Coronavirus news highlights: Over 1.8 crore vaccines administered so far, Union Health Ministry says

The number of vaccines administered so far has crossed 1.8 crore, the Union Health Ministry said Friday. Meanwhile, former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah urged PM Modi in a letter to do away with the Rs 250 vaccination cost charged by private hospitals and provide the vaccine free of cost to all Indians. Stay tuned for more updates...

Nearly 14 lakh inoculated against Covid-19 on Thursday, highest in a day so far, says official

Nearly 14 lakh people were inoculated against Covid-19 on March 4, the highest in a day so far, taking the total number of vaccine doses administered in the country to over 1.8 crore, official sources said on Friday.

Among the healthcare workers, 68,53,083 have been administered the first dose and 31,41,371 the second dose till now. As for frontline workers, 60,90,931 have received the first and 67,297 the second dose, according to Union Health Ministry data. (PTI)

A fine of Rs 100 will be imposed for not wearing a mask in Indore,Devendra Singh, Additional Commissioner, Indore Municipal Corporation, has said.

Canada approves Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine

Canada on Friday authorized a fourth Covid-19 vaccine, adding Johnson & Johnson's candidate to is approved list alongside AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots.

It is the first single-dose Covid-19 vaccine to be authorized in the country, and has been cleared for use by people over 18 years of age. (Reuters)

Maharashtra reports over 10,000 Covid-19 cases today. This is the first time the state has crossed 10,000-mark since mid-October.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal directs authorities to continue with the existing strategy against Covid-19, including cluster-based surveillance, testing and genome sequencing owing to rise in the number of cases in country. (PTI)

Britain tells EU: Vaccine export restrictions endanger Covid fight

Britain said that restrictions on the export of Covid-19 vaccines could endanger the global fight against the virus, adding that it expected the European Union to honour commitments it made over its vaccine programme. (Reuters)

Punjab CM gets first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

Mumbai: 10 restaurant workers test positive, quarantined

Ten out of 35 employees of a restaurant in Andheri area of Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus and were shifted to the mega Covid care centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, a civic official said on Friday.

He said the restaurant management has been given strict instructions to depute new staff and follow all sanitisation processes and outbreak protocols before restarting operations. (PTI)

Over 1.8 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 1.8 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

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Mahindra University students develop UV robot to fight coronavirus

In a bid to find better ways to tackle theCovid-19 pandemic, students of the Mahindra University have developed a robot to disinfect offices, shop floors, laboratories using ultraviolet rays.

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Australia asks EU to stop blocking vaccine exports

Australia is seeking assurances from the European Union's executive arm that future shipments of vaccines will not be blocked, after Italy banned a large export of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shots.The shipment to Australia of more than a quarter-million doses was blocked from leaving the 27-nation bloc — the first use of an export control system instituted by the EU to make sure big pharma companies respect their EU contracts. (PTI)

Covid vaccinations for Indians must be at zero cost: Siddaramaiah to PM Modi

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider the decision to allow private hospitals to charge Rs 250 for administering coronavirus vaccine, saying it will act as a deterrent in the fight against the pandemic.

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New easy-to-deliver treatment stops replication of Covid-19, flu viruses: Study

Researchers have developed a new treatment that appears to stop the reproduction of the viruses which cause Covid-19 and flu and can be delivered to the lungs via a nebulizer, making it easy for patients to self-administer at home.

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Reliance to cover Covid-19 vaccine costs for employees, families

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd will bear the cost of vaccinating its employees and their immediate family, totalling an estimated 12.2 lakh, as the oil-to-telecom conglomerate looks to safeguard them against the Covid-19 virus.

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EU, Italy stop AstraZeneca vaccine exports to Australia

A shipment of more than a quarter-million AstraZeneca vaccines destined for Australia has been blocked from leaving the European Union, in the first use of an export control system instituted by the bloc to make sure big pharma companies would respect their contracts.

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Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari receives Covid-19 vaccine dose

Watch: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot gets first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

WHO scraps interim report on Wuhan coronavirus origin probe mission

The World Health Organization has scrapped plans for a team that visited Wuhan, China to probe the origins of the coronavirus pandemic to issue an interim report,The Wall Street Journalreported late Thursday.

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Daily US Covid cases below 40,000 for first time in months

The United States recorded fewer than 40,000 new cases of Covid-19 in one day for the first time in five months on Thursday, according to the Johns Hopkins University pandemic tracker.

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Is wearing 2 masks more effective in preventing the spread of Covid-19?

Japanese supercomputer simulations showed that wearing two masks gave limited benefit in blocking viral spread compared with one properly fitted mask.

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10 staff in Mumbai restaurant test positive for Covid-19

10 staff of Radha Krishna restaurant, SV Road, Andheri (West) test positive for COVID19. All 10 shifted to BKC Jumbo COVID Centre: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (ANI)

BJP takes swipe at Congress over Covaxin efficacy data, says everyone should be proud of result

A day after Bharat Biotech said its anti-coronavirus vaccine has shown 81 per cent efficacy, the BJP on Thursday hit out at the Congress for questioning the drug regulator's decision to grant it emergency use approval and said everyone should be proud of the results shown by it.

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SII writes to PMO proposing reforms in drug regulatory system

The world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Serum Institute of India, has written to the Prime Minister's Office proposing reforms in the existing drug regulatory system, including allowing manufacturing and stockpiling of non-Covid vaccines while undergoing clinical trial.

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Karnataka govt thinking of making Covid vaccine available at PHC and CHCs: K Sudhakar

The government was mulling extending the availability of Covid-19 vaccines to the primary and community health centres to cover more people during the vaccination drive, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Thursday.

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India's Covid-19 surge continues with over 16,000 new cases, 113 single-day deaths

With 16,838 new infections, the total coronavirus cases reached 1,11,73,761in the country.

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A few people report delayed skin reactions to a Covid vaccine

Some people are having delayed reactions to their first dose of a Covid vaccine, with their arms turning red, sore, itchy and swollen a week or so after the shot.

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India's vaccination drive gathers pace as Covid-19 cases rise; 10.93 lakh get jabs on Thursday

Covid-19 cases are on the rise again as India added 17,407 new patients of the infectious disease, including 29 fresh cases of the UK, Brazil and South African variants of the SARS-Cov-2 virus.

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After record Covid-19 deaths, Bolsonaro tells Brazilians to stop 'whining'

After two straight days of record Covid-19 deaths in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday told Brazilians to stop "whining" and move on, in his latest remarks attacking distancing measures and downplaying the gravity of the pandemic.

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Over half of Hyderabad's population exposed to Covid-19, says study

Over half of the Hyderabad population has developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, a seroprevalence study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and National Institute of Nutrition in collaboration withBharatBiotechhas revealed.

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Japan to extend Tokyo area state of emergency to March 21

The Japanese government plans to extend a state of emergency to combat Covid-19 for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures until March 21, two weeks longer than originally scheduled, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday.

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Coronavirus mutations high in Bengaluru

The mutation rate of the coronavirus is high in Bengaluru when compared to the national average, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have found.

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