The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 2.06 crore.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections were recorded above 18,000 for the second consecutive day taking India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,12,10,799, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.
The active cases registered an increase for the fifth consecutive day and the COVID-19 active caseload increased to 1,84,523 which now comprises 1.65 per cent of the total infections.
The recovery rate has dropped further to 96.95 per cent, the ministry data stated.
A total of 18,711 new infections were registered in a day, while the death count increased to 1,57,756 with 100 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 2.06 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.
The nationwide vaccination drive against COVID-19 was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers, while frontline workers stated receiving vaccine shots from February 2. Providing the second dose of COVID-19 shots started on February 13.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for those senior citizens and for people aged 45 years and above with specified comorbid conditions.
According to a provisional report till Saturday 7 pm, a total of 2,06,62,073 vaccine doses have been given.
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Will Meet Bengal Farmers On March 13, Says Farmer Leader Rakesh TikaitBharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait today said he would hold a meeting with farmers on March 13 in Kolkata, West Bengal.
"We are going to Kolkata on March 13. We will speak with farmers there about their concerns and ask if their produce are being bought at MSP or not," Mr Tikait said while visiting Bala Sahib Dialysis Hospital in Delhi.
"The government has gone to Kolkata. They will return in one and a half month. We are also going there. We will meet the government there only," he added.
When asked about the stalemate between farmers and the Centre even after more than 100 days, Mr Tkait said that the government, sooner or later, will have to pay heed to farmers' issues.
Denied Ticket, 4-Time Trinamool MLA Sonali Guha Heads To BJP
Sonali Guha, once a close aide of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and a four-time MLA of the party, on Sunday said she will join the BJP, two days after being denied a ticket for the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal.
Ms Guha told reporters she was requested by BJP national vice president Mukul Roy to join the saffron party at its Hastings office in Kolkata on Monday.
"I have been asked by Mukulda to come to the Hastings office tomorrow at 1 pm and will join the BJP there," she said.
The former deputy speaker of the West Bengal assembly said that she had never thought such a day would come in her life but was compelled to take the decision.
Will Fight Against Farm Laws Even If It Takes "100 Months": Priyanka Gandhi
A day after the farmers' protest against the new farm laws entered its 100th day, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today told the farmers not to lose hope and assured that her party will continue to support their fight even if "it takes 100 weeks or 100 months."
"Do not lose hope, it has been 100 days. Even if it takes 100 weeks or 100 months, we will continue this fight with you till this government takes back its black laws."
Addressing a Kisan mahapanchayat in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, today, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said: "This is Meerut, the place from where the first revolt of the freedom struggle started. From here our fight for freedom started. Who was involved in that freedom struggle? Who got our nation freed? The farmers of this country did."
US high school students may receive vaccines by autumn: Top US health officialHigh school students in the United States should be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations by the autumn, with younger students likely to be cleared for vaccinations in early 2022, top U. infectious disease official Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.
Fauci said he expected the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue relaxed guidelines for people who have already been vaccinated within "the next couple of days," but urged continued vigilance on mitigation measures for the over 80% of Americans still awaiting shots.
"We're going in the right direction. We just need to hang in there a bit longer," Fauci told CBS. "We want to get those death levels of the virus very, very low, and then we'll have a much, much easier time to safely pull back" on mitigation measures.
France tries weekend surge to improve vaccination recordIn southwest Paris, mayor Philippe Goujon answered the government's call for a "national mobilisation" to accelerate vaccinations this weekend -- but he wonders why the surge has taken so long. In the town hall of the wealthy 15th district of the capital, hard-pressed doctors and municipal staff opened the doors of their innoculation centre on Saturday and Sunday.
"There's a gigantic difference," Goujon told AFP. "For a start we're open at the weekend, and secondly we've gone from about a hundred vaccinations a day to 1,200."
Rajasthan MLAs to get coronavirus vaccine tomorrowCurrent and former Rajasthan MLAs will be administered coronavirus vaccine along with their family members at the state Assembly in a drive beginning Monday. According to a senior assembly official, the vaccination drive will be carried out in phases and the sitting MLAs will be called for it on Monday.
"It is for the first time that MLAs, ex-MLAs and their family members are being vaccinated at the state assembly. The move will motivate others and send a message among masses. It will also put an end to any kind of apprehension," said Mahesh Joshi, Congress Party's chief whip in the state assembly.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh visits COVID-19 vaccination centres in GuwahatiUnion Minister Jitendra Singh visited different vaccination centres in Assam's Guwahati, interacted with citizens and enquired about their wellbeing. He also asked people if there was any suggestion from them or anything more that could be done for them either at official level or at the social level.
At the Guwahati medical college hospital, Mr Singh, the Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, interacted with the medical and paramedical staff engaged in the vaccination drive. Mr Singh said it was the instruction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that not only the vaccination drive has to be carried out on a fast track, but ease of immunisation must also be ensured.
Goa records 48 new Covid casesGoa recorded 48 new coronavirus cases taking the count to 55,409, while the day saw 60 people recovering, an official said. No deaths were recorded today.
So far, 53,922 people have been discharged and 799 have died, leaving the state with 688 active cases, he added. With 1,65 samples being examined on Sunday, the total number of tests in Goa went up to 5,03,674, the official added.
2,100 new coronavirus cases, 13 deaths in KeralaKerala recorded 2,100 new COVID-19 cases and 13 related deaths on Sunday taking the total affected in the state to 10.77 lakh and the death count to 4,300.
Health Ministetr KK Shailaja said the state has tested 51,948 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 4.04 per cent. The state has tested 1.18 crore samples so far.
11 held for partying in violation of COVID-19 norms in MaharashtraThe police have arrested 11 people for violating COVID-19 norms at the birthday party held in a house in Nagpur in Maharashtra, an official said. The accused were found dancing to loud music without wearing masks while some of them were smoking hookah and consuming liquor when the police raided the party in Mankapur area of the city at 1 AM.
The accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act 2003, the official added.
Austria suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after deathAustrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said. "The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl" in Lower Austria province, it said.
One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman developed a pulmonary embolism and is recovering, it said. A pulmonary embolism is an acute lung disease caused by a dislodged blood clot. "Currently there is no evidence of a causal relationship with the vaccination," BASG said.
We're almost done with Covid curbs: Israel PMIsrael has almost emerged from its COVID-19 closures, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on the campaign trail, said as restaurants reopened under an exit plan fuelled by fast-paced vaccinations. But health officials cautioned that rising contagions could trigger another lockdown - a possible dampener on Netanyahu's hope of parlaying his pandemic policies to victory in a March 23 ballot.
"Restaurants are coming back to life," Netanyahu said after he and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion clinked mugs and tucked into pastries outside at a park cafe. "We still have to watch ourselves, we have to wear masks, keep distances that people require, social distances - but we're coming out of it, and there's not much more," he told Reuters.
286 new COVID-19 cases in Delhi, positivity rate 0.31% Delhi recorded 286 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths on Sunday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.31 per cent amid a sudden surge in incidences, as per data shared by the health department.
The city registered 321 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily count in nearly one-and-a-half months, and a death on Saturday, and 312 cases and a fatality on Friday.
On Sunday, two more deaths were recorded, taking the death count to 10,921, according to the latest health bulletin.
A total of 585 cases were reported on January 1 and 384 on January 4. It had dropped to 306 on January 11 and risen again to 386 on January 12, according to official figures.
The numbers had started to come down the next month and on February 26, 256 new cases were recorded, the highest daily count in February, as per official figures.
PM Modi reaches Kolkata, to address rally at Brigade Parade Ground
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reached Kolkata to address his first rally at Brigade Parade Ground after the announcement of the West Bengal Assembly poll schedule
"Landed in Kolkata. On my way to the massive party rally. Looking forward to being among Party Karyakartas and the wonderful people of West Bengal," PM Modi tweeted.
"Pandemic Phase Ending, City Entering Endemic Phase": Delhi Minister The COVID-19 pandemic is nearing the endemic phase in the national capital, said Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain even as the city has been witnessing a marginal spike in the COVID-19 cases.
"We believe that the pandemic phase is ending, and we are now entering the endemic phase," said Mr Jain.
A pandemic is the spread of a disease beyond national borders, across a continent or even around the world while an endemic is the usual persistence of an infectious disease in a given region and affects a large part of the population. The disease, at this phase, remains at a steady state, but do not disappear from a population.
Actor Mithun Chakraborty Joins BJP ahead of PM Modi's rally in KolkataPopular Bengali and Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty today joined the BJP, a little ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at the city's Brigade Parade Ground. The move comes weeks ahead of the state Assembly polls scheduled for March-April. The party's state in-charge Kailash Vijayavargiya had met up with the star yesterday at his residence in the state capital's Belgachia locality, sparking much speculation.
"I have spoken with him (Mithun Chakraborty) over the telephone, he's going to come today. I will be able to make a comment only after a detailed discussion with him," Mr Vijayavargiya said later.
COVID-19: Telangana records 158 new casesRecoveries outnumbered new COVID-19 cases in Telangana as the tally of positive cases rose marginally to 2.99 lakh, while a lone fatality took the count to 1,641, the state government said on Sunday.
As many as 207 people were cured of the virus against 158 new cases as of 8 PM on Saturday.
The maximum of 30 new cases were reported from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, followed by 15 from Ranga Reddy and 10 Medchal Malkajgiri districts, a government bulletin said.
Maharashtra's Thane records 746 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more deathsWith the addition of 746 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 2,69,065, an official said on Sunday.
These new cases were reported on Saturday, he said.
The virus also claimed the lives of three more persons, raising the death toll in the district to 6,299, the official said.
The COVID-19 mortality rate in the district is 2.34 per cent, he said.
PM In Bengal Today, Likely To Share Stage With Actor Mithun ChakrabortyThe city's famed Brigade Parade Ground is preparing for a massive public rally to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. This is his first visit to West Bengal since the state's Assembly poll dates were announced last week, although he has already been here at least three times in the past few months.
What could add glitz to the event is the possibility of popular actor Mithun Chakraborty joining in. Having been noncommittal when first asked about it yesterday, the party's state in-charge Kailash Vijayavargi
Just In | India records 18,711 fresh cases, marginally higher than yesterday; 1.12 crore total cases, 1.57 lakh deaths
No new COVID-19 case in Andaman and Nicobar Islands for second dayAndaman and Nicobar Islands did not report any new COVID-19 case in the last two days, a health department official said on Sunday.
The coronavirus tally in the union territory remained at 5,024, the official said.
The archipelago now has seven active COVID-19 cases and all the patients are in the South Andaman district while the other two districts North and Middle Andaman and Nicobar are coronavirus free, he said.
One more person recuperated from the disease on Saturday, taking the total number of recoveries in the union territory to 4,955.
DMK To Allot 25 Seats To Ally Congress For Tamil Nadu Election: SourcesThe DMK has decided to allot 25 seats to ally Congress for next month's elections in Tamil Nadu, sources told NDTV on Saturday. The party will also give one Rajya Sabha seat to the Congress, they said.
According to sources, the Tamil Nadu Congress had asked for at least 30 seats while the DMK said it would only spare 24, leading to a stalemate. The deal was finalised after the Congress leadership in Delhi got in touch with the DMK's top leadership in Chennai on Saturday evening, they said.
SOPs Issued For Vaccination Of Healthcare Workers Not Registered With CoWin App
The Centre has outlined SOPs for vaccination of healthcare workers and frontline staff who could not get registered for it through the CoWIN app for some reasons, Delhi health department officials said on Saturday.
In a March 5 order issued by the Delhi health department, it said the "state has been receiving requests for HCWs and FLWs who could not be registered due to some reasons".
The government of India has issued detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) not registered on CoWIN, it said.
Centre Ready To Amend New Farm Laws, Says Agriculture Minister
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today said the government is ready to amend three new farm laws to respect the sentiments of protesting farmers, even as he attacked opposition parties for doing politics on this issue at the cost of agriculture economy and by hurting farmers' interest.
Addressing the 5th national convention of Agrivision, the Union minister said the government has held 11 rounds of talks with farmer unions and has even offered to amend these laws.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at Delhi borders for over three months, seeking a repeal of these three legislations and a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP).