Sunday, January 19, 2025 | 02:41 AM ISTEN Hindi

Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala records 6,820 new Covid-19 positive cases

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,698,198 coronavirus cases, Karnataka 835,773, Andhra Pradesh 833,208, Tamil Nadu 734,429 and UP 489,502. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE updates

BS Web Team New Delhi

A health worker shows samples of a Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) employees for Covid-19 testing, in New Delhi. Photo: PTI

4:22 PM

Kerala govt to offer financial aid to struggling artists due to Covid-19 restrictions

The Kerala government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 1000 to artists and performers facing crisis during the COVID-19 pandemicas there was no programme or work for them due to the restrictions imposed.

A cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday, decided to disburse Rs 1,000 each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund as assistance to 30,000 artists who are suffering due to the COVID-19 restrictions and have not received any other financial aid.

"The artists, who had not received any assistance so far, will be given Rs 1000 each. The government will spend Rs three crore for the purpose," Cultural Affairs Minister, A K Balan said. The Left government was doing all possible things to help artists and performers who are in distress due to the pandemic, he said here in a statement.

3:47 PM

Delhi can soon become corona capital', AAP govt going haywire on pandemic: HC

The Delhi High Court Thursday expressed displeasure over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital and observed that the city could soon become corona capital of the country'. A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad said the Delhi government has gone completely haywire on the pandemic. The bench said the AAP government took the health of citizens for a ride and it will deal with it separately.

The high court said the Delhi government made many claims that they are topping charts in testing but the number of cases have overshot.

"The city could soon become Corona capital of the country. Thanks to the number of cases shooting up," the bench said and added We are going to take it very seriously. The remarks were made by the bench while hearing a bunch of petitions relating to non-payment of salaries to doctors, paramedical staff, safai karamcharis, teachers and retired engineers and others, employed with North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

3:26 PM

10 affiliated with US military in South Korea test Covid-19 positive

Ten more individuals affiliated with the American military in South Korea have tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon their arrival in the Asian country, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said on Thursday. A service member and a dependent arrived at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, about 70 km south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights, Yonhap News Agency quoted the USFK as saying in a statement.

While, four service personnel and four family members arrived on board commercial flights at the Incheon International Airport. The 10 people arrived between October 28 and November 2. Five of them tested positive on their first mandatory Covid-19 test prior to entering quarantine, while the remaining were confirmed to be infected during their second testing, it added. All USFK-affiliated individuals arriving in South Korea are required to undergo a virus test and are quarantined for 14 days.

3:03 PM

SC seeks Centre's response on plea against putting posters outside Covid-19 patients' homes

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the central government to respond on a public interest litigation (PIL) against the decision of States and Union Territories (UTs) to affix posters outside the homes of COVID-19 patients, divulging their identities. The bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan asked the central government to file an affidavit within two weeks on the plea.

The counsel appearing on behalf of the Solicitor General told the bench that the petition copy has been received and sought time to file an affidavit. He added the plea copy has also been forwarded to the departments concerned.

"We are granting two weeks time to Centre to file an affidavit," the bench said.

This PIL, filed by advocate Kush Kalra, challenged the affixing of posters outside the homes of COVID-19 patients as a mark of identification, as well as divulging names of such patients to housing societies' management and Resident Welfare Associations, saying such disclosure of the identity of patients is in gross violation of their fundamental right to privacy. The plea sought directions to ensure such disclosure of names does not take place and quashing of the executive orders of the States and Union Territories that allow affixing of posters outside homes of the COVID-19 patients.

2:51 PM

79% of new Covid-19 cases found concentrated in 10 States and UTs: Health Ministry

2:26 PM

AstraZeneca expects Covid-19 vaccine data this year

AstraZeneca, the British drugmaker working on one of the world's leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates, beat third-quarter sales estimates on Thursday and reiterated it expects data from late-stage trials of the vaccine later this year.

The company has taken on the development of Oxford University's potential COVID-19 vaccine, scoring billions in funding and signing multiple deals to supply over three billion doses to countries around the world.

Data in October showed the vaccine, called AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, produces an immune response in both old and young adults. AstraZeneca is expected to publish eagerly awaited late-stage clinical trial data in the coming weeks. Expectations are that Britain could start rolling out a successful vaccine in late December or early 2021.

2:04 PM

Puducherry reports 125 fresh Covid-19 cases, one fatality

The union territory of Puducherry added 125 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the overall tally to 35,550 while one death pushed the toll close to 600, a top Health department official said on Thursday.

The new coronavirus cases were detected at the end of the examination of 4,110 samplesduring last 24 hours ending 10 AM, raising the overall tally to 35,550 after transfer of four cases to Tamil Nadu, the Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.

One person hailing from the Puducherry region succumbed due to Covid pneumonia, taking the toll to 598. No fresh fatality was reported from any of the three outlying regions of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.

1:41 PM

Islamabad's Covid-19 test positivity rate rises to 7.7%

Islamabad's Covid-19 test positivity rate has increased to 7.7 per cent amid a continued rise in the number of new coronavirus cases in the Pakistani capital, according to health authorities. On Wednesday, the capital registered 228 new Covid-19 cases and two additional fatalities, which increased the overall infection tally and the death toll to 20,471 and 224, respectively, reports Dawn news.

Officials from the capital administration said the number of active cases has been increasing gradually for the last few weeks, as the number of new cases reported daily outnumbered recoveries.

Also on Wednesday, a government college and a school were sealed after students and staff members tested positive for the virus. In a statement, the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) warned that Covid-19 would continue to spread across the country in the coming days, and that the nature of the disease this time was more severe.

1:04 PM

US recorded more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time, Johns Hopkins data show

12:00 PM

Andaman and Nicobar Islands report 17 new Covid-19 cases; tally at 4,389

The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 4,389 on Thursday as 17 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

Seven new patients have travel history, while 10 fresh infections were detected during contract tracing, the official said.

Ten more people have been cured of the disease, he said. Read on...

11:45 AM

Telangana adds 1,539 new Covid-19 cases, 5 deaths push toll to 245,682

Telangana reported 1,539 new COVID-19 cases taking the tally to2,45,682 while fivemore deaths pushed the toll to 1,362, the state government said on Thursday.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 285, followed by Rangareddy (123) and Medchal Malkajgiri (102) districts, it said in a bulletin, providing data as of 8 PM on November 4. Read on...

11:02 AM

Indonesia sees first recession in over two decades as coronavirus hits

Indonesia fell into recession for the first time in over two decades in the third quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic battered consumption and business activity in Southeast Asia's largest economy, official data showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 3.49% on an annual basis in the July-September period, data from the statistics bureau showed, slightly more than the 3% contraction expected in a Reuters poll. The economy contracted 5.32% year-on-year in the second quarter.

Indonesia's first recession since the Asian financial crisis in 1998 - normally defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction - comes as the country has struggled to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

10:24 AM

Mizoram records 65 new Covid cases, active tally at 521

As many as 65 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Mizoram in the last 24 hours, according to the State Ministry of Information and Public Relations (I & PR) on Thursday.

The total count of coronavirus cases have reached 2,958 with 521 active cases, while 2,435 patients have been discharged/migrated so far in the state. Two persons have succumbed to the disease in Mizoram to date.

9:52 AM