Covid LIVE: Lockdown restrictions in Bengaluru to be eased from June 14

Coronavirus live updates: Tamil Nadu recorded 17,321 cases in the last 24 hours. Kerala registered 15,204 infections, Maharashtra 10,959, Karnataka 10,959, Delhi 337. Stay tuned for corona-related new

8:11 PM

Himachal Pradesh reports 533 new Covid cases, 862 recoveries and 15 deaths in a day

Himachal Pradesh reports 533 new Covid cases, 862 recoveries and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours.

8:03 PM

25 more Covid deaths, 1,117 new cases in Jammu and Kashmir

The COVID-19 death toll in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 4,143 on Thursday with 25 more fatalities, while 1,117 new cases pushed the infection count to 3,04,866, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 332 were from Jammu division and 785 from the Kashmir division, they said.

 

Srinagar district recorded the highest 194 cases followed by 121 in Budgam district, officials said. The number of active cases dropped to 18,581, while the overall recoveries have reached 2,82,142 so far, officials said.

 

The death toll rose to 4,143 after 25 patients died in the past 24 hours, they said. Officials said there were 18 confirmed cases of Mucormycosis (black fungus) in the union territory and no fresh case has been reported since last evening.

7:50 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 16,813 new Covid cases, 358 deaths in a day

7:33 PM

Over 1,300 people fined in Delhi for flouting Covid-19 norms

Over 1,300 people were fined in Delhi on June 9 for violation of COVID-19 guidelines, police said on Thursday.

 

According to data shared by the police, 1,349 challans were issued in the city on Wednesday, of which 1,167 were for not wearing face masks, 180 for not maintaining social distance and two were against large public gatherings.

 

"The process of unlocking has been started and we urge people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour. Use a face mask while coming out of the house, maintain social distancing and regularly sanitise their hands. People should not come out of their homes unnecessarily," Delhi Police Additional Public Relations Officer (PRO) Anil Mittal said.

7:23 PM

Rajasthan reports 538 new Covid cases, 23 deaths and 2,268 recoveries in a day

Rajasthan reports 538 new Covid cases, 23 deaths and 2,268 recoveries today; active case tally at 10,079

7:07 PM

Covid-19 cases 'very clearly' going up, warns UK PM Johnson

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday warned that COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations are "very clearly" on the rise in the country and that he continues to assess the vaccination data to decide on whether to end all lockdown measures by June 21.

 

Speaking in Cornwall ahead of the G7 Leaders' Summit, Johnson told reporters that arguments continue to be made one way or another" as to whether all restrictions can be lifted as planned. The government is due to make an announcement on the planned unlocking on Monday.

 

"What everybody can see very clearly is that cases are going up and, in some places, hospitalisations are going up, said Johnson. "What we need to assess is the extent to which the vaccine rollout, which has been phenomenal, has built up enough protection in the population in order for us to go ahead to the next stage," he said.

6:56 PM

Uttarakhand reports 388 new Covid cases, 3,242 recoveries and 15 deaths in a day

Uttarakhand reports 388 new Covid cases, 3,242 recoveries and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours.

6:42 PM

Tamil Nadu may extend Covid lockdown by a week on experts' advice

The Tamil Nadu government might extend the lockdown, which is in force in the state by one more week, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin likely to make an announcement on this either later on Thursday or Friday morning.

 

Stalin had conducted meeting of health officials and top bureaucrats on Thursday and experts in public health, who were present, recommended the government extend the lockdown by another week.

 

As many as 11 districts have higher number of cases and in several rural areas of the state new clusters have formed giving a major headache to the state government. READ ON...

6:32 PM

Kiren Rijiju launches campaign to distribute Ayush-64 tablets for Covid patients

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday lauded the Arunachal Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu for its 'commendable job' in achieving remarkable success in combating COVID-19 despite many challenges.

 

Launching the distribution campaign of Ayush-64 tablet for COVID-19 patients and Ayurveda immunity booster medicine at civil secretariat here, the Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs and Ayush said that at the trying time both the Centre and state governments coordinated very well and worked towards managing the pandemic.

 

"The central government has ensured that all essential commodities including ration items, petroleum products, gas, etc, are made available to the people at right places," he said.

6:21 PM

Case against 35 for flouting Covid protocol at dance party in UP

A case has been registered against 35 people under the Epidemic Act for flouting Covid protocol during a dance programme in Bada Daroga Purwa village here, police said on Thursday.

 

The event was organised on Wednesday night to celebrate the birth of a boy in which dancers were also called, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Jang Bahadur Yadav said.

 

During the dance programme, a large crowd assembled and Covid protocol was violated by not following social distancing norms and other guidelines.

6:12 PM

Kerala reports 14,424 new Covid cases, 194 deaths in a single day

Kerala reports 14,424 new Covid cases, 194 deaths and 17,994 recoveries today; the number of active cases in the State is 1,35,298

6:06 PM

Goa reports 413 new Covid positive cases, 585 recoveries and 13 deaths in last 24 hours

Goa reports 413 new Covid positive cases, 585 recoveries and 13 deaths in the last 24 hours.

5:58 PM

Better-fitting face masks greatly improve Covid-19 protection: Study

Poorly fitting face masks greatly increase the risk of infection from airborne diseases like COVID-19, compared to custom-fitted masks, according to a study.

 

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati in the US used CT scans of three different-sized face masks attached to three different-sized dummy heads to measure the gaps between the face and the fabric.

 

They then calculated the leaks from these gaps to determine the infection risk.

5:44 PM

Alpha, Delta Covid-19 variants found in Sri Lanka

Highly contagious Alpha and Delta variants of the coronavirus have been detected in Sri Lanka, which is facing a third wave of the pandemic.

 

Patients carrying the Delta variant, or the B1.617.2 variant first identified in India, and the Alpha strain, formerly called the B.1.1.7 strain, which was first detected in the UK, have been found at around nine locations of different districts in Sri Lanka, said Dr Chandima Jeewandara, the Director of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

 

According to the sequencing report issued on Wednesday, 80 people were infected with the Alpha variant in multiple locations while the Delta variant was found in one person from a quarantine facility. The Alpha variant cases were also reported in healthcare workers who were fully vaccinated.

5:35 PM

Active Covid cases in Andhra falls below one lakh mark

The active coronavirus cases fell below the one lakh mark to 99,057 in Andhra Pradesh as the state reported 8,110 fresh positives, 12,981 recoveries and 67 deaths in 24 hours ending 9 AM on Thursday.

 

The cumulative cases went up to 17,87,883 and recoveries to 16,77,063 so far, the latest bulletin said.

 

The Covid-19 toll in the state touched 11,763. The two main hotspots East Godavari and Chittoor districts reported 1,416 and 1,042 fresh cases respectively in 24 hours. The remaining 11 districts added less than 1,000 new cases each, according to the bulletin.