Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra sees record daily count of 35,952 new cases

Coronavirus live updates: Maharashtra recorded a fresh peak of 31,855. Delhi reported 1,254 ovid-19 cases in 24 hours. Stay tuned for corona-related news

3:57 PM

Despite rise in Covid-19 cases, death rate remains low: Gujarat CM

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday said although the coronavirus cases were on the rise in the state, the death rate in the fresh wave of infections is low.

 

Speaking to reporters, Rupani said the state government is working to bring the cases under control, but the numbers are expected to rise for another one week.

 

"The rate of infections is high in the entire country, including the state. However, there is no need to panic. Although the rate of infection is high, the number of deaths is less (in this wave)," the chief minister said.

3:57 PM

DDMA sets up random testing kiosks at Anand Vihar Bus Terminal in Delhi

3:43 PM

200 people can attend events in closed spaces; maximum of 500 in open areas: Karnataka Health Minister

200 people can attend events in closed spaces; maximum of 500 in events in open areas. There are some large religious & political gatherings for which I've sought time with state election commissioner today. I'll request him to minimise this & issue circular: Karnataka Health Min

3:38 PM

LIVE: BJP chief J P Nadda visits the Covid vaccination facility at Delhi AIIMS

3:30 PM

Kumbh duration curtailed to 1 month for first time; pilgrims must show 'negative' Covid test report

The duration of Kumbh Mela in Haridwar has been curtailed to just one month for the first time in its history in view of a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and it has been made mandatory for pilgrims to have a "negative" RT-PCR test report to attend the mega congregation.

 

According to a notification, the congregation on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar in Uttarakhand will take place from April 1 to 30, with three "shahi snan" (major bathing) dates on April 12, 14 and 27.

 

Thousands of devotes take a dip in the holy river during the mela with their number increasing manifold on the days of "shahi snan". Authorities also expect heavy turnouts on the occasions of Chaitra Pratipada on April 13 and Ram Navami on April 21.

 

Held once in 12 years, the congregation usually lasts around three-and-a-half months. Its last edition was held in Haridwar from January 14 to April 28 in 2010.

3:22 PM

We're introducing quarantine watch app, says Karnataka Health Minister

Besides increasing testing, we're also introducing quarantine watch app. We're introducing quarantine stamping from today because positivity rates increased between 20-40 yrs of age. So we don't want their movement when they're in isolation, says Karnataka Health Minister on Bengaluru

3:16 PM

UK, EU work towards win-win' solution for vaccine supply row

The UK and European Union (EU) have issued a conciliatory joint statement, pledging to find a "win-win solution to a row over the supply of COVID-19 vaccines.

 

The EU has been struggling to meet its member-countries requirements and has piled pressure on British-Swedish biopharma giant AstraZeneca to increase the supplies of the Oxford University vaccines and even indicated possible export blocks.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been conducting one on one calls with his European counterparts and said cooperation was even more important.

3:01 PM

Coronavirus interrupts forming of new Dutch government

The coronavirus has interrupted the process of forming a new Dutch government, with one of the two scouts mapping out possible coalitions testing positive for Covid-19.

 

The government information service says that talks scheduled Thursday have been canceled following the positive test recorded by Kajsa Ollongren, who is also caretaker interior minister and deputy prime minister in the outgoing coalition.

 

Ollongren is the second member of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Cabinet to test positive this week, following state secretary for economic affairs and climate Mona Keijzer.

2:58 PM

Income loss top concern for rural communities post Covid lockdown: Study

Loss of income and livelihood are among the top concerns for rural communities struggling to cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new study conducted across 10 states.

 

The study conducted by the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) and IIMPACT, an NGO, is based on a survey conducted in over 4800 household in over 900 villages in Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

 

According to the study titled "Emerging Challenges in the post-Covid context", the loss of income and livelihoods, availability of food and drinking water, and impact on children's education have emerged as the top immediate concerns of communities in Rural India during the pandemic and lockdown phase of 2020.

2:42 PM

Actor R Madhavan tests positive for Covid-19

Actor R Madhavan on Thursday said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is recovering well.

 

The 50-year-old actor took to Twitter and gave the health update to his fans, referencing his film "3 Idiots".

 

His co-star from the 2009 blockbuster, Aamir Khan, had tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.

 

Like his character Farhan from the Rajkumar Hirani directorial, Madhavan quipped he had followed in the footsteps of Khan's Rancho here too.

 

The virus, he said, caught up with duo in real life.

2:37 PM

Six states account for 81% of daily new Covid cases

Six states -- Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat -- are reporting a surge in the daily new Covid-19 cases.

 

India reported 53,476 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day spike since October, 2020, taking the total tally to 1,17,87,534 on Thursday.

 

The six states together account for 80.63 per cent of the new cases reported in the last 24 hours.

 

Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 31,855 (59.57 per cent).

2:36 PM

Telangana's daily Covid count nears 500-mark

With the continuing surge in Covid-19 cases in Telangana, the state's daily count reached close to 500-mark.

 

A total of 493 new cases and four deaths were registered during the last 24 hours.

 

The highest single-day count this year pushed the state's cumulative tally to 304,791.

2:18 PM

Maharashtra: As cases surge in Nagpur, shortage of beds reported in some hospitals

"90 of the 600 beds were in basement that was closed due to drainage issue. We were waiting for HC's permission after repair. Beds provided since yesterday," Medical Superintendent, GMC Nagpur says

1:54 PM

SpiceHealth launches mobile RT-PCR testing facility in Kerala

With Covid cases rising in Kerala, SpiceHealth in association with the Kerala Medical Services Corporation (KMSCL) on Thursday launched mobile testing laboratories in Kasaragod, Palakkad and Thrissur for conducting Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests.

 

Kerala is the fifth state after Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Delhi where SpiceHealth has set up mobile testing laboratories.

 

These laboratories are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories and Indian Council of Medical Research and each lab can conduct 3,000 tests per day, SpiceHeath said in a press release.

1:50 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Puducherry reports 95 fresh infections in last 24 hours

The union territory of Puducherry logged 95 fresh coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 40,740, a senior official of the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services said on Thursday.

 

No fresh fatality was reported and the number of fatalities remained at 679, Director of Health and Family S Mohan Kumar said in a release.

 

The 95 new cases were identified at the end of the examination of 2,039 people in the Union Territory, he added.