Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai mayor warns of another lockdown amid rise in cases
Coronavirus live updates: Maharashtra's daily Covid count remains above 3,000 for the seventh straight day. Over 8.7 million have been vaccinated in India
4:02 PM
Delhi reports 94 new coronavirus cases, 110 recoveries and one death in past 24 hours
Delhi reports 94 new coronavirus cases, 110 recoveries and one death in past 24 hours, according to the Delhi Government.
3:59 PM
Malaysia to begin Covid-19 vaccination campaign on February 26
The first batch of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will be delivered to Malaysia on February 21, allowing the nation to launch the mass vaccination campaign on February 26, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Tuesday.
"The rollout of the programme will begin on Feb 26," Muhuyiddin Yassin said while presenting the national COVID-19 immunization plan, as quoted by The Star newspaper.
The prime minister noted that he would be the first person to receive the vaccine in the country in order boost public confidence in the safety of the vaccine.
3:20 PM
80.54% of the new Covid-19 cases are from five States: Health Ministry
3:02 PM
Odisha logs 60 new coronavirus cases, one fresh fatality
Odishas COVID-19 tally climbed to 3,36,322 on Tuesday after 60 more people tested positive for the virus, while one fresh fatality pushed the death toll to 1,912, a health official said.
Thirty-six new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 24 infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.
Puri district recorded the highest number of new cases at 13, followed by Sundergarh and Sambalpur districts at nine each.
2:27 PM
Coronavirus origin-tracing mission in Wuhan independent: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the international expert team on the Covid-19 origin-tracing mission in Wuhan was "independent" and had no affiliation.
"So many times I hear that this is a WHO study or investigation. It's not," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference from Geneva, stressing that it's an independent study which is composed of independent individuals from ten institutions. At Monday's press conference, Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, head of the international expert team in Wuhan, said that their report would be a "consensus document".
"The international teams and the Chinese counterparts have already agreed on the summary reports," he said.
2:16 PM
Women participation in Covid-19 vaccination records up to 78%
The national data on the countrywide Covid immunization programme has revealed that women have outnumbered men in availing the vaccine shots. The data extracted from the CoWIN application shows that the number of females inoculated with the vaccines so far is greater than the men in many states and union territories (UTs), IANS reported.
A gender-wise beneficiaries break-up sourced from the CoWIN dashboard showed that the trend of women getting more vaccinated went as high as 78 per cent in 28 out of 36 states and UTs. Besides, in many parts of the country, more than two-third of the vaccine beneficiaries remained female.
In Lakshadweep, of the total vaccination accounted, 78.2 per cent was contributed by women alone. Similarly, it was calculated 75 per cent in Himachal pradesh, followed by Chhattisgarh (74.3), Kerala (74), Assam (73.8), Andaman and Nicobar islands (70), Ladakh (70), Sikkim, Mizoram (70), Bihar(69.5), Arunachal pradesh (69.5) and Meghalaya (68.15).
1:51 PM
Consignment of made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines reaches Dominican Republic
A consignment of made-in-India COVID-19 vaccines have been received in Dominican Republic as India's 'Vaccine Maitri' programme reached the Carribean.
"Delivered to Dominican Republic. 'Vaccine Maitri' reaches our Caribbean friends," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted on Tuesday, along with pictures of the consignment being received in Dominican Republic.
Jaishankar also retweeted Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader's tweet stating that AstraZeneca vaccines from India had been received and his country will start vaccinating front-line personnel.
1:13 PM
Zinc, vitamin C supplements not effective in treating Covid-19: Study
Taking zinc or vitamin C supplements does not significantly decrease the severity or duration of symptoms in Covid-19 patients, when compared to standard care, according to a study.
Researchers at Cleveland Clinic in the US noted that zinc is known to be important for immune function, with a role in antibody and white blood cell production and fighting infections.
Vitamin C, an antioxidant, can help reduce damage to cells, and has shown to be immune-boosting, they said.
12:55 PM
Maharashtra has reported 3,365 new cases to take its tally to 2,067,643
Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 3,365 new cases to take its tally to 2,067,643. The state has added 29,013 cases in the past 10 days.
12:34 PM
Coronavirus origin-tracing mission in Wuhan independent: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the international expert team on the Covid-19 origin-tracing mission in Wuhan was "independent" and had no affiliation.
"So many times I hear that this is a WHO study or investigation. It's not," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference from Geneva, stressing that it's an independent study which is composed of independent individuals from ten institutions, Xinhua news agency reported.
At Monday's press conference, Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, head of the international expert team in Wuhan, said that their report would be a "consensus document".
"The international teams and the Chinese counterparts have already agreed on the summary reports," he said.
12:03 PM
Covid-19 caseload in Arunachal climbs to 16,833, over 24,000 inoculated
Arunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 caseload rose to 16,833 after one more person tested positive for the virus, a senior health department official said on Tuesday.
The northeastern state now has only three active cases following the recovery of 16,774 people, he said. Fifty-six people have died due to the contagion.
12:01 PM
Covid-19 caseload in Arunachal climbs to 16,833, over 24,000 inoculated
Covid-19 caseload in Arunachal Pradesh climbs to 16,833, over 24,000 inoculated
11:56 AM
No new Covid-19 case in Andamans for second consecutive day
The union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not report any fresh Covid-19 case in the last two days, a health department official said on Tuesday.
The coronavirus tally in the union territory remained at 5,009, while 4,938 patients have recovered from the disease so far, he said.
Sixty-two people have died so far due to the contagion, the official said.
10:27 AM
Incoming WTO head warns 'vaccine nationalism' could slow pandemic recovery
The World Trade Organization's incoming chief on Monday warned against "vaccine nationalism' that would slow progress in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and could erode economic growth for all countries - rich and poor.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters her top priority was to ensure the WTO does more to address the pandemic, saying members should accelerate efforts to lift export restrictions slowing trade in needed medicines and supplies. Read on...
10:08 AM
WHO authorises AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for emergency use
The World Health Organisation has granted an emergency authorization to AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, a move that should allow the UN agency's partners to ship millions of doses to countries as part of a UN-backed programme to tame the pandemic.
In a statement Monday, the WHO said it was clearing the AstraZeneca vaccines made by the Serum Institute of India and South Korea's AstraZeneca-SKBio.
The WHO's green light for the AstraZeneca vaccine is only the second one the U.N. health agency has issued after authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in December. Monday's announcement should trigger the delivery of hundreds of millions of doses to countries that have signed up for the UN-backed COVAX effort, which aims to deliver vaccines to the world's most vulnerable people. Read on...
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First Published: Feb 16 2021 | 6:54 AM IST