Coronavirus LIVE: Mumbai sees 696 cases; 468 in Chennai; 1,263 in Bengaluru

Coronavirus unlock live updates: In view of declining Covid-19 cases, states like UP, Kerala, MP, Rajasthan have relaxed lockdown curbs. Stay tuned for corona-related news

12:43 PM

Four lions at Chennai's Arignar Anna Zoological Park found infected with delta variant of Covid-19

Four lions at Chennai's Arignar Anna Zoological Park found infected with delta variant of Covid-19

12:30 PM

Former Indian sprinter Milkha Singh will be given state funeral by Punjab govt

Former Indian sprinter Milkha Singh will be given State funeral by Punjab Government. Also, Punjab will observe one day of State mourning as a mark of respect: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh

12:20 PM

Britain emerges as a test case in Europe as it attempts to control Covid-19

At the start of the pandemic last March, Boris Johnson stood gravely in front of television cameras and told Britain the harsh reality. “Many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time,” he said.

If that was the moment that brought home the gravity of the unfolding crisis, next month’s planned lifting of coronavirus restrictions will require the U.K. prime minister to level with the public again. More loss of life is inevitable, and the issue is just how many more deaths will ensue as collateral damage to rescue the economy.

 

After inoculating a larger proportion of people than any other major economy, Britain is emerging as a test case in Europe as it attempts to draw a line under Covid-19. Levels of infections are now back to their highest since February and the pound is taking a hit on concern a recovery may be slipping further into the future. Read on...

12:00 PM

Indonesia reports highest number of daily Covid cases since late Jan

Indonesia recorded 12,990 newly-confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, marking the highest daily spike since late January and bringing the total tally to 1,963,266, the Health Ministry said.

 

The death toll increased by 290 to 54,043, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Ministry as saying.

 

Meanwhile, 7,907 recovered patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries from the pandemic in the Southeast Asian country to 1,779,127.

 

The pandemic has spread to all the country's 34 provinces.

11:50 AM

Puducherry logs 295 new coronavirus cases, tally touches

Puducherry posted 295 new cases of Covid-19 during the last twenty-four hours ending 10 am on Saturday, raising the overall tally to 1.14 lakh.

 

Six more people died of the deadly disease taking the toll to 1720.

 

Director of the Health Department S Mohan Kumar said the new cases were spread over Puducherry 245, Karaikal 38, Yanam 4 and Mahe 8. The cases were identified at the end of examination of swabs of 9,015 people.

 

The test positivity rate was 3.27 percent today while fatality and recovery rates were 1.50 percent and 95.19 percent respectively.

11:43 AM

Odisha: Sumati Nayak, a centenarian woman, beats Covid-19 in Nayagarh district's Khandapada area

All the doctors and nurses took good care of her. On June 16, she was declared fit. She has been sent to her house: District Collector Poma Tudu

11:32 AM

89.3% of Moscow's Covid-19 patients infected with Delta variant

The highly-transmissible Delta variant has been detected in 89.3 per cent of the Covid-19 patients in Moscow as the Russian capital is witnessing a surge in new infections, the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

 

To resist the Delta variant, people need to develop as twice antibodies as required before, which has caused the herd immunity level in Moscow to drop from 60 per cent to just 25 per cent, Xinhua news agency quoted Sobyanin as saying on Friday.

 

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region by the pandemic, reported a record of 9,056 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking the city's total to 1,269,145, the country's monitoring and response centre said on Friday. Read on...

11:17 AM

Arunachal Pradesh reports 209 new Covid-19 cases, 1 more death

At least 209 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the tally in the northeastern state to 32,692, a senior health official said.

 

The Covid-19 death toll increased to 159 with one more person succumbing to the infection on Friday, the official said.

 

A 65-year-old man from Changlang died at home isolation due to Covid pneumonia, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

10:55 AM

Covid recovery rate increases to 96.16%: Union Health Ministry

Covid recovery rate increases to 96.16%: Union Health Ministry

10:54 AM

Maharashtra coronavirus update: Number of people allowed to attend marriage, funeral restricted in Latur

Even as the number of coronavirus positive cases in Maharashtra's Latur is on the decline, the district administration has restricted the number of people allowed to attend a marriage to 50, while only 25 persons can remain present at a funeral, an official said on Saturday.

 

The district collector imposed these restrictions by issuing an order to this effect on Friday evening, he said.

 

As per the fresh notification, Latur falls under level-I of the state government's five-level "unlock" plan.

 

Considering the prevailing coronavirus situation, relaxation in restrictions have been given in Latur. But, the administration has decided to impose certain curbs.

10:48 AM

Uttarakhand Police sets up SIT to probe fake Covid testing during Kumbh

The Uttarakhand Police has set up a special investigation team to probe allegations that fake Covid tests were conducted during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela.

 

One of the world's largest religious gatherings, the Kumbh was held in the state from April 1 to 30, and the notified area for the congregation covered various places in Haridwar, Dehradun and Tehri districts.

 

The special investigation team (SIT) was constituted by Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj S on Friday, a day after a case was registered against Max Corporate Service and private laboratories Dr Lalchandani Lab and Nalwa Laboratories for allegedly conducting the fake Covid tests during the Kumbh.

 

The SIT has been constituted for a speedy probe, Krishna Raj said. Read on...

10:30 AM

DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra dies of Covid-related complications

Secretary in the Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Guruprasad Mohapatra died of COVID-19 related complications on Saturday.

 

"Extremely saddened to hear about the loss of Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary DPIIT. His long-standing service and dedication to the Nation have left a lasting impact. I convey my deepest sympathies to his family and friends," Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet.

 

Mohapatra was admitted to AIIMS in mid-April. Read on...

10:16 AM

Urgently trying to work with AstraZeneca, SII, Indian govt to restart COVID-19 vaccine shipments: WHO Official

The WHO is urgently trying to work with AstraZeneca, Serum Institute of India (SII) as well as the Indian government to restart shipments of Covid-19 vaccines to countries that had to suspend the rollout of second doses of vaccines amid the disruption in supplies, a senior official at the UN health agency has said.

 

We have a huge number of countries that have had to suspend rollout of their second doses of vaccines," Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Friday at a press briefing.

 

"It's over 30 or 40 countries that could have been targeted for second doses of AstraZeneca vaccines (but they) will not be able to do that, Aylward said.

 

We are now urgently trying to work with AstraZeneca itself as well as SII, the Government of India to restart those shipments so that we can get those second doses into those populations because we are running to a longer interval than we would have liked, he said.

9:43 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Summary of MoHFW data (June 19)

Active cases: 760,019 (Net reduction: 38,637)

Deaths: 385,137 (Net increase: 1,647)

Cured: 28,678,390 (Net increase: 97,743)

Total cases: 29,823,546 (Net increase: 60,753)

Total vaccination: 272,388,783 (Increase over previous day: 3,300,085)

9:20 AM

EU lifts travel restrictions for US tourists along with 10 other countries

The European Union on Friday lifted travel restrictions on American travelers along with over ten other countries after over a year.

 

Apart from the US, the EU has lifted restrictions on non-essential travel from 13 other countries including Albania, Australia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Republic of North Macedonia, Rwanda, Singapore, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, and China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity).

 

According to an EU statement, the criteria for determining the non-EU countries for which the current travel restriction should be lifted cover, in particular, the epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, and economic and social considerations. They are applied cumulatively. Read on...