12:49 AMCovid vaccine slot can be booked on WhatsApp now
The Union Health Minister announced on Tuesday that people can now book slots for Covid vaccination using the MyGov Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp.
The messaging app has partnered with the Health Ministry to provide the users vaccination appointment through its platform. The app will also help the users locate the nearest vaccination centre.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted, "Paving a new era of citizen convenience. Now, book #COVID19 vaccine slots easily on your phone within minutes. Send 'Book Slot' to MyGovIndia Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp. Verify OTP and follow the steps."
To contact the MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot, users need to send 'Book Slot' to the WhatsApp number 9013151515. This will generate a six-digit one-time password on the respective mobile number. Users will then choose a preferred date and location, based on the pincode and vaccine type. The users can follow this sequence to get a confirmation of their centre and day of their vaccine appointment.
11:29 PMAssam reports 555 new COVID-19 cases, 13 more deaths
Assam's COVID-19 tally rose to 5,85,689 on Tuesday as 555 more people tested positive for the infection, while 13 fresh fatalities pushed the toll to 5,600, a bulletin issued by the National Health Mission (NHM) here said.
Kamrup Metropolitan district reported the highest number of new cases at 71, followed by Golaghat at 46, Jorhat at 38 and Sonitpur at 35.
Two fresh COVID-19 fatalities were reported from Karbi Anglong, and one person each succumbed to the infection in Baksa, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts.
NHM said 1,347 more COVID-19 patients have died till now, but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus as they had other ailments too.
9:31 PMCumulative Covid vaccine doses administered in India cross 59.47 cr: Govt
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 59.47 crore so far, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.
More than 54 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Tuesday, according to the 7 pm provisional report.
Final reports would be completed for the day by late Tuesday night, the ministry said.
Cumulatively, 22,33,59,860 individuals in the age group of 18-44 years across states and union territories have received their first dose and 2,11,37,082 have received their second dose since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive, according to health ministry data. As on day-221 of the vaccination drive, 38,29,038 were vaccinated for first dose and 16,38,513 beneficiaries received the second dose of vaccine as per the provisional report till 7 pm, according to health ministry data.
9:19 PMAt least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan test Covid positive
At least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan tested COVID-19 positive after their arrival at the Indira Gandhi International airport here on Tuesday, according to people coordinating evacuation efforts with the Indian government.
An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) official said 81 people, who arrived from Afghanistan on Monday and Tuesday, have been sent to the ITBP's quarantine facility at Chhawla in south-west Delhi.
According to an office memorandum issued by the Union Health Ministry on Monday, people arriving from Afghanistan have to undergo a mandatory minimum 14-day institutional quarantine at the ITBP facility.
Any person testing positive or detected as symptomatic shall be shifted to dedicated Covid Care Centre or Covid hospital of NCT of Delhi, the memorandum read.
8:57 PM28 new Covid cases in UP, 2 more die
Two more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradsesh, raising the death toll to 22,794, while the number of cases rose to 17,09,152 with 28 fresh infections, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday, PTI reported.
The new fatalities were reported from Prayagraj and Deoria, the UP government said in the statement.
Of the fresh COVID-19 cases, six were registered in Mathura, followed by three each in Lucknow and Gorakhpur, and two each in Prayagraj and Gautam Buddh Nagar.
8:56 PMGuj sees 14 Covid-19 cases
Gujarat's COVID-19 tally increased by 14 on Tuesday to touch 8,25,330, while the day also saw 25 people getting discharged, taking the recovery count to 8,15,091, an official said, PTI reported.
The toll remained unchanged at 10,079 as no death was reported during the day, he said.
"The state's recovery rate stands at 98.76 percent, and the number of active cases is 160. Ahmedabad district reported five new cases, followed by Surat with four, Vadodara three, and Bhavnagar and Kutch one each," he added.
8:54 PMAt least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan test Covid positive
At least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan tested COVID-19 positive after their arrival at the Indira Gandhi International airport here on Tuesday, according to people coordinating evacuation efforts with the Indian government, PTI reported.
An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) official said 81 people, who arrived from Afghanistan on Monday and Tuesday, have been sent to the ITBP's quarantine facility at Chhawla in south-west Delhi.
According to an office memorandum issued by the Union Health Ministry on Monday, people arriving from Afghanistan have to undergo a mandatory minimum 14-day institutional quarantine at the ITBP facility.
8:02 PMGoa logs 136 new Covid-19 cases, 79 recoveries; no fresh death
Goa's coronavirus caseload increased by 136 and reached 1,73,357 on Tuesday, while no fresh death due to the infection was reported in the state, a health department official said, PTI reported.
The daily case tally has more than doubled from Monday, when the state had registered 57 COVID-19 infections. The death toll remained unchanged at 3,186 as no new COVID-19 death was reported in Goa in the last 24 hours, he said.
8:01 PMDelhi's stock of Covid-19 vaccines will last a day: Bulletin
The national capital's stock of COVID-19 vaccines will last for a day, according to the Delhi government's vaccination bulletin issued on Tuesday, PTI reported.
Delhi had administered 1,43,258 vaccine doses on Monday, of which 1,00,158 were first doses and 43,110 second doses.
The total number of vaccine doses administered in the city has reached 1,24,74,885, according to the bulletin.
7:10 PMFacebook-supported programme to tackle Covid misinformation in India
Logically and NewsMobile on Tuesday announced their collaboration on a Facebook-supported programme -- a series of media literacy workshops -- targeting Covid-19 misinformation in India, IANS reported.
The multi-lingual programme, called Covishaala, aims to educate and inform people across India on the facts about Covid-19 and vaccinations in an effort to reduce vaccine hesitancy and limit the spread of the disease.
The initiative forms part of Facebook's global efforts to tackle Covid-19 misinformation on and off its platform. By investing in programmes such as Covishaala, the social media giant aims to improve media literacy skills among the general public and encourage take-up of the Covid-19 vaccine.
7:09 PM37,000 beds being set up to tackle 3rd Covid wave in Delhi: Jain
Medical infrastructure being ramped up and 37,000 beds in total dedicated for COVID-19 patients are being set up to tackle the anticipated third wave of the pandemic in the city, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday, PTI reported.
He also underlined that though the positivity rate has shown a downward trend and the number of fatalities has been zero in the past few days, the Delhi government is not dropping its guard.
Jain on Tuesday inspected the healthcare facilities to see preparations being done for the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the national capital.