Covid LIVE: Maharashtra lockdown may be extended till May 31, says minister

Coronavirus live updates: Statewise cases in India are as follows - Maharashtra (5179929), Karnataka (2013193), Kerala (1939918), UP (1545212), Tamil Nadu (1438509). Stay tuned for corona-related news

7:03 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Major Opposition parties write a letter to PM Modi

6:50 PM

Rajasthan Guv seeks setting up of oxygen plant in every constituency, 50 oxygen beds in each CHC

At least 50 oxygen beds should be arranged in community health centres (CHCs) across the state while an oxygen generation plant must be installed in each assembly constituency in view of the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19, Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra said on Wednesday.

 

Speaking at an all-party meeting convened by him to discuss the COVID situation in the state through video conference, the governor said preparations to deal with the next wave should be made in advance, an official release said.

 

He suggested the political parties to constitute separate task forces of their workers at the district level in collaboration with the district administration to assist COVID relief works, it said.

6:49 PM

Covid LIVE: No Covaxin jab for 18-44 age group from May 13 in Delhi

6:35 PM

US govt has delivered medical supplies totaling some $100 million: Dept of State

6:23 PM

Delhi received over 2.67 lakh doses of Covishield for 18-44 age group on May 11: AAP MLA Atishi

6:23 PM

Goa reports 2,865 new Covid-19 cases, 70 deaths and 2,840 recoveries in the last 24 hours

Goa reports 2,865 new Covid-19 cases, 70 deaths and 2,840 recoveries in the last 24 hours

6:01 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala sees record single-day spike of 43,529 new cases

5:28 PM

First Oxygen Express to transport medical oxygen to Tamil Nadu departs to Odisha

Tamil Nadu's first Oxygen Express train with two empty cryogenic tankers left for Odisha early on Wednesday to bring medical oxygen amid a surge in COVID cases in the southern state.

 

The military bogie well type (MBWT) wagons or flat type wagons, would reach Rourkela in Odisha by May 13 and the empty tankers would be filled with oxygen and dispatched to Tamil Nadu. "The train left by 3.35am on May 12", a Southern Railway official told PTI.

5:13 PM

Dr Harsh Vardhan today held a meeting via video conferencing with health ministers of States/UTs

5:03 PM

COVID crisis: Torrent Group takes steps to meet daily oxygen requirement of 10,000 patients

Torrent Group has taken several measures to ensure output and supply of medical oxygen in the country and the initiatives on a cumulative basis will meet the requirement of around 10,000 patients every day, as country grapples with the second wave of the pandemic.

 

According to a company statement, these measures include donation of 50 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) medical oxygen production plants to 50 different government hospitals across the states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

4:44 PM

Current production capacity of Covaxin vaccine will be doubled by May-June 2021: Govt

4:43 PM

Over 84 per cent vaccine doses sent abroad due to commercial, licensing liabilities: BJP

The ruling BJP accused the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday of spreading misinformation on India's vaccination programme and said over 84 per cent of the vaccine doses sent abroad were part of the commercial and licensing liabilities of the two Indian manufacturers.

 

Addressing a virtual press conference, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra said 1.07 crore vaccine doses sent abroad were India's aid to different countries and noted that of those, 78.5 lakh were dispatched to seven neighbouring countries.

 

A safer neighbourhood is good for India too, he added. More than two lakh doses were given to the UN peace-keeping force, in which over 6,600 Indian soldiers are deployed, Patra said.

4:24 PM

Covid LIVE: Delhi's daily cases rise, but positivity rate further improves

4:02 PM

India receives 36 ventilators, vital medicines and other medical equipment from Oman

4:01 PM

The real pandemic risk from India is tracking new variants of Covid-19

If you haven’t heard of B.1.617 yet, chances are you soon will.

 

This particular Covid-19 variant is at least partly behind the overwhelming second wave in India, the current global epicenter of the pandemic. The World Health Organization has now raised B.1.617 from a “variant of interest” to a “variant of concern.” Authorities like Public Health England are already treating it as the latter, meaning there’s something worrying about one or more of the criteria on which a virus is judged--including how fast it transmits, how many it kills, and whether it evades detection or makes vaccines less effective. READ MORE...