Maharashtra again reports more than 6,000 COVID-19 cases; 51 die

COVID-19: 383 new cases in Karnataka, 4 deaths

Over 1.19 crore healthcare and frontline workers vaccinated

AP's COVID-19 tally goes up to 8,89,409 with the addition of 70 new cases

Two COVID variants detected in Maha, Kerala

Punjab orders fresh curbs on indoor, outdoor gatherings as COVID-19 cases rise

39 students, 5 staffers test COVID-19 positive at hostel in Maharashtra

India's health sector overcame trial by fire during COVID-19: PM

Bengal power minister who tested COVID-19 positive admitted to hospital

MHA directs closure of two special Delhi COVID centres as cases decline

IMA Goa urges govt to speed up COVID-19 vaccination drive

The Goa chapter of the Indian Medical Association on Tuesday urged the state government to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the coastal state to prevent a second wave of the infection. In a letter to the state authorities, the IMA Goa stated that the important aspect of vaccination is the speed and the coverage, with which at least 60 percent of the state's population can be vaccinated. This will reduce the incidence of new cases and save the state from witnessing a second wave, IMA Goa president Vinayak Buvaji said in the letter. The IMA has requested the government to authorise the local medical association to approve beneficiaries and direct them for vaccination at nearest vaccine booths with ID proof, it said.The COVID-19 vaccine booths set up in private hospitals have a dedicated manpower for inoculation, but they are underutilised and lack of powers to approve beneficiaries, the letter stated. The IMA suggested that private hospitals registered with DDSSY, the state-run insurance scheme, also be roped in for the vaccination drive.

EU drugs regulator studying expanded use of COVID-19 drug remdesivir

Europe's drugs regulator said on Tuesday it is evaluating the use of remdesivir in COVID-19 patients who do not need oxygen support, after developer Gilead Sciences submitted an application to extend the medicine's use. Europe had conditionally approved remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, in July for treating COVID-19 in adults and adolescents with pneumonia requiring oxygen support.

CSMIA has facilitated distribution of 43 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since Jan

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has facilitated the distribution of around 43 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines including to overseas destinations since January. Mumbai Airport had started airlifting the vaccines since January 13. CSMIA has facilitated the distribution of approximately 43 million COVID-19 vaccines, weighing around 113 tonnes, to over 57 destinations, including 29 international ones, the private airport operator said in a release. Of the total doses, 34.5 million were airlifted to various countries and the rest 8.5 million to the cities across India, it said. The highest export of the vaccine was made to Dhaka in Bangladesh with nine million doses, followed by Morocco with six million doses and Brazil with four million doses, CSMIA said.

Philippine leader won't ease virus restrictions

The Philippine president will reject recommendations to further ease coronavirus quarantine restrictions across the country until a delayed vaccination campaign kicks off, his spokesman said. President Rodrigo Duterte also rejected a plan to resume face-to-face school classes in some pilot areas until vaccinations, which have been set back by delays in the arrival of initial batches of COVID-19 vaccine, have been launched, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. The scheduled delivery on Tuesday of 600,000 doses from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. was postponed anew after the China-based company failed to immediately secure an emergency-use permit from Manila's Food and Drug Administration. Sinovac got the authorization Monday. Top economic officials have asked Duterte to consider further easing quarantine restrictions in the country starting in March to bolster the economy, which has suffered one of the worst recessions in the region, and stave off hunger. But Duterte rejected the recommendations. The chief executive recognizes the importance of re-opening the economy and its impact on people's livelihoods, Roque said but added that the president gives higher premium to public health and safety.

Vijay Hazare: Bihar player tests positive for COVID-19, others to undergo tests

The Vijay Hazare Trophy has seen its first case of COVID-19 with a Bihar player returning positive for the virus, following which all the other cricketers are being tested. "It is confirmed and the concerned player has been isolated from other players. He is currently in Bangalore as he cannot travel," a senior official of the state's cricket body told PTI.

Not to be sniffed at: Agony of post-COVID-19 loss of smell

A year into the coronavirus pandemic, doctors and researchers are still striving to better understand and treat the accompanying epidemic of COVID-19-related anosmia loss of smell draining much of the joy of life from patients. Even specialist doctors say there is much about the condition they still don't know and they are learning as they go along in their diagnoses and treatments. Impairment and alteration of smell have become so common with COVID-19 that some researchers suggest that cheap, simple odor tests could be used to track coronavirus infections in countries with few laboratories. For most people, the olfactory problems are temporary, often improving on their own in weeks. But a small minority are complaining of persistent dysfunction long after other COVID-19 symptoms have disappeared. Some have reported continued total or partial loss of smell six months after infection. The longest, some doctors say, are now approaching a full year. Researchers working on the vexing disability say they are optimistic that most will eventually recover but some will not. Some doctors are concerned that growing numbers of smell-deprived patients, many of them young, could be more prone to depression and other difficulties and weigh on already strained health systems.

No COVID-19 case reported in Arunachal for four days

Arunachal Pradesh did not report any fresh COVID-19 case in the past four days, a health department official said on Monday. The total caseload in the northeastern state remained at 16,836, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said. Arunachal Pradesh now has five active cases, while 16,775 people have recovered from the disease. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state stands at 99.63 percent. A total of 56 patients have succumbed to the infection. Altogether, 4,03,950 samples have been tested for COVID-19, including 465 on Monday, Jampa said.

28 new COVID-19 cases, two fatalities in Pondy

Puducherry logged 28 fresh cases of coronavirus and two related deaths during the last 24 hours ending 10 a.m. on Tuesday taking the overall tally to 39,628. Two more persons hailing from Puducherry region succumbed to the infection taking the toll to 665. The 28 fresh cases identified at the end of examination of 1,632 samples were spread over Puducherry (10), Karaikal (5), Yanam (one) and Mahe (12). Director of Health and Family Welfare services S Mohan Kumar said 21 patients were discharged after recovery from hospitals during last 24 hours. Kumar said the fatality and recovery rates were 1.67 percent and 97.86 percent respectively. The number of active cases were 179 while 38,784 patients recovered and were discharged so far.

Pfizer to ship 13 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per week to U.S. by mid-March, says executive

Pfizer Inc expects to deliver more than 13 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine per week to the United States by the middle of March, more than doubling its shipments from early February, a top Pfizer executive said in prepared testimony ahead of a Tuesday congressional hearing. Pfizer is on track to deliver 120 million doses of its two-dose regimen by the end of March, said John Young, Pfizer's chief business officer. Pfizer is also prepared to provide a total of 300 million shots to the United States by the end of July and has raised global production expectations for 2021 to at least 2 billion doses, he said.

One new COVID-19 case in Andamans; tally at 5,015

The COVID-19 caseload in Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 5,015 as one more person has tested positive for the disease in the Union Territory, a health department official said on Tuesday. The fresh case was detected during contact tracing, he said.

COVID-19: President Biden calls 500,000 death toll in US a 'heartbreaking milestone'

The United States on Monday crossed a grim "heartbreaking milestone" in its fight against COVID-19 as the death toll due to the disease crossed 500,000, a staggering figure that is more than the combined American casualties during World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. "As a nation, we can't accept such a cruel fate. We've been fighting this pandemic for so long. We have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow. We have to resist viewing each life as a statistic or a blurb or on the news," President Joe Biden said on Monday as he led the nation in mourning the dead.

IMA hits out at health minister for endorsing Patanjali's Coronil for treating COVID-19; seeks explanation

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday hit out at Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan for endorsing and promoting Patanjali Ayurved's Coronil for treating COVID-19 even as the same has not been established so far. The World Health Organisation has denied Yoga guru Ramdev's claim that CORONIL has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme. WHO in fact said, "WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of COVID-19."

Global coronavirus tally tops 11.22 cr; fatalities near 25 lakh

COVID-19 India updates: Here are the salient points from today’s Union health ministry data

-Active cases fall after rising for the last five days; it’s down 2749 in the last 24 hours

-Addition to total cases lower than recoveries; the rise in deaths remains below 100

-Single-day vaccination tally above 6 lakh; total vaccination at 1.17 cr so far

-Recovery rate rises to 97.24% while the positivity rate slips to 1.34%

The mortality rate remains at 1.425 for the last six days

-Additions to total cases at 10,584 against recoveries of 13,255; rise in deaths at 78

-Total cases at 1.10 cr, active 1.47 lakh, recoveries 1.07 cr and deaths at 1.56 lakh

Lakshadweep, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan complete vaccination of more than 75 percent of registered HCWs and FLWs for the first dose

Four states and UTs --Lakshadweep, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan -- have vaccinated more than 75 percent of registered HCWs and FLWs for the first dose. Eight states and UTs have vaccinated more than 75 percent of the registered HCWs for the first dose. These are Bihar, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, four states and UTs have reported less than 50 percent coverage of registered HCWs for the first dose. These are Nagaland, Punjab, Chandigarh and Puducherry. Ten states and UTs have registered more than 50 percent coverage for the first dose among FLWs. These are Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. The five states that recorded the highest number of vaccinations are Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar, the ministry said.

Over 1.14 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far in India: Health ministry

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers in the country has crossed 1.14 crores, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. A total of 1,14,24,094 vaccine doses have been administered to 75,40,602 healthcare workers (HCWs) and 38,83,492 frontline workers (FLWs) through 2,44,071 sessions in India, as per the provisional report till 6 pm on Monday. The ministry said 64,25,060 HCWs have taken the first dose of the vaccine and 11,15,542HCWs have taken the second dose. The FLWs have been administered the first dose. The countrywide inoculation drive was rolled out on January 16 and vaccination of the FLWs started on February 2.