Latest News Live Updates: Centre “Very Worried” About Rise In Covid Cases in Maharashtra
Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in the country, reported 13,659 Covid cases on Thursday. (File)
New Delhi:
The Centre is “very worried” about the upsurge in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul said, adding the virus cannot be taken for granted if the country has to remain Covid-free. The remark comes after the Maharashtra government announced a week-long lockdown – from March 15 to March 21 – in Nagpur, which reported over 1,800 cases in 24 hours.
Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in the country, reported 13,659 daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, which is 60 percent of the country’s single-day total.
The Union Health Ministry said eight of the 10 cities with the highest number of active cases belong to Maharashtra. They are – Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nashik and Aurangabad.
Balram Bhargava, head of the Indian Council For Medical Research, on being asked whether mutants could be the underlying cause behind the surge, said, “The surge in Maharashtra is definitely not connected to mutants. It is due to large gatherings and lack of Covid-appropriate behaviour.”
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden signed a massive $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill Thursday ahead of giving a national address where he was set to urge “hope” on the first anniversary of the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Joe Biden called the American Rescue Plan “historic” as he signed the package into law in the Oval Office.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates:
US President Joe Biden will order authorities across the entire United States to lift priority restrictions on people wanting to get Covid-19 vaccinations by the start of May, an official said Thursday. “He will direct states that no later than May 1, all Americans need to be eligible to receive the vaccine,” said a senior administration official, who asked not to be identified.
Joe Biden will discuss his plans in a primetime television speech later Thursday. The official noted that this doesn’t mean all adults will actually get their shots by that date.
Italy’s medicines regulator on Thursday banned the use of a batch of AstraZeneca/Oxford coronavirus vaccine as a precaution, triggering a similar decision from fellow EU member Romania. The Italian regulator made the decision despite saying there was no established link between the vaccine and reports of some people suffering blood clots days after receiving the shot.
“Following the reporting of some serious adverse events… AIFA has decided, as a precaution, to issue a ban on the use of this batch throughout the national territory,” the AIFA regulator said in a statement.
The European Union approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Thursday — the fourth jab to get the green light for the 27-nation bloc. The decision offers a boost for the EU’s sluggish vaccination programme. J&J said it aims to begin delivery to the bloc in the second half of April and to supply 200 million doses to the EU, Norway and Iceland in 2021.
The European Commission formally gave the green light for the jab after the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended approval.
“More safe and effective vaccines are coming to the market,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet.
