Coronavirus LIVE: PM announces vaccination festival between April 11 and 14

Live updates: Mumbai has recorded 8,938 cases and, Delhi 7,437 cases in the last 24 hours. PM Modi is meeting CMs to discuss rising cases. Stay tuned for all coronavirus updates

7:57 PM

Maharashtra Health Minister chairs meeting with 7 manufacturers of Remdesivir

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope today chaired a meet with 7 manufacturers of Covid-19 drug Remdesivir and asked them to double the production for the State. The meeting was also attended by FDA minister Rajendra Shingane and officials of the Health and FDA department. (ANI)

7:51 PM

Odisha govt tells prison authorities that no Covid-19 infected person be kept inside jail

To contain the spread of Covid-19 infection, the Odisha government on Thursday decided that no COVID-19 infected person be kept inside the jail premises.

 

The state government issued a Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) to the superintendents of all jails asking them to implement it in letter and spirit.

 

The Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services, Odisha, in the letter asked the Superintendent of all jails to take measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 inside the prisons. (PTI)

7:46 PM

WHO rejects Serum's proposal seeking extension of shelf-life of Covishield from 6 to 9 months

WHO rejects Serum Institute of India's proposal seeking extension of shelf-life of Covishield from 6 to 9 months, reports news agency PTI

7:41 PM

Pune authorities ramp up bed capacity as Covid-19 cases rise

The civic administration in Pune city on Thursday said it is constantly working to increase the bed capacity for Covid-19 patients to ensure that there is no paucity.

 

Speaking to reporters, Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar said the civic body currently has around 7,500 beds where Covid-19 patients are undergoing treatments.

 

"On March 21, we had 3,500 beds, of which 2,200 were equipped with oxygen and 290 were ventilator beds. At present, we have 7,500 beds, of which 4,800 are equipped with oxygen and 550 are ventilator beds," he said. (PTI)

7:39 PM

Karnataka to conduct 100,000 tests a day in Bengaluru as cases surge

With surging coronavirus cases in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government on Thursday decided to intensify testing in the city with a target of 100,000 tests a day and conduct a door-to-door survey to identify positive cases.

 

"Instructions have been given to conduct one lakh tests per day in Bengaluru and to identify at least 20 primary and secondary contacts for each case," Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar told reporters here.

 

The minister said these measures have been initiated against the backdrop of the surge in cases. (PTI)

7:35 PM

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar attend meeting with PM

7:33 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 4,353 new cases in Kerala

4,353 new coronavirus cases in Kerala, tally 1.14 million; toll 4,728 with 18 more deaths, according to the state health department.

7:31 PM

Pune authorities ramp up bed capacity as Covid-19 cases rise

The civic administration in Pune city on Thursday said it is constantly working to increase the bed capacity for Covid-19 patients to ensure that there is no paucity.

 

Speaking to reporters, Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar said the civic body currently has around 7,500 beds where Covid-19 patients are undergoing treatments.

 

"On March 21, we had 3,500 beds, of which 2,200 were equipped with oxygen and 290 were ventilator beds. At present, we have 7,500 beds, of which 4,800 are equipped with oxygen and 550 are ventilator beds," he said. (PTI)

7:30 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Tamil Nadu reports 4,276 new cases

Tamil Nadu reports 4,276 new coronavirus cases, 1,869 discharges and 19 deaths in last 24 hours, according to the state health department.

7:24 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi reports 7,437 cases; positivity rate zooms to 8.10%

Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi reports 7,437 cases; positivity rate zooms to 8.10 per cent, according to the state health department.

7:21 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai reports 8,938 news cases

7:03 PM

Australia backs Pfizer virus vaccine over AstraZeneca for under-50s

Australia said on Thursday it now recommends people under 50 should get Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine in preference to AstraZeneca's shot, a policy shift that it warned would hold up its inoculation campaign.

 

The move, a day after European regulators reiterated they had found possible links between AstraZeneca's shot and reports of very rare cases of blood clots, is a huge hurdle for Australia's programme, which had relied on that vaccine.

 

Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, told reporters the risk of clots was extremely low. (PTI)

7:01 PM

Karnataka CM Yediyurappa takes part in meeting with PM Modi

6:42 PM

Kerala CM confirms being tested positive for coronavirus

6:40 PM

Hue and cry by certain states about partisanship is just a farce, says Harsh Vardhan