Covid-19 Cases in India: The recovery rate was recorded at 97.77 per cent.
India recorded 31,923 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,35,63,421, while the active cases declined to 3,01,640, the lowest in 187 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The number of deaths climbed to 4,46,050 with 282 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The active cases comprise 0.90 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.77 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.
A reduction of 7,586 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.
Here are the Live updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
COVID-19: Tamil Nadu sees upward trajectory of daily infectionsDaily cases of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu witnessed an upward trend as 1,745 people were found to be infected on Thursday, pushing the overall caseload to 26,52,115.
As many as 27 people succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 35,427 till date, a medical bulletin said.
With Tamil Nadu reporting an increase in the new infections over the last few weeks, the government accelerated its vaccination programme by announcing the third edition of Mega Vaccination camp scheduled to be held on September 26.
The first edition of the mega inoculation drive was held on September 12 and the second on September 19.
Aurangabad hospital ramps up bed capacity in anticipation of COVID-19 third waveThe Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Maharashtra's Aurangabad has increased its bed capacity by five folds as part of its preparedness for a probable third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said on today.
The largest health facility in Marathwada, the GMCH had earlier reserved 208 beds for COVID-19 patients, and the number has now increased to 1,000, of which 60 beds are reserved for children, the official said.
"We have treated 15,000 patients since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 10,000 were infected with coronavirus," Dr Yelikar said, adding that the lab in the GMCH campus has a capacity to test 2,000 swabs per day now.
Home vaccinations to be arranged for people with disabilities
Supreme Court After India's Covid Compensation Plan: Very Happy TodayNo other country managed to do what India did in terms of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court said, in rich praise for the government, as it reserved the order on a case involving the proposal to provide Rs 50,000 compensation to the families of those who have died from COVID-19.
Coronavirus Live Updates: Odisha logs 644 new COVID-19 cases, 7 fresh fatalities
Odisha Thursday reported 644 new COVID-19 cases, including 72 children, taking the tally to 10,22,594 while seven fresh fatalities pushed the coronavirus death toll to 8,157, a health department official said.
The new cases were detected in 24 of the state's 30 districts, with 375 reported from different quarantine centres while the remaining 269 were local contact cases.
Khurda district of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part reported the highest 283 new cases followed by Cuttack (77) and Balasore (34). The new cases included 72 children and adolescents whose rate of infection stands at 11.18 per cent, he said.
Health and Family Welfare department said seven COVID-19 deaths were reported from Angul, Cuttack, Jajpur, Khurda, Nabarangpur, Puri and Sundergarh districts which pushed the death toll to 8,157.
COVID-19: Fresh cases dip below 100 in Puducherry
Puducherry witnessed a dip in number of fresh coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours with 91 infections pushing the overall tally to 1,25,826, a top official of the Health department said on Thursday.
After reporting 117 new cases on Wednesday and 101 on Tuesday, the union territory logged 91 in the last 24 hours ending 10 AM today, Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release here.
The new cases were identified at the end of the examination of 5,883 samples and were spread over Puducherry (66), Karaikal (19) and Mahe (six), he said, adding Yanam did not report any fresh cases.
The Health department Director said the number of active cases stood at 969 with 132 in hospitals and the remaining 837 in home isolation.
The union territory did not report any fresh fatalities during the last 24 hours and the death toll remained at 1,834.
Coronavirus Live Updates: Ladakh reports seven new cases of COVID-19
Ladakh recorded seven fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to 20,750 while the active cases in the union territory climbed to 148, officials said.
Ladakh has registered 207 Covid-related deaths -- 149 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.
All the fresh cases were reported in Leh, they said.
A total of 1,927 samples in Ladakh, including 925 from Leh and 995 from Kargil, were found negative, they said.
There was no death reported due to Covid in Ladakh on Wednesday.
Coronavirus Updates: 8 new COVID-19 cases push Andamans tally to 7,615
Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported eight new COVID-19 infections, three more than the previous day's count, which pushed the number of active cases in the union territory to 20, a health official said on Thursday.
All the eight new cases were detected during testing at the Veer Savarkar Airport here, he said.
Passengers arriving by flight have to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR test at the airport before they are allowed entry into the islands.
The eight new COVID-19 cases pushed the tally to 7,615 of which 7,466 people have recovered from the disease, including five on Wednesday, he said.
The COVID-19 death number remained at 129 as no fresh fatality due to the contagion was reported in the last 24 hours.
Over 4.29 crore unutilized COVID-19 vaccine doses available with states, UTs: Centre
More than 4.29 crore unutilized COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories to be administered, informed Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
"More than 80.67crore (80,67,26,335) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through the Government of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category," the ministry said while mentioning that the Central government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country.
It said that further, 64 lakh doses (64,00,000) are in the pipeline.
"Vaccine Certification Must Meet Minimum Criteria": UK Amid India Row
The UK government has said that COVID-19 vaccine certification from all countries must meet a "minimum criteria" and that it is working with India on a "phased approach" to its international travel norms.
It follows Covishield, the Serum Institute of India manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, being added as eligible to an expanded UK travel advisory on Wednesday.
But with India's vaccine certification not on a list of 18 approved countries, Indian travellers to the UK will continue to be treated as non-vaccinated and therefore required to quarantine for 10 days on arrival.
Just In| Odisha reported 644 fresh COVID-19 cases, 445 recoveries, and 7 deaths yesterday
Just In| 31,923 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 18% higher than yesterday
We've started distributing Rs 2 lakh each to families with low income and who lost a family member due to COVID-19. We are also giving Rs 5,000/person who suffered a loss in their traditional business due to COVID. This'll benefit nearly 50,000 people: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
US Authorises Pfizer's Covid Booster For Elderly And High-Risk Adults
The United States on Wednesday authorized the use of boosters of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for people aged over 65, as well as adults at high risk of severe disease and those in high-exposure jobs.
The announcement means a significant part of the population -- amounting to tens of millions of Americans -- are now eligible for a third shot six months after their second.
"Today's action demonstrates that science and the currently available data continue to guide the FDA's decision-making for COVID-19 vaccines during this pandemic," said Janet Woodcock, acting head of the Food and Drug Administration, in a statement.
The decision was expected and came after an independent expert panel convened by the regulatory agency last week voted in favor of recommending the move.
The panel, however, rejected an initial plan by the White House to fully approve Pfizer boosters to everyone aged 16 and over, in what amounted to a rare rebuke of President Joe Biden's administration.
Coronavirus Live Updates: Tamil Nadu reports fresh 1,682 COVID-19 cases, 21 deaths
Tamil Nadu reported 1,682 fresh COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths on Wednesday, as per the health bulletin released by the state government.
This southern state of India has logged a total of 26,50,370 cases to date with 17,027 active cases.
With 1,627 fresh recoveries, the cumulative number of recoveries in Tamil Nadu has gone up to 25,97,943 while the death toll mounted to 35,400.
Coronavirus Updates: Turkey reports 28,168 daily COVID-19 cases
Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 28,168 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,932,453, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 242 to 62,307, while 23,096 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.
A total of 351,655 tests were conducted over the past day, it said.
Turkey started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.
"India Still Has Some Covid": UK On Stricter Quarantine Rules For Indians Amid an escalating controversy over the UK government enforcing a strict quarantine for Indian travellers fully inoculated against Covid with Covishield, Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India, has clarified that the Serum Institute of India-made vaccine "is not the issue".
Although it is the same as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine used in the UK's immunisation programme, it had not been approved by the government there until now. Even now, Covishield is only recognised if administered in one of the 17 "green-listed" countries -- India is not part of this list.
Indian travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield still have to undergo strict a quarantine of ten days and take two RT-PCR tests.
"The question is, were you a 'green-listed' country? On our list of 17 countries are mainly 'green-listed' countries because they have very low levels of covid...India still has some Covid as we know. That's why it is on the 'amber' list," Mr Ellis told NDTV in an exclusive interview.