Coronavirus: Delhi registers 213 new infections – lowest in more than three months

9.13 pm: Maharashtra reports 10,697 new coronavirus cases and 360 deaths on Saturday. Its total count of cases rises to 58,98,550 and the toll rises to 1,08,333.

8.03 pm: The Indian Medical Association says that 719 doctors have died due to Covid-19 in the second wave of the pandemic, reports ANI.

7.55 pm: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, Director Dr Randeep Guleria says that a “mis-classification” of Covid-19 deaths by hospitals and states can go against India’s efforts to form strategies to fight the pandemic, reports NDTV.

“There is a need for all hospitals and states to do a death audit...because we have to know what are the causes of mortality and what can be done to bring down our death rate,” he adds. “Unless we have clear data, we will not be able to develop a strategy to decrease our mortality.”

7.46 pm: Uttarakhand reports 463 new coronavirus cases, 19 deaths and 695 recoveries in 24 hours, reports ANI, citing the health department’s bulletin.

7.44 pm: Tamil Nadu registers 15,108 new Covid-19 cases, 374 deaths and 27,463 recoveries, reports ANI.

7.30 pm: Bharat Biotech says data from Covaxin’s phase three trial is being analysed and compiled, PTI reports. “Upholding its uncompromising commitment to integrity, the company will make phase III trials data from the final analysis public soon,” it adds.

7.21 pm: Jharkhand records only one death due to Covid-19 on Saturday, PTI reports. It toll rises to 5,082. The state reports 291 new cases, taking the total number of infections to 3,43,065.

7.19 pm: Telangana reports 1,771 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths on Saturday. Its total number of cases rises to 6,02,089, while toll is 3,469.

7.07 pm: The Karnataka government allows economic activities to resume in a graded manner from June 14.

7.05 pm: A village in Punjab’s Ludhiana city vaccinates 100% its eligible population, ANI reports.

6.55 pm: Data from Madhya Pradesh points to a possible undercounting of Covid-19 deaths, NDTV reports.

The data from the state’s Civil Registration System shows that it registered 59,000 deaths on an average in the April-May period of 2018 and 2019. In the same period in 2021, which coincided with the second wave of the pandemic, the state reported 2.3 lakh deaths.

However, official figures show only 4,100 people died of due to Covid in Madhya Pradesh in April and May, according to the news channel.

5.32 pm: Delhi registers 213 new Covid-19 cases, 28 fatalities, pushing the case count to 14,30,884 and toll to 24,800, reports ANI.

3.39 pm: Goods and Services tax rates on ambulances is cut to 12% from 28%, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announces.

There will be no tax on Tocilizumab, and Amphotericin-B, used to treat mucormycosis or “Black Fungus” cases.

The GST Council also cuts tax rate on medical oxygen from 12% to 5%. On remdesevir, the tax is reduced from 12% to 5%. The 5% tax on Covid-19 vaccines will stay.

Also read: GST rates slashed on Covid-19 essentials, no tax on ‘black fungus’ medicine

3.32 pm: Covid-19 restrictions will continue in Maharashtra’s Pimpri-Chinchwad district as the positivity rate continues to be over 5%, The Indian Express reports.

3.26 pm: The Rajasthan government announces a financial assistance scheme for children who have lost their parents to Covid-19, PTI reports. They will be given Rs 2,500 per month till they are 18, and a sum of Rs 5 lakh after that. Their higher secondary education will be free.

3.20 pm: The Indian Medical Association will lead a protest against the incidents of assault on health workers on June 18, the association’s president Dr JA Jayalal says, according to ANI.

3.15 pm: The Delhi government sets up 22 Pressure Swing Adsorption plants at nine hospitals to augment its oxygen capacity. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says 17 more plants will be set up by July.

1.12 pm: The Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh will reopen for devotees on June 28, after a gap of 80 days, reports PTI.

1.05 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says the possibility of a third wave hitting Delhi is real. “In the UK, we are seeing a third wave building despite 45% people being vaccinated there. The intensity of the cases, however, is lower, it is being said…The chances of a third wave are real, we can’t say we are not prepared,” he adds.

11.45 am: The Supreme Court has directed states and Union Territories to implement “one nation, one ration card” scheme to help migrant workers amid the coronavirus crisis, reports Live Law.

“These are vulnerable sections of society; they are under serious difficulty,” the court adds. “The economic situation is far more dire than last year”.

11.42 am: The Karnataka government has modified some of the restrictions imposed in districts, including Bengaluru, from June 14 to 21, reports The Hindu.

Here is a list of what is allowed:

• Only essential and emergency services are allowed during weekends.
• Food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, meat, fish and dairy shops can function from 6 am to 2 pm.
• Parks will be open from 5 am to 10 am only for walking and jogging. Group activities are not allowed.
• Auto-rickshaws and taxis can operate with maximum of two passengers.
• Daily night curfew will be imposed between 7 pm till 5 am.
• Maximum 40 people can attend marriage functions. 

11.33 am: Ladakh has recorded 31 new coronavirus cases – the lowest daily rise in over two months, reports PTI. The Union Territory has recorded total 19,506 infections since the pandemic broke out in January 2020.

10.02 am: Visuals from Kashmir as it observes weekend lockdown.

10.01 am: India’s Saturday daily covid infections is the lowest in 70 days, according to PTI.

9.59 am: Andaman and Nicobar Islands registers 36 new cases. With this, the tally in the Union Territory is now 7,233.

9.57 am: Kannada Dalit poet and activist Siddalingaiah dies of coronavirus, reports The News Minute. He was 67.

9.54 am: Delhi’s first drive-through coronavirus vaccination facility Vegas Mall in Dwarka has been shut, reports PTI. Officials said the Centre’s price cap for vaccines has made operation unviable.

A vaccine shot at the drive-through facility cost Rs 1,400. But, on June 8, the Centre set the maximum price private hospitals can charge for the three vaccines currently available in the country: Covishield Rs 780 per dose, Covaxin Rs 1,410 and Sputnik V Rs 1,145.

“Delhi’s First Drive Thru, a highly safe, convenient way for public, which we ran non-stop for 15 days, we have decided to stop now, owing to new vaccination pricing, as running it has become non-viable now,” Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital said in a statement.

9.50 am: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said on Friday night that level-3 curbs will continue in Mumbai, reports News18. Under the level-3 restrictions, both essential and non-essential shops are allowed to remain open till 4 pm, but malls, theatres and multiplexes will remain shut. Only essential services and government staff are permitted to travel on the local trains.

9.23 am: Kerala observes weekend lockdown.

9.15 am: India reports 84,332 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, taking its overall tally to 2,93,59,155 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. Deaths rise by 4,002 to 3,67,081.

9.04 am: As many as 719 doctors died during the second wave of the pandemic, says the Indian Medical Association. Of these, the maximum (111) were reported from Bihar, followed by Delhi (109).

8.47 am: Here are the top updates from Friday

• India reported 91,702 new coronavirus cases, taking its total number of cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in January 2020 to 2,92,74,823. For the fourth consecutive day, the country recorded less than 1 lakh cases. Deaths rose by 3,403 to 3,63,079.
• The Centre said that the Indian Council of Medical Research will begin national-level sero-surveys to assess the spread of Covid-19. All states and Union Territories were also asked to conduct them “so that information from all geographies can be collected”.
• Data from phase three trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, would be published in the next seven to eight days, NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul said. He also dismissed concerns about the United States Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to grant emergency use authorisation to Covaxin.
• The United Kingdom government said the Delta variant of the coronavirus is 60% more transmissible in households than the Alpha variant, first detected in the country’s Kent county. United States’ top virologist Anthony Fauci reiterated that the Delta variant of the coronavirus was more lethal and warned against the possibility of an increase in infections wherever the strain was present.