Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 15,817 new cases, 56 deaths in a day

Coronavirus live updates: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, MP, Delhi, Gujarat and Karnataka - are displaying an upward trajectory in the number of fresh cases. Stay tuned for corona-related news

12:12 AM

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12:11 AM

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11:34 PM

ISRO launches sounding rocket to study attitudinal variations

9:39 PM

Quad leaders agree to boost vaccine manufacturing in Indo-Pacific region: Foreign Secy

8:59 PM

Rajasthan: No fresh death due to coronavirus, 237 new cases reported

No fresh death was recorded in Rajasthan on Friday due to the novel coronavirus even though the state reported 237 new cases, the health department said.

 

The Covid-19 death toll in the state stands at 2,789 and the total cases at 3,22,518, the Friday health bulletin said, adding 2,242 of the infected people are under treatment.

 

As per the bulletin, 3,17,487 people have been discharged after treatment till now.

8:43 PM

Greece: 'Lockdown fatigue' blamed for fuelling mass protests

Faced with a surge in coronavirus infections and a wave of violent anti-government demonstrations, Greece's center-right prime minister accused political opponents Friday of exploiting lockdown fatigue.

 

Dozens of demonstrations have taken place in Athens and other Greek cities over the past month following multiple allegations of police brutality in enforcing a nightly curfew and other strict lockdown measures.

 

The protests were also fuelled by a recent decision to launch police patrols on university campuses as well as a hunger strike by a jailed militant group gunman to demand a prison transfer.

 

Often attended by thousands in defiance of lockdown restrictions, the protests have triggered nightly clashes between demonstrators and police.

8:32 PM

Schools in Punjab closed, night curfew imposed in 8 districts amid Covid surge

The Punjab government imposed night curfew in four more districts on Friday and closed all schools amid a rise in coronavirus cases in the state, officials said.

 

In total, the night curfew is imposed from 11 pm to 5 am in eight districts -- Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur.

 

The Department of School Education has declared "preparatory leaves" for all classes in government and private schools, state Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said.

 

However, the teachers will continue to remain present in the schools. The students who want to take any guidance from their teachers regarding exam preparation can come to school, the minister said.

8:19 PM

Somalia mourns former president who died of Covid-19

Somalia held a state funeral Friday for former president Ali Mahdi Mohamed, who died of Covid-19 earlier this week in neighbouring Kenya.

 

The seaside capital was brought to a standstill, with all the main roads blocked by the army and police as the hearse was transported to a mosque where the late president's family paid their last respects.

 

Somalia has declared three days of mourning during which the national flag will be lowered to half-staff in honour of Mohamed, who was 86.

8:04 PM

Maharashtra reports 15,817 new coronavirus cases, 11,344 discharges and 56 deaths in last 24 hours

Maharashtra reports 15,817 new coronavirus cases, 11,344 discharges and 56 deaths in last 24 hours, according to the state health department

7:55 PM

Delhi's positivity rate far lower than in Maharashtra: Jain on spike in cases

Amid a sudden spike in daily Covid-19 cases in the city, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday the positivity rate in Delhi is still less than one per cent, "much lower" compared to the figures in Maharashtra and Kerala, and asserted that the city government was on a "full vigil" to combat the pandemic.

 

Delhi on Friday recorded 431 new Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day rise in nearly two months, while the positivity rate increased to 0.60 per cent, according to data shared by the health department.

6:44 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 210 Covid-19 cases, the highest after 2 months

Andhra Pradesh reported 210 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Friday, the highest after two months, pushing the gross up to 8,91,388.

 

In 24 hours ending 9 am on Friday, 140 patients had recovered and one more succumbed in the state, the latest bulletin said.

 

The number of active cases rose to 1,227 after a total of 8,82,981 recoveries and 7,180 deaths, it said.

6:07 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 1,780 new coronavirus cases, 3,377 recoveries and 14 deaths reported in Kerala today.

Coronavirus LIVE: 1,780 new coronavirus cases, 3,377 recoveries and 14 deaths reported in Kerala today.

5:21 PM

Germany regrets neighbours' move to pause AstraZeneca shots

Germany's top health official expressed regret Friday that some neighbouring countries have paused their use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine following reports of blood clots in some people, despite the lack of any evidence the shot was responsible.

 

Health Minister Jens Spahn said that while Germany takes reports of possible side effects from vaccines very, very seriously, both the European Medicines Agency and Germany's own vaccine oversight body have said they have no evidence of an increase in dangerous blood clots in connection with the shots.

 

I regret that on the basis of the knowledge of Friday morning some countries in the European Union have suspended vaccinations with AstraZeneca, Spahn told reporters in Berlin.

4:53 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: No reason to stop using AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, says WHO

Coronavirus LIVE: No reason to stop using AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, says WHO

4:42 PM

Odisha reports 64 new Covid-19 cases, 1 fresh fatality

Odisha's Covid-19 tally surged to 3,38,056 on Friday as 64 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 1,918, a health official said.

 

Thirty-seven new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 27 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing.