Covid LIVE: Tamil Nadu sees 21,410 new cases, cancels Class 12 exams

Coronavirus live updates: India reported 120,529 new Covid-19 infections today, taking the caseload tally to 28,694,879. Death toll stands at 344,082. Stay tuned for corona-related news

A health worker takes a swab at a Covid-19 testing site in Uttar Pradesh, on May 4.(Photo: Bloomberg)

A health worker takes a swab at a Covid-19 testing site | Photo: Bloomberg

11:52 AM

Mumbai restaurants, salons to reopen with 50% occupancy in new unlock norms

Mumbai will reopen restaurants, gyms and salons for some hours and with 50 per cent occupancy after the Maharashtra government announced new regulations to unlock the economy battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Maharashtra’s government issued regulations late on Friday to ease lockdowns to contain the spread of Covid-19 depending on the weekly case positivity rate and occupancy of oxygenated beds in districts.

Districts would be -classified on five levels. Those with case-positivity rate of less than five per cent and bed occupancy less than 25 per cent are in Level 1. They will lift all restrictions and allow malls, restaurants, cinemas, gyms and salons to reopen. Read on...

11:44 AM

Arunachal Pradesh coronavirus update: 404 new Covid-19 cases reported

The Covid-19 caseload in Arunachal Pradesh rose to 28,786 as 404 more people tested positive for the infection, a senior health department official said here on Saturday.

The Covid-19 death toll increased to 122 as three more persons succumbed to the disease, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

The three patients from Capital Complex region, East Siang and Lower Siang died on Thursday while undergoing treatment at various health facilities, the official said.

Changlang district witnessed the highest spurt in fresh cases at 102, followed by the Capital Complex region (52), Namsai (38), Anjaw (36), Tawang (21), Lohit, West Kameng and Pakke Kessang at 19 each, Lower Dibang Valley (15), Lower Subansiri and Papumpare at 14 each and East Siang at 11.

Nine fresh infections were also reported from East Kameng, Upper Subansiri (8), Longding (7), Upper Siang (6), four each from Kurung Kumey and Tirap, two each from Leparada and Dibang Valley and one each from Kra Daadi and West Siang district respectively, the SSO said.

11:42 AM

Mayawati slams Punjab govt over profiteering from Covid-19 vaccines

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday said that Punjab government selling Covid vaccines to private hospitals at a premium was "indecent, inhuman, condemnable and very unfortunate."

She also urged the Centre to take proper cognizance of it.

In a series of tweets, the BSP chief lashed out at the Congress government in Punjab stating that it was seeking to make profits during a time when the country was grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Read on...

11:31 AM

Andaman & Nicobar Islands report 18 new Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours

Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 18 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the coronavirus tally in the union territory to 7,088, a health official said on Saturday.

The Covid-19 death toll to 121 as two more persons succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, he said.

Of the 18 new cases, 15 were detected during contact tracing while three were airport arrivals, he said.

All passengers arriving by flight have to go undergo a mandatory Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) before they are allowed entry into the islands, the official said. Read on...

11:27 AM

China turns first major country to let preschoolers have emergency vaccine

China authorized the emergency use of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s coronavirus vaccine for children, becoming the first major country to grant approval for those as young as three.

The move comes amid reports that young people with the disease could be as infectious as adults. Singapore, Hong Kong and some U.S. states have so far authorized the use of Covid-19 vaccines against children 12 years and above.

It’s not yet confirmed when this age group will receive their first doses of the vaccine in China. Phase I and Phase II research, involving several hundred participants, showed that the Sinovac vaccine is as safe and effective for children as it is for adults, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Yin Weidong told state broadcaster China Central Television on Friday. Read on...

11:12 AM

Jharkhand govt nod to one month's extra pay to Covid health workers

The Jharkhand government on Friday approved a number of proposals including one month's extra pay to Covid health workers and enhancement in honorarium for mid-day meal assistants.

The decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Sorent.

The Jharkhand government last month announced Rs 103 crore incentive for frontline health workers.

"The Cabinet has approved incentives for health department workers including doctors engaged in coronavirus related contact tracing, testing, supervision etc work in Covid hospitals and wards besides control rooms, which will be equivalent to their one month's salary," an official statement after the Cabinet meeting said. Read on...

10:53 AM

US lawmakers urge Biden to ensure equitable Covid vaccination globally

Over 40 American lawmakers on Friday wrote to President Joe Biden, urging him to take all the necessary measures to ensure equitable administration of Covid-19 vaccines across the world.

The effort in this regard is led by two Indian-American lawmakers Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi along with Congressman Tom Malinowski. Other signatories include Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna.

In the letter, Members of Congress called on the White House to take five specific measures from financial investments to diplomatic efforts to achieve the goal of a rapid and equitable vaccination programme while mitigating Covid-19 globally. Read on...

10:49 AM

Chief Whip in Himachal Pradesh Assembly and senior BJP MLA Narinder Bragta dies due to Covid

The Chief Whip in Himachal Pradesh Assembly and senior BJP MLA Narinder Bragta died at a hospital in Chandigarh, this morning. He had recently recovered from Covid-19 and was undergoing treatment for post covid complications: (His son) Chetan Singh Bragta confirmed on Facebook

10:47 AM

Delhi govt likely to announce further lockdown relaxations

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to announce further lockdown relaxations from the next week amid a dip in the city's daily Covid-19 case count, officials said on Saturday.

Kejriwal, who is scheduled to address a press conference later in the day, is also expected to announce the steps to deal with the possible third wave of the coronavirus.

An official said the government may allow markets and other activities from June 7 as the Covid-19 situation has gradually been improving. Last week, the government had allowed manufacturing and construction activities in Delhi beginning phased unlock process. The lockdown was imposed in Delhi on April 19.

10:40 AM

Nine-year old lioness Neela dies of Covid at Arinagar Anna zoo in Chennai

A nine-year-old lioness Neela has died of Covid-19, and few other lions have tested positive for the virus at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur area of Tamil Nadu's Chennai.

"A Covid-19 outbreak has been reported in the Asiatic lions at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur on June 3. Few of the lion has been found symptomatic and one of them - a nine-year-old lioness Neela succumbed to the disease on the evening of June 3," read a press release from the Zoo issued on Friday.

"The zoo officials have immediately quarantined all the Asiatic lions and under the supervision of the senior vets of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary University treatments have been started," it said. Read on...

10:35 AM

GOP sees opening to revive attacks on Fauci in email trove

Dr Anthony Fauci has been a political lightning rod since the early days of the pandemic, lionised by the left as a beacon of truth in an administration that badly mismanaged the pandemic and villainised by the right as a misguided, spotlight-seeking bureaucrat seeking to undermine former President Donald Trump.

But with the release of a trove of Fauci's emails this week, Republicans' attacks on the nation's top government infectious-diseases expert have gone into overdrive.

On conservative news channels, Fauci who now serves as President Joe Biden's pandemic adviser has been pilloried as a liar who misled the American people about the origins of Covid-19 to protect the Chinese government.

10:29 AM

Volunteers from Red Cross Society start Covid awareness drive in Jammu by shaping helmets into coronavirus

10:23 AM

Maharashtra: 1179 villages in Nanded district become coronavirus-free

Out of the total 1,604 villages in Nanded district of Maharashtra, as many as 1,179 have become coronavirus-free, while 271 others have not reported even a single infection case during the second wave of the pandemic, an official said.

Nanded district has so far recorded over 90,000 coronavirus positive cases and more than 1,800 people have died due to the viral infection till now.

The district has 1,604 villages across 16 tehsils. Of these, 1,179 villages have become Covid-19-free and as on June 4 there is not a single positive case there, the district official said.

Apart from them, 271 villages remained untouched by the pandemic during its second wave, the official added.

10:19 AM

Mayawati slams Punjab govt over profiteering from Covid-19 vaccines

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday said that Punjab government selling Covid vaccines to private hospitals at a premium was "indecent, inhuman, condemnable and very unfortunate."

She also urged the Centre to take proper cognizance of it.

"The act of making a profit by the Congress government of Punjab during this time of pandemic by buying Covid-19 vaccine at Rs 400 and selling the same to private hospitals for Rs 1,060 instead of giving benefits to the public through government hospitals is indecent, inhuman, condemnable and very unfortunate," said BSP chief in a tweet.

9:47 AM