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

9:00 AM

Kerala wears a deserted look as the state observes complete lockdown on weekends

8:54 AM

Palestine cancels deal with Israel of supplying nearly 1 mn Covid vaccines

The Palestinian government on Friday announced cancellation of a deal with Israel relating to the supply of around one million doses of Pfizer (COVID-19) vaccine.

 

The cancellation came after the government found the doses fall short of meeting the technical criteria.

 

''After the technical teams of the Ministry of Health examined the first batch of the Pfizer vaccines that were received this evening from Israel, estimated at 90,000 doses, it was found that they do not conform to the specifications contained in the agreement, and accordingly, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh instructed the Minister of Health to cancel the agreement,'' WAFA news reported quoting government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem.

8:42 AM

Bengal reports 2,788 new Covid-19 cases, 58 fresh fatalities

West Bengal's Covid-19 tally rose to 14,77,037 on Friday as 2,788 more people tested positive for the infection, while 58 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 17,240, a health bulletin said.

 

North 24 Parganas district registered the highest number of fresh cases at 388 followed by Kolkata (287), Purba Medinipur (265) and Darjeeling (240).

 

North 24 Parganas also recorded the highest number of fresh fatalities at 15, followed by Kolkata (11) and Nadia and Jalpaiguri (six each).

 

As many as 2,112 more people have been cured of the disease, taking the recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state to 97.30 per cent.

8:34 AM

India says it hopes to resume exports of coronavirus vaccine doses

India, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines, wants to resume exports of coronavirus doses but can't do so until its domestic needs are met, the head of the country's Covid-19 task force said Friday.

 

Once our immediate need of vaccinating a significant proportion of Indian people is achieved and vaccine stockpiles are visible from multiple sources, we would then like to play the role of serving others and providing vaccines to them, Dr. Vinod K. Paul said in an interview with The Associated Press.

 

Paul defended the Indian government's move to restrict vaccine exports in April as it battled a ferocious surge in infections. Read on...

8:11 AM

US administers 300 mn Covid-19 shots in 150 days, a bit behind 70% target

US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) announced that America has administered 300 million Covid-19 vaccine shots in 150 days, bit behind the set target of getting 70% of US adults to receive at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by July 4.

 

"Today, we've passed 300 million shots in 150 days. When I took office, our nation was in crisis. Today, the virus is in retreat and our economy has smashed previous records for job growth. That's just four months, folks," Biden said.

 

The President also urged unvaccinated Americans to roll up their sleeves to protect themselves against emerging variants of the virus. Read on...

7:57 AM

Maharashtra reports 9,798 new coronavirus cases

Maharashtra reports 9,798 new Covid cases, 14,347 patient discharges, and 198 deaths in the past 24 hours.

 

7:56 AM

Covid vaccine: Zydus Cadila likely to seek emergency use authorisation for its vaccine next week

Indian pharmaceutical major Zydus Cadila is likely to apply to the central drugs regulator asking for emergency use authorisation for its Covid vaccine ZyCoV-D next week, PTI quoted official sources as saying on Friday. If approved, it will be the world’s first DNA vaccine against the virus and the fourth to be available in the country. “The analysis of the phase-three trial data is almost ready and the company has informed the government that it could apply for emergency use licensure for its Covid-19 vaccine next week,” PTI quoted an official source as saying.

7:54 AM

Coronavirus in India: Milkha Singh dies of Covid-related complications, five days after wife's death

7:37 AM

Full Covid-19 vaccination of adults will take 7 months if pace doubled

Fully vaccinating India’s entire adult population by December looks like an uphill task as current estimates show that even by doubling the daily pace, the vaccination exercise can be completed only by the end of January 2022. At the current rate, it would take around 15 more months, or September 2022, to vaccinate adult Indians.

 

There are 865 million adults who require vaccination to meet the December target; according to demographic data from the Department of Economic Affairs May 2021 Monthly Economic Review.

 

This translates into 1.73 billion vaccine doses, assuming a two-dose vaccination. About 50 million people have already received two doses of the vaccine. Another 160-170 million people have received one dose. Read on...

7:30 AM

Most big mall developers may waive rent for recent Covid-19 lockdown

Many big mall developers such as Raheja-owned Inorbit Malls, DLF, and Lake Shore are looking at giving a waiver to retail stores in the lockdown during the second wave of the pandemic.

 

Most of the states in the country have announced a lockdown since April this year after the second wave of the pandemic became evident.

 

“We are considering it. Retailers don’t have money. How will they pay? We have to support them,” said Rajneesh Mahajan, chief executive at Inorbit Malls, which runs malls in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, among others.

 

Inorbit gave a waiver to retailers during the lockdown last year. Read on...