Coronavirus News Highlights: Rajasthan eases Covid-19 restrictions

India reported 1,00,636 new Covid-19 cases, 1,74,399 discharges, and 2427 deaths in the last 24 hours As any as 36,63,34,111 samples were tested for Covid as of June 6. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reiterated the government's efforts to procure medicines, Covid-19 vaccines and ensure strict lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country. He also announced a centralised vaccination policy.

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CMs, BJP welcome PM Modi's free Covid-19 vaccine initiative; Opposition claims policy reversed due to fear of SC action

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on Monday that his government would provide Covid-19 vaccines free of charge to all above the age of 18 years was welcomed by the chief ministers of various states and the BJP, even as opposition parties claimed that the Centre withdrew the "faulty" vaccine policy to save its face before the Supreme Court.

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India may raise vaccine spending to $6 bn this fiscal year, say sources

India may raise spending on Covid-19 shots by over a quarter this fiscal year to up to 450 billion rupees ($6.18 billion) from its budgeted amount, two government sources told Reuters after the prime minister offered free doses to all adults.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the nation on Monday that the federal government would bear the cost of vaccinating all adults from June 21. His previous policy of getting individual states to pay for immunisations for those aged under 45 years was widely criticised.

Rajasthan govt eases Covid-19 restrictions

Under modified guidelines, curfew will remain in force between 5 pm on Friday and 5 am on Monday and between 5 pm and 5 am (night curfew) on weekdays.

Chhattisgarh reports 1,285 new Covid-19 cases, 3,119 discharges, and 26 deaths in the last 24 hours

Active cases: 21,090

Total discharges: 9,47,527

Death toll: 13,243

PM Modi's delayed decision on Covid-19 vaccine cost many lives: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that the decision on vaccinating all above the age of 18 for free should have been taken long back and the delay has cost many lives.

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Healthcare sector players welcome PM's announcement on Covid vaccine

Central procurement of Covid-19 vaccines would boost the vaccination programme as the Union government has more clout in dealing with multinationals, healthcare sector players said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that free coronavirus vaccine will be provided to states for inoculation of all above the age of 18 years from June 21.

Bengaluru's Covid-19 fatality rate above Karnataka average despite drop in cases

Bengaluru city logged less than 2,000 fresh Covid-19 cases, as Karnataka on Monday reported 11,958 fresh infections and 340 fatalities, taking the total caseload to 27.07 lakh and the toll to 31,920. The day also saw 27,299 discharges in the state, continuing to outnumber fresh cases.

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Maharashtra reports 10,219 new Covid cases; 730 fresh infections in Mumbai.

Centre issues SOPs for vaccination of persons undertaking international travel

This includes those travelling for educational purposes, employment opportunities, or as part of India's contingent for Tokyo Olympic games

CoWIN certificates to be linked to Passport of such travellers.

Mention of vaccine type as “Covishield” is sufficient; no other qualifying entries required in vaccination certificates, according to the guidlines.

Kerala Covid-19 update: June 7

Fresh positive cases : 9313

Positivity rate: 13.2%

Recovered during the day: 21,921

Deaths reported during the day: 221

Samples tested in last 24 hrs: 70,569

Under treatment: 1,47,830

Recovered so far: 24,83,992

Total deaths: 10,157 (+ 407 non-Covid)

Total reported so far: 26,42,395

Covid-19 lockdown in Kerala extended till June 16

Lockdown in Kerala has been extended till June 16 as the test positivity rate in Kerala was still above 10%. Covid-19 deaths in the state crossed the 10,000 mark on Monday with 221 more deaths being reported on Monday.

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Sitaram Yechury on PM Modi's address to the nation

Trying to defend his dubious discriminatory vaccine policy by passing the buck on to State governments. Now Modi abandons his policy, fearing a Supreme Court directive for a free and universal vaccination programme by the Centre.

Opposition parties, Kerala CM wrote to PM , as early as May 2. Continuous pressure, Supreme Court's Orders pushed Modi govt's hand. Why this 25%? All Indians have the right to a public vaccine. This is people's money. No largesse of this govt.

Constant attempts by the Centre to blame Opposition run states are unacceptable when complete decision-making has been centralised in the PMO. The superspreader religious gatherings, no orders for vaccines and Oxygen export were not done by the Opposition parties.

All the paper work which made this govt abandon the old national immunisation policy has to be shared. That took a toll. Thousands of lives were lost as Centre's poor policy abandoned the people of this country.

The Union Government and the BJP must learn to accept responsibility for its failures when people of this country have paid with their lives. This incessant focus on spin and PR is an assault on and insult to the millions who perished in the pandemic.

The Modi government must now sincerely implement the free and universal vaccination campaign and not look for excuses. There is a lot to be done. Many lives to be saved.

Tamil Nadu record 19,448 new Covid-19 cases, 31,360 recoveries and 351 deaths.

We express our gratitude to the Hon'ble Supreme Court that after his intervention, free vaccine will be available to all age groups across the country. If the central government wanted, it could have done this long ago, but due to the policies of the center, neither the states were able to buy the vaccine nor the central government was giving it, says Manish Sisodia, Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia.

Research on nasal Covid-19 vaccine under way in India: How does it work?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that research onnasal Covid-19 vaccine is under way in the country, and if it turns out to be successful, the vaccination process will further speed up.

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Free Covid-19 vaccine for all above 18 years from June 21: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his national address said that the Centre will bear all Covid-19 vaccination costfor every citizen across the country from June 21.

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In the midst of declining corona cases in the country, different suggestions also started coming to the Central Government, different demands started coming in. Asked, Why is the Government of India deciding everything? Why are the State Governments not being exempted?: PM Modi

We also increased the pace of vaccination and widened the scope. We also made many new vaccines a part of India's vaccination campaign to protect children from many life-threatening diseases. Because we were worried about the children of the country, we were worried about the poor, says PM Modi.

Work was done on a war footing to meet the vaccine need. All the mechanisms of the Government were put in place, says PM Modi.

This is the biggest epidemic in the last 100 years. Such an epidemic was not seen or experienced by the modern world. With such a huge global epidemic, our country has fought together on many fronts, says PM Modi.

The demand for medical oxygen in India had increased unimaginably in the months of April and May during the second wave. Never in the history of India has such a need for medical oxygen been felt. Work was done on a war footing to meet this need. All mechanisms of government engaged, says PM Modi.

Covid-19 curbs in Punjab have been extended till June 15

Some restrictions have been eased. Shops are now allowed to remain open till 6 pm, private offices are allowed to function at 50% strength.

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Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad in category 3, easing of curbs begins

An easing of coronavirus-induced curbs under the Maharashtra government's five-level plan based on infection positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy levels came into force on Monday in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic areas, both of which are placed in category 3.

Easing of curbs under the third category will be applicable for the places where the positivity rate is five per cent to 10 per cent and the oxygen bed occupancy is more than 40 per cent.

Maharashtra CM tells ASHA workers to build rural awareness

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday urged ASHA workers to create awareness about making villages coronavirus-free and said they had an important role to play to stop a possible third wave that could affect children.

Addressing a webinar of Accredited Social Health Activists along with paediatric task force members, Thackeray said parents must not panic while taking care of children infected with Covid-19.

Maha: Aurangabad city unlocks, but curbs remain in rural areas

Commercial and other public places reopened on Monday in Aurangabad city, categorised under level-1 of the Maharashtra government's 'unlock' plan based on the weekly positivity rate of Covid-19 and the occupancy of oxygen beds.

However, in Aurangabad district's rural parts, which have a higher positivity rate, restrictions continued as those areas fall under level-3 of the unlock plan.

India reels under a worsening vaccine-gap as Covid attacks villages

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Russia reports 9,429 new coronavirus cases, 330 deaths (Reuters Photo)

Andhra Pradesh government extends statewide curfew till June 20

Number of fresh Covid cases in Puducherry sees fall

The union Territory of Puducherry witnessed a steep fall in number of new coronavirus cases with 482 infections being reported in the last 24 hours.

The fresh cases were identified at the end of the examination of 7,731 samples, Director of the Health Department S Mohan Kumar said.

Ukraine reports lowest number of Covid-19 cases in about a year (Reuters)

Ladakh records dip in daily infections

Ladakh has recorded 50 freshCovid-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 19,197, while the active cases in the region dropped to 1,089 after 131 more patients recovered from the deadly disease during the past 24 hours, officials said on Monday. (PTI)

Mizoram logs 113 new Covid-19 cases, 2 more fatalities (PTI)

Tamil Nadu has extended Covid lockdown till June 14 with some relaxations (ANI)

People above 45 years will now be given Covid jabs at polling booths (jaha vote, waha vaccine): Delhi CM

Out of 57 lakh people in 45+ age group, 27 lakh have been vaccinated with first dose: Delhi CM

SC starts hearing on Suo Motu Cognisance case of Covid in children protection homes (ANI)

Kejriwal aims to administer first vaccine dose to all above the age of 45 in Delhi in 4 weeks

Booth-level officers to startdoor-to-door vaccine awareness campaign in Delhi from Tuesday.Officers will provide vaccine slots to those who have not gotten a slot yet despite being above 45 years.The vaccine will be administered within two days of getting a slot and if the person does not show up the officers will re-visit and try to persuade them, said Arvind Kejriwal on Monday.

Gujarat eases Covid restrictions from today

Arunachal Pradesh reports 223 Covid-19 cases, 2 more deaths (PTI)

AIIMS Delhi starts screening of children for Covaxin trials (PTI)

Taiwan reports 211 new domestic Covid-19 cases (Reuters)

Gyms, salons in Pune re-opened today

Covid lockdown eased in Varanasi

Entry for a few of stations are being intermittently closed and opened for short durations to ensure social distancing (issued at 10:39 am): Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

Uttarakhand saw 20 new mucormycosis cases, 3 deaths yesterday: State Health Department

14 new cases push Covid-19 tally of Andamans to 7,119

TheCovid-19 caseload in Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 7,119 as 14 more people tested positive for the disease in the Union Territory, a health department official said on Monday.

Of the new patients, two have travel history and others were detected during contact tracing, he said.

The death toll remained at 122 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.

At least 18 people were cured of the disease during the period, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 6,894. (PTI)

Active Covid-19 cases in India decline to 14,01,609: Health Ministry

36,63,34,111 samples have been tested for Covid in the country up to June 6, including 15,87,589 tested yesterday: ICMR

India reports 1,00,636 new Covid-19 cases, 1,74,399 discharges, and 2427 deaths in the last 24 hours: Health Ministry

Taiwan to extend Covid-19 alert level restrictions to June 28 (Reuters)

Delhi Metro resumes services after nearly 3 weeks with 50% capacity amid Covid-19 (PTI)

Karnataka Government permitted District Registrar and Sub-Registrar offices to function strictly adhering to Covid norms

Spain captain Busquets tests positive for Covid-19

Spain captain Sergio Busquets has tested positive forCovid-19, the national team announced on Sunday eight days before their first match at Euro 2020.

The positive test has thrown their tournament preparations into chaos with the team forced to pull out of Tuesday's warm-up friendly against Lithuania.

The Spanish football federation said in a statement on the national team's website that 32-year-old Barcelona midfielder Busquets had tested positive on Sunday and had left the camp. (Reuters)

US vice president to bring message of 'hope' to Guatemala and Mexico

US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Guatemala and Mexico this week, bringing a message of hope to a region hammered by Covid-19 and which is the source of most of the undocumented migrants seeking entry to the US.

Harris is taking her first trip abroad as President Joe Biden's deputy with an eye towards tackling the root causes of migration from the region -- one of the thorniest issues facing the White House. (AFP)

Hundreds of former leaders urge G7 to vaccinate poor against Covid-19

One hundred former presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers have urged the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations to pay for global coronavirus vaccinations to help stop the virus mutating and returning as a worldwide threat.

The leaders made their appeal ahead of a G7 summit in England which begins on Friday, when U.S. President Joe Biden will meet the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

In their letter to the G7, the former world leaders said global cooperation had failed in 2020, but that 2021 could usher in a new era. (Reuters)

Sub-registrar offices in K'taka permitted to open

Karnataka Government has permitted District Registrar and Sub-Registrar offices to function strictly adhering Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.