Covid LIVE: G7 calls for transparent, expert-led study on virus origins

Coronavirus live updates: ICMR will conduct a national sero survey to assess the spread of Covid-19. Stay tuned for coronavirus related news

9:57 AM

Mizoram reports 346 new Covid-19 cases, tally crosses 15,000-mark

Mizoram's COVID-19 count crossed the 15,000-mark on Sunday as 346 more people tested positive for the infection, an official said.

 

The fresh cases, detected from 3,866 samples tested on Saturday, took the single-day infection rate to 8.94 per cent, he said. The state's southern-most district Lawngtlai recorded the highest 154 new infections, displacing Aizawl from the top spot.

9:55 AM

Thane district sees 432 new Covid cases, 23 deaths

With the addition of 432 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 5,24,704, an official said on Sunday. These new cases were reported on Saturday, he said.

 

With 23 more patients succumbing to coronavirus, the death toll in the district rose to 10,221. The mortality rate now stands at 1.94 per cent, he added.

 

The details of the recovered and under-treatment patients were not provided by the district administration. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,13,416 while the death toll is 2,398, he said.

9:52 AM

Active Covid cases in India decline to 10,26,159: Union Health Ministry.

Active Covid cases in India decline to 10,26,159: Union Health Ministry.

9:39 AM

Coronavirus LIVE: India sees 80,834 new cases; lowest spike in 71 days

With 80,834 new coronavirus cases, India reported its lowest daily case in the last 71 days. The daily positivity rate is at 4.25%, less than 10% for 20 consecutive days. The recovery rate increases to 95.26%, in last 24 hours 1,32,062 recoveries were recorded: Union Health Ministry

9:14 AM

India reports 80,834 new Covid cases, 3,303 more deaths in last 24 hours: Health Ministry

9:07 AM

Data of people is safe with CoWIN, allegations of data leak baseless: Govt

RS Sharma, chairman of the Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration (EGVAC), on Saturday, refuted claims of a data leak affecting users registered on the government’s Covid-19 vaccine portal Co-WIN.
 

“The claims of so called hackers on the dark web, relating to the alleged hacking of the Co-WIN system and data leak, is baseless. We continue to take appropriate
steps as are necessary, from time to time, to ensure that the data of the people is safe with Co-WIN,” Sharma said.

Recently, reports had surfaced about a data leak affecting 150 million users registered on the Co-WIN portal. The government had noted that while the data leak appeared to be fake, it would investigate the matter. READ MORE...

8:46 AM

After the Covid-19 pandemic, a wave of spending by older consumers

The world’s emergence from the coronavirus pandemic is set to unleash a wave of spending by older consumers, with increasing opportunities for investors in aging-linked stocks.

 

That’s the view of money managers who see huge pent-up demand from wealthy seniors for medical services and luxury goods. They also expect that the forced adoption of the internet by older people during lockdown will open up this demographic permanently to e-commerce companies and social networks. READ MORE...

8:41 AM

Bangkok allows more businesses to reopen

Thailand’s outbreak epicenter of Bangkok will allow some aesthetics-related businesses to reopen after its worst wave of infections improved and more people are vaccinated. Beauty clinics, foot massage services, nail salons and tattoo parlors can resume operations from Monday, Bloomberg reported.

8:29 AM

US death toll nears 600,000

The US is approaching 600,000 deaths from Covid, as new fatalities, infections and hospitalizations continue to plummet nationwide, Bloomberg reported. The vaccination drive has slowed significantly but the results are clear: Masks are disappearing, the country is largely reopening. Daily deaths have fallen from a peak of more than 5,000 in February to an average of about 300 over the last week.

 

8:22 AM

Brazil registers 2,037 more Covid-19 deaths

Brazil registered 2,037 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll in the country to 486,272, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday. In the last 24 hours, 78,700 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, for a total of 17,374,818 infections.

 

The moving average of cases over the last seven days was 66,770, while that of deaths was 1,963.

 

Brazil is currently second in the world in number of deaths from COVID-19, surpassed only by the United States, and third in cases, behind the United States and India.

8:13 AM

500-bed Covid hospital, developed by DRDO in Srinagar, becomes operational

8:03 AM

UK reports another 7,738 coronavirus cases taking the tally to 4,558,494

Britain reported another 7,738 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,558,494, according to official figures released Saturday.

 

The country also recorded another 12 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 127,896. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. READ ON...

7:47 AM

West Bengal reports 81 more Covid-19 deaths, 4,286 fresh cases

West Bengal's Covid-19 death toll rose to 16,812 after 81 more people succumbed to the virus on Saturday, a bulletin released by the state's health department said. The tally mounted to 14,57,273 with 4,286 fresh cases, it said.

 

The eastern state now has 16,248 active cases, while 14,24,213 people have recovered from the disease, including 3,149 since Friday. In the last 24 hours, 62,276 samples have been tested in West Bengal, taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 1,32,35,743.

7:39 AM

GST cuts on several Covid essentials; no change in tax on vaccines

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, at its “single-agenda” meeting, on Saturday decided to retain the GST on Covid-19 vaccines at 5 per cent. However, it temporarily slashed the tax rates on most supplies and also exempted drugs for treating the black fungus.

 

The Council decisions are in line with the recommendations made by a Group of Ministers (GoM), which was mandated to examine tax exemption and concessions on various Covid items including vaccines, drugs, and equipment. The GoM which submitted its report early this week recommended keeping rates on Covid vaccines unchanged, owing to the issue of multiple rate structures for procurement. READ MORE...

7:37 AM

Mizoram govt extends lockdown in Aizawl till June 21

The Mizoram government on Saturday extended the lockdown in Aizawl Municipal Corporation area for another week till June 21 in view of the spurt in COVID-19 cases in the region.

 

The order said new COVID-19 cases continue to rise despite the imposition of the existing restrictions.

 

"It has been decided to continue with the current restrictions imposed to prevent further escalation of COVID-19 cases. The new guidelines with certain modification issued on June 5 will remain in force from June 14 to 21," it said.