Coronavirus LIVE: Jharkhand health worker dies after receiving vaccine

Coronavirus live updates: Globally, more than 104.5 million people have been infected by the virus and the death toll stands at 2,262,004

4:23 PM

Punjab: Five more students of Nawanshahr govt school test Covid-19 positive, total 19 now

Five more students of a government school here tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday, taking the tally to 19, officials said. Samples of 110 students of the Government High School in Saloh in Nawanshahr Tehsil were taken for testing on Tuesday, District Epidemiologist Jagdeep Singh said, adding five of them have returned positive.

 

More samples are being collected, he said. As many as 14 students and three teachers of the government school had tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. The school, which has 350 students, has been closed.

 

Singh, the District Epidemiologist, further said if needed the health department would also undertake random sampling of students of nearby Government Sr Secondary School, Hiala, as many class 11 and 12 students, who study there, hail from Saloh village. Schools in the state reopened in January, nine months after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to check the coronavirus pandemic.

3:10 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Jharkhand health worker dies after receiving vaccine

A health worker has died 36 hours after being administered COVID vaccine in Jharkhand, officials said on Wednesday. The health worker, identified as Mannu Pahan, was administered the Covishield vaccine at his workplace Medanta Hospital here on February 1 and he died on Tuesday night, the private medical establishment's CEO Dr Pankaj Sahni said.

 

Though 52-year-old Pahan did not have comorbidities, the cause of his death is being investigated, he said. After being administered the vaccine, Pahan returned to his village in Ormanjhi near Ranchi and even came to work on February 2. He fell ill in his village on Tuesday night and died while being taken to the hospital, Dr Ajit Prasad, nodal officer for the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the state, said.

2:24 PM

83.01% of the new coronavirus cases from six States and UTs: Health Ministry

1:46 PM

India fastest country to reach 4 million Covid-19 vaccination mark: Health ministry

India has become the fastest country in the world to reach the 4 million COVID-19 vaccination mark, achieving this feat in 18 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.  More than 41 lakh beneficiaries have been administered shotsunder the countrywide exercise till morning.

 

"As on February, 1, India was among the top five countries in terms of number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to people. India continues to undertake its vaccination drive at a fast pace," the ministry highlighted.

 

India's fight against COVID-19 is bringing daily successes on other fronts as well, it said. Fourteen states and UTs have not reported any deaths in a span of 24 hours including Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Lakshadweep, Ladakh (UT), Sikkim, Manipur, Puducherry, Goa, Odisha and Assam.

 

1:22 PM

Coronavirus update: Uttar Pradesh has added 172 cases to take its tally to 600,642

Uttar Pradesh has added 172 cases to take its tally to 600,642.

12:24 PM

Covid-19: 185 new cases, 2 deaths in Telangana

Telangana recorded 185 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally to 2.94 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,604 with two more fatalities.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 27, followed by Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts with 13 and 12 respectively, a state government bulletin said on Wednesday providing details as of 8 pm on February 2.

The cumulative number of cases stood at 2,94,924, while the cumulative number of recoveries were 2,91,312.

The total number of active cases were 2,008.

11:51 AM

Canada to produce coronavirus vaccine shots domestically before end of 2021

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada's National Research Council-owned Royalmount facility will produce millions of Covid-19 vaccine shots developed by Maryland-based Novavax.

 

The Canadian company in Montreal submitted its vaccine to Health Canada for regulatory approval last Friday. Its production is expected to start in the fall this year as the global market is contending with delivery delays and protectionist measures, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. Read on...

11:31 AM

Pakistan begins Covid-19 vaccine roll-out

Nearly a year after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that claimed 11,746 lives and infected more than half a million in Pakistan, the government began vaccinating the frontline warriors on Tues­day, with a 50-year-old doctor being the first health care worker (HCW) in the country to get the jab.

 

While a countrywide ca­m­paign is going to start formally on Wednesday in wh­i­ch over one million HCWs will be vaccinated aga­inst the coronavirus in a period of two months, an anaesthetist and critical care specialist, Prof Rana Imran Sikander, was the first doctor to have been vaccinated against the disease at PM Office in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Dawn reported.

 

On the occasion, the Prime Minister said: "I congratulate my team which has worked prom­ptly and vaccine was imp­orted. We are also thankful to China which has provided vaccine. Just like the vaccine has been inoculated to a doctor, it will be given to frontline health care workers who have been dealing with the Covid-19 patients.

10:31 AM

Hit by Covid-19 pandemic, oil giants Exxon, BP post huge 2020 losses

Oil giants Exxon and BP reported staggering losses for 2020 on Tuesday as the pandemic crushed energy demand and undercut oil prices.

 

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported the largest losses in its history nearly $20.1 billion for the fourth quarter, including more than $19 billion to write down the value of company assets. For the full year, it lost $22.4 billion.

 

BP PLC posted a profit of $825 million in the fourth quarter but still lost $18.1 billion in 2020. The results came after Chevron reported last week that it lost $5.5 billion last year. Read on...

10:07 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 160,057 (Net reduction: 3,296)

Deaths: 154,596 (Net increase: 110)

Cured: 10,462,631 (Net increase: 14,225)

Total cases: 10,777,284 (Net increase: 11,039)

Total vaccination: 4,138,918 (Increase over previous day: 188,762)

9:54 AM

New Zealand OKs its 1st coronavirus vaccine

New Zealand's medical regulator has approved its first coronavirus vaccine, and officials hope to begin giving shots to border workers by the end of March.

 

New Zealand has no community transmission of the virus, and border workers are considered the most vulnerable to catching and spreading the disease because they deal with arriving travellers, some of whom are infected.

 

Regulators on Wednesday gave provisional approval for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for people aged 16 and over.

8:19 AM

PM-Cares Fund to foot over 80% cost of 1st phase of Covid vaccination drive

The PM-CARES fund, which has been set up to provide relief during the coronavirus pandemic, has contributed over Rs 2,200 crore for the first phase of vaccination drive, which is looking to inoculate frontline healthcare workers, the Expenditure Secretary said on Tuesday.

 

Set up in March 2020, the exact collections made by the fund through voluntary contribution by individuals and corporates, are not known but the corpus managed by the PMO has been providing relief to pandemic-hit sectors. Read on...

7:34 AM

Delhi reported 114 new Covid-19 cases, 160 recoveries and 2 deaths

Delhi reported 114 new Covid-19 cases, 160 recoveries and 2 deaths on Tuesday.