Kerala reported 3,671 cases on Friday while Punjab, with 622 cases, contributed the third highest number of cases in the country. (Representational)Coronavirus India Highlights: In the last 24 hours, India recorded 16,752 cases and 113 deaths, bringing the total Covid count to 1,10,96,731 with the number of deaths reaching 1,57,051, according to the Union Health Ministry. Total active cases stand at 1,64,511 and the number of people vaccinated have amounted to 1,43,01,266.
During a high-level meeting on Saturday, the centre pushed for an aggressive vaccination drive in states with a higher number of cases— Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana, and Jammu & Kashmir. The cap on a single vaccine at private hospitals has been fixed at Rs 250.
Days ahead of the scheduled second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive, the Centre Friday communicated that registrations will begin in three ways for those above the age of 50 and those above the age of 45 with associated co-morbidities. The second phase of the drive is scheduled to begin March 1.
Meanwhile, for the last three days, the national capital has been reporting over 200 cases of Covid-19 in a day, a rise from the cases reported over the past month. According to Indian Council of Medical Research, total 7,95,723 samples were tested yesterday.
From tomorrow (March 1), India will begin its next phase of coronavirus vaccination, to immunise senior citizens and people with co-morbidities in the age bracket of 45-59 years.
While walk-in vaccination will begin in many states on March 1, government officials expect a week to pass before the system settles. Read More
A final-year MBBS student from Sion hospital tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Saturday, days after receiving the second dose of the vaccine against Covid-19. Doctors said even after both doses, it could take several days for immunity to build.
The 21-year-old received the Covishield vaccine. Last week, he received the second dose. Read More
Even as the state health authorities are in the process of upgrading the CoWin digital platform for the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination, on the spot registrations would begin for senior citizens and those above 45 years and with comorbidities from March 1. On Sunday, state health secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas said pre-booking slots and self-registration were a better way to get the vaccine.
“We want to encourage vaccinations but prefer to ensure better crowd management and so we are asking citizens to pre-book slots. We are planning to organise wide publicity for the procedure and locations in a day or two,” Dr Vyas told The Indian Express. Read More
Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 54 and reached 54,986 on Sunday, while the death toll increased by one to touch 795, an official said.
The recovery count in the state stood at 53,585 after 45 people were discharged during the day, leaving it with 606 active cases, he added. (PTI)
Telangana reported 176 new COVID-19 cases and one related death taking the total tally of cases to 2,98,807 and the death toll to 1,634 respectively, the state government said. (PTI)
Kerala reported 3,254 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths today. There are 49,420 active cases in the state and 10,05,497 people have recovered so far. The death toll is at 4,197 according to the Kerala government. (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh reports 117 new COVID-19 cases taking total cases to 8,89,916. Total active cases at 718, recoveries at 8,82,029 and death toll at 7,169 according to the Andhra Pradesh Government (ANI)
In the wake of a rise in daily COVID-19 cases in Hingoli, the local administration has decided to impose curfew in the district from March 1 to 7.
A total of 46 new COVID-19 cases were found on Saturday in Hingoli, located in the state's Marathwada region, raising its tally to 4,083, as per official figures. (PTI)
The coronavirus infection count in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra crossed the 50,000-mark with the addition of 297 cases, an official said on Sunday.
The case count now stands at 50,110, the district official said. (PTI)
Delhi has reported 197 new cases of COVID-19, 168 patients have recovered, while only one death has been reported so far.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi stands at 6,39,289, while 6,27,044 patients have been recovered, the death toll of Delhi stands at 10,910. (ANI)
After reviewing the Covid-19 situation in Pune district, government authorities have decided to continue with the restrictions on night-time movement of residents, operation of restaurants, and public and private functions for two more weeks. Schools and colleges in the city will also remain closed till March 14.
All the restrictions announced by the district administration on February 21 will continue till March 14.
People aged between 45-60 years, senior citizens with comorbidity can get vaccinated against COVID-19 by directly walking into the COVID-19 vaccination centres from tomorrow. Though every walk-in patient will not get vaccinated, the vaccination drive will be carried by depending upon every individual patient's quota.
Those who will turn 60 before January 1, 2022 will be eligible to take the vaccine. Online slot booking for the COVID-19 vaccine is yet to start.
A day after his COVID-19 test by the state health department came back positive, Punjab Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa tested negative for the disease at PGIMER here on Sunday, leaving him "surprised". A test at a private lab also found the minister negative for the contagion.
It is mandatory for all MLAs and concerned Punjab Assembly officials to get themselves tested for COVID-19 ahead of the Budget Session starting from Monday. (PTI)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said late on Saturday it has approved the use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for use by pilots and air traffic controllers.
The FAA announcement, which came shortly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine’s use, will require recipients to wait 48 hours after receiving the vaccine before conducting safety duties like flying or controlling air traffic.
The FAA previously allowed FDA-approved Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for aviation use, subject to the same 48-hour waiting period. (Reuters)
Pakistan government has warned people to follow COVID-19 precautionary guidelines and get vaccinated as the country has confirmed the presence of the UK strain of novel coronavirus. The new coronavirus strain was detected in the UK in December. It is hugely more transmissible than the virus's previous version, BBC reported. The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) in an overnight statement said that Pakistan is among 92 countries in the world where the strain has been detected. "The new strain is being seen across the world and continues to be detected in samples in Pakistan. While this strain does not cause more severe disease, there is evidence that its transmission is faster," the statement stated. The ministry asked the people that they should more vigorously follow the guidelines to avoid infection and seek vaccination as the ultimate solution.
Telangana reported 176 new COVID-19 cases and one related death taking the total tally of cases to 2,98,807 and the toll to 1,634 respectively, the state government said on Sunday. A total of 1,951 patients were under treatment, it said in a bulletin, providing data as of 8 PM on February 27. Out of the fresh cases, 27 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by 14 each from Ranga Reddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts. According to the bulletin, as many as 40,985 samples were tested on Saturday and cumulatively 87,00,651 samples have been tested.
Tokyo reported 329 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, national broadcaster NHK said, for a slight decrease from the prevous day's figure of 337.Japan lifted a state of emergency in six prefectures a week earlier than scheduled, although the curbs stay until early March in Tokyo and three other prefectures.
Arunachal Pradesh became a coronavirus-free state on Sunday with the three active cases recovering from the disease, a senior health official said. The total caseload in the northeastern state remained at 16,836, while the number of recoveries stood at 16,780, State Surveillance Officer Lobsang Jampa said. No fresh COVID-19 case was reported in the past 24 hours, he said, A total of 56 people have so far died due to the contagion in the state. Arunachal Pradesh's recovery rate and positivity rate are at 99.66 per cent and zero per cent, respectively, the official said.
Almost 2 million people aged 60 to 63 will be invited after citizens aged 64 and above had been covered in the previous phase and letters will start arriving from Monday explaining how they can make an appointment for the jab.
The latest move comes after the National Health Service wrote to almost 450,000 people aged 64 along with 600,000 who have recently been asked to shield due to underlying health conditions last week. -- PTI
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Om Prakash said people not following Covid rules at the 2021 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar will be prosecuted.
Pilgrims are required to register by uploading a medical certificate, RT-PCR report not older than 72 hrs, following which E-pass will be issued for the fair.
The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, beginning the rollout of millions of doses of a third effective vaccine that could reach Americans by early next week.
The announcement arrived at a critical moment, as the steep decline in coronavirus cases seems to have plateaued and millions of Americans are on waiting lists for shots.
Johnson & Johnson has pledged to provide the United States with 100 million doses by the end of June. Read more
The seven-day lockdown of the city of nearly 2 million, announced late Saturday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, was prompted by the case of a person who had been infectious for a week but had not been in isolation. “Despite our best efforts to date, recent cases have gone to work when they shouldn’t have,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
The new lockdown, with Level 3 restrictions, allows people to leave home only for essential shopping and essential work. Public venues will remain closed. Restrictions in the rest of the country will be tightened to Level 2, including limits on public gatherings. -- Reuters
Thailand kicked off its COVID-19 inoculation campaign on Sunday, with cabinet ministers, health officials and medical professionals among the first in the queue to receive vaccinations.
The first doses of vaccine, developed by China's Sinovac Biotech, were given to Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the health minister, among others at an infectious diseases institute on the outskirts of Bangkok -- Reuters
The Odisha government on Saturday said that week-long home isolation will be mandatory for people coming to the state by plane or train from five high-risk states, modifying its previous order of imposing the precautionary measures to those arriving from 12 states.
The five high-risk states are Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. -- PTI
The Centre Saturday gave seven key pointers to eight states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that have reported a Covid surge, including an aggressive vaccination drive in districts reporting a higher number of cases and effective surveillance in tracking super-spreader events.
The guidelines were issued during a high-level meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and attended by the chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir. Read More
The Central Government has capped the cost of a single Covid vaccine dose at Rs 250 per person in private healthcare facilities for those above the age of 60 and those above the age of 45 years with associated co-morbidities, who will be eligible for vaccination in next phase starting March 1.
On Saturday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan told senior state officials of the National Health Mission that private hospitals functioning as Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) “can charge subject to a ceiling of Rs 250 per person per dose”.
The states were also informed that around 10,000 private hospitals under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY and 687 private hospitals under CGHS can be used by states as CVCs. The Centre will also share georeference maps with GPS coordinates of all such facilities that will serve as CVCs. Read More
After injecting shots against COVID-19 to over 3.6 lakh beneficiaries, authorities in Delhi are now set for the roll-out of the second phase of the inoculation drive on March 1.
In the second phase, people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities will be vaccinated.
At Delhi government hospitals, doctors and other medical staff were upbeat about the second phase of the drive. Over 13,000 beneficiaries had received anti-COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, a significant fall from the number of people who had got the shots a day before, according to data shared by officials. (PTI)
Lockdown in Amravati city in Maharashtra was extended for a week on Saturday in view of the coronavirus situation, while restrictions were also imposed for the weekend in Nagpur, Buldhana and Yavatmal. These cities in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region have reported a spike in the cases of COVID-19 in the last one week.
Amravati district collector Shailesh Naval ordered extension of the lockdown in Amravati and Achalpur cities for a week, and also imposed restrictions in Anjangaon Surji town. Amravati, Achalpur and places adjoining these two cities and the entire Anjangaon Surji town will remain under lockdown till 6 am on March 8, he said.
People can step out to buy essential commodities between 8 am and 3 pm, Naval said. The industries permitted to operate earlier would continue to operate. Weekly bazaars, schools, colleges, coaching classes, gyms, swimming pools, cinema halls and multiplexes will remain closed. Hotels would be allowed to provide parcel service while vegetable markets would be open for retailers between 2 am and 6 am. School and college examinations will be conducted as per the schedule, the collector said.
In Yavatmal, the administration imposed a complete curfew for 40 hours, starting at 5 pm Saturday. Lockdown is also in force for Saturday and Sunday in Nagpur and Buldhana. (PTI)
Sri Lanka's decision to end forced cremations and allow the burial of those who succumbed to COVID-19 will take some time to be implemented as the necessary guidelines have not been issued so far, a top health official said on Saturday.
Amidst mounting international criticism, Sri Lanka has revised a controversial mandatory order to cremate the bodies of COVID-19 victims, which denied minority communities, including Muslims, their religious rights.
The government on Thursday revised a gazette notification issued in April last year. The new notification allowed both burials and cremations.
For 10 months, the Muslim and Christian minorities in the country and international rights groups lobbied the government to end the policy of forced cremations. (PTI)
Eligible COVID-19 vaccine aspirants in Gujarat will have to pay Rs 250 per shot if they opt to get themselves inoculated at 522 designated private hospitals during the second phase of the vaccination drive beginning March 1, the state government said on Saturday.
However, the aspirants above 60 years of age and those aged 45 years and above with comorbidities can get the shots free across the network of over 2,000 government hospitals in the state, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who heads Health department, told reporters.
He said those seeking vaccination at private hospitals empanelled under the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY) and the state government's 'Ma Vatsalya Yojana' will have to pay Rs 250 for each dose of the vaccine, which included Rs 150 as the cost of the vaccine and Rs 100 as administration charge. (PTI)
Chairing a high-level review meeting with chief secretaries of states and UTs reporting an increase in coronavirus cases, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Saturday advised them to enforce COVID-appropriate behaviour by dealing firmly with violations and ensure effective surveillance in case of potential super spreading events so as not to squander last year’s gains.
The meeting was held with the chief secretaries of states and UTs of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir.
“They were advised not to lower their guard, enforce COVID appropriate behaviour and deal firmly with violations. It was strongly underlined that they need to follow effective surveillance strategies in respect of potential super spreading events,” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement. Read more
In view of the recent spike in coronavirus cases, the Gujarat government has decided to extend the night curfew in four major cities of the state, including Ahmedabad, by another 15 days.
The ongoing night curfew in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, was to end on February 28.
An official statement issued on Friday night said, the government decided to extend the night curfew by another 15 days in view of the recent rise in coronavirus cases in four municipal corporations. This is the fifth extension of the night curfew, which first came into force in November last year after a spurt in COVID-19 cases in these cities post-Diwali.
The ongoing night curfew starts at midnight and ends at 6 am. (PTI)
For the first time in its recent history, the Kerala capital on Saturday witnessed the famous Attukal Pongala, one of the world's largest all-women congregation, without the mass gathering of women devotees in public places and long lines of wayside make-shift hearths.
As authorities have issued strict instructions in view of COVID-19 spread, the annual pongala ritual was confined to homes this time unlike lakhs of women devotees gathering in and around the city roads and bylanes and preparing the offering for the deity as part of the ritual.
As per the instructions, none were allowed to offer 'pongala' (sweet offering) in public places or on roads. Instead, they could make the offering from their homes. No priests would visit home to sanctify the 'pongala' but devotees can do themselves, it said.
The ritual at the Attuakal Devi temple in Thiruvananthapuram was limited to the offering prepared at the 'pandara adupu', the main hearth. (PTI)
Mumbai Police has registered a case against three marriage halls for allowing more number of guests than the prescribed limit of 50 on the complaint of the city civic body, an official said on Saturday.
At each of these three marriage halls, located on CST Road in Kalina, at least 200 guests had assembled on Friday, the civic official said.
He said many guests gathered at these halls were not wearing a face mask and social distancing norms were also not adhered to. (PTI)
The cabinet secretary will chair a high-level review meeting on Saturday with eight states and union territories exhibiting a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Union Health Ministry said. The states showing a surge are Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. India's total COVID-19 active caseload is 1,59,590 which is 1.44 per cent of the total infections.
With new infections soaring due to a highly contagious coronavirus variant and hospitals filling up, one of the hardest-hit countries in the European Union is facing the inevitable: the tightest lockdown since the start of the pandemic. The Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Friday the new series of measures is necessary to protect the lives of our citizens. --AP
The recent surge in coronavirus infections has seen Pune re-emerge as the city with the second highest number of confirmed cases, overtaking Bengaluru, after a gap of nearly four months. Pune district now has over 4.06 lakh confirmed cases, while Bengaluru has more than 4.04 lakh. Delhi, with more than 6.38 lakh cases, is, obviously, quite far ahead. For the last four consecutive days, and on six occasions in the last eight days, Pune has reported more than 1,000 cases, the highest for any city in the country. Bengaluru and Delhi are, these days, reporting cases in the lower hundreds. Read more
With 611 more persons testing positive for coronavirus, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 2,63,625, an official said on Saturday. These new cases were reported on Friday, he said. As the virus claimed the life of sevenpersons during the day, the death toll in the district rose to 6,263. Its COVID-19 mortality rate stood at 2.38 per cent, he added. So far, 2,51,722 patients have recuperated from the infection, which took the recovery rate to 95.48 per cent. There are 5,640 active cases in the district at present, the official said. --PTI
India recorded 16,488 new Covid-19 cases and 113 deaths on Friday. Maharashtra accounted for 8,333 or more than half of the new Covid cases detected. Kerala reported 3,671 cases while Punjab, with 622 cases, contributed the third highest number of cases in the country. Active cases rose further to 1.56 lakh.