India on Friday briefed 190 heads of diplomatic missions and international organisations and their representatives on the COVID-19 pandemic containment in the country.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
MEA, NITI Aayog brief foreign mission heads on COVID-19
The outreach is significant in view of the growing number of positive cases in the country and vaccine development efforts.
West Bengal’s COVID-19 recovery rate nears 90%
West Bengal on Friday reported 3,942 new COVID-19 cases taking the total cases to 3,97,466. The discharge rate is inching closer to 90%, with the State registering the highest ever discharge of 4,283 people in the last 24 hours pushing the recovery rate to 89.25%.
75 volunteers given Covishield in Chennai
A total of 75 volunteers have received the first dose of Covishield, one of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates, as part of the ongoing trial and will receive the second dose a month later, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said on Friday.
“We have successfully completed the first round of the Oxford University’s Covishield vaccine trial involving 75 volunteers. They have to receive two doses. We have completed the first dose, and will administer the second dose after a month. Following this, they will be under observation for six months,” he told mediapersons during the sidelines of the inauguration of a gym for health department staff on the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) campus, Teynampet..
Teacher’s death due to COVID sparks tension in Chittoor
The death of a teacher in a government school due to COVID-19 on Thursday led to an uneasy mood among teachers, parents and students in Chittoor district.
At a time when the schools reopened after seven months, the news has only led to affecting the smooth functioning of schools. Though the official figure of the number of teachers getting affected by COVID-19 stood at over 150 and the number of students scaling up gradually, the figure is believed to be slightly higher.
Postal ballots for COVID-19 patients
COVID-19 patients and people in quarantine will cast their votes through postal ballots in the three-phase elections to local bodies in the State.