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.