LIVE: Britain records 54,940 new Covid-19 cases, 563 deaths

Three more people in Rajasthan succumbed to Covid-19 taking the death toll in the state to 2,734, while 475 more cases pushed the infection tally to 3,12,996 on Sunday, according to an official report. The fresh deaths were reported from Ajmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur. Jaipur recorded the maximum 81 fresh Covid-19 cases in the state. A total of 3,03,536 patients have recovered from the viral disease leaving 6,726 active cases at present.

With 661 Covid-19 cases and six deaths reported on Sunday, Chhattisgarh's caseload rose to 2,89,231 and toll to 3,490, a health official said. The number of people who have recovered reached 2,76,774 after 90 people were discharged from hospitals and 542 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 8,967 active cases, he said.

Britain reported 54,940 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, a slight drop from the number on Saturday, and 563 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test, government data showed. Deaths had been above 1,000 for four consecutive days before Sunday, although the numbers at the weekend are often lower due to delays in collecting the data.

Italy reported 361 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from 483 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 18,627 from 19,978. Some 139,758 swab tests were carried out in the past day, the ministry said, against a previous 172,119. Italy has registered 78,755 Covid-19 deaths since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21, the second-highest toll in Europe and the sixth-highest in the world. The country has reported 2.276 million cases to date, the health ministry said.

The Covid-19 tally in Tamil Nadu touched 8,26,261 with the addition of 724 new cases while seven more deaths took the toll to 12,222 on Sunday, the Health Department said. Recoveries eclipsed new cases with 857 people getting discharged as the total number of those cured so far rose to 8,06,875. Active cases, which had been declining, touched 7,164 on Sunday, as the number of people under treatment fell by over 1,200 in the last ten days.

Punjab recorded 304 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday which took the state's tally to 1,69,033 while six more fatalities pushed the death toll to 5,445, according to a medical bulletin. There are 2,933 active Covid-19 cases in the state, it said.

Of the fresh cases, 84 were reported from Mohali, 36 from Patiala and 34 from Jalandhar, among other districts. A total of 312 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection the previous day, taking the total number of cured persons to 1,60,655, the bulletin stated.

Bihar's Covid-19 tally rose to 2,56,777 on Sunday as 359 more people tested positive for the infection, while four fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 1,434, a health bulletin said. As many as 408 more people were cured of the disease, taking the recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state to 97.85 per cent, it said.

A total of 44 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Chandigarh on Sunday, taking the infection count to 20,295 according to a medical bulletin.

No death was reported on Sunday. The death toll stands at 327, as per bulletin.

There are currently 241 active cases, it said. A total of 31 patients were discharged after they recovered from infection, taking the overall recoveries to 19,727, as per bulletin. A total of 1,92,376 samples have been taken for testing so far and of them, 1,71,141 have tested negative while reports of 52 samples were awaited, it added.

The Covid-19 death toll in Haryana rose to 2,950 on Sunday with one more fatality, while 234 new cases pushed the infection tally to 2,64,955, a health department bulletin issued here said. The only fatality was reported from the state's Hisar district, it said. Among other districts to report new cases include Gurgaon (73) and Faridabad (36). The number of active cases in the state stands at 2,510 and 2,59,495 people have so far been discharged after recovery. The recovery rate is 97.94 per cent, it said.

The Philippines has secured 30 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by US drug maker Novavax, officials said Sunday, as the country braces for a surge in infections after a huge religious event. This is only the second vaccine deal signed by the national government, which has faced growing criticism for its slowness in procuring jabs for the archipelago where nearly half a million infections have been recorded. It hopes to secure 148 million doses this year from seven companies -- enough for around 70 percent of its population. But the government has warned it will depend on global supply. In an agreement with the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine maker, the Philippines will buy 30 million doses of the jab developed by Novavax, the government's vaccine task force said in a statement.

Mizoram reported one more Covid- 19 fatality on Sunday, pushing the death toll in the state to nine, a health department official said. The 57-year-old man succumbed to the virus at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) near Aizawl, he said.

The state also registered 17 fresh cases, including four security personnel, taking the tally to 4,292. Mizoram now has 91 active cases, while 4,192 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said. Meanwhile, the state government has extended the 'Covid-19 No Tolerance Drive' to contain the spread of the virus, another official said.

The Covid-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose by 620 on Sunday to reach 2,48,597, while the death toll increased by 10 and the recovery count by 816, an official said. The toll in the state is 3,711 and the number of people discharged so far stands at 2,37,063, he added.

Gujarat on Sunday reported 671 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the total count of infections to 2,51,944, state health department said. With four more patients succumbing to the viral disease, the cumulative toll rose to 4,344, it said. A total of 806 patients were discharged during the day, taking the tally of recoveries in Gujarat to 2,39,771, the department said in a release. With this, the Covid-19 case recovery rate in Gujarat stands at 95.17 per cent, while the number of active cases is 7,829.

Kerala reported 4,545 new Covid-19 cases and 23 related fatalities on Sunday taking the overall tally of infections in the state to 8,11,148 and the death toll to 3,302. State Health Minister K K Shailaja said the state government has tested 45,695 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate is 9.95 per cent. "Till now, 84,51,897 samples have been tested in the state. Three more persons who reached from the UK have been tested positive on Sunday taking the total number of affected persons from that country to 53," Minister said in a release. Earlier, six people from the UK have been tested positive for the new strain of virus.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa has topped 3 million on Sunday, according to the African Union's health agency. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dashboard shows that the continent has logged 3,021,769 cases since the start of the pandemic. Over 2.4 million coronavirus patients have recovered and more than 72,000 have died. In the region, South Africa has the largest tally of 1.2 million cases, including over 950,000 recoveries and more than 32,000 fatalities.

Uttar Pradesh's Covid-19 tally climbed to 5,93,171 on Sunday with 699 fresh cases while the death toll mounted to 8,495 as 13 more people succumbed to the disease. As many as 769 Covid-19 patients recovered from the disease and were discharged the previous day. With this, the number of patients discharged so far stands at 5,73,542. There are 11,134 active Covid-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh, the statement said.

The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles began vaccinating its population against the coronavirus Sunday, the first African nation to do so.

The country's president, Wavel Ramkalawan, was the first to receive the jab, an event broadcast on live television at a hospital in the capital Victoria. Several dozen other public figures joined him. "It's exactly as if I was getting any vaccine," he said, encouraging all the people of the island nation to get the injection. The country is using the Chinese vaccine developed by the Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm with its subsidiary the China National Biotec Group (CNBG). Health Minister Peggy Vidot said Thursday that the country had received a donation of 50,000 doses of the vaccine from the United Arab Emirates.

Andhra Pradesh reported 227 fresh Covid-19 cases, 289 recoveries and one death in 24 hours. The state completed 1.23 crore sample tests so far that turned out a gross 8,84,916 confirmed positives of coronavirus at the rate of 7.18 per cent, the latest bulletin said. The active cases fell to 2,544 after 8,75,243 recoveries and 7,129 deaths, it said.

Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally rose to 19,69,114 with the addition of 3,558 fresh cases on Sunday, the state health department said. With 34 more patients succumbing to the viral infection, the cumulative death toll in the state mounted to 50,061, it said. A total of 2,302 patients were discharged after treatment during the day, taking the total count of recoveries in Maharashtra to 18,63,702.

Cuba's top epidemiologist said on Saturday irresponsible partying over year-end, often with relatives from abroad, fueled a surge in coronavirus infections and he warned of a crackdown to prevent the spread of the disease. Authorities in the capital at the same time announced new containment measures including suspension of interprovincial transport, cultural activities and the use of public spaces such as the famous Malecon boulevard during night hours.

France recorded 20,177 new, confirmed Covid-19 cases and 171 more deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours, according to data from the country's health ministry. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in France stands at 2,767,312, while the total number of deaths stands at 67,599. France has the seventh-biggest Covid-19 death toll in the world.

Israel's coronavirus vaccination campaign, the world's fastest per capita, shifted to booster shots on Sunday in a bid to protect the most vulnerable citizens by next month and ease curbs on the economy. Israelis over the age of 60, those with health problems and medical personnel have been receiving first injections of Pfizer Inc. vaccines since Dec 19. As three weeks have passed, they are beginning to be due for follow-up, final doses. Read more

Tokyo reported 1,494 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, its government said, the lowest number of daily cases since Tuesday. Japan declared a limited state of emergency in Tokyo and three prefectures neighbouring the capital on Thursday to stem a surge in Covid-19 infections.

The number of Covid-19 cases in Goa reached 51,856 after 61 people were detected with the infection on Sunday, while the day also saw one death and 100 recoveries, an official said. The toll in the state is now 747 and the recovery count is 50,277, leaving it with 832 active cases, he added.

Nearly 11 lakh people engaged in Covid-19 duties, including health care and frontline personnel, will be vaccinated for coronavirus on priority in Gujarat, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Sunday, adding that 16,000 personnel have been trained for administering the shots. Read more