Coronavirus LIVE: More than 13 mn vaccine doses administered, says govt

Coronavirus live updates: India reported a net addition of 4,801 to take its count of active coronavirus cases to 151,708, in the past 24 hours, according to MoHFW

4:37 PM

Covid-19 vaccine for South Africa strain ready for human testing: Moderna

US-based drugmaker Moderna said that it has completed manufacturing of clinical trial material for its variant-specific vaccine candidate against the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.351 -- first identified in the Republic of South Africa.

 

The company has shipped doses to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a Phase 1 clinical trial that will be led and funded by the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

 

"As we seek to defeat Covid-19, we must be vigilant and proactive as new variants of SARS-CoV-2 emerge. Leveraging the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are moving quickly to test updates to the vaccines that address emerging variants of the virus in the clinic," Stephane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, said in a statement.

 

4:23 PM

Mumbai's Oval Maidan to be closed from 26 Feb due to spike in Covid-19 cases

As the city has been witnessing a rise in the number of COVID 19 cases, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to close the iconic Oval Maidan in Mumbai from February 26, said Chanda Jadhav, BMC Assistant municipal commissioner. No activity will be allowed in the Maidan in south Mumbai, including sports till further orders.

 

"BMC to close the iconic Oval Maidan from tomorrow, 26th February due to rise in #COVID19 cases in Mumbai," said Chanda Jadhav.

3:57 PM

Delhi reports 220 new Covid-19 cases and 188 recoveries in last 24 hours

3:34 PM

Seven states witnessing an upsurge in daily new coronavirus cases: Health Ministry

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh witnesses an upsurge in daily new coronavirus cases: Union Health Ministry

3:33 PM

Odisha reports 89 fresh Covid-19 cases, one new death

Odisha's COVID-19 tally on Thursday surged to 3,36,924 after 89 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the coronavirus death toll to 1,915, a health department official said.

 

The new cases were detected in 19 of the state's 30 districts, with 53 cases reported from quarantine centres and 36 local contact cases.

 

Sambalpur district recorded the highest of 14 cases followed by 9 each from Khurda and Balasore and Sundergarh (8). Kandhamal and Dhenkanal turned coronavirus free as both the districts have no active COVID-19 case.

3:15 PM

Home quarantine norms breach among reasons for Covid-19 surge

Blatant violation of COVID-19 home quarantine and social distancing guidelines and unavailability of adequate resources for contact-tracing have led to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, a senior health official said on Thursday.

 

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded a single-day spike of 8,807 new cases, taking the count of infections in the state to 21,21,119. The state reported over 8,000 cases in a day after a gap of over four months.

 

"We are helpless as people are not following the basic guidelines for home quarantine after discharge from hospitals post recovery or after return from a place that mandates such isolation for a limited period," Dr Subhash Salunke, technical adviser to the state government on COVID-19 outbreak, said.

2:54 PM

Aurangabad records 281 new Covid-19 cases; three deaths

With the addition of 281 new cases of coronavirus, the tally of infections in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district reached 49,291, an official said on Thursday. Apart from the latest cases recorded on Wednesday, the district also recorded three casualties that took the toll to 1,258, the official said.

 

Of the new infections, 262 were reported from Aurangabad city, while remaining 19 were from rural parts of the district, he said. At least 46,721 persons have recovered from the infection in the district, he said, adding that the region is now left with 1,312 active cases. As many as 1,858 samples were tested in the district on Wednesday, the official said.

2:17 PM

Seven states comprise 89.5% new Covid-19 cases: Health Ministry

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Thursday that the situation of Covid-19 in seven states is deteriorating since cases there have contributed 89.5 per cent to the tally.

 

The ministry said that Maharashtra and Kerala continue to report the highest daily new cases while the situation in Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh has been deteriorating for a few days. However, two states -- Gujarat and Tamil Nadu -- which were reporting low figures, are now witnessing a resurgence of cases.

 

"India's active caseload is 1,51,708 today comprising 1.37 per cent of the total positive cases. This is largely attributable to the upsurge in daily new cases in some states. "Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh have recorded a rise in daily new cases," the Ministry said.

1:47 PM

229 children found Covid-19 positive in Maharashtra hostel

As COVID-19 cases surge in Maharashtra, 229 school students and three staff members were found positive for the virus at a hostel in the Washim district of the state, said district authorities. The students are mostly from Amravati (151). A total of 327 students who reside in this hostel are mostly from Amravati, Hingoli, Nanded, Washim, Buldhana, and Akola.

 

Last week 26 students were found virus-positive at the hostel after that all the students were tested.

 

The school premises have reportedly been declared a containment zone. Maharashtra reported 8,807 new COVID-19 cases and 80 deaths in the last 24 hours, the state health department said on Wednesday. The state has reported a total of 21,21,119 COVID-19 cases.

1:07 PM

Covid samples from 8 Maharashtra districts sent for testing of new mutations

As cases of Covid-19 surge in Maharashtra, samples from about eight districts have been sent to laboratories across the country, including the National Institute of Virology and National Center for Disease Control, to find out if any new variant is behind the increasing number of cases.

 

Speaking to ANI, the advisor to the state for Covid control Dr Subhash Salunke said, "The ICMR has not been able to clearly come out whether is there any new mutant virus or not, that study is being done at NIV and NCDC and other few laboratories in the country, 8 districts of Maharashtra have already sent the required number of 100 samples per district. Results of these studies will be available to us maximum by the end of this week or maybe in another 8 to 10 days. After that, we will be able to confidently state whether the mutation has taken place, if the indigenous strain has mutated and if it is there then what type of mutation it is etc."

12:52 PM

Tamil Nadu promotes students studying in classes 9,10 and 11 without exams

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami declared all students studying in classes 9,10 and 11 as passed without taking exams.
 

"Students of classes 9, 10 and 11 will be promoted to the next class without exams, in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Palaniswami in the state legislative assembly on Thursday.
 

He also raised the retirement age of government employees from 59 to 60. Read on...

12:06 PM

Japanese WHO expert voices skepticism on China's theory 'virus intruded' into Beijing from abroad

A Japanese expert from the World Health Organization (WHO), who visited Wuhan as part of the investigative team to look into the origins of Covid-19, has voiced skepticism on China's stance that the virus had originally entered the country from abroad through a cold chain.

 

Speaking in an interview with Kyodo News, Ken Maeda, a veterinary microbiologist at Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, emphasised the need for an additional investigation into key places in Wuhan.

 

"The possibility is not so high" that the virus entered Wuhan on frozen-food packages as China claims, said Maeda.

10:54 AM

Coronavirus in India: Five most affected states by cases

Maharashtra (2,121,119)

Kerala (1,045,009)

Karnataka (949,183)

Andhra Pradesh (889,503)

Tamil Nadu (849,629)

10:19 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 151,708 (Net addition: 4801)

Deaths: 156705 (Net increase: 138)

Cured: 10738501 (Net increase: 11,799)

Total cases: 11046914 (Net increase: 16,738)

Total vaccination: 12,671,163 (Increase over previous day: 503,947)

10:08 AM

Arunachal Pradesh did not report any new Covid-19 case for sixth consecutive day on Thursday: Official

Arunachal Pradesh did not report any new Covid-19 case for sixth consecutive day on Thursday: Official