, which arrived at Islamabad International Airport, would save lives and help Pakistan emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, which had devastated so many families and communities in both countries.

 

The latest donation is part of 80 million doses the US is sharing with the world, delivering on its pledge to facilitate equitable global access to safe and effective vaccines. (ANI)

3:15 PM

Telangana administers 183,627 vaccine doses on Friday

Telangana administered 1,83,627 Covid-19 vaccine doses on Friday.

 

As per the report issued by the state health department today, as of July 2 till 9 pm, 1,48,146 people received their first vaccine dose and 35,481 inoculated with the second dose.

 

On July 2, those who received the first dose include 138 healthcare workers and 1,15,810 people from the 18-44 age group and 32,035 who are 45 and above. (IANS)

2:56 PM

Germany recommends mixing vaccines

Germany on Friday recommended that people mix AstraZeneca Covid vaccines with Pfizer or Moderna to enhance immune responses against coronavirus and shorten the interval period between the two shots.

 

The German government advised people to choose either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for their second jab, reported NHK World.

 

The move came one day after the country's standing committee on vaccinations issued a draft recommendation to the same effect. (ANI)

2:34 PM

Covid-19 third wave will be 'ripple' in absence of faster spreading mutant: IIT Kanpur study

The third wave of Covid-19 will be a "ripple" but only if there is no significantly faster-spreading mutant, according to projections of the 'Sutra' model for Covid-19.

 

According to the Sutra analysis, if there is a faster-spreading mutant, the magnitude of the third wave will be "comparable to the first one."

 

Maninder Agarwal, Professor, IIT Kanpur, who was part of the team of scientists behind the Sutra analysis, said that they have created three scenarios. (ANI)

2:11 PM

94% of patients with cancer respond well to coronavirus vax: Study

Nearly 95 per cent of people with cancer developed a good immune response to the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines three to four weeks after receiving their second dose, finds a new study co-authored by Indian-origin researchers.

 

The study, published in the journal Cancer Cell, indicated that among the 131 patients studied, 94 per cent developed antibodies to the coronavirus.

 

Seven high-risk patients did not. Read here