10:55 AMNepal to receive 4 mn doses of Moderna vaccines through Covax
Nepal is set to receive nearly four million doses of coronavirus Moderna vaccines, financed by the World Bank, through the COVAX cost-share option, local media reported on Saturday, ANI reported.
"Nepal is an early mover in utilising the COVAX cost-share scheme, and I am pleased to note that we have finalised an arrangement, despite very challenging circumstances, to bring safe and highly effective vaccines to Nepal," The Himalayan Times quoted Nepal's Minister of State for Health and Population Umesh Shrestha as saying on Friday.
10:27 AMNeeraj Chopra down with high fever, tests negative for Covid-19
Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra is down with high fever and sore throat, but he has tested negative for COVID-19, ANI reported.
Speaking to ANI, sources close to Neeraj said the javelin thrower has a sore throat, and he is currently down with fever.
9:52 AMPunjab to increase Covid tests to 60,000 per day
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered an increase in number of Covid tests to at least 60,000 per day, PTI reported.
His statement comes amid projections that cases will double in about 64 days at the current growth rate.
At present, the Covid tests are in the range of 45,000 to 49,000 per day.
9:31 AMChina launches probe against officials for covering up fresh Covid outbreak
China has launched a probe against Yucheng county in Central China's Henan Province which failed to curb the spread of coronavirus resulting in four new cases in the region, a media report said on Saturday, according to ANI.
According to the Shangqiu government, which administers the Yucheng county, one of the four new cases confirmed on Friday had close unprotected contact with a previously confirmed case. The new confirmed cases were due to poor performance by the Yucheng county in its COVID-19 response. The county is suspected of covering up the local epidemic, Chinese state media Global Times reported.
9:05 AMMizoram's Covid graph shows declining trend: Official
Mizoram's COVID graph and infection rate are showing a declining trend in the last few days as the northeastern state registered one of its lowest single-day positivity rate of 3.48 per cent on Saturday, a senior health official said, PTI reported.
The state's COVID-19 tally rose to 47,995 as 524 more people, including 103 children and 4 BSF personnel, tested positive for the infection, while three fresh fatalities pushed its coronavirus death toll to 177, he said.
The coronavirus curve and the infection rate per 1,000 samples have shown a downward trend in the last few days, official spokesperson on COVID-19, Dr Pachuau Lalmlasawma said.
8:30 AMPondy Lt Guv calls for coordinated efforts to drive away Covid-19
Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday called for sustained and coordinated efforts to drive away the COVID-19 pandemic from the country, PTI reported.
In her message on the eve of the 75th Independence Day, Soundararajan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established a record by promoting 'self reliant economy'.
8:03 AMPondy adds 101 more cases to Covid-19 tally
Puducherry posted 101 fresh cases of Covid-19 during the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Saturday, raising the overall tally to 1,22,203.
A 72 year old man hailing from Mahe succumbed to the viral infection, raising the toll to 1,804. The patient had co morbidities including diabetes and Parkinson's ailment.
The new cases were spread over Puducherry 70, Karaikal 12, Yanam 4 and Mahe 15 and were identified at the end of examination of 5049 samples.
7:20 AMArunachal logs 166 new Covid-19 cases, 1 fatality
Arunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 tally rose to 51,139 on Saturday as 166 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 252, a senior health official said.
The Capital Complex region registered the highest number of new cases at 41, followed by Lower Subansiri (19) and Changlang (14).
A 30-year-old woman from the Capital Complex region succumbed to the disease, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
The state now has 2,289 active cases, while 48,598 people have recovered from the disease to date, including 271 on Friday, he said.
The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stood at 95.03 per cent, the official said.
6:37 AMHow India's development sector drove change with generosity during Covid-19
The inspiring work by India’s social entrepreneurs and its the corporate sector needs to be celebrated. Stories on the ground demonstrate how India’s development sector plugged in the many gaps that were left due to logistical and operational difficulties at places, ensuring last mile delivery especially to the poor, marginalised and rural communities.
As people lost lives, corporate India did not stay behind in lifting the morale of their people by making certain announcements. For instance, Reliance offered full salary for five years to the families of deceased employees, apart from paying for the children's education. Many Tata group companies such as Tata Steel and Tata Motors said they would continue to pay salary to the deceased employee’s family till the retirement age of 60 years. And several others followed suit.
Read on... 5:55 AMIndia reports 38,667 new coronavirus cases, 478 fresh fatalities
India saw a single-day rise of 38,667 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of cases to 3,21,56,493, while the death toll rose to 4,30,732 with 478 fresh fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated Saturday.
The ministry said the country has now reported less than 50,000 daily new cases for 48 consecutive days.
The active cases have increased to 3,87,673 (1.21 per cent of the total infections), while the recovery rate was recorded at 97.45 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Read on... 5:31 AMCovid-19 vaccine export ban 'very bad' move: SII chairman Cyrus Poonawalla
Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the Serum Institute of India (SII), on Friday termed the ban on Covid-19 vaccine exports imposed by the Union government a very bad move, saying it put his company, the world's largest vaccine-maker, in a difficult situation.
He also said that his son Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the SII which makes the Covishield vaccine, had asked him not to speak about the issue. It is a very bad move by the Modi government. My son asked me not to open my mouth. But it is my view that exports ought to be opened, Poonawalla said.
5:13 AMMaharashtra reports 6,686 Covid-19 cases, 158 deaths
Maharashtra reported 6,686 new coronavirus infections and 158 fatalities on Friday, taking the tally of cases to 63,82,076 and death toll to 1,34,730, a health department official said.
On Thursday, the state had reported 6,388 new cases and 208 fatalities. As many as 5,861 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recovered patients to 61,80,871 on Friday. There are 3,70,890 people in home quarantine and 2,676 in institutional quarantine. The number of active patients stands at 63,004.
Maharashtra's case recovery rate is 96.85 per cent while the fatality rate is 2.11 per cent.
4:39 AMMumbai coronavirus update: 285 fresh Covid-19 cases, four fatalities
Mumbai reported 285 new coronavirus infections and four fatalities on Friday, taking the tally of cases in the city to 7,38,807 and death toll to 15,979, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.
The financial capital of the country witnessed a slight increase in new cases. On Thursday, it had recorded 279 new infections and seven fatalities. Notably, on the fifth day in a row, the daily rise in infections remained below 300.
The daily deaths due to the pandemic in the city dipped below five for the third time this month. With 37,052 coronavirus tests conducted in the city since Thursday evening, the total of samples tested so far rose to 85,80,084, the official said.
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