Covid LIVE: Gujarat CM rolls out fresh curbs, night curfew till June 26

Coronavirus live updates: Tamil Nadu recorded 18,023 cases in the last 24 hours. Kerala registered 15,567 infections, Maharashtra 10,891, Karnataka 9,808 , Delhi 316. Stay tuned for corona-related new

12:45 PM

Covid came from China, best vaccines come from US: Republican senator

As America dispatches Covid vaccines and medical supplies as aid to countries such as India, an influential Republican senator said the coronavirus "came" from China, while the best vaccines come from the United States.

 

President Joe Biden had announced that the US will allocate 75 per cent, nearly 1.9 crore of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses, of unused Covid-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing programme to several countries.

 

"The coronavirus is not over. It is better in the United States, but it's not better in South America. It's not better in sub-Saharan Africa. It's better but not good in India. And the facts are the facts. I don't mean this to be a political statement. The virus came from China. The best vaccines came from the United States," Senator John Kennedy said. Read on...

12:38 PM

Bangladesh coronavirus update: 2,322 new cases, 44 more deaths reported

Bangladesh reported 2,322 new Covid-19 cases, the highest since April 29, and 44 more deaths on Tuesday, taking the total to 815,282 and the death toll to 12,913, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

 

The official data showed that 19,165 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

 

The total number of recovered patients stood at 755,302 including 2,062 new recoveries on Tuesday, said the DGHS.

 

According to the official data, the fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.58 percent and the current recovery rate is 92.64 per cent. Read on...

12:31 PM

Vials of coronavirus vaccine missing from Aligarh's primary health centre

Aligarh police on Tuesday registered a case of missing vials of COVID-19 vaccine from the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Naurangabad.

 

Raghvendra Singh, CO City, Aligarh said "Health Department's official filed a complaint that vials of COVID vaccines are missing from Primary Health Centre in Naurangabad."

 

He further said that a case has been registered at the Gandhi Park police station under the relevant section and an investigation is being done.

12:14 PM

'Didi died': India must not delay vaccinating pregnant women against Covid

Kalyani Agrahari, 27, an assistant teacher, was assigned to poll duty in eastern Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur block during the April 2021 state panchayat elections. Eight months pregnant with her first child and advised bed-rest by her doctor, Kalyani asked to be excused from the 12-hour duty at the poll booth that was 32 km from her home.

 

The district administration not only turned down her application but also threatened her with disciplinary action if she did not report for work. Kalyani, who had been appointed to the job just four months before, had no option but to comply.

 

On the evening of April 15, when she returned home from the poll booth, she complained of fever and body ache. When her temperature did not subside for three days, her family tried to get her hospitalised. She was turned down by eight hospitals that said they had no free beds. In the meanwhile, she had tested positive for Covid-19 and was finally admitted to Mahila Chikitsalaya (Women's hospital) in Jaunpur. She died on April 24, two days before her third wedding anniversary. Read on...

11:59 AM

Now correct personal details on CoWIN vaccination certificate online

The government has announced a new update that enables an applicant to correct any inadvertent errors in name, year of birth and gender printed on the CoWIN vaccination certificate.

 

Users can make the correction through the CoWIN website.

 

"Now you can make corrections to your name, year of birth and gender on your Cowin vaccination certificates if inadvertent errors have come in," the official handle of the Aarogya Setu app tweeted on Wednesday.

 

The CoWIN vaccination certificates are used at the time of travel and helps in the access of several other premises. Read on...

11:51 AM

Euro 2020: Two Sweden players test positive for coronavirus

Two players in Sweden's squad for the European Championship have tested positive for the coronavirus, the team said three days before the start of the tournament.

 

Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski returned a positive test soon after informing Sweden's medical team that he had symptoms for a cold. Kulusevski remained in Stockholm while the rest of the squad traveled to Gothenburg.

 

At the start of the first practice session in Gothenburg, Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg left the field to talk to national team doctor Anders Valentin and then took a test, which also came back positive for the coronavirus. Svanberg was isolating at the team hotel.

11:37 AM

Coal India requests mn vaccine doses after nearly 400 staff die of Covid-19

Coal India Ltd., one of the nation’s biggest employers, has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to help accelerate the vaccination of its work force after the deaths of almost 400 staff from Covid-19.
 

The world’s top coal miner, which employs about 259,000 people, said it has written to government officials requesting about 1 million doses be made available for staff and their family members. So far, some 64,000 employees -- about a quarter of the work force -- have been vaccinated, and the company is seeking to speed up the inoculation drive after unions pressed the case.

 

“The company should be looking at mass vaccination programs that cover all employees and their family members so that the damage can be arrested,” said Sudhir Ghurde, general secretary at Akhil Bharatiya Khadan Mazdoor Sangh, one of the leading unions. Read on...

11:25 AM

India strategic ally of US, needs America's help in fighting Covid-19: top lawmakers

India is a strategic ally of the US and it needs America's help in its ongoing fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, top lawmakers here have said, urging the Biden administration to share the extra vaccines with New Delhi.

 

They also said that at the same time, while assisting friends and allies, US intellectual property and innovations should be protected.

 

"India, a strategic ally, needs our help in its ongoing fight against Covid-19. Our abundant vaccine supply gives us opportunities to help our partners around the globe, where help is needed the most," Congressman Brad Wenstrup said.

10:29 AM

Andhra Pradesh records 1.58% growth rate despite coronavirus pandemic

Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy has said that the state has registered a growth rate of 1.58 per cent even during a tough time of coronavirus pandemic.

 

The Industries Minister said that investments and setting up of Industries has been slowed down all over the country in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Andhra Pradesh used this slump period to develop infrastructure in the state.

 

"Our government is developing two major projects in the industrial corridors. The government is developing Ramayapatnam, Bhavanapadu, Machilipatnam seaports in almost 8000 acres with Rs 18,000 crores. Further 8 fishing harbours are also will be developed in two phases," he said.

 

While reviewing the two years progress in the Industries ministry; Goutham Reddy said that the new Electronic Manufacturing Cluster is initiated with transparent policy.

9:48 AM

Pariament Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to meet on June 16

This will be the first Standing Committee meeting with physical presence amid the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccination policy review likely to be taken up in the meeting for subject to examination.

9:40 AM

Coronavirus in India: Testing update

9:29 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Summary of MoHFW data (June 9)
 

Active cases: 1,231,415 (Net reduction: 72,287)

Deaths: 353,528 (Net increase: 2,219)

Cured: 27,504,126 (Net increase: 162,664)

Total cases: 29,089,069 (Net increase: 92,596)

Total vaccination: 239,058,360 (Increase over previous day: 2,776,096)

9:19 AM

It is 'plausible' coronavirus leaked from Wuhan lab, finds US study

A report on the origins of Covid-19 by a US government national laboratory concluded that the hypothesis of a virus leak from a Chinese lab in Wuhan is plausible and deserves further investigation, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday, citing people familiar with the classified document.

 

The study was prepared in May 2020 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and was referred to by the State Department when it conducted an inquiry into the pandemic’s origins during the final months of the Trump administration, the WSJ report said. Read on...

9:15 AM

Covid-19 crisis: WTO panel considers easing protections on vaccines

Envoys from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) member nations are taking up a proposal to ease patents and other intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines to help developing countries fight the pandemic, an idea backed by the Biden administration but opposed in other wealthy countries with strong pharmaceutical industries.

 

On the table for a two-day meeting of a WTO panel opening Tuesday is a revised proposal presented by India and South Africa for a temporary IP waiver on coronavirus vaccines. The idea has drawn support from more than 60 countries, which now include the United States and China. Read on...

9:03 AM

Covid-19 vaccination: Govt books 440 million doses with 30% advance

The Centre has placed advance orders for 250 million Covishield and 190 million Covaxin doses to be supplied between August and December, V K Paul, member-health, Niti Aayog, said on Tuesday. He pointed out that 30 per cent advance payment for these doses had already been given to the vaccine makers--Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech.

 

The government has not disclosed the amount paid as advance for these orders. However, industry sources indicated that vaccine makers are likely to re-negotiate the price with the government. Till now, the Centre has been procuring vaccine at Rs 150 per dose. “Renegotiations on pricing are likely for two reasons. One, exports are not happening at the moment and second, the 25 per cent supply to states at a higher price has now been stopped,” said a senior executive at a vaccine firm. Read on...