Latest News Live Updates: The recovery rate is 96.98 per cent.
India today reported 18,327 fresh coronavirus cases and the tally has climbed to 1,11,92,088, while the number of recoveries has surged to 1,08,54,128, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.
The death count due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,57,656 in the country with 108 more fatalities reported in a 24-hour period, the ministry's data showed.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 1.90 crore with 10,34,672 vaccine jabs being given till Friday evening, the Union Health Ministry said.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) starting from February 2.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra reported 10,216 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest number of single-day cases in nearly five months, which took its overall tally to 21,98,399, a health department official said.
This is the first time since October 17, 2020, the single-day case count in the state has gone above the 10,000- mark.
On October 17, the state had reported 10,259 cases. On Wednesday (March 3), there were 9,855 new cases, while Thursday's infection count was 8,998.
The state's death count rose to 52,393 with 53 fatalities reported on Friday, the official said.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates:
"Will Reach Parliament On Lakhs Of Tractors If Needed": Rakesh Tikait
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Singh Tikait on Monday said that lakhs of farmers in their tractors would reach Parliament to seek repeal of the three new farm laws if needed.
Mr Tikait, one of the prominent leaders of farmer unions which are protesting against the Centre's new laws on Delhi borders, addressed a huge rally in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur.
"If needed, we, on lakhs of tractors will reach Parliament to press for the repeal of the three black laws. 3,500 tractors entered Delhi on Republic Day. These were not hired tractors," he said.
Without naming local BJP leader and Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Mr Tikait said he was powerless.
India "Really Stands Out" In Terms Of Vaccine Policy: IMF's Gita Gopinath
India has been at the forefront in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and "really stands out" in terms of its vaccine policy, Chief Economist of the IMF Gita Gopinath said on Monday, as she hailed the country for playing a very important role during the crisis by manufacturing and shipping the COVID-19 vaccines to several nations.
Ms Gopinath made the comments in an interactive session during the Inaugural Dr. Hansa Mehta Lecture organised on occasion of International Women's Day.
"I also want to mention that India really stands out in terms of its vaccine policy. If you look at where exactly is one manufacturing hub for vaccines in the world - that will be India," Ms Gopinath said.
Kamal Haasan's Party To Fight In 154 Seats In Tamil Nadu, Rest For 2 Allies
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan's party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MKM) on Monday announced contesting on 154 out of 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu assembly elections. The party left the remaining 80 seats for its two alliance partners - All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi - that will contest on 40 seats each.
The MNM had secured around 4 per cent votes in 2019 Lok Sabha election, with its share going as high as 10 per cent in the urban pockets.
Dr R Mahendran, MNM vice-president and its candidate from Coimbatore, had clocked 1.45 lakh votes or 11.6% of the total vote share the constituency.
Firemen, Cop Among 7 Dead In Kolkata Blaze, Mamata Banerjee Visits Spot
Seven people were killed in a huge fire that broke out in an office building in central Kolkata's Strand Road on Monday evening.
Among the dead are four firemen, a police officer, a Railways officer and a security person, officials said.
Two others are missing.
Five of the seven bodies were found in an elevator on the 12th floor. The victims appeared to have suffocated and burnt to death inside the lift.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the spot at around 11 pm.
Rs 480 Crore Needed To Vaccinate 3 Crore Health Workers, Frontline Workers: Centre
The expenditure to be incurred as operational cost for COVID-19 vaccination of estimated three crore healthcare and frontline workers is about Rs 480 crore and vaccines' cost is about Rs 1,392 crore, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Monday, reported news agency PTI. In response to a question on whether the government plans to distribute the vaccine free of cost to any section of population in the country, the minister said, "Presently, the vaccine is being provided free of cost to healthcare workers and frontline workers."
Record Vaccination Against Covid In Delhi As 35,000 Receive Shots
Over 35,700 beneficiaries received doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Delhi on Monday, the highest number vaccinations in a single day since the start of the inoculation drive on January 16, as per official data, reported news agency PTI. In the age bracket of 60 and above, 20,123 people were vaccinated while in the 45-59 years age group, 2,710 beneficiaries received the jabs, a senior official said. On Monday, 35,738 people received shots, the highest number of vaccinations done so far since the start of the exercise on January 16, according to official data.
Pink Vaccination Booth Launched In Karnataka To Celebrate Women Frontline Workers
Karnataka celebrated the participation of a large number of women in the fight against coronavirus by launching a Pink vaccination booth for them on Monday, coinciding with the International Women's Day. The state government has decided to set up one such vaccination booth, to be manned by women for women, in each district, the authorities said.
Kerala Logs 1,412 New Covid Cases, Active Cases Touch 39,236
Kerala reported 1,412 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, while 3,030 people have recovered from the infection, with the active cases in the state touching 39,236, the government said, reported news agency PTI. While the total virus caseload soared to 10,79,088, as many as 10,34,895 people have been cured of the disease, Health minister KK Shailaja said in a press release.
104-Year-Old Man, Born Before Spanish Flu Outbreak, Gets First Covid Jab
A man born a few months before the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918 received his first shot of COVID-19 vaccine at a private facility here, hospital authorities said on Saturday.
Tulsi Das Chawla, 104, was given a dose of Covieshield at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Friday and has not exhibited any adverse effects, they said.
Born on November 1917, the Patel Nagar resident, retired from the Indian Foreign Service in 1975, a hospital spokesperson said.
Wearing a full-sleeved V-neck red shirt, the centenarian flashed a V-sign and obliged some of the photographers.
100 Days Of BJP's Arrogance: Congress Slams Government Over Farmers' Protest
As the farmers' protest against the Centre's new farm laws completed 100 days, the Congress on Saturday said the period was a "black chapter" in India's democracy for the treatment meted out to the protesters and also marked 100 days of the ruling BJP's "arrogance".
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the Centre over the farmers' protest and said nails were laid at Delhi's borders for those, whose sons risk their lives at the country's borders.
His attack came after the farmers' agitation completed 100 days with the protesting union leaders asserting that their movement is far from over and they are "going strong".
Centre Ready To Amend New Farm Laws, Says Agriculture MinisterAgriculture 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).
Eleven rounds of talks between the Centre and 41 protesting farmer unions have so far remained deadlocked. The government has offered concessions including suspension of the legislations for 12-18 months and setting up a joint panel to find solutions, but the unions have rejected.
1.13 Lakh People Get Vaccination Against Covid In Maharashtra Today
A record 1,13,669 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in Maharashtra on Saturday, the first time the number of beneficiaries covered in a day crossed the 1 lakh mark, state health officials said.
Of these, 93,476 received the first dose and the rest 20,193 were administered the second one, and included 62,342 people over the age of 60 and 11,241 in the 45 plus age group with comorbidities, an official release said.
"The ones who got the first dose included 10,904 health care and 8,989 frontline workers, while for the second dose, the figures were 17,225 and 2,968 respectively," he said.
415 Companies Of Central Forces To Be Deployed In First Phase Of Bengal Polls: Official
At least 415 companies of central forces will be deployed for the first phase of polling on
March 27 in West Bengal, a senior official said on Saturday.
So far, 200 companies of CAPF, including 30 companies of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and five companies each of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), have reached the state, he said.
"The rest 215 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be reaching the state in the next couple of days.
These forces will be deployed in the assembly constituencies, which will be going to the polls in the first phase," the official said.
Farmer Leaders Firm On Demand Of Repealing Farm Laws As Agitation Completes 100 Days
Farmer leaders on Saturday said the protesting unions stand firm on their demand of a complete repeal of the three culture laws and asserted that they are ready for talks with the government, but that should be held without any condition.
Earlier in the day, thousands of farmers blocked the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway at some places in Haryana to mark the completion of 100 days of their agitation at the Delhi borders.
Darshan Pal, a senior member of the Samkyukta Kisan Morcha which is spearheading the going protest, said farmer unions stand firm on the demand of repeal of three farm laws.
"Since the beginning of our agitation, our demand remains the same which is the repeal of three new agricultural laws. We are ready to resume talks with the government, but it should be held without any precondition," Mr Pal said.
Covid Vaccination At 3,000 Centres From March 8: Karnataka Minister
Vaccination against COVID-19 will be done at about 3,000 centres including PHCs, Taluk Hospitals and District Hospitals from March 8, and the target is to vaccinate 1.5 lakh people each day, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Saturday.
Stressing the need to avoid crowding and agitations at least for the next one month aimed at controlling COVID-19 cases, he said not more than 500 people will be allowed at large gatherings and necessary steps will be taken in this regard.
The minister today held a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation and progress of vaccination drive in the state.
Amit Shah To Be In Tamil Nadu And Kerala Tomorrow
Senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a day-long political tour of the poll-bound states of Tamil Nadu, where he is set to launch a door-to-door campaign, and Kerala on Sunday.
A party statement said Mr Shah will also address the valedictory function of the BJP's "Kerala Vijay Yatra" in Thiruvananthapuram, besides attending several programmes in the two southern states.
Besides launching "Vetri Kodi Eandhi" (people outreach programme for poll victory) at Suchindram in Kanyakumari, Mr Shah will also hold a roadshow in the constituency where the BJP is also contesting the Lok Sabha bypoll due to the death of the sitting Congress MP. Former union minister Pon Radhakrishnan is its candidate.
The BJP is contesting the state assembly polls in alliance with the ruling AIADMK.
Assembly elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, besides Puducherry will be held in a single phase on April 6.
Probe Agency Arrests 2 Directors Of Tamil Nadu Firm In Bank Loan Fraud Case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has arrested two directors of a Tamil Nadu-based company in an alleged money laundering case worth Rs 325 crore linked to a bank fraud case.
Hittesh Patel and Suresh N Patel, directors of Shinago Plantations Pvt Ltd, were sent to 10 days ED custody by a special court on Saturday after they were placed under arrest under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said in a statement.
The two allegedly laundered funds to the tune of Rs 325 crore by using a network of nearly 20 group entities located across Tamil Nadu.
As Covid Cases Rise In Aurangabad, Officials To Hold Meeting Tomorrow
Amid rise in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra's Aurangabad, the district authorities have decided to hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss if lockdown should be imposed or not, a senior official said on Saturday.
The district reported 459 coronavirus cases on Friday, which took its overall infection count to 52,103.
"A meeting will be held on Sunday evening, in which the way ahead for lockdown will be decided. Police Commissioner, Municipal Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and other officials would be present for it. After a review of cases and overall coronavirus situation in the district, a decision about lockdown will be taken," District Collector Sunil Chavan said.
Hema Malini receives COVID-19 vaccine shot in Mumbai
Veteran Bollywood actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hema Malini on Saturday became the latest Indian celebrity to take a jab of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The 72-year-old star took to her Twitter handle and shared pictures of her taking the vaccination at Cooper Hospital in Mumbai. Along with the photos, she tweeted, "I have taken the Covid vaccine along with the public at Cooper Hospital."
In one of the pictures, she can be seen sporting a black printed top paired with a matching face mask, as she receives the vaccine shot from a medical worker.
The ''Dream Girl'' of Bollywood became the latest addition to the list of celebrities who have taken the vaccination. Earlier stars like Saif Ali Khan, Kamal Haasan, and Satish Shah had also received the vaccination shots.
Nitin Gadkari receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Nagpur
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and his wife Kanchan Gadkari on Saturday took the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) Nagpur.
Mr Gadkari said that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and appealed to people to come foward for vaccination.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi and appealed to all those who are eligible to get inoculated.
Made in India COVID-19 vaccines reach Liberia, a country in West Africa.
Odisha logs 54 new COVID-19 cases, tally mounts to 3,37,674
Odisha on Saturday reported 54 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the coronavirus caseload to 3,37,674, a health department official said.
The new cases were detected in 15 of the state's 30 districts, with 32 cases reported from different quarantine cases while the remaining 22 were local contact cases.
Only Sundergarh district reported new positive cases in double digits at 10 followed by Balasore (7) and Khurda (6).
The COVID-19 death toll remained at 1,917 as no fresh fatality has been reported since Wednesday. The state has also reported the death of 53 other COVID-19 positive patients due to comorbidities, he said.
Currently, the state has 802 active COVID-19 cases while 3,34,902 patients have recovered from the highly infectious disease.
15 lakh people vaccinated against COVID-19 on March 5, highest in a day: Health ministry
Nearly 15 lakh people were inoculated against coronavirus on March 5, the highest in a day so far, taking the total number of vaccine doses administered in the country to over 1.94 crore, official sources said on Saturday.
The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) had started from February 2.
Administering of second dose of COVID-19 vaccine started on February 13 for those beneficiaries who had completed 28 days after receipt of the first dose.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination drive commenced from March 1 for those above 60 years of age and for people aged 45 years and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
19 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Puducherry, tally touches 39,843
Puducherry recorded 19 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Saturday, raising the total infection count to 39,843.
One more person hailing from Lawspet village and aged 72 years succumbed to the illness in JIPMER hospital here, pushing the toll to 670.
The deceased had no co-morbidity but the cause of death was severe covid pneumonia and cardiac pulmonary arrest, Director of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, S Mohan Kumar said.
The new cases were identified at the end of examination of 1,322 samples.
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar took his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, at RML hospital today.
Union Minister Sadananda Gowda took his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today in Bengaluru.
One death, 170 new COVID-19 cases in Telangana
Telangana registered 170 new coronavirus cases, taking the total caseload to 2.99 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,640 with one more fatality.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 28, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy, Karimnagar districts with 15 and 14 and 12 respectively, a state government bulletin said on Saturday providing details as of 8 PM on March 5.
The cumulative recovered cases stood at 2,96,166, while 1,936 were under treatment.
The bulletin said 40,712 samples were tested on March 5.
Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 89,24,007.
The samples tested per million population was 2,39,763, it said.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and his wife Kanchan Gadkari took their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS Nagpur today.
COVID-19: 459 fresh cases in Aurangabad, five die
Aurangabad district in Maharashtra has reported 459 fresh cases of coronavirus, which took its overall infection count to 52,103, an official said on Saturday.
These new cases were reported on Friday, he said.
There were 2,910 active cases in the district till Friday night, the official said.
A total of 179 patients were discharged from hospitals, which took the recovery count to 47,909, he added.
The death of five patients on Friday increased the district's toll to 1,284, he added.
Aurangabad municipal commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey said, "The administration is closely monitoring the situation. In the past, when the number of cases went up, we were able to manage well as it was a lockdown period. But now it will be a challenge."
Update| Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have reported a high number of COVID daily new cases. They cumulatively account for 82% of the new cases reported in the past 24 hours. Maharashtra has reported 10,216 new cases, followed by Kerala with 2,776: Health Ministry
No new COVID-19 case in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not report any new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, an official said on Saturday.
The coronavirus tally in the union territory remained at 5,024, the official said.
The archipelago now has eight active COVID-19 cases, while 4,954 people have recovered from the disease, he said.
All the eight COVID-19 patients are in South Andaman district while the other two districts of the union territory North and Middle Andaman and Nicobar are COVID-19 free.
The coronavirus death toll remained at 62 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.
Dalai Lama took his first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at Zonal Hospital Dharamshala, this morning.
JustIn| Coronavirus: 18,327 fresh cases in India, 8% higher than yesterday; 1.08 crore patients have recovered, 1.57 lakh total deaths
Thane district's COVID-19 count rises by 689, death toll by 6
With the addition of 689 coronavirus cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 2,68,319, an official said on Saturday.
These new cases were reported on Friday, he said.
The virus claimed the life of six more persons, which took the death toll in the district to 6,296.
The district's COVID-19 mortality rate is 2.35 per cent, he added.
Over 1.9 Crore Administered Covid Vaccine In India So Far: Centre
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 1.90 crore with 10,34,672 vaccine jabs being given till Friday evening, the Union Health Ministry said.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) starting from February 2.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people above 60 years and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions.
"Total 10,34,672 vaccine doses were given till 7 pm on Friday, the forty-ninth day of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. Out of which, 8,25,537 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 2,09,135 HCWs and FLWs received the second dose of vaccine as per the provisional report," the ministry said, adding that final reports would be completed for the day by late night.
Mumbai Reports 1,173 New Covid Cases, Biggest Spike Since October
Mumbai reported 1,173 new COVID-19 cases, the highest one-day spike since October, on Friday which took its case tally to 3,31,016, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.
The death count in the city rose to 11,490 with three new fatalities being reported.
Since October 28, when the city had reported 1,345 new cases, this is the first time Mumbai has witnessed such a high number of COVID-19 cases.
On February 24, the metropolis had reported 1,167 new COVID-19 cases.