Covid-19 highlights: Kerala, Maharashtra record huge surge in cases

Tanzania opposition leader Tundu Lissu asked the government about the whereabouts of president John Magufuli’s whereabouts owing to speculations on social media regarding his hospitalization. Magufuli has been criticised for unorthodox handling of the coronavirus pandemic as he declared Tanzania free of the pandemic.

Maharashtra recorded 13,659 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, taking the state's total tally to 22,52,057. 54 deaths were also recorded, the current death toll stands at 52,610. Wednesday's count marks a significant jump from the 9,927 Maharashtra had recorded on Tuesday.

The southern state of Karnataka recorded 760 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, taking the state-wide tally of cases to 9,56,801. There are currently 7,456 active cases in the state. 6 fatalities were also recorded, the death toll now stands at 12,379, reported news agency ANI.

The capital city of Mumbai recorded 1539 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, marking an increase from the 1,012 recorded on Thursday.

Maharashtra chief minister told reporters on Wednesday that lockdown is not an easily adoptable option for curbing the rising number of cases in the state. He added that a firm decision on the same will be taken after a review in the next few days. Thackeray also appealed to citizens to abide by Covid-19 preventative behaviour.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Wednesday that with Centre's approval of inoculating individuals 24X7 in private clinics under its jurisdiction a lakh a day can be successfully vaccinated against Covid. Adding that at the current timeframe of 8 to 12 hour shifts 35,000-40,000 people are being vaccinated everyday.

Read More

Kerala on Wednesday recorded 2,475 new cases of Covid-19, taking the state-wide tally of active cases to 35,418, reported ANI.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's $32 billion test and trace method has not been making much of a difference in the country's fight against the pandemic, opined Labour party lawmaker Meg Hillier. The Public Accounts Committee said the method which was designed to help the country avoid lockdowns has already failed twice. Adding that the method was overly reliant on contractors and consultants, the latter of which costs around 1000 pounds a day, reported Reuters.

The states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu -- accounts for 83.76 per cent of the 17,921 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the country in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Wednesday. The state of Maharashtra also witnessed the highest number of fatalities in 24 hours, where 56 people succumbed to the infection, followed by Punjab (20) and Kerala (16).

A central observer of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Assam polls has tested positive for Covid-19 after his arrival in Jorhat district, a senior official said on Wednesday. Jorhat Deputy Commissinoer Roshni Aparanji Korati said the ECI appointed general observer Manjeet Singh Brar tested positive on Tuesday on arrival in the district.

Restaurants devastated by the coronavirus outbreak are getting a lifeline from the pandemic relief package that's awaiting final approval in the House.

The bill passed by the Senate on Saturday a dds money to the Paycheck Protection Program and provides indirect help to small businesses in general through stimulus payments and unemployment benefits. But restaurants got the biggest share of direct help: USD 28.6 billion in grants for restaurants whose revenue fell in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

Arunachal Pradesh did not report any fresh Covid-19 case in the past four days, a health department official said on Wednesday.

The total caseload in the northeastern state remained at 16,839, he said.

Arunachal Pradesh now has three active cases, while 16,780 people have recovered from the disease, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

The number of cases of the novel coronavirus disease in Lebanon since the beginning of the pandemic has exceeded 400,000 - an increase of 3,939 in the past day, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said in a daily report.

The ministry said the overall case tally now stood at 401,810 people.

It said 45 nationals out of those infected had died in the past 24 hours.

Alaska has become the first state to drop eligibility requirements for Covid-19 vaccines and allow anyone 16 or older who lives or works in the state to get a vaccine, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday.

Dunleavy made the announcement after his own bout with Covid-19, which he described as an inconvenience and said underscored his own desire to be vaccinated. He said he did not become severely ill but did not want “to be laid up in the house again," impact his family or possibly spread the virus to others.

India on Wednesday recorded 17,921 fresh cases, pushing the cumulative tally to 11,259,707. Active cases at 1,84,598 are further down after witnessing surge in the last week.

Researchers have found that modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), a smallpox vaccine, can be further modified in a recombinant form to express the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and that injection of one or two doses of the recombinant MVA protected transgenic mice from lethal infection, with vaccination also preventing detection of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in the mouse lungs.

Russia has signed a deal to produce its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Italy, the first contract in the European Union, the Italian Russian Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday.

The deal was signed with Adienne Srl, the Italian subsidiary of a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, and Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Production of a planned 10 million doses this year is set to launch in July.

A senior citizen in West Bengal's Dhupguri area died allegedly after being administered the Covishield vaccine, prompting his family members to lodge a police complaint, an official said on Tuesday.

Krishna Dutta (64), a businessman from Jalpaiguri district, died at a local hospital, where he was rushed to after he complained of breathlessness, he said.