LIVE: India says WHO report on Covid-19 origins an ‘important first step’

India reported 72,330 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, according to data released by the health ministry. The country's total case load currently stands at 12.22 million. 459 fatalities were also recorded, the death toll now stands at 162,927.

A pedestrian walks past a wall mural depicting frontline Covid-19 coronavirus warriors wearing face masks along a road. (AFP)

India on Wednesday recorded 72,223 new Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day rise since October 10. The country is ramping up vaccination drive, as it starts to inoculate individuals above 45 years of age from today....Read More

Follow all the updates here:

• 1 Apr 2021, 11:05:07 PM IST

  3,187 more Covid-19 cases reported from Punjab

  Punjab on Thursday reported 3,187 fresh Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day spike so far, and 60 more fatalities due to it. On March 26, the state had seen the maximum daily surge of 3,176 infections.

• 1 Apr 2021, 10:47:16 PM IST

  Telangana health minister reviews rising Covid-19 cases, vaccination

  With the state witnessing a gradual rise in Covid-19 cases, Telangana health minister Eatala Rajender on Thursday asked health department officials to once again work in a warlike mode to contain the spread of the virus and ensure that necessary medicines and equipment are available in all hospitals, reported news agency PTI.

• 1 Apr 2021, 10:23:52 PM IST

  Rajasthan's tally climbs to 3,34,499 with 1,350 new Covid-19 cases

  Rajasthan's Covid-19 caseload climbed to 3,34,499 on Thursday with 1,350 fresh cases, while the death toll mounted to 28,222 as four more people succumbed to the disease, according to an official report cited by news agency PTI.

• 1 Apr 2021, 10:09:07 PM IST

  India says WHO report on Covid-19 origins an ‘important first step’

  The ministry of external affairs on Thursday said the World Health Organization-convened global study represents an important first step in establishing the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• 1 Apr 2021, 08:58:54 PM IST

  Mumbai logs more than 8,600 new Covid-19 cases, 18 fatalities

  Mumbai reports 8,646 new Covid-19 cases, 5,031 recoveries and 18 deaths on Thursday.

• 1 Apr 2021, 08:37:19 PM IST

  Gujarat reports 2,410 new Covid-19 cases

  Gujarat reports 2,410 fresh Covid cases, 2,015 recoveries, and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours, reports ANI.

• 1 Apr 2021, 07:51:52 PM IST

  Delhi reports 2,790 new Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours

  Delhi reports 2,790 fresh Covid-19 cases (out of 78,073 tests), 1,121 recoveries, and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours

• 1 Apr 2021, 07:48:34 PM IST

  Goa logs 265 new Covid-19 cases, one death in last 24 hours

  Goa reports 265 new Covid-19 cases, one fatality. Infection tally rises to 58,304, death toll 831. There are 1,716 active cases in the state at present, reported PTI.

• 1 Apr 2021, 07:24:41 PM IST

  PM Boris Johnson says France Covid-19 situation sad and can hit UK

  Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that the Covid-19 situation in France was very sad and experience had shown that the disease usually hit the United Kingdom a few weeks after it hurt France, reports Reuters.

• 1 Apr 2021, 06:54:20 PM IST

  Kerala reports 2,798 new Covid-19 cases

  Kerala reports 2798 new Covid-19 cases. Number of active cases now at 26,201; so far 10,96,239 persons have recovered from the disease.

• 1 Apr 2021, 06:32:53 PM IST

  Uttarakhand reports 500 new Covid-19 cases

  Uttarakhand reports 500 new Covid-19 positive cases including 236 cases in Dehradun and 149 cases in Haridwar today, taking the total number of cases to 1,00,911.

• 1 Apr 2021, 05:55:29 PM IST

  Union minister Anurag Thakur receives first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

• 1 Apr 2021, 05:39:05 PM IST

  Sweden reports over 8,300 Covid-19 cases

  Sweden, which has shunned lockdowns throughout the pandemic, registered 8,304 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, health agency statistics showed, reports Reuters.

• 1 Apr 2021, 05:06:22 PM IST

  Maharashtra: Nagpur registers 3,630 new Covid-19 cases

  Nagpur District reported 3,630 new Covid-19 cases, 2,928 recoveries and 60 Death, in the last 24 hours, as per Civil Surgeon, Nagpur, reports ANI.

• 1 Apr 2021, 04:51:21 PM IST

  Odisha logs 394 new Covid-19 cases

  Odisha's Covid-19 tally mounted to 3,41,311 on Thursday as 394 more people tested positive for the infection, the highest single-day rise so far this year, a health department official said, reports PTI.

• 1 Apr 2021, 04:20:00 PM IST

  Pfizer-BioNTech say Covid-19 vaccine 91% effective

  Pfizer Inc and BioNTech said on Thursday their Covid-19 vaccine is around 91% effective at preventing the disease, citing updated trial data that included participants inoculated for up to six months, reported Reuters.

• 1 Apr 2021, 03:40:24 PM IST

  Biden unveils community corps to promote Covid-19 vaccination

  Seeking to overcome vaccine hesitancy, the Biden administration is unveiling a coalition of community, religious and celebrity partners to promote Covid-19 shots, reported AP.

• 1 Apr 2021, 03:20:49 PM IST

  Sweden to vaccinate adults with first Covid-19 shot by Aug 15 instead of June

  Sweden will start vaccinating its adult population by August 15 and not June, due to a shortage in vaccine doses, reported Reuters. "As the delivery forecast looks today, everyone over 18 should be able to have their first dose of the vaccine at the latest by August 15," Marie Morell, health care chief of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions told Reuters.

• 1 Apr 2021, 03:01:13 PM IST

  Scientists develop new test to detect Covid-19 quickly and track variants

  Scientists have developed a new test named NIRVANA to test and track for new Covid-19 variants in less amount of time, reported PTI. Adding that within fifteen minutes the test effictively detects if the samples are negative or positive.

• 1 Apr 2021, 01:44:14 PM IST

  Covid-19 vaccination drive to be carried out on all days of April

  Covid-19 vaccination drive in India will be held on all days of April, including on gazetted holidays, the government announced on Thursday. This has been done to amp up the ongoing country wide inoculation drive.

• 1 Apr 2021, 12:50:16 PM IST

  Andhra Pradesh chief minister, wife get vaccinated against Covid-19

  Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy and his wife YS Bharati got vaccinated against Covid-19 in Guntur, reported ANI.

• 1 Apr 2021, 12:47:15 PM IST

  8 states account for over 84% of new Covid-19 cases

• 1 Apr 2021, 11:30:14 AM IST

  Union minister Piyush Goyal inoculated with first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

• 1 Apr 2021, 10:08:13 AM IST

  India records 72,330 new cases of Covid-19, 459 deaths

  India recorded 72,330 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, taking the country's total case load to 12.22 million. 459 fatalities were also recorded in the last 24 hours, the death toll now stands at 162,927.

• 1 Apr 2021, 09:31:22 AM IST

  China reports 6 more Covid-19 cases in Yunnan province

  China reported 6 more cases of Covid-19 infections in a southwestern city of Ruili in the Yunan province, which shares a border with Myanmar, reported the Associated Press. This takes the total tally of cases in the province to 15.

• 1 Apr 2021, 07:36:48 AM IST

  Bappi Lahiri tests positive for Covid-19

  Singer Bappi Lahiri tested positive for Covid-19 and has been admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai for observation. Read More

• 1 Apr 2021, 07:32:09 AM IST

  Madras HC orders exhumation and re-burial of Covid-19 victim

  Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered the exhumation and re-burial of the body of Dr Simon Hercules, who died from Covid-19 while treating patients. Read More