Covid LIVE: Karnataka releases unlock plan; 10,697 new cases in Maharashtra

Coronavirus live updates: Tamil Nadu recorded 15,759 cases in the last 24 hours. Kerala registered 14,233 infections, Maharashtra 11,766, Karnataka 8,249, Delhi 238. Stay tuned for corona-related news

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Coronavirus LIVE: Goa sees 472 new cases

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Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka govt allows economic activities in phased manner from June 14

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Private hospitals used only 17.05% of vaccines received in May

In a shocking revelation at a time when there is vaccine shortage in the country, only 17.05 per cent of the total vaccines received from the Centre were used by the private hospitals in May, says government data.

 

As per the Health Ministry's June 4 data, the Central government provided total of 7.4 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses to hospitals across the country in May, of which 1.85 crore doses were earmarked for private hospitals.

 

Of the 1.85 crore vaccines earmarked for private hospitals across India, 1.29 crore doses were provided to them in May, however, the government data showed, only 22 lakh doses were used. Read here

5:54 PM

Congress alleges Centre's 'incompetence' responsible for India's woes during second wave

The Congress on Saturday alleged that the country paid the price for the Modi government's "incompetence" during the second wave of Covid-19.

 

"When the Modi government should have finalised public health policy to take on the coronavirus on a war footing, it was busy saving the illusory image of the prime minister," it alleged on its Twitter handle.

 

"We lost our brothers and sisters due to this government's incompetence, we will never forget," the Congress tweeted as the opposition party and its leaders targeted the Centre over the handling of the pandemic with the hashtag "ZimmedarKaun" (who is responsible) and raised the issue of shortage of beds, oxygen and medicines when India was at the crest of the second wave. (PTI)

5:36 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 213 new cases in Delhi

5:28 PM

Govt working towards effective Covid management in rural India, says health ministry

The Government of India has been working towards effective Covid-19 management in rural India by a sustained strengthening of the rural health infrastructure and through focussed public health measures in active collaboration with the States, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Saturday.

 

As per the ministry's release, there have been some media reports alleging inconsistency from the Government of India response in providing adequate healthcare infrastructure and services and 'scaling of the tragedy' in rural areas, terming it as 'invisibilisation of rural India' during the pandemic.

 

The Government of India has been proactively working towards effective Covid-19 management in rural India by a sustained strengthening of the multi-level health infrastructure, and through focussed public health measures in active collaboration with the States, the ministry said. (ANI)

5:14 PM

Russian Covid cases spike 47% in a week

Russia's national coronavirus taskforce on Saturday reported that the country's tally of daily new infections has risen by nearly 50 per cent over the past week and more than doubled in Moscow.

 

It said there were 13,510 infections recorded in the previous day, sharply higher than the 9,163 reported on June 6. Nearly half the new cases were in Moscow 6,701 compared with 2,936 a week ago.

 

Faced with the spiking figures, Moscow authorities said enforcement of mask- and glove-wearing on mass transit, in stores and in other public places would be strengthened and that violators could face fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($70). (AP)

4:56 PM

Saudi Arabia says hajj to be limited to 60,000 due to Covid

Saudi Arabia says this year's hajj pilgrimage will be limited to no more than 60,000 people, all of them from within the kingdom, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

 

The kingdom made the announcement Saturday on its state-run Saudi Press Agency.

 

It cited the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for making the decision.

 

In last year's hajj, as few as 1,000 people already residing in Saudi Arabia were selected to take part in the hajj. Read here

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Coronavirus LIVE: Looks like 80-90% of cases in most countries are of Delta variant, says former CCMB chief

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Coronavirus LIVE: Committed to data transparency on Covaxin, says Bharat Biotech

Coronavirus LIVE: Committed to data transparency on Covaxin, says Bharat Biotech

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Kerala launches largest inoculation drive for state's IT professionals

Kerala IT Parks and the Technopark Employees Cooperative (TEC) Hospital here, in collaboration with various IT Companies, launched the largest Covid-19 vaccination drive for the state's software professionals and their family members.

 

The vaccination programme was inaugurated on Saturday by

 

MLA Kadakampally Surendran at a facility set up by the H&R Block in Technopark here. (PTI)

4:23 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Sero-survey will tell us how far are we from herd immunity, says former CCMB chief

Coronavirus LIVE: Sero-survey will tell us how far are we from herd immunity, says CCMB chief

4:03 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Bharat Biotech to conduct clinical trials in US for marketing Covaxin

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Coronavirus LIVE: GST Council approves 'Nil' tax on Tocilizumab, Amphotericin B medicines

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FM says vaccines will be free and won't be a burden on consumer

FM Sitharaman says the Centre is buying 75 per cent of  vaccine production. "Jabs will be free, it won't be much of a burden on the consumer."