E-Paper
Covid-19 LIVE: Karnataka reports spike of 386 fresh cases
In a setback for the country, five states — Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir — have not witnessed any respite as the first wave continues unabated.
With the lowering of guards visible in the country, the Covid-19 toll in India is signaling an increase in cases just weeks after the daily toll was reduced to a tenth of what it reported during the peak last year. According to an analysis by HT, three states and one Union Territory have seen their seven-day averages of daily Covid-19 cases rise by between 20% and 69% of lows seen after the end of the first wave of the pandemic. This highlights the potential risk of a surge in cases amid fears of mutant strains gaining ground, and laxity in adhering to protocols due to Covid fatigue being reported across the country....Read More
In a setback for the country, five states — Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir — have not witnessed any respite as the first wave continues unabated.
This is evident at a time when the country is functioning with sparse restrictions in most states. Maharashtra, described as a concern area by health ministry, announced the strict implementation of restrictions, Amravati and Yavatmal, to stem the rising cases.
Covid-19 case continues to rise in Maharashtra
Over the last seven days, Maharashtra added 31,057 cases of Covid-19 to the tally. Read more
Karnataka reports spike of 386 cases
Karnataka reported 386 new COVID-19 cases, 291 recoveries, and 5 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per State Health Department
Total cases: 9,47,246
Total recoveries: 9,29,058
Active cases: 5,882
Death toll: 12,287
Maharashtra reports over 6,000 cases in a day
With more than 6,000 fresh cases , Maharashtra reported another another highest spike in daily infection. In the last 24 hours, the state reported 6,112 cases. 44 others succumbed to the disease, pushing the death toll to 51,713. In Mumbai, the tally reached 317,310 after 823 fresh infections.
Indian vaccinated 6,58,674 people on Thursday, highest so far
The highest single-day vaccination, as part of this vaccination drive, was recorded yesterday on 18th February. This number was 6,58,674. With this, yesterday India crossed a figure of 1 crore vaccination in all: Mandeep Bhandari, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry
4,505 new Covid-19 cases in Kerala
Kerala reported 4,505 new Covid-19 cases and 4,854 recoveries reported on Thursday. The total number of active cases in the state is 59,814, as per State government. Meanwhile, 9,61,789 people have recovered so far.
Africa Union secures 300 million doses of Sputnik V
The African Union has secured 300 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
The shots will be available for 12 months starting in May, the AU said in a statement on Friday. Finance has been arranged for countries that want to purchase the vaccine.
EU to double COVAX vaccine funding to 1 billion euros
The European Union's executive commission plans to double its contribution to the World Health Organization’s COVAX program, bringing the 27-nation bloc’s commitment to the initiative to deliver vaccines to poor nations to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).
WHO believes badgers, rabbits could have spread Covid-19 to humans
World Health Organization (WHO) experts investigating the pandemic's origins suggest that ferret badgers and rabbits, which were sold at a Wuhan market in China, could have played a role in spreading the novel coronavirus to humans, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The investigators, however, note the need for further probe into suppliers of those and other animals to the market. They have yet to ascertain a full list of live and dead animals sold legally or illegally at the market.
Pakistan to get 2.8 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses from COVAX
Pakistan will receive 2.8 million doses of Oxford AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on March 2 from the international vaccine alliance, COVAX, Health Minister Faisal Sultan has said as the country announced the launch of a vaccination programme for citizens aged over 65.
Pakistan this month started the anti-coronavirus vaccination drive with 500,000 doses of Sinopharm’s vaccine donated by its ally China.
Clinical trials indicate India's vaccines will be effective against Covid-19 variants: ICMR
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Balram Bhargava has said interim results of the ongoing clinical trials indicated that the indigenous Covid-19 vaccines would be effective against the mutated virus strains reported from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
A paper on Covaxin's neutralisation potential against the UK strain has been accepted for publication, he said here on Thursday while addressing an international webinar "Kerala Health: Making the SDG A Reality,"organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Kerala.
New Zealand vaccinators receive Covid-19 jab ahead of formal rollout
New Zealand officials injected a small group of medical professionals with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, in preparation for a wider rollout over the weekend.
The group chosen for the test run were vaccinators who will be administering the inoculation to border and quarantine staff from Saturday.
Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield said the test run gave vaccinators the opportunity to handle the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, which requires ultra-low temperature storage.
South African Vaccine Roll-Out Seen Slower After Astra Setback
A top coronavirus adviser to South Africa’s government expects a slower vaccine roll-out than what has been officially mapped out.
The start of the program was delayed this month after studies showed AstraZeneca Plc’s shot, the first to arrive in South Africa, provided little protection against mild forms of the disease caused by a variant of the virus identified late last year.
Six new Covid-19 cases push Mizoram's tally to 4,405
Mizoram on Friday reported six new cases of Covid-19, including four students, pushing the coronavirus caseload to 4,405, an official said.
Of the six fresh cases, four were reported from Lawngtlai district and one case each from Aizawl and Champhai districts, he said.
The four students were diagnosed with Covid-19 during a mandatory test before entering hostels, he said.
India reports 13,193 Covid-19 cases, 97 deaths in the last 24 hours
India's active Covid-19 caseload up by 2200 cases, infection tally surpasses 10.96 million.
Signs of Covid uptick as states lower guard
While Maharashtra, the state worst-hit by the disease, is again seeing a strong resurgence of infections with cases rising rapidly over the past week, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir also face the immediate risk of seeing a second Covid-19 surge.
Read full story here.
