Jammu: A healthcare worker conducts Covid-19 testing of a woman as coronavirus case surge countrywide, in Jammu, Saturday, June 11, 2022. (PTI Photo)Coronavirus News Highlights: India recorded 12,847 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The number of active cases has risen to 63,063, while the death toll increased to 5,24,817 after 14 more people succumbed to the disease.
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 4,165 new Covid-19 cases, slightly fewer than previous day, and three pandemic-related deaths, according to the state health department. Active cases in the state stand at 21,749. Meanwhile the city of Mumbai alone reported 2,255 new cases and two fatalities. Mumbai now has 13,304 active cases. For the third time this week, the test positivity rate in the city was above 15% at 15.39%
Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 1797 new Covid cases, while Chennai logged 286 cases, Gujarat registered 225 cases and Madhya Pradesh reported 71. According to the Union Health Ministry the cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country reached nearly 196 crore on Friday.
Delhi on Friday recorded 1,797 new coronavirus cases and one pandemic-related death according to the Delhi State Health Bulletin. The city now has 4,843 active cases and the positivity rate stands at 8.18%.
Chhattisgarh on Friday recorded 78 Covid-19 cases at a positivity rate of 1.07 per cent, taking the tally in the state to 11,52,928, while the death toll remained unchanged at 14,035, an official said.
The 78 cases included 19 in Raipur, 14 in Durg and 11 in Bilaspur, while no new Covid-19 case was reported in 11 districts, he said. (PTI)
Today’s Covid numbers --
Delhi -1797 cases
Mumbai - 2,255 cases
Chennai - 286 cases
Bengaluru - 634 cases
The cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country reached nearly 196 crore on Friday, the Union Health Ministry said.
Over 13 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Friday till 7 pm. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late at night.
A total of 1,15,656 precaution doses of Covid vaccine were administered among those aged 18-59 years on Tuesday till 7 pm, taking the tally of such jabs given in this age group to 39,00,663, according to the Health Ministry data. (PTI)
Gujarat registered 225 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The recovery count increased by 141 during this period to touch 12,15,033, taking the active caseload to 1,186. (PTI)
Telangana on Friday reported 279 fresh Covid-19 cases taking the statewide tally to 7,95,572. Hyderabad saw the highest number of cases with 172.
A health department bulletin said 119 people recuperated from the infectious disease and the the recovery rate stood at 99.26 per cent. No fresh fatality occurred due to the infection and the death toll continued to be 4,111. (PTI)
At least 71 new cases of coronavirus were detected in Madhya Pradesh. With this, the central state currently has 421 active cases and the positivity rate stood at 1 per cent, the official said. (PTI)
The Covid-19 tally in Nashik increased by 28 to reach 4,76,334 on Friday, while the death toll stood unchanged at 8,899, an official said.
So far, 4,67,317 persons have been discharged post recovery, including 22 during the day, leaving the district with 118 active cases, he added. (PTI)
Mumbai on Friday reported 2,255 new coronavirus infections, a dip from the daily cases reported in the last two days, and two pandemic-related deaths, a civic official said.
The city now has 13,304 active cases. For the third time this week, the test positivity rate in Mumbai was above 15% at 15.39%. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir reported 22 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, taking the infection tally in the Union Territory to 4,54,442, officials said.
Seventeen fresh cases were reported from Jammu division while five cases were reported from Kashmir valley, the officials said. There are 124 active cases of the disease in the Union Territory, while the number of recoveries has reached 4,49,566, they said. (PTI)
US regulators on Friday authorised the first Covid-19 shots for infants and preschoolers, paving the way for vaccinations to begin next week.
The Food and Drug Administration's action follows its advisory panel's unanimous recommendation for the shots from Moderna and Pfizer. That means US kids under 5 — roughly 18 million youngsters — are eligible for the shots, about 1 1/2 years after the vaccines first became available in the US for adults, who have been hit the hardest during the pandemic. (AP)
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 4,165 new coronavirus cases, slightly fewer than previous day, and three pandemic-related deaths, the state health department said. State capital Mumbai alone reported 2,255 new cases and two fatalities.
The Covid-19 caseload rose to 79,27,862, and death toll reached 1,47,883. Active cases in the state stand at 21,749. Every district in Maharashtra has now active coronavirus patients.
Besides two deaths in Mumbai, another death was recorded from Jalgaon.The case fatality rate in the state stands at 1.86 per cent. (PTI)
China on Friday defended its tough “zero-Covid” policy after the US ambassador said it was causing serious damage to the global economy and foreign business sentiment.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the Chinese economy is recovering from the effects of the pandemic and “facts prove” the policy mandating lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing is “suitable for China's national conditions and has stood the test of history.” “We have full confidence that (we can) contain the epidemic, steady the economy and achieve the goal of safe economic development," Wang said at a daily briefing. (Reuters)
Odisha recorded 25 new coronavirus cases on Friday, 16 less than the previous day, taking the tally to 12,88,762, a health bulletin said.
The toll remained unchanged at 9,126 as there was no more death due to the pathogen in the last 24 hours. Fifty-three other coronavirus patients have died due to comorbidities so far, it said.
There are 185 active cases, while 17 more people have recuperated from the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 12,79,398, the bulletin said. (PTI)
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is less likely to cause long Covid risk than the Delta variant, new research in the UK has found.
Analysis by researchers from King's College London of data from the ZOE Covid Symptom study app published on Thursday in a letter to ‘The Lancet' journal found the odds of experiencing long Covid were between 20-50 per cent less during the Omicron period versus the Delta period, depending on age and time since vaccination.
Long Covid is defined by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines as having new or ongoing Covid symptoms four weeks or more after the start of disease. (PTI)
Covd-19 test positivity rate (TPR) in Mumbai jumped over 15 per cent twice in the current week, civic officials said on Friday, as the metropolis battles a fresh surge in cases after the third wave of the pandemic waned earlier this year.
They said TPR jumped to 15.58 per cent on June 14, when 1,724 people tested positive for coronavirus out of 11,065 tests conducted that day and then again on June 16 the rate shot up to 15.11 per cent when 2,366 new patients were detected on the back of 15,656 tests in a span of 24 hours.
TPR is the proportion of positive cases out of the total tests conducted and it has witnessed a steady rise in the financial capital since the last one month. (PTI)
The Union Territory of Puducherry witnessed a spike in the number of new Covid-19 cases on Friday as 31 people were affected by the viral disease.
The UT had recorded 19 cases on Thursday. A release from the Director of Health G Sriramulu said Puducherry region accounted for 23 new cases out of the total 31 while Karaikal reported six, and Mahe and Yanam regions had one fresh case each.
The active cases tally has gone up to 100 with one patient admitted in hospital and 99 people recovering in home quarantine, the Director said. There were 77 active cases in the UT on Thursday. (PTI)
Once again, Covid-19 has spiralled in Maharashtra with the positivity rate hovering around 10 per cent. As of June 16, active cases stood at 20,634, a 13-fold spike from May 16, when the total number was just 1,526. Not only that, cases are jumping with alarming speed in most metros.
It has never been claimed that vaccinated people will never get infected. Also, if one gets infected, the chances are that they will be asymptomatic or have minor symptoms, Dr Rahul Pandit says. (Read More)
Over 5,300 challans were issued across Delhi between June 10 and 15 and fines to the tune of over Rs 26 lakh were imposed on those flouting Covid norms amid a surge in cases here, officials said.
However, the total fines collected was Rs 14,60,980, almost half of the amount of fines imposed by the districts. Officials explained that while some people pay the fine amount on the spot, there are others who pay the fine later in the court.
The enforcement team of the New Delhi district issued the maximum number of challans while the southwest district administration issued the least number of fines and recorded single-digit number on all six days between June 10 and June 15.
Delhi recorded 1,323 new Covid cases and two deaths on Thursday, while the positivity rate stood at 6.69 per cent, according to data shared by the health department. (PTI)
Thane district of Maharashtra has reported 934 new coronavirus positive cases, which took its infection count to 7,17,090, an official said on Friday.
These cases were recorded on Thursday, a day after the district saw 852 infections. On Tuesday, the district had recorded 607 cases.
There was no fresh fatality and the death toll in the district stood at 11,896, the official said, adding that the Covid-19 mortality rate stood at 1.67 per cent. (PTI)
The researchers from the department of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), along with collaborators from the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA) in Stockholm and the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) in Bengaluru carried out computer simulations to analyse the movement of the speech aerosols in the air space between people interacting and if it leads to spread of viruses, including the Coronavirus. (Read More)
One more person tested positive for Covid-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking the coronavirus caseload of the Union territory to 10,064 on Friday, a health bulletin said.
There are now 11 active cases in the archipelago, while 9,924 people have recovered from the disease, and 129 patients have succumbed to the infection to date. The administration has thus far tested over 7.46 lakh samples for Covid-19, and fully vaccinated 3.40 lakh people. (PTI)
Thailand is lifting a pre-arrival registration requirement for foreign visitors that was seen as onerous and a drag on the recovery for its ailing tourism industry.
The government's Covid-19 center also said Friday that an outdoor mask mandate would be dropped as of July 1 except in crowded venues. The mask mandate was not controversial in Thailand and generally obeyed.
Thailand began gradually easing entry requirements late last year. But through April, it still required even fully vaccinated travelers to undergo RT-PCR tests upon arrival and stay in a government-approved hotel for one night until the results were known. Registering for the “Thailand Pass” required online copies of vaccination documents, insurance policies and other documents to be submitted, after which visitors would receive a QR code for use during travel.
The requirement had already been dropped for Thais and will be dropped for foreign visitors on July 1. The registration process — beset at times by delays and glitches — was seen as discouraging tourists to Thailand, where the lucrative tourism sector was battered by the coronavirus pandemic. (PTI)
Covaxin (BBV152) was well tolerated in children aged 2-18 years and induced higher neutralising antibody responses than those observed in adults in whom its efficacy (ie, the prevention or decrease in severity of Covid-19 infection) has been demonstrated.
Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), on Friday announced that BBV152 (Covaxin), its whole-virion inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidate, has proven to be safe, well-tolerated, and highly immunogenic in paediatric subjects in phase II/III study. The study was published online in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, a peer-reviewed high-impact journal, on June 16.
Bharat Biotech had conducted phase II/III, open-label, and multicentre study to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of Covaxin in healthy children and adolescents in the 2-18 age group. The clinical trial conducted in the paediatric population between June 2021 to September 2021 has shown safety, less reactogenicity and robust immunogenicity. Read more.
India reported a single-day rise of 12,847 coronavirus infections, taking the overall tally of cases to 4,32,70,577, while active cases also went up by over 4,800, according to the Union Health Ministry data issued on Friday.
The data updated at 8 am also recorded 14 fresh fatalities, pushing the overall death figure to 5,24,817. The active cases now constitute 0.15 per cent of the total infections, while the country's Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.64 per cent, the health ministry said.
The case fatality rate was 1.21 per cent. An increase of 4,848 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. (PTI)
India recorded 12,847 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The number of active cases has risen to 63,063, while the death toll increased to 5,24,817 after 14 more people succumbed to the disease.
Covid numbers in Karnataka
New cases in State: 833
New cases in Bengaluru: 791
Positivity rate: 3.47%
Discharges: 458 (Bengaluru-435)
Deaths: 1
Active cases in State: 4,371
Active cases in Bengaluru: 4,199
Tests: 23,990
Maharashtra reports 4,255 new Covid-19 cases today; Active cases rise to 20,634.
More than 7,100 coronavirus cases have been reported in Delhi in the last 10 days as doctors and other medical experts cautioned people to not lower the guard and follow all Covid-appropriate behaviour. Amid a spike in daily cases, the positivity rate too has climbed from 1.92 per cent registered on June 7 to 7.01 per cent on June 15, as per official figures.
Delhi on Wednesday had recorded 1,375 Covid cases, the highest daily tally in a month, and zero death. On May 10, the city had logged 1,118 cases with a positivity rate of 4.38 per cent, and one death, while on May 8, Delhi had reported 1,422 cases with a positivity rate of 5.34 per cent, and zero death.
The number of Covid-19 cases have registered a steady rise in the last ten days, as the daily tally mounted to over 1,300 on June 15 from 247 on June 6, totalling 7,175 cases in this period, according to official data shared by the city health department. This corresponds to a rise of about 450 per cent in the daily cases in this period. While on June 14 and 15, the tally had been over 1,000, from June 10-13, it had stood in excess of 600 on all four days. (PTI)
The active cases comprise 0.13 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.65 per cent, the health ministry said. An increase of 4,578 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.35 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was at 2.38 per cent, according to the health ministry.
Kerala is seeing a gradual rise in Covid-19 cases with 3,419 fresh infections reported, bringing the total active cases to 18,345 and the caseload to 65,89,307 till June 15. On Tuesday, according to data provided on the Government of Kerala dashboard, the number of fresh cases was 3,488, the highest in the state in the last 2-3 months. Eight deaths were also reported on Wednesday, bringing the total casualties in the state due to the pandemic to 69,853 till June 15.
In view of the increase in the Covid-19 cases in Kerala, the health department has announced that there will be a special 6-day long vaccination drive starting from Thursday, June 16, for administering precaution doses of the vaccine to those requiring it. It has advised that no one should skip the precautionary dose believing that they are immune as they have taken two doses of vaccine. (PTI)
North Korea reported an outbreak of an unidentified intestinal epidemic in a farming region on Thursday, putting further strain on the isolated country as it battles chronic food shortages and a wave of Covid-19 infections. Leader Kim Jong Un sent medicines to the western port city of Haeju on Wednesday to help patients suffering from the "acute enteric epidemic", state news agency KCNA said, without giving the number affected, or identifying the disease.
The term enteric refers to the gastrointestinal tract. "(Kim) stressed the need to contain the epidemic at the earliest date possible by taking a well-knit measure to quarantine the suspected cases to thoroughly curb its spread, confirming cases through epidemiological examination and scientific tests," KCNA said. (Reuters)
Mumbai on Wednesday reported 2,293 new Covid-19 cases, up by 569 from a day ago and the highest daily count registered since January 23, while one more patient succumbed to the infection, the city civic body said. With these additions, the tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 10,85,882, while the death toll increased to 19,576, said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) bulletin. The metropolis has crossed the 2,000 daily case mark after almost five months. On January 23, Mumbai had logged 2,550 Covid cases and 13 fatalities.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the capital shot up over the last two days, with 1,375 cases recorded on Wednesday. The positivity rate – proportion of samples tested that returned positive, indicative of the spread of the infection in the community – stood at 7.01%, as per the government’s health bulletin.
The daily incidence increased from 500 to over 1,000 in seven days during the current surge. To compare, it took only three days for a similar change in April when the cases spiked a little after mask mandates were done away with. It took a similar three days in January when Delhi witnessed the omicron variant driven third wave. Although the numbers declines slightly after the April spike, it did not reduce to the levels seen after the third wave. Read more
The single day rise in new coronavirus infections were recorded over 12,000 after 111 days, registering 38.4 per cent jump in daily cases while the active cases have increased to 58,215, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Thursday. A total 12,213 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, taking India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,32,57,730 while the death toll has climbed to 5,24,803 with 11 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
Hitting another spike on the number of daily infections, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday added 476 coronavirus cases including five returnees from domestic and overseas, pushing the tally to 34,58,445 till date, the health department said.
After more than two months, an 18-year-old woman succumbed to the virus in Thanjavur becoming the latest casualty mounting the death toll to 38,026. The last death due to Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu was reported on March 17.
The state capital accounted for the majority of cases at 221 while the remaining was spread across 22 districts. Five districts including neighbouring Chengalpet and Tiruvallur logged new cases in double digits. (PTI)
Telangana on Wednesday recorded 205 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the overall caseload in the state to 7,95,008. Hyderabad saw the highest number of cases with 132. A health department bulletin said 63 people recuperated from the infectious disease and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 7,89,496. The recovery rate stood at 99.31 per cent.
No fresh fatality occurred due to the infection and the death toll continued to be 4,111. The bulletin said 21,070 samples were tested on Wednesday. The number of active cases was 1,401, it said. The state has been witnessing a rise in daily cases for about a fortnight. (PTI)
The number of Covid-19 cases in the capital shot up over the last two days, with 1,375 cases recorded on Wednesday. The positivity rate – proportion of samples tested that returned positive, indicative of the spread of the infection in the community – stood at 7.01%, as per the government’s health bulletin.
The daily incidence increased from 500 to over 1,000 in seven days during the current surge. To compare, it took only three days for a similar change in April when the cases spiked a little after mask mandates were done away with. It took a similar three days in January when Delhi witnessed the omicron variant driven third wave. Although the numbers declines slightly after the April spike, it did not reduce to the levels seen after the third wave.
Mask mandates are in place right now in Delhi. Read More
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state is restricted to certain districts, and despite the spike, hospitalisations remain at 2-3 per cent.
Seeking to allay the concerns over the rising Covid-19 graph, Tope said no new variant is detected except Omicron. He, however, informed that Mumbai's case positivity rate has touched 40 per cent and the health department is maintaining vigil.
Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 4,024 new coronavirus cases, a 36 per cent rise over the previous day, and two pandemic-related deaths. Mumbai reported 2,293 infections, the highest daily count since January 23. (PTI)
China's capital Beijing has reported a total of 327 COVID cases linked to a bar as of Wednesday afternoon, a health official said. Beijing reported seven new local Covid cases on Wednesday up to 3 p.m., Liu Xiaofeng added. (Reuters)
The administration of Covaxin as a booster dose enhances vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19’s Delta variant and gives protection against Omicron variants BA.1.1 and BA.2, a study by ICMR and Bharat Biotech has found. The protective efficacy of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin following two and three-dose immuniszations against the Delta variant and the efficacy of the Covaxin against Omicron variants were studied in a Syrian hamster model (animal model to study human-associated diseases), it said. Read more
Over 90% of US multinational firms surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai have cut their annual revenue projections in the wake of the city's gruelling two-month lockdown, the business group said on Wednesday. Of 133 member companies surveyed by AmCham Shanghai, 93% said they had reduced their revenue forecast for this year, with a quarter expecting a drop of more than 20% compared with original projections.
A quarter of the 64 consumer and services companies and 20% of the 69 manufacturers said they planned to decrease investment in China. Only one company said it planned to increase investment in the country, where a zero-COVID policy is causing concern about further restrictions and economic fallout.
The survey, conducted a week after Shanghai's population of 25 millio officially exited lockdown on June 1, also found only 35% of manufacturers operating at full throttle, with a quarter operating below 75% of usual capacity. The most common issue they reported inhibiting production was the inability of workers to move freely between homes and workplaces. (Reuters)
In a cluster outbreak, 31 students from two schools in Dasarahalli zone tested positive for Covid-19. BBMP special commissioner Ravindra PN Tuesday said 21 students from New Standard English School and 10 students from MES School tested positive for Covid-19 during a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
“On June 9, BBMP conducted a vaccination drive against Covid-19 at these schools. Some of the students showed symptoms after which RAT was conducted, in which 31 students were found to be Covid-19 positive. Then the students underwent the RT-PCR test in which 21 students from New Standard English School tested Covid negative and the RT-PCR report of the 10 students from MES school is awaited. The schools have been sanitised and directions have been given to follow standard operating procedure (SOP) with regard to Covid-19. This includes checking the temperature at the entry, wearing of masks and adhering to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour,” he said. Read more
Daily Covid-19 cases breached the 300 mark in Tamil Nadu with 332 people, including a returnee from Maharashtra, testing positive to the disease on Tuesday, aggregating to 34,57,969. However, the toll remained unchanged at 38,025 with zero fatalities, the health department said. Meanwhile, the Income Tax department is currently conducting raids at a few locations belonging to MGM Group of companies across Chennai and Tamil Nadu.
A government advisory panel Tuesday endorsed a second brand of Covid-19 vaccine for school-age children and teens. The Food and Drug Administration's outside experts voted unanimously that Moderna's vaccine is safe and effective enough to give kids ages 6 to 17. If the FDA agrees, it would become the second option for those children, joining Pfizer's vaccine.
The same FDA expert panel will meet Wednesday to consider tot-sized shots from Moderna and Pfizer for the littlest kids, those under 5. Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine has long been available for adults in the U.S. and elsewhere and more than three dozen countries offer it to children, too. If the FDA authorizes Moderna's vaccine for teens and younger children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will next decide whether to recommend the shots. (AP)
With 8,822 fresh coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 4,32,45,517 on Wednesday, while the count of active cases increased to 53,637, according to Union Health Ministry data. The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,24,792 with 15 fatalities being reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.The count of active cases now comprises 0.12 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.66 per cent, the health ministry said.
The pace of Covid vaccinations in Nuh district in Haryana continues to be slow, and it has the lowest vaccination rate in Haryana. Sources said that at a Covid review meeting chaired by the Union Health Minister on Monday, Nuh’s low vaccination rate was among several points of discussion.
In October last year, Nuh was among the 48 lowest-performing districts in terms of vaccine coverage in the country as per data shared at a conference of state health ministers. Haryana’s first dose coverage is 104 per cent and second dose coverage is 86 per cent among eligible beneficiaries above the age of 15. Read more
With the addition of 607 new Covid-19 cases, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 7,15,305, an official said on Wednesday. These new cases were reported on Tuesday, he said. The viral infection also claimed the life of one person, taking the death toll in the district to 11,896, he said, adding that the Covid-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 1.67 per cent. (PTI)
China has announced plans to provide visas to Indian professionals and their families stranded in India for over two years following the strict visa restrictions imposed by Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Separately, China is also processing requests of thousands of Indian students studying in Chinese universities who have conveyed their interest to re-join their colleges and universities.
On Monday, the Chinese Embassy in India updated its COVID-19 visa policy after over two years to accept visa applications of foreign nationals and their accompanying family members wanting to go to China for resumption of work in all fields. Read more
Covid cases in Delhi are increasing rapidly once again, with 1,118 cases being reported on Tuesday. The number of cases is the highest since May 10. According to the health bulletin issued by the Delhi government, two people died of the infection. The positivity rate, however, dipped from 7.06% on Monday to 6.50% on Tuesday as the number of tests conducted in a day rose from 8,700 to over 17,000. According to experts, when fewer tests are conducted, the possibility of a higher positivity rate increases.
India reports 8,822 new Covid-19 cases and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry said. The Covid-19 numbers today is 2,228 higher than the numbers reported on Tuesday.
Good morning! Follow this space for Covid-19 cases, and updates from across the country.
Maharashtra reports 2,956 new Covid-19 cases, 2,165 recoveries and 4 deaths in the last 24 hours while active cases are at 18,267.
Mumbai on Tuesday reported 1,724 fresh Covid-19 cases, a rise of over 600 compared to Monday, and two fatalities due to the infection, the civic bulletin said. With this, Mumbai's tally of infections climbed to 10,83,589 and the Covid-19 death toll to 19,575, it said.
A day earlier, the metropolis had logged 1,118 cases but no fatality. Tuesday is the eighth consecutive day when Mumbai reported Covid-19 cases in four digits.
Maharashtra on Tuesday reported two more cases of the BA.5 variant of coronavirus, the state health department said. Both the patients, found in Thane city, had been vaccinated. They recovered from the latest infection in home isolation, the department added in a press release. One of them was a 25-year-old woman and the other a 32-year-old man.
The daily Covid-19 cases in Delhi crossed the 1,000 mark in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Monday as the capital recorded 1,118 new cases. Two deaths and 500 recoveries were also recorded, while the active cases are currently at 3,177.
With three fresh cases, Ladakh's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 28,291, officials said on Tuesday. All the fresh cases were detected in Leh, they added. The death toll due to the viral disease remained unchanged at 228 -- 168 in Leh and 60 in Kargil.
Of the six new fatalities caused by Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, two were reported from Assam and one each was recorded in Goa, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal.
Beijing's authorities have launched an investigation into a 24-hour bar that they believe to be at the centre of a cluster of several hundred Covid-19 cases in China's capital over the past few days, local media reported on Tuesday.
A joint team from an array of local government departments will work together to investigate and deal with the Heaven Supermarket bar "quickly, strictly and seriously", state-backed Beijing Daily reported.
All of the city's bars, nightclubs, karaoke venues, internet cafes and other entertainment venues are being inspected, the paper reported. All entertainment venues in underground spaces are being shut down and epidemic prevention work in the city is being "tightened", it said. (Reuters)
A day after performing at the 2022 Tony Awards, actor Hugh Jackman has tested positive for the novel coronavirus for the second time.
Following his diagnosis, the stage and film star will not perform in the Broadway shows of "The Music Man" production. Jackman said standby actor Max Clayton will perform the role of Professor Harold Hill alongside Sutton Foster, in all performances of Meredith Willson's musical comedy from June 14-21.