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

6:39 PM

LIVE: PM Modi to interact with CMs shortly to discuss Covid situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet chief ministers of all states via video-conferencing to discuss the coronavirus situation and strategies to contain the fresh wave of infections.

6:38 PM

Jewellery industry urges Maharashtra govt to ease lockdown restriction on festive season

The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to allow the opening of jewellery retail stores in the state during the festive occasion of Gudi Padwa (New Year for Maharashtrians), which is an important day for buying wedding jewellery.

 

In a letter written to the CM on Wednesday, GJC said Gudi Padwa is one of the most important festivals for Maharashtra, and every year, jewellery business witnesses a 30-40 per cent spike in sales.

 

"Currently, thousands of customers have placed orders for the festival, which are pending delivery. Due to the lockdown and closure of retail outlets, the retailers are unable to supply the goods to the customers for Gudi Padwa and their weddings," the letter stated. (PTI)

6:36 PM

Goa's Covid-19 case count grows by 582, death toll by two

Goa's coronavirus caseload on Thursday went up by 582 to reach 60,811, a health department official said.

 

The state's death toll mounted to 842 as two patients succumbed to the infection during the day, he said.

 

The number of recovered patients in the state rose to 56,638 as 107 of them got discharge from hospitals on Thursday.

6:33 PM

US jobless claims up to 744,000 as virus still forces layoffs

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to 744,000, signaling that many employers are still cutting jobs even as more people are vaccinated against Covid-19, consumers gain confidence and the government distributes aid throughout the economy.

 

The Labor Department said Thursday that applications increased by 16,000 from 728,000 a week earlier. Jobless claims have declined sharply since the virus slammed into the economy in March of last year.

 

But they remain high by historical standards: Before the pandemic erupted, weekly applications typically remained below 220,000 a week. (AP)

6:17 PM

Nagpur logs 5,514 new Covid-19 cases, its biggest spike so far

Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Thursday reported 5,514 new cases of coronavirus, its biggest one-day spike so far, according to the district health department.  It also recorded 73 deaths due to the infection, which is another single-day high.

6:16 PM

Centre sanctions over Rs 250 crore to NE states to deal with Covid-19

The Centre has sanctioned over Rs 250 crore to the northeastern states for an effective management of the Covid-19 pandemic, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.

 

Chairing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) here, Singh said the fund has greatly helped in developing infrastructure for the management of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases.

 

A total amount of over Rs 250 crore was sanctioned by the Ministry of DoNER for augmenting healthcare facilities in the eight northeastern states for an effective management of Covid-19, an official statement quoted the minister as saying. (PTI)

6:13 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan tests positive for virus

Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan tests positive for virus, reports PTI

6:04 PM

Sachin Tendulkar discharged from hospital after recovering from Covid-19

Sachin Tendulkar discharged from hospital after recovering from Covid-19. He will be in home quarantine for few days. reports ANI

5:45 PM

Covid-19 surge: Central team visits Surat, meets top officials

In the wake of a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases, a 12-member central team visited Surat in Gujarat on Thursday and collected information about the vaccination process and the number of patients being treated in the district, a senior official said.

 

The team comprised experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Pune-based National Institute of Virology and the Union health ministry.

 

Surat Collector Dhaval Patel told reporters that the situation is "serious" this time as compared to last year, and the best way is to stay indoors and maintain social distance.

 

He said the central team, during a meeting with top officials of Surat, took information about the RT-PCR and antigen tests being conducted here, positivity rate, the number of people being vaccinated, and patient management. (PTI)

5:44 PM

Germany mulls possible order of Russian vaccine

Germany's health minister said Thursday that the European Union doesn't plan to order Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine but his country will hold talks with Russia on whether an individual order makes sense.

 

The EU's executive Commission said Wednesday it won't place orders for Sputnik V on member countries' behalf, as it did with other manufacturers, Health Minister Jens Spahn told WDR public radio.

 

Spahn said he told his fellow EU health ministers that Germany, which has strongly backed joint EU orders, will talk bilaterally to Russia, first of all about when it could come and in what quantities. (AP)

5:34 PM

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal takes first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday took the first shot of Covid-19 vaccine at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).

 

After receiving his first jab, the chief minister told waiting journalists, all the eligible people in the state should get themselves vaccinated as it will help defeat the pandemic.

 

He also urged all to keep following Covid-19 safety protocols. (PTI)

5:28 PM

No possibility of imposing lockdown or night curfew in Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma

No possibility of imposing lockdown or night curfew in Assam, says State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

5:25 PM

LIVE: Harsh Vardhan to chair meeting of the GoM on coronavirus situation

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to chair the 24th meeting of the High-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on coronavirus situation and the status of preparedness tomorrow, reports ANI.

5:01 PM

UK cases drop 60 per cent due to vaccines, lockdown

Britain's Covid-19 vaccination programme is beginning to break the link between infection and serious illness or death, according to the latest results from an ongoing study of the pandemic in England.

 

Researchers at Imperial College London found that Covid-19 infections dropped about 60 per cent in March as national lockdown measures slowed the spread of the virus. People 65 and older were least likely to be infected as they benefited most from the vaccination programme, which initially focused on older people.

 

The study also found that the relationship between infections and deaths is diverging, suggesting that infections may have resulted in fewer hospitalisations and deaths since the start of widespread vaccination. (AP)

5:00 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Uttar Pradesh reports 8,490 fresh cases

Uttar Pradesh reports 39 more coronavirus fatalities, death toll rises to 9,003; 8,490 fresh cases push infection tally to 654,404, according to the state health department.