Coronavirus News Highlights: France reports 1,852 people in Intensive Care Units due to Covid-19

India reported 38,667 new Covid-19 cases, 478 deaths and 35,743 recoveries on Saturday. AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said that the country might not see a third wave of coronavirus disease but it largely depended on people following Covid appropriate behaviour. Stay tuned for updates.

Sikkim relaxes Covid curbs to attract tourists

The Sikkim government on Sunday relaxed theCovid-related restrictions, allowing tourists who have got one dose of vaccination to enter the state, officials said.

The government also allowed shops, commercial establishments and other businesses to remain open till 8 pm, instead of 5 pm, they said.

(PTI)

97 Covid-19 cases, 2 more deaths in J&K (PTI)

Maharashtra sees 4,797 Covid-19 cases, 130 deaths, 3,710 recoveries (PTI)

England ends self-isolation for Covid contacts

Fully vaccinated people in England will from Monday no longer be required to self-isolate if they have had close contact with a coronavirus case, as restrictions continue to be eased.

Instead of self-isolating, those double jabbed and the under 18s will be advised to get a free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test if they are identified as being in close contact with a case.

(AFP)

Delhi govt raises allocation of Covid vaccines for first dose recipients to 70% in govt centres

To cover more people in theCovid-19 vaccination drive, the Delhi government on Sunday issued an order to reserve 70 per cent of vaccination slots of Covishield and Covaxin at state-run facilities for those receiving the first dose.

More than 1.15 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the national capital till Sunday, of which 32,66,927 are second doses.

(PTI)

Nagaland reports 54 new Covid-19 cases, four more fatalities (PTI)

Haryana records one death, 22 fresh cases (PTI)

Punjab logs 50 fresh cases, 2 deaths

Punjab on Sunday reported twoCovid-related fatalities, taking the death toll to 16,342, while 50 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 5,99,942, according to a medical bulletin.

The deaths were reported from Amritsar and Pathankot.

The number of active cases rose to 577 from 572 on Saturday, the bulletin showed.

(PTI)

Chhattisgarh sees 49 new cases, one death (PTI)

Sri Lanka tightens Covid-19 restrictions amid spread of Delta variant

The Sri Lankan government on Sunday decided to ban all public gatherings and the restaurants will have to function at 50 per cent capacity following the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus across the country.

The government also banned all weddings at homes and reception halls would be banned from August 27. It had earlier reduced the number of guests that could be invited to wedding receptions.

(PTI)

Covid Curfew in Andhra Pradesh extended till August 21

With at least half of the districts in the state reporting a good number of new cases daily, the Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday further extended theCovidcurfew till August 21. Principal Secretary (Health) Anil Kumar Singhal said the 10 pm to 6 am curfew has been extended after a thorough review of theCovid-19 situation and keeping in view the number of positive cases.

(PTI)

Greece sees first fully vaccinated Covid death

Greece has recorded the first death of a fully vaccinated patient fromCovid-19 without underlying symptoms, an official at one of the country's leading hospitals said Sunday.

"We have the first death of a fully vaccinated patient... it was the first among (about) 13,000 deaths in Greece," Nikos Kapravelos, director of one of the intensive care units of Thessaloniki's Papanikolaou hospital, told Open TV.

(AFP)

Iran's daily Covid deaths top 600 in new high

Iran on Sunday reported over 600 dailyCoviddeaths for the first time, ahead of tightened curbs to contain the spread of the virus.

The country also registered 36,736 new infections in 24 hours, taking the total since the pandemic started to 4,425,821, the health ministry said.

The latest 620 deaths raised the total number of fatalities to 97,828, it added.

(AFP)

Active Covid-19 cases drop further in Andhra Pradesh

Active coronavirus cases dwindled by 345 to 17,865 in Andhra Pradesh even as the state reported 1,506 fresh positives and 1,835 recoveries on Sunday. The state also reported 16 more deaths in 24 hours ending 9 AM on Sunday, the latest bulletin said.

(PTI)

One more Covid death in UP, total fatality 22,784 (PTI)

Delhi records 53 fresh Covid-19 cases, zero deaths (PTI)

India takes pride in in world's largest Covid-19 vaccination programme: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that India takes pride in having the world's largestCovid-19 vaccination programme and more than 54 crore people have already taken the vaccine doses.

In his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the prime minister spoke of the country's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and praised the scientists, doctors, paramedical staff among others.

(PTI)

Puducherry adds 79 fresh Covid-19 cases, overall tally rises to 1,22,282 (PTI)

Ward at railway hospital soon to fight virus-hit children

General manager of Southern Railway John Thomas on Sunday said the railway has strengthened the infrastructure to treatCovid-19 patients and it is now setting up a separate paediatric ward in its hospital at Perambur.

Announcing this after unfurling the tricolour at the railway stadium here on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day, he said the number of beds forCovid-19 patients has been increased from 80 to 280 at the railway hospital during the second wave of the pandemic.

Hailing doctors, nurses and paramedical staff of Southern Railway asCovid-19 warriors, he said the paediatric ward to attend to the affected children is being developed in the new block of the hospital.

(PTI)

Covid-19 hits India's prospects to become $5 trillion economy by FY25: Economist

It is highly unlikely that India will become a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 due to the slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, University of Massachusetts professor Vamsi Vakulabharanam has said.

Moreover, Indian economy will be smaller for a considerable period of next year compared to its size in 2019, Vakulabharanam told PTI in an interview.

Passengers wait for a suburban train at a railway station after the government allowed fully vaccinated people against the Covid-19 coronavirus of all ages to travel in local trains in Mumbai on August 15, 2021. Credit: AFP Photo

India has done better than any country across world in vaccination: Bharat Biotech CMD

(PTI)

US appeals court sets quick schedule to consider Covid-19 eviction ban (Reuters)

Rich nations dip into COVAX supply while poor wait for shots (AP)

We can say with pride that world's largest Covid vaccination programme is going on in India: PM Modi

PM Modi lauds doctors, nurses, paramedics those involved in vaccine-manufacturing and others for their fight against Covid-19

Australia secures 1 million more Pfizer vaccine doses from Poland (Reuters)

Australia's New South Wales reports 415 new Covid-19 cases, near record high (Reuters)

Coronavirus not gone yet, shall not let our guards down: President Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said the country is yet to come out of the devastating effects of coronavirus recurrence this year and that this is the time of extra care and caution.

"We shall not let our guard down. Vaccines are the best possible protection science offers to us," he said, addressing the nation on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day.

'No jab, no job': Covid vaccines made compulsory for Fiji civil servants

A "no jab, no job" coronavirus policy went into effect in Fiji on Sunday, with unvaccinated public servants forced to go on leave as the Pacific nation joined a number of countries in imposing similar mandates.

A stubborn outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant that started in April ended a yearlong spell of no community transmission of Covid-19, and has overwhelmed Fiji's healthcare system with more than 40,000 cases.

The government has argued that mandatory vaccinations are necessary to raise immunisation rates and end the outbreak.

Australia secures 1 million more Pfizer vaccine doses from Poland

Australia has secured about 1 million additional doses of Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 vaccine that will start arriving on Sunday night, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

The doses, provided by the Polish government, will be targeted for Australians ages 20 to 39 years old, particularly in Sydney where transmission numbers have spiked to record highs. (Reuters)