Coronavirus news highlights: Maharashtra reports 55,411 new Covid-19 cases, 309 fatalities

India on Friday reported a daily record of 131,878 new infections as the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak races out of control in the country. Many states have imposed their own sets of restrictions to curb the spread of the virus with Karnataka imposing a night curfew in 7 cities starting tonight. Vaccinations are dangerously behind schedule with states and cities across the country facing an acute shortage. Stay tuned for more updates.

Punjab records 58 more Covid-19 deaths, 3,294 fresh cases

Fifty-eight more people succumbed to Covid-19 in Punjab, taking the death toll to 7,448 on Saturday, while the infection tally mounted to 2,69,733 with 3,294 fresh cases, a bulletin stated.

The number of active cases rose from 27,219 on Friday to 28,015 on Saturday.

Ten people died in Hoshiarpur, seven in Gurdaspur and six each in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, among others. (PTI)

Libya launches Covid-19 vaccination drive after delays

Libya's new unity government launched a long-delayed Covid-19 vaccination programme on Saturday after receiving some 160,000 vaccine doses over the past week, with the prime minister receiving his jab on live television.

While Libya is richer than its neighbours due to oil exports, the country's healthcare system has been strained by years of political turmoil and violence, and it has struggled to cope during the pandemic. (Reuters)

Maharashtra adds 55,411 Covid-19 cases, 309 fatalities: State Health Department.

BMC has allowedwine shops to sell liquor as per the License issued to concerned shops. They can sell liquor only through home delivery service between 7 am to 8 pm and delivery executives have to follow Covid-19 protocols. (ANI)

Maharashtra has received 1.10 crore doses of anti-Covid-19 vaccines so far, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday amid reports that the state is facing an acute shortage of the doses which is hampering its vaccination drive.

Speaking to reporters, Javadekar said apart from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajashtan are the two other states that have received more than 1 crore doses.

He also said over 1,100 ventilators will be made available for Maharashtra, which is worst-affected by COVID-19 pandemic, in the next three days. (PTI)

Palash Sen tests positive for coronavirus, under home quarantine

Singer Palash Sen on Saturday said that he has tested positive for coronavirus, despite taking the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

In a statement posted on Instagram, the Euphoria singer said he is currently under home quarantine and fighting the disease with the help of "yoga, ayurveda, hydration and rock n roll". (PTI)

Covid-19: Maharashtra BJP leader Sambhaji Nilangekar tests positive

Maharashtra BJP leader and MLA from Nilanga in Latur Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar on Saturday said he had tested positive for coronavirus.

Providing information on social media, the former state minister said he was in home isolation and that his condition was stable.

"Citizens who have come in contact with me in the last few days should test and take care of the family," he tweeted. (PTI)

Nagpur district, Maharashtra reported 5,131 new Covid-19 cases, 2,837 recoveries and 65 deaths, in the last 24 hours. Total cases are at 2,71,355 and active cases are at51,576. (ANI)

Lockdown not an option, some restrictions will be imposed, says Delhi CM

Amid escalating cases of Covid-19 in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said lockdown is "not an option" but some restrictions will be put in place in the national capital which is reeling under the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The chief minister said this during an interaction with reporters after visiting the LNJP Hospital -- the mainstay of Delhi's fight against Covid-19 -- to review its preparedness. (PTI)

Thailand's capital plans 10,000 field-hospital beds as Covid-19 spikes

Thailand plans to install 10,000 field-hospital beds in Bangkok, a health official said on Saturday, as the country strains to cope with a third wave of Covid-19 infections.

At least a dozen hospitals in the capital said they had stopped testing for the coronavirus as of Friday due to a lack of kits or capacity. Hospitals are reluctant to test because they must admit people if they test positive, authorities say.

"We aim to increase (field) hospital beds to 10,000 in no time, which should give the public confidence that we can still contain this round of outbreak," Suksan Kittisupakorn, director-general of Thailand's Medical Service Department, told reporters.

The current surge appeared to be the country's worst yet, he said. (Reuters)

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh today attended a meeting with Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi to review the Covid-19 situation along with Chief Ministers of other Congress-ruled States. (ANI)

These five states account for 72% of India's active Covid-19 cases

Five states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala -- cumulatively account for 72.23 per cent of the country's total active Covid-19 cases which have breached the 10-lakh mark again after around six-and-half-months, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

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MVA urges for criteria-based policy on Covid-19 vaccine distribution

Faced with an acute shortage of vaccines, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government on Saturday urged the Centre to formulate a criteria-based policy on distribution and disbursement of vaccines to various states.

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Sonia Gandhi reviews efforts to tackle Covid-19 in Congress-ruled states

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday reviewed the efforts by the states ruled by her party to tackle the second wave of the coronavirus infection and the vaccination drive.

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Sinopharm's protein-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate gets China clinical trial nod

The China National Biotec Group Company (CNBG) has obtained regulatory approval to move a third Covid-19 vaccine candidate into the human testing stage in China, CNBG said on Saturday.

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BJP allergic to good suggestions: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday called for giving money into the hands of common people during the second wave of coronavirus but lamented that the "arrogant government" is allergic to good suggestions.

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Maharashtra Cong MLA dies from post-Covid complications

Congress MLA Raosaheb Antapurkar, who had tested positive for Covid-19, passed away at the Bombay Hospital in Mumbai on Friday evening.

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Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting via video conference of all political party leaders today to review the current Covid-19 situation in the state - ANI

India’s hospitals swamped by second coronavirus wave as vaccine shots run low

India is facing an escalating health crisis, with its second wave of virus infections hitting record highs, overwhelming hospitals around the country as supplies of intensive care beds and vital drugs come under pressure.

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Shortage in Congress-ruled states is not of vaccines but of commitment: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Hours after Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging "vaccine starvation" in the nation, Union MinisterRaviShankarPrasadhit out at him, claiming the shortage in Congress-ruled states is not of vaccines but of commitment.

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What's allowed and not allowed during night curfew in Karnataka

To curb the spread of coronavirus, the Karnataka government has ordered night curfew in select cities of the state beginning today, April 10, and ending on April 20. The curfew order calls for a halt of public movement between 10 pm and 5 am.

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With 1.45 lakh new cases, India reports biggest spike in Covid-19 infections

India's upward trend of record daily Covid-19 cases continued on Saturday with 1,45,384 fresh cases reported, taking the national tally to 1,32,05,926, as per the Union Health Ministry. The country's active cases stand at 10,46,631 and recoveries stand at 1,19,90,859.

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Double whammy for India as Covid-19 cases surge but vaccines run out in several states

India on Friday was hit by a double whammy of 1.32 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases and closure of vaccination centres in populous states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha where hospitals had to refuse people turning up for vaccination.

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Night curfew in seven cities of Karnataka begins from today

According to the guidelines, all services and movement of the public have been banned during the curfew that will be in force from 10 pm to 5 am.

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Reverse migration 2.0: Lockdown fears drive another exodus from Karnataka

Hundreds of migrant workers started thronging the KSR Bengaluru railway station onFriday morning. Few were willingto speak to reportersabout their worries for fears that the government may take drastic decisions to stop them.

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GoM discusses strategies to increase Covid-19 vaccine productionG

The Union Health Ministry did not clarify the reasons for vaccine shortages as flagged by the states, but at a special meeting, a Group of Ministers on Covid-19 discussed strategies to hike the production of the two vaccines.

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Over 9.78 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses administered so far: Government

The beneficiaries include 89,87,818 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 54,78,562 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 98,65,504 frontline workers (FLWs) who have received the first dose and46,56,236 FLWs who have taken the second dose.

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Complacency, missteps deepen a Covid-19 crisis in India

Though damaging and ultimately flawed, the lockdown and other efforts appeared to work. Infections dropped and deaths remained low. Officials and the public dropped their guard. Experts warned fruitlessly that the government’s haphazard approach would bring a crisis when a new wave appeared.

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