Covid LIVE: Record 11,491 new cases in Delhi; 20% drop in Maharashtra

Coronavirus live updates: Delhi witnessed 11,491 cases, Mumbai just above 6900 in the last 24 hours. India's Covid tally has jumped to 13,527,717. Stay tuned for corona-related news

9:31 AM

Several SC staff members infected with Covid-19, reports ANI

Many staff members of the Supreme Court are believed to be infected with Covid-19 hence SC judges today will conduct hearings, from their respective residences, reports ANI quoting Supreme Court sources.

9:22 AM

Global coronavirus caseload tops 135.8 million: Johns Hopkins University

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 135.8 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.93 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

In its latest update on Monday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 135,855,351 and 2,934,981, respectively.

 

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 31,196,121 and 562,064, respectively, according to the CSSE.

 

Brazil follows in the second place with 13,482,023 cases and 353,137 fatalities. Read on...

9:11 AM

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to hold a Covid review meeting today

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to hold a Covid review meeting today.

9:09 AM

Chinese Covid-19 vaccines' effectiveness low, says China's top official

In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country's top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost.

 

Chinese vaccines “don't have very high protection rates,” said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a conference Saturday in the southwestern city of Chengdu.

 

Beijing has distributed hundreds of millions of doses abroad while trying to promote doubt about the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine made using the previously experimental messenger RNA, or mRNA, process. Read on...

8:50 AM

Second Covid-19 wave: Maharashtra lockdown decision pushed back to April 14

The Maharashtra Cabinet is likely to meet on Wednesday to take a call on imposing lockdown in the state.

 

“There was a discussion regarding imposing a lockdown at the task force meeting on Sunday. Most members of the task force are of the view that the current situation in the state necessitates a lockdown. There will be further meetings in this regard in the next two days and the CM may call a Cabinet meeting to take appropriate steps on Wednesday,” Health Minister Rajesh Tope told reporters after the task force meeting. Read on...

8:40 AM

Centre halts exports of antiviral drug Remdesivir amid rising Covid cases

India on Sunday banned exports of antiviral drug Remdesivir, used to treat moderate to severe Covid-19, amid rising domestic demand and reports of shortages from states.

 

Export is banned till the situation in the country improves.

 

“The export of injection Remdesivir and Remdesivir active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is prohibited till the Covid-19 situation in the country improves,” the Centre said in a statement. Read on...

8:31 AM

West Bengal reports 4,398 new Covid-19 cases, 10 fresh fatalities

West Bengal's Covid-19 tally rose to 6,14,896 on Sunday as 4,398 more people tested positive for the infection, while 10 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 10,400, a health bulletin said.

 

Kolkata reported the highest number of new cases at 1,109 followed by 1,047 in North 24 Parganas district, it said.

 

North 24 Parganas district reported the highest number of fresh fatalities at five, followed by three in the metropolis and one each in South 24 Parganas and Birbhum districts, the bulletin said. Read on...

8:29 AM

Second Covid wave: No panic exodus but migrants cautious amid fresh curbs

It is around 3 pm at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) in Mumbai. Though it’s a Sunday, CST, which is a Unesco world heritage site, is not its usual crowded self. Apart from groups of passengers here and there, the platforms are hardly packed. Rakesh Kumar, 26, is waiting to board a train to his hometown in Bihar. He and his friends have decided to leave Mumbai.

 

“It was becoming difficult to surv­ive in Mumbai since my employer sto­p­ped paying me salary for the past two months,” he says. Kumar worked as a cook at a restaurant, which is barely running now given the increased rest­rictions, weekend lockdown and night curfew. Kumar and his friends have decided they will return to Mumbai only once the situation normalises. Read on...

8:23 AM

Covid-19 vaccine: Real-world data to decide commercial marketing approval

The drug regulator may consider real-world data from the ongoing Covid-19 vaccinations to grant faster commercial marketing approval to the vaccine candidates, according to sources in the know.

 

Commercial nod would mean that the manufacturer can sell it in the private market with a specified maximum retail price. Vaccines are typically sold through hospitals or paediatricians for administering doses to infants or young children. Vaccine makers are now not allowed to commercially sell it as they have been granted ‘restricted emergency-use’ approval, which allows them to sell only to the Indian government which, in turn, distributes the vaccines. Read on...

7:50 AM

Coronavirus in Uttarakhand: Difficult to ensure social distancing at Kumbh site, says Sanjay Gunjyal

Kumbh Mela Inspector General (IG) Sanjay Gunjyal admitted that it is difficult to ensure social distancing norms during the second 'Shahi snan' where massive crowds have gathered to take a holy dip in River Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Uttarakhand's Haridwar.

 

"We are continuously appealing to people to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. But due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible to issue challans today. It is very difficult to ensure social distancing at ghats," Gunjyal said.

 

"A stampede-like situation may arise if we would try to enforce social distancing at ghats so we are unable to enforce social distancing here," he said. Read on...

7:40 AM

The second wave: Insurers brace for rise in Covid-19 policy claims

The unprecedented rise in Covid-19 infections in the country, which many are terming as the second wave, has also resulted in a rise in Covid-related claims for general and health insurance companies as hospitalisations have gone up.

 

The insurers have received more than a million Covid-related claims as of April, 2021. According to the data compiled by General Insurance Council, the reported claims total 1.014 million, amounting to more than Rs 14,800 crore. Of this, 865,968 claims worth Rs 7,956 crore have been settled. This is almost 85 per cent of the reported claims. According to the data, the average reported claim size is to the tune of Rs 1.46 lakh but the average claim that insurers are settling is Rs 91,953. Read on...

7:33 AM

Apply strict safety norms, not lockdown as Covid-19 cases rise: CEOs' poll

India should focus on protecting livelihoods, along with lives, in its fight against the pandemic, and industrial activity should be kept out of partial lockdown’s ambit, said a poll of chief executive officers (CEOs) conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

 

Micro containment strategies, along with Covid-19-appropriate behaviour, are an effective attempt to contain the spread of the second wave of infections, the CII said.

 

Partial lockdown could affect the movement of labour and goods, which would affect industrial production, the poll said. Read on...

7:20 AM

Australia drops vaccine rollout target amid concerns about AstraZeneca shot

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he won’t set a new target date for all Australians to receive their first Covid-19 vaccine dose, as health concerns about the AstraZeneca Plc shot and European export restrictions delay the rollout.

 

While the government wants to see first doses administered “before the end of the year, it is not possible to set such targets given the many uncertainties involved,” Morrison said in a Facebook post on Sunday. Still, he said Australia’s rollout was ahead of some nations including Japan, France and Canada. READ ON...

7:11 AM

Coronavirus updates: India records massive surge of nearly 170,000 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours

Coronavirus updates: India records massive surge of nearly 170,000 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours