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This Article is From Mar 16, 2021

Highlights: India Records 26,291 New Infections, 118 Deaths In 24 Hours

The death count due to the disease increased to 1,58,725 with 118 more fatalities being recorded in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed.

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India News Posted by Aditi Ghosh

Updated : March 16, 2021 5:36 am IST

India has developed two vaccines, which have been given to 71 countries.

New Delhi:

India recorded 26,291 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, its highest single-day spike in 85 days, taking the country's infection tally to 1,13,85,339, according to Union health ministry data.

The death count due to the disease increased to 1,58,725 with 118 more fatalities being recorded in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering an upward trend for five days in a row, the total active caseload has gone up to 2,19,262 which is 1.93 per cent of the total infections in the country, while the recovery rate has dropped to 96.68 per cent, the data stated.

As many as 26,624 infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on December 20.

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 407 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, crossing the 400-mark for the fourth consecutive day, while the positivity rate stood at 0.60 per cent, according to data shared by the health department.The deaths climbed to 10,941 with two more fatalities, as per the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department.

The city had recorded 419 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, while 431 cases were recorded on Friday, the highest single-day spike in over two months. The count on Thursday was 409.

India is the third-most affected country globally with 11.36 million cases, behind the United States and Brazil.

Here are the highlights:

Mar 16, 2021 05:36 (IST)

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro changes health minister again, as Brazil's Covid cases surge

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro announced Monday that he will appoint cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga as health minister, the fourth to hold the post during the pandemic, as the country's health system staggers amid surging Covid-19 cases.

"It was decided now in the afternoon to appoint physician Marcelo Queiroga to the Ministry of Health," Bolsonaro said in a brief meeting with his supporters at the Alvorada presidential palace. The transition process "should take one or two weeks," he added.

The appointment will be finalized Tuesday.

Mar 16, 2021 05:07 (IST)

Latvia suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine

Latvian health authorities said Monday they were temporarily suspending the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, following the lead of other countries to have paused rollouts over blood clot fears.

Latvia's "health authorities are asking doctors not to use the opened vials of the AstraZeneca vaccine and not to open new ones," the Baltic state's health agencies said in a joint statement.

They said they were halting the use of the vaccine "as a precautionary measure" based on reports of side effects from other EU countries, while adding that no such cases have been confirmed in Latvia.

Mar 16, 2021 04:41 (IST)

Rajasthan to introduce new ''agriculture budget'' for farmers'' welfare: Minister

The Rajasthan government gives priority to the agriculture sector and a new "agriculture budget" will be introduced in the state from next year to fulfill the dreams of farmers, Agriculture Minister Lal Chand Kataria said on Monday.

Efforts are being made to provide all facilities to the farmers online through innovations. Also, the department is working to provide agricultural equipment on rent, Kataria said.

He was replying to the discussion on demand for grants in the state assembly following which the House passed over Rs 37.56 billion for agriculture and Rs 18.29 billion for animal husbandry departments by a voice vote.

Kataria said farmers will have to adopt organic farming and informed the assembly that at present, more than 1.30 lakh farmers of the state were engaged in organic farming.

A new scheme of Rs 23 crore has been chalked out for the protection of camels, he said, adding that a committee has been formed for the animal''s conservation.

He urged farmers to conserve rain water and adopt modern methods in agriculture as it will not only facilitate ease of farming, but also increase income.

Mar 16, 2021 04:09 (IST)

Maharashtra warns shutting hotels, cinemas for violating COVID-19 rules

With the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtra government issued an order on Monday directing cinema halls/hotels/restaurants to follow COVID-related rules, and if found violating will remain closed for a period until the COVID-19 pandemic stays notified as a disaster by Central government.

Mumbai on Monday reported 1712 new cases and 4 deaths. WIth 1063 recoveries, the city's cured tally rises to 3,18,642. Currently, Mumbai has 3,45,659 cases of which 14,582 are active and 11,535 fatalities.

Maharashtra has reported as many as 15,051 fresh COVID-19 cases pushing the total number of cases to 23,29,464, according to the health bulletin.

Mar 16, 2021 03:52 (IST)

China Pledges 3,00,000 Coronavirus Vaccine Doses For UN Peacekeepers

China will give United Nations peacekeeping troops 3,00,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine, the Chinese diplomatic mission to the UN said Monday, bolstering the 2,00,000 doses already pledged by India to protect 1,00,000 soldiers and police officers deployed in peace missions. Read Here

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Mar 16, 2021 03:10 (IST)

Madhya Pradesh: Air passengers from Maharashtra need to carry negative COVID-19 report

Passengers arriving by flight from Maharashtra will have to produce a latest coronavirus negative report on arrival at Indore as well as Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, local authorities said on Monday.

The rule was announced as new cases upsurged in the neighbouring states in the last few days.

Indore district magistrate Manish Singh issued guidelines which said passengers coming from Maharashtra must produce negative report of RT-PCR test carried out no more than 48 hours before.

In Bhopal, district authorities issued similar guidelines, saying passengers should produce negative coronavirus report with the test carried out no more than 72 hours before.

Indore authorities also said that those passengers who do not have negative RT-PCR test report will have to undergo the test at their own expense at the airport.

If they test positive, they will have to stay in home quarantine until they are free of the infection.

Mar 16, 2021 02:38 (IST)

Brazil Orders 100 Million Doses Of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine

Brazil has ordered 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine and another 38 million of Johnson & Johnson's, the health minister said Monday, seeking to accelerate the hard-hit country's lagging immunization campaign. Read Here

Mar 16, 2021 02:11 (IST)

Oslo tightens up anti-Covid measures as cases rise

The Norwegian capital Oslo on Monday announced tougher measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, closing secondary schools and restricting the number of visitors to homes, as Covid case numbers rise.

Of particular concern to the municipality is the spread of the more contagious British variant of the disease.

A record number of Covid-19 cases, 1,960, were detected last week in Oslo which has a population of 700,000 people.

"We have never before seen such a high level of recorded cases," the capital's mayor Raymond Johansen told a press briefing.

"If the spread of the virus is too high for too long the system collapses and you lose control," he added.

The municipality announced the closing of secondary schools, with students to be taught remotely. This will also be the case for younger children in the worst-hit districts.

Mar 16, 2021 01:44 (IST)

Uttarakhand: Ex-Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat not happy with diluting COVID restrictions for Kumbh

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Monday expressed disagreement with his successor Tirath Singh Rawat's decision to dilute some COVID-19 restrictions for those attending the ongoing Mahakumbh.

Trivendra Singh Rawat said coronavirus cases are rising once again in the country and all precautions need to be taken again the virus.

His remarks came in the backdrop of Chief Minister Rawat announcement that pilgrims need not produce negative COVID-19 reports 72 hours prior to their arrival in Haridwar for the Mahakumbh.

Trivendra Singh Rawat told the media that his government had issued coronavirus guidelines after careful considerations, but the new Chief Minister has spoken about doing away with the negative report requirement.

The former Chief Minister said the pandemic is not over yet and it needs to be taken seriously.

Mar 16, 2021 01:29 (IST)

World Health Organization Says, Countries Should Continue AstraZeneca Rollout For Now

Countries should continue using AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, the World Health Organization said on Monday, after many governments halted rollouts due to blood clot fears. Read Here

Mar 16, 2021 01:12 (IST)

Spain joins countries halting AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Spain will stop using AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for at least two weeks, the government said on Monday, joining a growing list of European countries putting the brakes on the shot over concerns about possible side effects.

Earlier on Monday France, Germany and Italy joined Denmark, Norway and several others in halting use of the drug after reports of blood clots in some patients who had received the vaccine

"We take this decision today in the interest of caution," Health Minister Carolina Dias told a news conference.

Mar 16, 2021 00:42 (IST)

Karnataka Education Minister warns of action against schools for COVID-19 guidelines violation

Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar on Monday called for stringent action against schools that are running offline classes from standard 1 to 5, after a violation of the government''s COVID guidelines.

This comes after the state government had issued a notification that does not grant permission to schools for conducting physical classes for standards 1 to 5 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Kumar has notified the authorities.

With the permission of the state Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education has been permitted to start classes beyond the 6th standard.

Mar 15, 2021 23:30 (IST)

"Welfare Schemes Shouldn't Stop": Sharad Pawar Amid Rising Covid Cases
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said Maharashtra has to be on alert in view of the rising coronavirus cases, but the implementation of welfare schemes should not stop.

Mr Pawar met ministers from his party, which is part of the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in the state.

"The state has to be alert in view of the rising cases, but welfare schemes of the government should continue," he said.

He also expressed satisfaction about the Budget presented by deputy chief minister and his nephew Ajit Pawar last week.

Mar 15, 2021 23:07 (IST)

Ongoing vaccination drive slow, will take years to cover entire population: Parliamentary panel
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has expressed concern over the slow pace of ongoing vaccination drive in the country and observed that at this rate it will take many years to vaccinate the entire population.

In its report on the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Home Affairs tabled in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the panel also expressed concern that a large number of people are missing the second dose of the vaccine.

"The committee takes note of the ongoing vaccination process for COVID-19 and observes that, till now, less than 1 per cent of the Indian population has been vaccinated and at this rate, it will take many years to vaccinate the whole population," the report said.

Mar 15, 2021 22:00 (IST)

1.50 lakh people administered COVID-19 vaccine in Haryana

Around 1.50 lakh beneficiaries were administered COVID-19 vaccine in Haryana on Monday, Haryana Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Rajeev Arora said.

Taking note of the exceptional response to the vaccination drive, the department has decided to observe every Monday of the week as ''mega vaccination day'', he said in an official statement.

Most of the beneficiaries who were administered the vaccine were above 60 years of age and between 45 to 60 years with co-morbidities, he said.

The department has ensured that the vaccination centres are in close proximity to people''s residences even in the rural areas and they do not have to travel for which the number of vaccination centres has also been enhanced, Mr Arora said.

Mar 15, 2021 20:24 (IST)

Congress lends support to bank strike; says Modi govt responsible for inconvenience to public

The Congress on Monday extended its full support to the two-day strike call given by bank employee unions and said the Modi government is squarely responsible for the inconvenience caused to people.

AICC general secretary and party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a statement, said the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, has given a call for a two-day nationwide strike on March 15 and 16 against privatisation of public sector banks and "retrograde banking reforms".

"We stand in solidarity with 10 lakh bank officials and staff participating in the strike against reckless privatisation of public sector banks. The strike called by the United Forum of Bank Union is against the ill-placed priorities of the Modi government. The Modi government is responsible for the inconvenience being faced by the people," he said.

Mar 15, 2021 20:04 (IST)

Himachal assembly passes bill enabling government to borrow up to 5 per cent of SGDP

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed a bill that would enable the state government to borrow up to 5 per cent of the gross state domestic product amidst objection by the opposition.

Himachal Pradesh Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has been passed by amending the provisions of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Act, 2005 which enables the state government to borrow up to 2 per cent more than the present limit of fiscal deficit of 3 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product for the year 2019-20.

The leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri objected to the bill stating that the state is already facing a huge debt burden of over Rs 60,000 crore and it should not be passed as it would enable the government to take loan up to 5 per cent instead the existing 3 per cent of GDP.

Mar 15, 2021 18:48 (IST)

BJD demands MLA's apology for suicide attempt inside Assembly

The attempt by a BJP MLA to commit suicide inside the Odisha Assembly over alleged mismanagement in paddy procurement echoed in for the third consecutive day on Monday and Speaker SN Patro adjourneed proceedings till the post-lunch session in the wake of noisy protests by ruling BJD members and opposition parties.

As soon as the House assembled for question hour at 10.30 am, pandemonium erupted with lawmakers of the ruling BJD and opposition parties engaging in slogan shouting in the well of the House.

Unable to continue with the proceedings, Mr Patro first adjourned the House till 11.30 am and later till the post lunch session at 4 pm.

The treasury bench members demanded unconditional apology from BJP MLA Subhas Panigrahi for attempting suicide in the House on Friday, while the saffron party members asked

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to express regret for his government's "inability" to ensure smooth procurement of paddy from farmers despite assurances.

Mar 15, 2021 17:32 (IST)

Centre trying to convince Jharkand government on commercial coal mining policy

The Centre on Monday said it is trying to "consult and convince" the Jharkhand government about benefits of commercial coal mining policy which is designed to boost domestic production and reduce imports.

Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha said that it is a "big sin" that India despite having the largest coal reserves is dependent on import of thermal coal used in power generation.

The dependence on imports was due to restriction on allocation of coal blocks, which has been eased out after deep consultation with the state governments, he said.

After consultations with states, the central government has brought a commercial coal mining policy under which coal blocks are opened to private investors through auction for commercial purpose, he added.

Mar 15, 2021 16:48 (IST)

Got COVID-19 vaccine shot: North Delhi Mayor
North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash said he received his first shot of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine on Monday and appealed to people to also get the jab to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The mayor said well-known film and TV actor Dalip Tahil also accompanied him to the Hindu Rao Hospital and he also got vaccinated.

"I got my first jab of COVID vaccine today. Actor Dalip Tahil accompanied me to send out a message on behalf of the NDMC to eligible people to come out and get vaccinated. He got his jab and returned to Mumbai," he said.

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