Latest News Live Updates: India Records 24,882 New Infections, 140 Deaths In 24 Hours
India and 3 other countries decided to join forces to expand safe and affordable vaccine production.
New Delhi:
India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases surged to 1,13,33,728 with 24,882 new infections, while the recoveries have surged to 1,09,73,260, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.
The death count increased to 1,58,446 with 140 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Meanwhile, India will manufacture at least one billion more Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of next year in a joint initiative announced Friday with the United States, Japan and Australia. Following the nations’ first four-way summit, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said the so-called Quad had made a “massive joint commitment” to vaccines.
The White House in a statement said that India’s Biological E Ltd would produce “at least” one billion doses by the end of next year, focusing on the one-dose, US-developed Johnson & Johnson jab.
PM Modi said the four countries were united by their democratic values and that the Quad would remain an important pillar of stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates:
The Punjab government imposed a night curfew in four more districts on Friday and closed all schools amid a rise in coronavirus cases in the state, officials said. In total, the night curfew is imposed from 11 pm to 5 am in eight districts — Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur.
The World Health Organization said Friday there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine after several countries suspended the rollout over blood clot fears and as the EU added severe allergies to the list of possible side effects.
Maharashtra: Patients being treated at #COVID19 care centre in Shegaon came outside to protest after not receiving food till 2 pm
“I am told that contractor’s cylinder wasn’t working hence the delay but we’re running a thorough enquiry,” said Buldhana Addl Dist Collector (12.03) pic.twitter.com/cFMyJn80EV
– ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2021
#COVID19 | Social distancing goes for a toss as hundreds of people flock to Cotton Market in Nagpur, Maharashtra ahead of a week-long lockdown starting March 15 pic.twitter.com/PfDFn969rm
– ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2021
The newly sworn-in Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Tirath Singh Rawat decided to withdraw all cases registered in connection with COVID-19 violations. Tirath Singh Rawat made the decision during his first cabinet meeting on Friday. The 56-year-old BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Garhwal, on Wednesday, took oath as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat who had stepped down from the post on Tuesday.
Maharashtra, which is battling a massive coronavirus surge, reported 15,817 fresh cases on Friday. This is the state’s highest single-day tally this year. 56 people died of the illness in the previous 24 hours, the state government said in a statement. Read Here
UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca insisted on Friday its coronavirus vaccine was safe, after some countries suspended its use in response to concerns about a potential link to blood clots. “An analysis of our safety data of more than 10 million records has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country” from the jab, a company spokesperson said.
The World Health Organization on Friday approved the emergency listing of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, giving its seal of approval to expedite use especially in countries with weaker regulatory agencies. It is the third COVID-19 vaccine after the two-shot regimens of Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca to receive backing from the WHO, and the first requiring just a single injection.
The listing covers use in all countries, for roll-out of the vaccine facility COVAX and follows the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorisation announcement on Thursday. “Every new, safe and effective tool against COVID-19 is another step closer to controlling the pandemic,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
Health workers in the United States have administered more than 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, an official tracker showed Friday, around 30 percent of the world’s total of shots in arms so far. A total of 101,128,005 shots have been administered, according to the latest tally posted Friday afternoon by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
US President Joe Biden’s administration had initially targeted achieving this milestone by his hundredth day in office, that is, April 30. But the goal was quickly revised up to 150 million shots in the first 100 days, and this week Biden said there will be enough vaccine to cover the whole adult population of 258 million by the end of May.
In terms of the breakdown, 65.9 million people have received at least one dose while 35 million are now fully vaccinated, or 10.5 percent of the total population of 331 million.
