Covid-19 LIVE: Kerala reports 10,691 new infections, 85 deaths in 24 hrs

Coronavirus live updates: India restricts export of certain syringes used for Covid-19 vaccination; Vietnam plans to start vaccinating children aged from 12 to 17.

6:30 PM

Active Covid-19 cases drop below 8,000 in Andhra Pradesh

Active Covid-19 cases dropped below the 8,000 mark to 7,944 in Andhra Pradesh even as the state added 624 fresh positives in 24 hours ending 9 AM on Sunday.

The state also reported 810 recoveries and four deaths in 24 hours, the latest bulletin said.

The gross positives now increased to 20,57,252, recoveries to 20,35,054 and deaths 14,254.

6:07 PM

Kerala reports 10,691 new Covid-19 cases, 85 deaths

5:57 PM

Japan PM vows to strengthen medical system for Covid patients

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he will strengthen the country's medical system amid the coronavirus pandemic by increasing the number of beds designated for Covid-19 patients in the public hospitals.

Speaking to reporters after his first visit to a hospital that treats Covid-19 patients after taking office on October 4, Kishida said the government must prepare for the "worst-case scenario" when it comes to ramping up the medical system, The Japan Times reported.

Kishida is considering increasing financial support to public hospitals in return for the hospitals' cooperation with the government's request to take in Covid-19 patients during emergencies.

 

5:14 PM

Delhi records 29 Covid-19 cases, 1 death in a day

The national capital reported 29 cases of COVID-19 and one death due to the infection in a day while the positivity rate stood at 0.05 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here on Sunday.

Delhi has recorded only two deaths due to the disease in October so far. Last month, five people had succumbed to the viral disease.

With the new cases, the coronavirus infection tally in the city climbed to 14,39,195. Of this, over 14.13 lakh patients have recovered from the disease. The death toll stands at 25,089.

 

4:49 PM

Russia records 28,647 Covid-19 cases in past 24 hours

Russia recorded 28,647 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, down from 29,362 the day before, bringing the cumulative total to 7,775,365, the federal response center said on Sunday.

"Over the past day, 28,647 COVID-19 cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 2,421 cases (8.5%) without clinical symptoms," the center said, adding that the rate of increase fell to 0.37%.

Moscow has the highest number of new cases with 4,610 daily infections, down from 6,001 the day before. The Russian capital is followed by St. Petersburg with 2,822 cases, up from 2,717, and the Moscow region with 2,026 cases, up from 1,689.

4:24 PM

Australian kids to be eligible for Covid vaccinations in December

Australian children as young as five could be eligible for coronavirus vaccines before the end of 2021 as the country continues to battle the third wave of the pandemic, a top official announced on Sunday.

Allen Cheng, the co-chair of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), said "if all the stars aligned" children aged five to 11 could start receiving vaccinations in late December, reports Xinhua news agency.

It comes after Pfizer confirmed that it will make an application to the medical regulator -- the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

3:53 PM

Tamil Nadu organises fifth mega vaccination drive with 30,000 camps in place

Tamil Nadu began its fifth mega vaccination drive on Sunday with around 30,000 vaccination centres set up across the state.

State health secretary J Radhakrishnan, who was present at one of the vaccination centres to kick start the fifth phase of the mega vaccination drive, said that almost 65 percent of the eligible population has received the first dose and 22 percent of the population has received the second dose.

"Already 65 percent people have taken the first dose. We are low on the second dose. Almost 26 lakh people are due for the second dose. So, this type of drive allows them to come and ensure that they get their second dose," the health secretary said.

3:32 PM

Mumbai's R-value rose over 1 in September-end

Mumbai's R-value, which reflects how rapidly the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading, increased to over 1 in September end, according to a study.

The Reproduction number or R refers to how many people an infected person infects on an average. In other words, it tells how 'efficiently' a virus is spreading.

An R-value smaller than 1 means the disease is spreading slowly. Conversely, if R is greater than 1, the number of infected people is increasing in each round - technically, this is what is called the epidemic phase.

3:11 PM

Over 940 mn Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India so far

India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage crossed the landmark of 940 million, with 66,85,415 vaccine doses administered in the last 24 hours, the Union Minister informed on Sunday.

According to the provisional reports issued by the ministry at 7 am on Sunday, India has so far administered 94,70,10,175 Covid-19 vaccines.

This has been achieved through 92,12,314 sessions.

2:55 PM

Govt allows export of Russian Covid vaccine Sputnik Light manufactured in India by Hetero Biopharma

The government has permitted the export of Russia's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light domestically produced here as the jab has not yet been approved for emergency use in India, sources said on Sunday.

Indian drug firm Hetero Biopharma Limited has been allowed to export 40 lakh doses of Sputnik Light to Russia, sources in the know of the developments told PTI.

Sputnik Light is the same as component-1 of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V which is being used in India's anti-COVID inoculation programme after getting emergency use authorisation from India's Drug Regulator in April.

2:32 PM

New Zealand reports 61 new cases of Covid-19 Delta variant

New Zealand reported 61 new cases of Covid-19 Delta variant, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Sunday.

Of the 61 new cases of Covid-19 reported, 60 were community cases in Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, and one were imported cases at the border, said the Ministry.

The total case number of Covid-19 in the current Delta variant outbreak in New Zealand community reached 1,587 including 1,538 in Auckland, 31 in Waikato, 17 in Wellington, and one in Bay of Plenty.

2:09 PM

Congratulation to Karnataka CM & his team for achieving 83% first dose vaccination: Health minister

2:04 PM

COVID-19 in Bulgaria: 2,485 new cases, 81 have died in last 24 hours

518,995 are the total confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bulgaria. This is shown by data from the National Information System.

The new cases for the past 24 hours are 2,485. 49,828 are active cases in the country. During the past 24hrs, 21,775 tests have been performed, bringing them to a total of 4,950,589.

1:45 PM

India exports Covid-19 vaccine doses to Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Iran

India has exported Covid-19 vaccine doses to Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Iran, sources informed on Sunday.

According to sources, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bangladesh received ten lakh doses of Covishield each, while Iran received three lakh doses of Covaxin.

Earlier, on September 20, the Government of India had announced its decision to resume the export of vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19 ) from October.

1:15 PM

Italy reaches target of fully vaccinating 80% of population

Italy reached the target of fully vaccinating 80% of the population over the age of 12 against Covid-19, according to official data, achieving a goal Rome had set as a safety cut-off point, government data showed on Sunday. A government website showed 43,229,551 people over-12, out of a total population of around 60 million, had completed their vaccination cycle as of October 10, Reuters reported.