Covid LIVE: Delhi records 85 fresh cases, lowest daily rise this year

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10:10 AM

Coronavirus testing update: A total of 401,811,892 samples were tested up to June 25

10:04 AM

EU approves new one-dose J&J Covid-19 vaccine production site

The European Medicines Agency has approved a new manufacturing site for Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine, in a move that should boost production of the one-dose vaccine across the 27-nation EU.

 

In a statement Friday, the EU drug regulator said the new site in Anagni, Italy, will finish manufacturing of the J&J vaccine, which was licensed for use in adults across Europe in March.

 

Production problems have stalled J&J's roll-out across the European Union in recent months and millions of doses made at a U.S. factory had to be thrown out after contamination issues. Read on...

9:28 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 595,565 (Net reduction: 17,303)

Deaths: 394,493 (Net increase: 1,183)

Cured: 29,193,085 (Net increase: 64,818)

Total cases: 30,183,143  (Net increase: 48,698)

Total vaccination: 315,045,926 (Increase over previous day: 6,119,169)

9:11 AM

Doubts about China's transparency on the Covid-19 pandemic origins piling up: Report

Jesse Bloom, a virologist and professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, discovered the deletion of some early sequences of coronavirus from Wuhan which were missing from the Sequence Read Archive, a public archive of high throughput sequencing data, and noted that it seems likely that sequences were deleted by Chinese researchers "to obscure their existence."

 

An opinion piece in the Washington Post 'Doubts about China's transparency on the pandemic origins are piling up' says that Dr Bloom's discovery just adds to the pile of questions about whether China is hiding something.

 

"It is time to launch a serious, sustained investigation," it says.

 

The article notes that to get closer to the spark that caused the pandemic, it is essential to find the earliest cases of people who became infected.

 

"Evidence from these patients could suggest whether the virus jumped from an animal host to a human, in a zoonotic spillover, or whether the infection came from an inadvertent accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was actively studying bat coronaviruses and their potential to infect people. So far, the earliest cases have not been found," it says.

 

9:00 AM

Uzbekistan tightens Covid-19 restrictions amid rising daily infections

Uzbekistan will tighten Covid-19 restrictions across the country and impose partial lockdown in Tashkent for two weeks amid surging Covid-19 infections, the Uzbek health ministry said on Friday.

 

Under the decision of the Uzbek special commission to fight against the coronavirus, restrictions will be imposed on entry to the capital city from neighboring regions by vehicles "in the absence of an urgent need" from June 28 to July 12, according to the ministry.

8:46 AM

WHO: Delta variant is "most transmissible" identified so far

The head of the World Health Organization said the Covid-19 delta variant, first seen in India, is the most transmissible of the variants identified so far, and warned it is now spreading in at least 85 countries.

 

At a press briefing on Friday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the lack of vaccines in poor countries was exacerbating the delta variant's transmission.

 

He described a recent meeting he attended of an advisory group established to allocate vaccines.

 

8:41 AM

Global Covid-19 caseload tops 180mn

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 180 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.90 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 180,346,611 and 3,907,269, respectively.

 

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 33,603,077 and 603,526, respectively, according to the CSSE.

 

In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 30,134,445 cases.

8:31 AM

Thai PM orders one month closure of worker camps in Bangkok

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday that temporary closure will be applied to specific clusters to stem domestic spreads of Covid-19.

 

Prayut said that construction worker camps in Bangkok and surrounding provinces together with selected sites in four southern provinces will be closed down for a month effective from the upcoming Monday, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

He further rejected pressure to put Bangkok under a full lockdown despite increasing local infection rates.

8:26 AM

Bangladesh to impose nationwide 'hard lockdown' from June 28 amid surge in Covid-19 cases

Amid a dramatic surge in Covid-19 infections, Bangladesh will be going into a nationwide 'hard lockdown' from Monday for seven days in a bid to stem the spread of cases.

 

In a notification on Friday, the Information Ministry said that all government and private offices, except for emergency services will remain closed during the lockdown, Dhaka Tribune reported.

 

All kinds of transports, except for those carrying emergency supplies, ambulances and vehicles for healthcare services and media, will remain suspended from Monday, it said. No one will be allowed to leave home without emergency purposes.

 

The announcement comes after the national Covid-19 advisory panel on Thursday recommended imposing a nationwide shutdown for two weeks, with all kinds of offices remaining closed.

8:14 AM

Myanmar reports 859 new Covid-19 cases

The Covid-19 death toll rose to 3,282 after seven new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours in Myanmar, according to a release from the Health and Sports Ministry on Friday.

 

The release said 859 of 5,854 samples were newly tested positive, bringing the tally to 151,573 so far, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The number of recoveries increased to 134,779 after 190 patients have been discharged from hospitals.

 

The virus was first detected in Myanmar on March 23 last year.

8:08 AM

Maharashtra records 9,677 coronavirus cases, 156 deaths

Maharashtra on Friday reported 9,677 new Covid-19 cases and 156 deaths, taking its infection tally to 6,017,035, and death toll to 120,370, the state health department said in a release.

 

Of 156 deaths, 117 occurred in the last 48 hours and 39 in the last one week. Also, 355 deaths which had taken place earlier were added to cumulative tally on Friday.

 

The reconciliation of cases in Mumbai was complete with removal of duplication which brought down the caseload in the state capital by 4,467. The state's caseload too decreased by 73 after reconciliation of figures, the release said.

 

As many as 10,138 patients were discharged from hospitals on Friday, taking the total of recoveries to 5,772,799.

8:00 AM

Karnataka announces Covid relief package for hospitality sector

The Karnataka government has announced a Covid-19 rehabilitation and relief package for the state’s hospitality industry, responding to the demand put forth by the hospitality association seeking assistance to revive businesses that were hit by the pandemic-related crisis.

 

Tourism Minister CP Yogeshwar announced hotels and resorts will not have to pay electricity bills for April and May 2021. Further, a 50 per cent temporary concession has been allowed on the annual tax filing as well. “Hotels and resorts can pay 50 per cent of the excise and additional taxes now and the remaining by December 31,” he said.

 

Terming the Covid-19 rehabilitation package as the “beginning push towards revival”, the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) estimated that the sector hit by the pandemic-related crisis would require another two years to reach a stage of revival.

7:55 AM

Covid-19 vaccine can be given to pregnant women, says health ministry

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava said, “The health ministry has given guidelines that the vaccine can be given to pregnant woman."

 

He said vaccines are very useful for pregnant women. As for vaccinating children, ICMR has started a study on kids between 2 years to 18 years. The results of this study are expected by September. Bhargava, however, said there is only one country currently vaccinating children and whether very small children will ever need vaccines, is still a question.
 

“Till such time, we have more data on vaccination of children, we would not be in a position to vaccinate children at large,” Bhargava said. Read on...

7:40 AM

Coronavirus update: AAP, BJP spar over SC panel's report on 'inflated' oxygen need

Delhi's oxygen needs were "exaggerated" by four times during the second Covid wave, a Supreme Court-appointed panel report said, prompting the BJP to charge the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation of "criminal negligence", while the AAP dispensation accused the saffron party of "cooking up" such a report.

 

Responding to the accusations, Kejriwal on Friday said his only "crime" was that he "fought for the breath of two crore people" of Delhi. His deputy Manish Sisodia claimed that no such report has been approved by the committee members.

 

He alleged that the "bogus" and "misleading" report has been"cooked up" at BJP's office and submitted by the Centre in the apex court. "The real truth about this report is that it does not exist. This alleged report which is being used by BJP leaders to senselessly slam CM Arvind Kejriwal does not exist. It is bogus and misleading. The Bhartiya Janata Party is lying and shirking accountability," Sisodia alleged. Read on...

7:38 AM

Centre exempts tax on expenses incurred for Covid-19 treatment

The Centre on Friday exempted tax on expenses incurred on Covid treatment of an employee — borne by employers or any another person — for FY20 and later.

 

This exemption is applicable to any amount paid by the employer, and limited to Rs 10 lakh if received from any other person, the finance ministry notified.

 

The move comes as a relief to hundreds of taxpayers affected by the pandemic.

 

The ministry said many taxpayers have received financial help from their employers and well-wishers for meeting expenses incurred on Covid treatment. Read on...