Coronavirus Highlights: West Bengal reports first Covid-19 death in a week

India logged a single-day rise of 3,962 coronavirus infections and 26 fatalities, pushing the overall tally to 4,31,72,547 cases and 5,24,677 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The data updated at 8 am also stated that the number of active cases in the country increased by 1,239 in 24 hours to stand at 22,416. Stay tuned for more updates.

West Bengal reports first Covid-19 death in a week

West Bengal on Saturday reported a Covid-19 death, after a week, a Health Department official said.

The deceased, a woman in her 60s from the North 24 Parganas district, was keeping unwell for quite some time, he said.

"She was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Teghoria and was shifted to the Beliaghata ID Hospital after her condition deteriorated on June 2. She was on ventilation and breathed her last this morning," the official said.

With this death, the state's Covid-19 toll rose to 21,205, he added. - PTI

76 new Covid-19 cases reported in Telangana

Telangana on Saturday recorded 76 new Covid-19 cases taking the tally to 7,93,544. Hyderabad reported the highest number of cases with 55.

A health department bulletin said 49 people recuperated from the infection and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 7,88,886. The recovery rate was 99.42 per cent.

No fresh fatality occurred due to the infectious disease and the death toll continued to be 4,111. The bulletin said 11,107 samples were tested on Saturday.

The number of active cases was 547, it said. - PTI.

Karnataka records 222 new Covid-19 cases, zero deaths

Karnataka on Saturday reported 222 fresh Covid-19 cases taking the total infections to 39,53,058, the state health department said. There were zero fatalities due to Covid-19 in the state during the last 24 hours.

The infections include 210 in Bengaluru Urban district, four in Udupi and two in Chitradurga.

There were zero infections and fatalities in 22 districts of the state. - PTI.

Delhi records 405 fresh Covid-19 cases, positivity rate 2.07%

Delhi on Saturday logged 405 fresh Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of 2.07 per cent while no new death was reported due to the viral disease, according to data shared by the city health department.

With this, the national capital's Covid-19 case tally increased to 19,08,387 while the death toll stood at 26,212.

A total of 19,562 Covid-19 tests were conducted in Delhi the previous day, the department said in its latest bulletin. - PTI.

Tamil Nadu logs 105 new Covid-19 cases

Tamil Nadu recorded 105 new Covid-19 infections, including a returnee from Telangana, pushing the tally to 34,55,976 cases, while the death toll remained unchanged at 38,025 with nil fatalities, the health department said on Saturday.

The number of people who recuperated from the virus grew to 34,17,152 with 62 more people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, leaving 799 active cases, a medical bulletin said. - PTI.

Five Covid-19 cases reported in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir reported five Covid-19 cases and zero deaths due to the disease on Saturday, taking the infection tally in the union territory to 4,54,276.

Four cases were reported in Jammu district and one in Kathua district, officials said here.

There are 58 active cases of the disease in the union territory at present, and the number of recoveries has reached 4,49,466, they said.

The Covid-19 death toll in the union territory stands at 4,752, the officials said. - PTI.

Goa logs 36 new Covid-19 cases, active tally at 233

Goa on Saturday recorded 36 new cases of Covid-19 that raised the tally of infections to 2,45,982, an official from the state health department said. There has been a marginal decline in the day’s infections after the coastal recorded 47 and 50 cases on Thursday and Friday respectively.

The coastal state has witnessed a rise in infections over the last three days after recording cases in single digit throughout May. - PTI.

Maharashtra reports 1,357 Covid-19 cases; 1,226 cases in Mumbai

Two new Covid-19 cases reported in Ladakh

Ladakh's coronavirus tally increased to 28,271 on Saturday as two more people tested positive for the viral disease, officials said.

The fresh cases were detected in Leh, they said.

The death toll remained unchanged at 228 -- 168 deaths from Leh and 60 from Kargil.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Ladakh stands at eight. So far, 28,038 patients have recovered from coronavirus in Ladakh, the officials said. - PTI.

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Mizoram reports 19 new Covid-19 cases

Mizoram on Saturday reported 19 new Coronavirus cases, one more than the previous day, with the tally rising to 2,28,391, a health department official said.

The death toll rose to 700 as two more people from Aizawl and Kolasib districts succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, he said.

At least 24 people have recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of recoveries to 2,27,572, he said. The state currently has 119 active cases.

Saudi receives first foreign hajj pilgrims since before pandemic

Saudi Arabia on Saturday welcomed its first batch of hajj pilgrims since before thecoronaviruspandemic, which prompted authorities to sharply restrict the annual ritual.

The group from Indonesia landed in the city of Medina and was set to travel south to the holy city of Mecca in the coming weeks to prepare for the hajj next month, state media reported.

Covid surge in 3 Kerala districts, state Health Minister says 'no need for worry'

HK to distribute about 60,000 RAT kits after Covid detection in sewage

The Hong Kong government has announced that it will distribute about 60,000 sets of Covid-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits to people in an area of the city as part of a follow-up on the recent detection of the virus in sewage samples.

The test kits will be distributed to residents, cleaning workers, and property management staff working in an estate in Sai Kung District with positive sewage testing results showing relatively high viral loads, in order to help identify infected persons, Xinhua news agency quoted the government as saying.

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Japan considers resuming tourism discount as Covid eases

Japan's government is considering resuming a national travel discount campaign as soon as late this month to help the tourism industry recover from a Covid-19 slump, the Nikkei newspaper said on Saturday. A revived "Go To Travel" campaign would likely serve as a core measure to stimulate consumer demand, the business daily reported, without citing sources. Japan is set to ease border controls to let foreign tourists in from July 10 as coronavirus infections ease.

India reports 3,962 fresh cases, 2,697 recoveries, and 26 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total active cases are 22,416.

China reports 171 new Covid cases for June 3 vs 157 a day earlier

North Korea reports 79,100 more people with fever, one new death amid Covid wave

North Korea reported some 79,100 more people with fever symptoms and one additional death amid its first-ever coronavirus outbreak, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Saturday, citing the North's state media KCNA.

Covid-19 vaccine misinformation still fuels fears surrounding pregnancy, a new study finds

A steady bombardment of coronavirus misinformation during the pandemic has left nearly one-third of American women who are pregnant or who plan to become pregnant believing at least one falsehood about coronavirus vaccinations and pregnancy, according to a new study. A higher share were unsure whether to believe the myths.

The research, conducted in May by the Kaiser Family Foundation, considered three widespread false statements about the vaccines and concluded that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults, as well as 7 in 10 women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, either believed or were unsure about at least one of the false statements.

China reports 171 new Covid cases for June 3 vs 157 a day earlier

China recorded 171 new coronavirus cases on June 3, of which 46 were symptomatic and 125 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.

That compares with 157 new cases a day earlier - 37 symptomatic and 120 asymptomatic, which China counts separately.

There were no new deaths, leaving the nation's death at 5,226. As of Friday, mainland China had confirmed 224,254 cases with symptoms.