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

9:20 AM

Global Covid-19 caseload tops 172.4 mn, deaths surge to more thab 3.70 mn

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 172.4 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.70 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 172,449,514 and 3,708,248, respectively.

 

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 33,342,974 and 596,999, respectively, according to the CSSE. Read on...

9:03 AM

UK companies hire the most in 23 years after Covid-19 lockdown loosens

UK companies are on a hiring spree after the government relaxed lockdown rules, employing permanent staff at the fastest pace in 23 years and advertising the most vacancies in three years.

 

The figures from the consultant KPMG and the online job placement agency Adzuna add to evidence that the economy is bouncing back strongly from last year’s recession. That will feed into the Bank of England’s debate on when to ease off on its stimulus. “The jobs market seems to be firing on all cylinders, and we need this momentum to continue for our economy and businesses to fully bounce back,” sa­i­d Claire Warnes, partner at KPMG. Read on...

8:58 AM

DATA STORY: India's active Covid cases now under 1.7 mn, deaths at 340,702

India has so far administered 224,109,448 vaccine doses. That is 782.90 per cent of its total caseload, and 16.09 per cent of its population. Read on...

8:56 AM

Over 43% of 60-plus category receive first dose of Covid vaccine: V K Paul

India has overtaken the US to become the top country in giving the highest number of people at least one dose of Covid vaccines in the world, as of June 3.

 

With over 174 million first doses administered so far, India has covered over 12.6 per cent of its population. The US, on the other hand, has given at least one dose to more than half its population, according to Our World in Data figures.

 

“It is reassuring that we are intensifying our vaccine campaign steadily and it will be intensified further in the weeks to come,” V K Paul, member-health NITI Aayog, said in a press briefing on Friday referring to the single-dose achievement of India. Read on...

8:43 AM

China dismisses Wuhan lab theory as conspiracy amid Dr Fauci revelations

After US top coronavirus advisor, Dr Anthony Fauci private emails were revealed to the press over coronavirus coming from Wuhan Lab, China on Friday dismissed Wuhan lab hypothesis as a conspiracy.

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin in a press briefing said, "According to US media reports, in April 2020, Francis S Collins, Director of the US National Institutes of Health, wrote to a number of heads of US research institutions, including Dr Anthony Fauci, dismissing the Wuhan lab hypothesis as a conspiracy."

 

On the issue of virus origin-tracing, Wang said that many experts in the international community have made scientific, rational, objective and impartial voices. Read on...

8:37 AM

PM reviews Covid vaccination, asks states to bring down 'vaccine wastage'

The government is helping vaccine manufacturers get more production units, financing and supply of raw materials, the PMO said on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the progress of the country's Covid-19 vaccination drive.

 

While reviewing the status of vaccine wastage in various states, Modi said the wastage numbers are still on a higher side and that steps need to be taken to bring them down.

 

He was briefed by officials about the current availability of vaccines and the roadmap for ramping it up. He was also apprised about the efforts being taken to help various vaccine manufacturers ramp up the production of vaccines. Read on...

8:34 AM

DU to provide full fee-waiver to students who lost parents to Covid-19

The Delhi University will provide full fee waiver to students who lost one or both parents to the coronavirus infection, officials said on Friday.

 

The university has written to its colleges to conduct a survey and prepare a list of such students.

 

"The Delhi University has written to its colleges to conduct a survey of students who have lost their parents due to coronavirus. We have sought a report in the matter by Monday," Dean of Colleges, Balaram Pani, told PTI.

 

The fee waiver, which will be 100 per cent, will be applicable for students who have lost either of the parents or both to the virus in both the waves of the pandemic. They won't even be charged examination fees. Read on...

8:32 AM

FM Nirmala Sitharaman says macroeconomic fundamentals are sound

India’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain sound, which is reflected in the robust investment flows into the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Business Standard in an exclusive interview.

 

“Just before the second wave of the pandemic hit, the high frequency indicators were robust, be it domestic factory orders, goods, services, electricity consumption, foreign direct investment flows, foreign exchange reserves etc,” she said Read on...

8:31 AM

Nepal asks hospitals to prepare facilities for children over Covid threat

The Nepali government on Friday asked hospitals to get health facilities ready for children, saying they are more vulnerable to a potential third or fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The Ministry of Health and Population issued a notice, saying the current arrangement of health facilities is focusing on helping the adults as the first and second wave of the epidemic have affected this group badly, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

"As there is the possibility of third and fourth wave of Covid-19 and children might be affected badly, hospitals are requested to arrange at least 20 per cent of their approved beds for children," the ministry said. It also asked hospitals to make oxygen available for children.

 

"At least some adults have been vaccinated and have certain protection from Covid-19, but children aged below 18 are more vulnerable due to a lack of vaccination," said Krishna Prasad Paudel, a ministry spokesman.

8:24 AM

UK approves Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for use in 12- to 15-year-olds

Britain's medicines regulator said on Friday it had approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for use on 12- to 15-year-olds, following similar clearances in the US and the EU.

 

The regulator said it would now be up to the country's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to decide whether to go ahead and inoculate this age group as part of Britain's vaccination roll-out plan.

 

Children aged 12-15 are already receiving the Pfizer shot in the United States, while France and Germany are planning to start offering it to that age group this month. Read on...

8:17 AM

Blaming China for Covid-19 pandemic groundless, says Russian media

It is unfounded for the United States to accuse China of causing the Covid-19 pandemic, a columnist of Russia's RIA Novosti news agency has said.

 

"The only information on which the whole anti-Chinese narrative is based" is an article in The Wall Street Journal, "which claimed that even before the official start of the pandemic, some scientists in Wuhan city in central China fell ill with something similar to the coronavirus. However, this whole story is absolutely murky and groundless," Victoria Nikiforova said in a commentary this week.

 

She noted that the "entertaining" timeline of events that happened in the summer and autumn of 2019 is alarming, the Xinhua news agency reported. Read on...