Over 1.23 crore healthcare, frontline workers vaccinated against COVID-19

380 new COVID-19 cases, 296 patients recover, one dies in Gujarat

334 new cases in Karnataka, 6 deaths

Health Ministry in talks with private hospitals regarding vaccination

Jammu and Kashmir records 74 new COVID-19 cases

MP: COVID-19 samples from Indore sent for genome sequencing

Dharavi reports double-digit COVID-19 case count after 37 days

India dispatches first batch of six lakh COVID vaccine doses to Ghana

Punjabi singer Sardool Sikander dies in Mohali hospital, was diagnosed with COVID-19

Hong Kong to spend $15.4 billion to stabilise virus-ravaged economy

Malaysia begins vaccinations, PM gets 1st shot

All above 60 years of age, 45-plus with other illnesses to get COVID-19 vaccine from March 1

COVID-19: Hotels, eateries to stay shut in Nagpur on weekends

Centre rushes high level teams to states witnessing surge in COVID-19 cases

The Centre has deputed multi-disciplinary teams to states witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, including Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir, to support them in effectively tackling the pandemic. The three-member multidisciplinary teams are headed by joint secretary level officers in the health ministry, the Union Health Ministry said. "These teams will work closely with the states and UT administration and ascertain reasons for the recent surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. "They will also coordinate with health authorities of the states and UT for requisite COVID-19 control measures to break the chain of transmission," the ministry said. The states and UT have been advised for regular critical review of the emerging situation with district officials concerned to ensure that gains made so far in COVID-19 management are not lost, the ministry stated. The Centre has also written to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir which have been witnessing a rise in daily COVID cases, along with decreasing proportion of RT-PCR tests and rise in positivity in some districts.

NSE Glitch Update | No response from market regulator on NSE outage so far

Thailand receives first 200,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine

Thailand on Wednesday received the first 200,000 doses of China's Sinovac vaccine. It is expecting another 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca are expected later Wednesday. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha attended a ceremony with the Chinese Embassy deputy mission chief to receive the vaccines at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport. Thailand has ordered a total of 2 million doses from China. Later this year, local manufacturer Siam Bioscience will supply 200 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the region, of which 26 million are allocated for Thailand. Thai officials have said they had secured an additional deal with AstraZeneca for a total of 61 million doses. Many critics and opposition parties have criticized the government’s procurement plans as too slow and inadequate. Thailand, whose economy relies on income from tourism, is aiming to inject 10 million doses a month from June, and plans to inoculate at least half the population by the end of the year.

South Korean experts warns ‘vaccine will not end the pandemic quickly’, as the country gears for a mass immunization drive

South Korea’s top infectious disease expert has warned that vaccines will not end the coronavirus pandemic quickly as the country prepared to give its first vaccinations this week.Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said during a briefing Wednesday it would take a considerably long time before the vaccination campaign brings the virus under control. The country aims to vaccinate more than 70 percent of its population by November. But a safe return to mask-less normalcy is highly unlikely in 2021, considering various factors including the growing spread of virus variants, said Choi Won Suk, an infectious disease professor at the Korea University Ansan Hospital who joined Jeong at the briefing. We are concerned that people might drop their guard as vaccination begins, triggering another massive wave of the virus, Jeong said. The country will kick off its mass immunization campaign on Friday by administering the Astra-Zeneca-Oxford vaccines to residents and employees at long-term care facilities.

Malaysia launches COVID-19 vaccination drive as PM gets first shot

Malaysia on Wednesday launched its COVID-19 inoculation programme, which authorities hope will rein in a spike in infections and help revive an economy that recorded its worst slump in over two decades last year. Malaysia has set an ambitious target of vaccinating at least 80 percent of its 32 million people by February next year. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was the first to be given the vaccine, developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and German partner BioNTech, as part of government efforts to reassure people of the vaccine's safety. After Muhyiddin was given his shot, officials clapped in the health department office in the administrative capital of Putrajaya, before a group of health workers were also vaccinated.

MP records 248 new COVID-19 cases, 200 recoveries; 1 more dies

Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday reported 248 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 2,59,969, while one more fatality pushed the toll to 3,855, state health department officials said.No fresh COVID-19 case was reported from 15 of the total 52 districts in the state in the last 24 hours, they said.

Bengal logs 2 fresh COVID deaths, 189 new cases

West Bengal on Tuesday registered two COVID-19 deaths taking the toll to 10,253, the health department said in a bulletin. One fatality each was reported from Purulia and Kalimpong districts, it said adding that one of the two deaths were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental. The tally mounted to 5,74,099 after 189 fresh cases were recorded in the state, it said.

Telangana stops issuing daily Covid bulletin

At a time when spurt in Covid-19 cases in some states, including Maharashtra have raised fears of a second wave, Telangana has stopped issuing daily media bulletins on the pandemic. Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao said instead of daily bulletin, the department will issue it once a week. The move has come as a surprise to people as the bulletin was helping them to keep track of the situation on daily basis. The bulletin was containing vital information like number of new cases and deaths reported, the number of tests conducted, recoveries, the district-wise daily count of cases and bed status in government and private hospitals.

No new COVID-19 case in Arunachal Pradesh for 5 days

Arunachal Pradesh did not report any fresh COVID-19 case in the last five days, a senior health department official said here on Wednesday. The COVID-19 tally in the state remained at 16,836, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said. One more person recuperated from the infection on Tuesday, taking the total number of coronavirus recoveries in the state to 16,776, he said.

Rs 5,000 cr annual loss to WR due to COVID-19 crisis: Official

The Western Railway is facing an annual revenue loss of about Rs 5,000 crore due to the COVID-19 crisis which affected services and led to a drop in the number of train travellers, a senior official has said. Many people are still reluctant to travel by train due to fear of the coronavirus, Western Railway's General Manager Alok Kansal told reporters here on Tuesday.

3 new COVID-19 cases in Mizoram, tally rises to 4,413

Three more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram in the last 24 hours, pushing the tally to 4,413, an official said on Wednesday. Two cases were reported from Aizawl district and one from Lunglei district, he said. Mizoram now has 24 active COVID-19 cases, while 4,379 people have recovered from the virus. The coronavirus death toll in the state is 10.

Maharashtra: 463 new COVID-19 cases in Thane, 3 more deaths

Thane has added 463 new cases of coronavirus, raising the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 2,61,667, an official said on Wednesday. Three more deaths due to the viral infection were also reported in the district on Tuesday, taking the toll to 6,246, he said. The COVID-19 mortality rate in the district is 2.39 percent, the official said.

People coming to Delhi from 5 states will need to show negative COVID-19 test result: Officials

Travellers from five states, including Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab, will have to show negative COVID-19 test report before entering the national capital, officials said on Wednesday amid a spike in coronavirus infections in some states. They said an official order will be issued later in the day and it will be effective till March 15. The issue had also been discussed in a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Monday. The requirement of the negative COVID-19 test report is likely to be implemented from Friday night, officials said.

ALERT: Travellers from Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab will need a negative coronavirus test report to enter Delhi from 26th February till 15th March, reported news agency ANI.