Financial Express brings you the latest and verified Covid updates from India and around the globe. Check out here: India on Saturday reported 11,499 fresh Covid-19 cases in another day of decline in the active caseload as the country moves to completely reopen following a months-long disruption caused by the Omicron variant.
#Unite2FightCorona#OmicronVariant
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 26, 2022
➡️ India's Active Caseload currently at 1,21,881.
➡️ Active Cases presently constitute 0.28% of Total Cases. pic.twitter.com/om60mFkPOD
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) The country recorded 255 fatalities, while the total active caseload fell to 121,881 or 0.28% of total infections. With the third wave subsiding, India’s positivity rate has also fallen to 1.01%, while the national recovery rate rose to 98.52%, according to the latest Union Health Ministry bulletin.
The Centre has already asked states and Union Territories to consider lifting pandemic-related curbs, with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority already announcing a complete easing of curbs, including the reopening of schools for physical classes, from April.
Coronavirus India Live News: Covid-19 Omicron Cases in India Live Count, Coronavirus Guidelines and Restrictions Live Updates
Four more Covid deaths were reported in Haryana on Saturday as 325 fresh cases surfaced, pushing the state's infection count to 9,81,084, according to a Health Department bulletin. So far, 10,555 people have died from the infection in the state. Gurugram district reported 156 fresh cases while 32 infections were from Faridabad. (PTI)
Karnataka on Saturday logged 514 fresh COVID-19 infections and 19 deaths taking the total infections and fatalities to 39,40,429 and 39,919 respectively, the state health department said. In its daily COVID-19 bulletin, the department said 1,073 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 38,93,532. Active cases stood at 6,940. Bengaluru Urban district reported 345 infections and 13 deaths. (PTI)
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 177.40 crore on Saturday, the Union Health Ministry said. More than 21 lakh (21,41,821) vaccine doses were administered on Saturday till 7 pm. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of final reports for the day by late night. More than 1.99 crore (1,99,62,729) precaution doses have been administered so far to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2, 2021. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1, 2021 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1, 2021. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday asked people to celebrate the upcoming Mahashivratri and Holi festivals with pomp and joy as the COVID-19 pandemic was weakening. Addressing a function in Budhi Barlai village to launch a drive to give crop insurance documents to farmers, the CM said people must light lamps and offer prayers on Mahashivratri, which will be celebrated on March 1. “Coronavirus is ending. So celebrate Rangpanchami with great zeal and take out 'ger' (the traditional procession on Rangpanchami in Indore in which thousands of people participate),” Chouhan said. (PTI)
In a relief to people travelling together in private vehicles in Delhi, the DDMA in an order on Saturday said no penalty will be imposed on them if found without masks. A senior Delhi government officer said the relaxation will not be applicable for people travelling together in cabs and taxis which are public transport vehicles. Occupants of government vehicles will be exempted from the rule, he said. “…in relation to the clause 3(h) (c) whereby not wearing of face mask/cover in all public places has been made an offence, the penalty under this provision will not be applicable to persons travelling together in private four wheeler vehicles from February 28,” the order said. Earlier this month, the authority also exempted single occupants in four wheelers from wearing face masks. The penalty for not wearing masks in public places was reduced from Rs 2,000 to Rs 500 at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday. An order issued by the DDMA on Saturday stated the fine for not wearing face masks will be Rs 500 from February 28. The DDMA meeting chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal and attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also lifted all COVID related restrictions. (PTI)
Meghalaya on Saturday recorded 24 new COVID-19 cases, two less than the previous day, pushing the caseload to 93,437, while two more deaths took the toll to 1,577, health officials said. Of the new infections, East Khasi Hills district reported seven, followed by three each from East Garo Hills, Ri Bhoi, South West Khasi Hills and West Garo Hills, one each from East Jaintia Hills, Eastern West Khasi Hills, North Garo Hills, South West Garo Hills and West Jaintia Hills districts, Health Services director Dr Aman War said. The state now has 189 active coronavirus cases, he said. (PTI)
Fresh Covid-19 infections, active cases and deaths in Tamil Nadu continued to decline on Saturday, according to the Health Department. There were 480 new cases and two deaths. Active cases dropped to 7,164 against 8,150 on Friday. The fresh cases today included a person, who returned from Malaysia, and one person each from West Bengal and Kerala. According to a bulletin, 1,464 people were cured of the virus. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 10,38,196 on Saturday after the detection of 500 new cases, while one death took the toll to 10,727, a state health department official said. The positivity rate remained at 0.7 per cent on the second consecutive day on Saturday, he said. The recovery count stood at 10,23,141 after 980 people were discharged during the day, leaving MP with an active tally of 4,328, the official said. Bhopal and Indore, the two worst coronavirus-hit cities of Madhya Pradesh, registered 114 and 29 cases, respectively, during the past 24 hours, he said. (PTI)
Mumbai on Saturday reported 89 COVID-19 cases and no death, the seventh time this month when the fatality slate was clean in the metropolis, a civic official said. The tally in the city now stands at 10,56,296 and the toll is 16,691, while the discharge of 200 people during the day took the recovery count to 10,35,826, he said. The active caseload of the city is 902, and 20,073 samples examined in the last 24 hours took the overall number of tests to 1,61,53,525, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation data showed. It also showed the recovery rate was 98 per cent, caseload doubling time was 4,450 days and the city did not have any sealed building or containment zone. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday recorded 84 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the infected number of persons to 4,52,901 of which 4,47,282 patients have recovered while no death due to the virus was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 63 were from the Jammu division and 21 from the Kashmir division of the union territory, the officials said. The officials said Jammu district recorded the highest of 30 cases followed by 15 in Doda district. There are 871 active cases in the union territory, the officials said. (PTI)
Gujarat reported 230 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, increasing its tally to 12,22,349, while two deaths took the toll to 10,926, an official said. He said the discharge of 491 people during the day increased the recovery count to 12,09,148, leaving the state with 2,275 active cases, including 23 patients on ventilator support. Ahmedabad led with 102 new cases, followed by 38 in Vadodara, 17 in Rajkot, six in Surat, while both deaths took place in Vadodara, he said. A government release said 91,689 people were given vaccination shots, taking the total number of doses administered so far in the state to 10.29 crore. (PTI)
Mumbai on Saturday reported 89 COVID-19 cases and no death, the seventh time this month when the fatality slate was clean in the metropolis, a civic official said. The tally in the city now stands at 10,56,296 and the toll is 16,691, while the discharge of 200 people during the day took the recovery count to 10,35,826, he said. The active caseload of the city is 902, and 20,073 samples examined in the last 24 hours took the overall number of tests to 1,61,53,525, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation data showed. It also showed the recovery rate was 98 per cent, caseload doubling time was 4,450 days and the city did not have any sealed building or containment zone. (PTI)
Delhi on Friday reported 440 fresh COVID-19 cases and two deaths, while the positivity rate stood at 0.83 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. With this, the national capital's case count increased to 18,59,054 and the death toll climbed to 26,119, the latest health bulletin stated. The number of COVID-19 tests conducted a day ago stood at 53,173, it said. Delhi had on Friday recorded 460 cases with a positivity rate of 0.81 per cent, and two deaths. (PTI)
The coronavirus caseload in Nashik district of Maharashtra rose to 4,75,661 on Saturday with addition of 60 cases, health officials said. The virus claimed one life during the day, which took the death toll in the district to 8,893. Of the total number of coronavirus cases reported so far, 2,72,657 were from Nashik city. The number of active patients stands at 359. (PTI)
Kerala reported 3,262 new positive cases and 181 COVID-19-related deaths on Saturday taking the caseload in the state to 64,94,680 and the death toll to 65,161. Of the deaths, nine were reported in the last 24 hours, 56 occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents; 116 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the Health Department said. The state had tested 42,753 samples in the last 24 hours, the department said in a release. Among the districts, Thiruvananthapuram reported the highest number of cases–638, followed by Ernakulam with 552 cases and Kottayam with 314 cases. (PTI)
Three persons died of coronavirus infection in 24 hours ending 9 AM in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, the latest bulletin said. While 141 fresh cases were reported, 1,329 infected people recovered in the state, the bulletin said. The total Covid-19 count touched 23,17,605, recoveries 22,99,362 and deaths 14,725. The number of active cases dropped to 3,518. Seven districts reported fresh cases in double digits, less than 30 each. (PTI)
Odisha on Saturday recorded the lowest daily coronavirus cases this year as 293 people tested positive, pushing the tally to 12,84,616, the Health department said. The COVID-19 death toll rose to 9,056 as four more persons succumbed to the disease. The deaths were reported from Sambalpur district, Jharsuguda, Bargarh and Deogarh district, it said. – PTI
South Korea saw its deadliest day of the pandemic on Saturday, reporting 112 fatalities in the latest 24-hour period, as it grapples with a wave of coronavirus infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. Health workers diagnosed 166,209 new cases, which came close to Wednesday's one-day record of 171,451 and represented more than a 37-fold increase from daily levels in mid-January, when omicron first emerged as the country's dominant strain. AP
Ladakh on Saturday reported 24 new COVID-19 cases, taking the union territory's infection tally to 27,971, while 42 recoveries brought down the count of active cases to 230, officials said. The death toll due to the disease remained unchanged at 228 and 168 in Leh and 60 in Kargil. – PTI
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 177 crore on Friday, the Union Health Ministry said. More than 25 lakh (25,20,820) doses were administered on Friday till 7 pm, it said. Also, so far over 1.98 crore (1,98,39,419) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2, 2021. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Friday recorded 95 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the number of infections to 4,52,817, while no death due to the virus was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said. They said 65 of the new cases were from the Jammu division and 30 from the Kashmir division. The officials said Jammu district recorded the most cases as 227 infections were reported there, followed by 20 infections in Doda district. There are 995 active cases in the union territory, while the number of recovered patients is 4,47,074, they said. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Fridy added 507 new Covid-19 infections to the caseload of 34,48,088 while three deaths took the tally to 38,000 until now, said the Health Department. Recoveries eclipsed new cases with 1,794 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours. The total recoveries were 34,01,938 so far, a bulletin said. Among districts, Chennai accounted for the majority of fresh infections with 133 cases followed by Coimbatore 76 and Chengalpet 58 while the remaining were spread across other districts. Chennai, the State capital, leads in the overall cases with 7,49,605 infections till date. Ariyalur, Kallakurichi, Theni, Tirupathur recorded nil cases each while 22 districts saw the numbers in single digit. A total of 66,366 samples were tested thus pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 6,42,18,370 till date. (PTI)
With COVID-19 cases declining in Delhi, the cumulative number of patients under home-isolation has also fallen gradually, registering a steep drop of over 87 per cent in the past three weeks, according to official data. As on February 1, the city had cumulatively 12,312 home-isolation cases, which declined to 1,559 on February 24, and further to 1,483 on February 25. The number of containment zones also registered a dip to stand at 6,880 on February 24 from 37,116 on February 1, according to official figures shared by the health department. The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic. It took just 10 days for daily cases to drop below the 10,000-mark. Overall more than 750 Covid deaths were reported in Delhi during January, as per official data. The number of fatalities recorded in a day, too has registered a significant fall. (PTI)
Four more Covid-related deaths were reported in Haryana on Friday while 399 new cases pushed the infection count to 9,80,759, according to a health department bulletin. So far, 10,551 people have died from the infection in the state, it said. Of the new cases, 169 were reported from Gurugram while 22 were from Faridabad. The fatalities included two from Gurugram and one each from Panipat and Ambala, according to the bulletin. (PTI)
Delhi on Friday reported 460 fresh COVID-19 cases and two deaths due to the disease, while the positivity rate dropped to 0.81 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. With this, the national capital's infection tally increased to 18,58,614 and the death toll climbed to 26,117, the latest health bulletin stated. The number of COVID-19 tests conducted a day ago stood at 56,984, it said. (PTI)
Nagaland on Friday reported five new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the state to 35,395, a health department official said. The coronavirus death toll remained at 755 as no new fatality was reported, he said. Nagaland now has 139 active COVID-19 cases, while 33,024 people have recovered from the disease, including 17 in the last 24 hours, the official said. The state had reported three new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. (PTI)
The Delhi government on Friday announced that it will give an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 crore each to the families of 13 Covid warriors who lost their lives during the pandemic. The decision was taken during a meeting of the Group of Ministers chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday. In a statement, Sisodia said corona warriors of Delhi worked hard and sacrificed their lives, putting their service to protect humanity and society before their own lives. Saluting their spirit on behalf of the Delhi Government, the deputy chief minister said while this amount would not compensate for the loss the families of the deceased have suffered, it will definitely contribute in helping them lead a dignified life. (PTI)
Sikkim reported nine new COVID-19 cases, five more than the previous day, pushing the tally to 39,060, a health department bulletin said on Friday. East Sikkim district and West Sikkim logged four cases each, while South Sikkim district reported one case. The Himalayan state now has 78 active COVID-19 cases, while 37,795 people have recovered from the disease and 745 have migrated to other states. The COVID-19 death toll remained at 442 as no new fatality was reported in the last 24 hours. (PTI)
Mumbai on Friday reported 128 COVID-19 cases, the sixth day in a row when the addition to the tally was less than 200, and no fresh fatality, a feat that occurred for the sixth time this month, a civic official said. The tally in the metropolis is 10,56,207 and the toll stood unchanged at 16,691, while the discharge of 200 people took the recovery count to 10,35,626, which is 98 per cent of the caseload, he said. He said 88 per cent, or 113 of 128 new cases detected, were asymptomatic, with just 15 patients needing hospitalisation and two requiring oxygen support in the last 24 hours. Only 721 of the 36,102 beds earmarked for COVID-19 treatment are occupied now, the official said, adding that the active caseload of the city stood at 1,014. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Nashik in Maharashtra stood at 4,75,601 on Friday after 40 cases were detected, while one death took the toll to 8,892, an official said. So far, 4,66,361 people have been discharged post recovery, including 126 during the day, leaving the district with an active tally of 378, he added. (PTI)
Kerala reported 3,581 new cases of COVID-19 and 177 deaths on Friday and took the total to 64,91,418 and 64,980 respectively so far. Of the deaths, six were reported in the last 24 hours, 43 occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents; 128 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the Health Department said. Among the districts, Ernakulam reported the most with 637 followed by Thiruvananthapuram 523 and Kollam 364. A total of 44,054 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, the department said in a press release. (PTI)
Andhra Pradesh recorded 280 fresh cases of Covid-19, 496 recoveries and two deaths in 24 hours ending 9 AM on Friday. According to the latest bulletin, cases now rose to 23,17,464, recoveries to 22,98,033 and deaths 14,722. The number of active cases declined to 4,709. Districts of east Godavari and Anantapuramu reported 44 fresh cases each, Prakasam 40, West Godavari 38, Visakhapatnam 34 and Guntur 28. (PTI)
Hong Kong on Friday reported another sharp jump in new COVID-19 cases to more than 10,000 in the latest 24-hour period as it battles its worst outbreak of the pandemic. The new daily case count reached 10,010, health officials said, after topping 6,000 last week and 8,000 earlier this week in a spiralling outbreak. The city has been reporting about 50 deaths a day, many among the unvaccinated elderly. The government has announced plans to test everyone in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of 7.4 million people next month as it tries to adhere to a zero-COVID policy modelled on the strict mainland China approach. (AP)
Germany's health minister warned Friday that the coronavirus pandemic isn't over yet, noting that the country is still seeing record infections and high numbers of deaths. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's disease control agency, reported 210,743 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 226 deaths in the past 24 hours. Officials say laboratory data suggests there may be a large number of undetected cases. “We need to be careful not to think that the pandemic is over,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters in Berlin. (AP)
Eighty per cent of the samples taken from those who died of COVID-19 in Delhi till February 22 this year had the Omicron variant, according to government data. Genome sequencing of 239 samples collected from the deceased showed 191 of them with the Omicron variant. The remaining 48 (20 per cent) had other variants of COVID-19, including Delta which fuelled the ferocious second wave of infections in April and May last year, and sub lineages. Overall, the Omicron variant was found in 92 per cent of the 626 samples analysed at genome sequencing laboratories in the capital till February 22 this year, according to the data. (PTI)
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 12,84,323 on Friday as 345 more people, including 111 children, tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. The state's coronavirus death toll rose to 9,052 as seven more patients succumbed to the infection in Bargarh district. The state had logged 339 COVID-19 cases and zero deaths on Thursday. (PTI)
Puducherry recorded 14 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Friday taking the overall tally in the Union Territory to 1,65,690. In a press release, Director of Health G Sriramulu said the fresh cases were identified after examining 1,689 samples. The cases were reported in Puducherry (12) and Yanam (two). Karaikal and Mahe regions did not not register any fresh case, the Director said. (PTI)
In a meeting with CM and senior officials, it was decided to remove restrictions on offline classes in schools of 7 districts. Schools will be opened from class 1 onwards from March 7 but offline exams are not allowed till March: Banna Gupta, Jharkhand Health Minister in Ranchi (ANI)
China on Friday reported the highest daily count of COVID-19 cases arriving from outside the mainland in nearly two years, with infections mostly from Hong Kong as the financial hub grapples with a wave of infections. The mainland detected a total of 142 imported cases with confirmed symptoms for Thursday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Friday. That marks the highest imported caseload since the authority began classifying domestically transmitted cases and infected travellers from outside the mainland separately, in March 2020. (Reuters)
DDMA withdraws all restrictions as situation improves n people facing hardships due to loss of jobs. Schools to function fully offline from 1 April. Fines for not wearing masks reduced to Rs 500: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (ANI)
More than 1.9 million children in India lost a parent or caregiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a modelling study of 20 countries published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. Globally, the number of children estimated to have experienced the death of a parent or caregiver as a result of COVID-19 has surged to more than 5.2 million, the researchers said. Estimates of the numbers of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death nearly doubled in the six months from May 1, 2021 through October 31, 2021 compared with the numbers after the first 14 months of the pandemic, they said. (PTI)
Delhi | All #covid19 restrictions to be lifted, subject to positivity remaining below 1%. Night curfew to be lifted from Monday. Stress on COVID appropriate behaviour, Masking,Surveillance,Testing & Vaccination. Schools to do away with hybrid mode of classes from April 1: Sources (ANI)
Canada has become the first country to authorize use of a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine. Canadian regulators said Thursday Medicago's two-dose vaccine can be given to adults ages 18 to 64, but said there's too little data on the shots in people 65 and older. (AP)
Ladakh reported 19 fresh Covid cases, raising the union territory's tally 27,947, officials said on Friday. The active cases have come down to 248 — 228 in Leh district and 20 in Kargil district — with 55 more patients recovering from the disease in the past 24 hours, they said. The union territory has so far recorded 228 Covid-related deaths — 168 in Leh and 60 in Kargil. (PTI)
The Union Home Ministry on Friday asked states and union territories to consider relaxing Covid curbs for social, sports, entertainment, academic and religious events as well as night curfew hours in view of the substantial decline in the number of cases. Issuing COVID-19 guidelines for March, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also suggested the implementation of a risk assessment based approach on the opening of economic activities as suggested by the Union Health Ministry recently.
Japan said on Thursday international travellers showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson shot would be allowed in and be eligible for a shorter time in quarantine when border controls are eased next month. The J&J shot, which has not been approved in Japan, will join a list of three other shots that have been approved by regulators as sufficient for non-residents to enter, after a nearly two-year ban on such travellers. (Reuters)
Medicago's vaccine on Thursday became the world's first plant-based shot approved against COVID-19 after Health Canada cleared it for use in adults. The two-dose vaccine, which uses an adjuvant from GlaxoSmithKline to boost immune response, is the sixth COVID-19 shot to receive regulatory clearance in the country.
The number of cars and trucks blocking the streets outside New Zealand's Parliament was thinning Friday, although more protesters were expected to arrive for the weekend, including some by boat. For more than two weeks, protesters against coronavirus vaccine mandates have been camping outside Parliament, their numbers dropping during the weekdays and then swelling to the thousands over the weekends. (AP)
Anyone who tests positive for COVID in Hong Kong, including infants and children, are put into isolation facilities with no family contact allowed, as authorities enforce their “dynamic zero” COVID policy. As coronavirus cases hit record daily highs, the government plans to roll out compulsory mass testing for the city's 7.4 million people in March, exacerbating separation fears among many local and expatriate families. (Reuters)
