India today added 42,766 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, slightly lower than yesterday's 43,393 cases. Kerala leads the states with most number of cases in a day.
The daily positivity rate - the number of positive cases identified per 100 - is 2.19 per cent, less than 3 per cent for 19 straight days. The recovery rate stands at 97.20 per cent.
Kerala leads the states in the most number of infections over a 24-hour period. It is followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka.
The centre has warned against laxity in following Covid-appropriate behaviour, with particular reference to disquieting visuals from the past few days of large crowds at popular holiday and tourist destinations. The Health Ministry has described the situation as a "cause for concern", and reminded people the virus spreads aggressively in crowded places.
Here are the highlights on coronavirus cases:
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Manipur reported 788 new cases of COVID-19 taking the total number of positive cases to 76,820, said the state government on Saturday.
According to the state government, a total of 68,654 people have been recovered so far with 483 recoveries reported in last 24 hours.
However, seven people succumbed to the coronavirus taking the death count to 1,258. The active cases stand at 6,908 with recovery rate at 89.36 per cent in the state.
Tamil Nadu on Saturday reported 2,913 new COVID-19 cases, which include those of five returnees from other States, the Health Department said.
This pushed the total infected so far to 25,16,011, the department said.
Forty-nine deaths today took the toll to 33,371 till date, the department said.
As many as 3,321 people got discharged during the day aggregating to 24,49,873 leaving 32,767 active infections, according to a bulletin.
At the 21st session of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) with Italy, India raised several issues including the mutual recognition of CoWIN vaccine certificate and opening up of travel restrictions, the commerce ministry informed on Saturday, reported ANI.
A total of 15 countries in the European Union (EU) have now recognized the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for travellers. Belgium is the latest EU nation to recognise the Covishield.
A number of associations of doctors and psychiatrists from around the world have joined hands to launch a dedicated helpline for healthcare workers to address stress, depression and other psychological issues faced by them during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported PTI.
In an official statement issued on Saturday, the Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), one of the primary partners behind the initiative, said the move was particularly important as the second wave of the pandemic in the country has affected doctors, nurses and others in the sector in a big way.
This has led to significant challenges, with medical, nursing and allied healthcare workers experiencing stress, depression and distress while discharging their duties towards patient care, the GAPIO said in the statement.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is likely to take a decision on including Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin in the emergency use list (EUL) within four to six weeks, Soumya Swaminathan, the global health body's chief scientist has said.
Speaking at a webinar organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Friday, Ms Swaminathan said the WHO is reviewing Covaxin as its manufacturer Bharat Biotech is now uploading its entire data on the health body's portal.
According to WHO guidelines, EUL is a procedure to streamline the process by which new or unlicensed products can be used during public health emergencies.
The 27 EU member state governments are responsible for administering the vaccines to citizens -- and some are working much faster than others -- but von der Leyen stressed that: "The EU has kept its word."
The EU joint vaccine purchasing scheme, run by von der Leyen's European Commission, has delivered 330 million BioNTech-Pfizer shots, 100 million AstraZeneca, 50 million from Moderna and 20 million Johnson & Johnson, AFP reported.
South Korea reported 1,378 new coronavirus cases Saturday, a record high for the third day in a row as the country prepared to impose its highest-level curbs in the greater capital area next week.
The country had previously been held up as a model of how to combat the pandemic, with the public largely following social distancing and other rules, but it was slow to start its vaccine roll-out due to supply shortages, AFP reported.
With the addition of 484 new cases of COVID-19, the tally of infections in Maharashtra's Raigad district has reached 1,52,465, an official said on Saturday. Apart from the latest cases recorded on Friday, the district has reported 110 casualties in the period of one week, which has raised the death count to 3,742, PTI reported.
"More than 38.54 crore (38,54,01,150) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far, through all sources. Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 36,80,68,124 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today)", read the official release by the ministry.
More than 1.73 crore (1,73,33,026) balance and unutilized COVID vaccine doses are still available with the States, UTs and private hospitals to be administered, ANI reported.
The state government has made it mandatory to wear masks owing to the pandemic, ANI reported.
While addressing a press conference yesterday, Revenue Secretary Tanushree Deb Barma said, "A weekend curfew will be imposed in Tripura starting from Saturday 12 noon to Monday 6 am with various restrictions."
As per the Union Health Ministry, Tripura reported 4175 active COVID-19 cases, 472 discharges and six deaths yesterday.
Speaking to ANI, Jairam Thakur said, "We are concerned about the number of tourists coming to the state. Tourists are welcome here but I appeal to them to follow COVID-19 norms." Read Here.
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