Latest News Live Updates: The recovery rate is 97.01 per cent.
India today reported 16,838 fresh coronavirus cases and the tally has climbed to 1,11,73,761, while the number of recoveries has surged to 1,08,39,894, the Union health ministry said on Friday.
The death count due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,57,548 in the country with 113 more fatalities reported in a 24-hour period, the ministry's data showed.
Nearly 17.14 lakh people - from India's general population - have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the first four days of the second phase, as the country's vaccination graph continues to improve.
The increase is evident on the ground, and especially at private hospitals, where long queues can be seen all day which are seeing long queues all day.
In Delhi, daily vaccinations at private centres have seen a huge jump from the initial 150 per day, with prominent hospitals like Apollo and Max vaccinating nearly 600 each on Thursday.
"People in the senior citizen age group have been coming out in huge numbers and we are trying our level best to ensure the process is smooth for them. Initially there were hiccups in the system and that was expected... but now I think it is gradually becoming better," Dr Sahar Qureshi, Medical Superintendent at the Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi's Saket, told NDTV.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates:
Two new COVID-19 cases in Andamans; tally at 5,024
Two more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking the tally in the Union Territory to 5,024, a health department official said on Friday.
The fresh cases were detected during contact tracing, he said.
The death toll remained at 62 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.
One person was cured of the disease on Thursday, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,953, the official said.
The Union Territory now has nine active cases.
Altogether, 7,779 health and frontline workers have been vaccinated, he said.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh receives the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Sadar Hospital in Begusarai.
Telangana reports 166 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths
Telangana recorded 166 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the total positives to over 2.99 lakh while two deaths pushed the tally to 1,639, the state
government said on Friday.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 27, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 14 and Rangareddy with 12, it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on March 4.
The total number of cases stood at2,99,572 while with 149 patients being cured, the total recoveries were at 2,95,970.
The state has 1,963 active cases and40,443 samples were tested on Thursday.
No fresh COVID-19 case in Arunachal, 38,090 people inoculated
Arunachal Pradesh did not report any fresh COVID-19 case in the past two days, a senior health department official said on Friday.
The northeastern state's coronavirus tally stood at 16,838, he said.
Arunachal Pradesh currently has two active cases, both in Tirap district, while 16,780 people have recovered from the disease and 56 died so far, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
State Immunisation Officer Dimong Padung said 38,090 health and frontline workers, including 3,615 on Thursday, have received vaccine shots thus far.
The health department has been carrying out the inoculation drive four days a week - Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Thane district records 720 new COVID-19 cases, four deaths
With the addition of 720 new coronavirus cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra rose to 2,67,630, an official said on Friday.
These new cases were reported on Thursday, he said.
The virus claimed the lives of four more persons, pushing the death toll in the district to 6,290, the official said.
So far, 2,54,578 patients have recuperated from COVID-19, which reflects a recovery rate of 95.12 per cent, he said.
There are now 6,762 active cases in the district, the official said.
JustIn| 16,838 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 3% lower than yesterday; 1.11 crore total cases, 1,57,548 deaths
Daily US Covid cases below 40,000 for first time in months: report
The United States recorded fewer than 40,000 new cases of Covid-19 in one day for the first time in five months on Thursday, according to the Johns Hopkins University pandemic tracker.
This number peaked at nearly 300,000 new cases on January 8 in the country hardest hit by the pandemic, with more than half a million fatalities.
But now it is back down to the levels of before Thanksgiving and Christmas, when holiday travel and gatherings in defiance of safety warnings were blamed for spreading the virus further in the US.
Another encouraging sign as the United States presses on with its vaccination drive is that daily deaths and hospitalizations from Covid are also way down.
China military budget to grow 6.8% in 2021
China's military budget -- the second largest in the world after the US -- is set to increase by 6.8 percent in 2021, the finance ministry announced Friday.
Military tensions have dramatically increased over the past year between China and rival powers including the United States and India, with flashpoints like the Himalayan border, Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Beijing plans to spend 1.36 trillion yuan ($210 billion) on defence, which is still less than a third of Washington's military budget.
The growth rate, up from 2020's 6.6 percent, was revealed by the ministry at the opening of the government's annual legislative meetings.
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga Gets Covid Vaccine
The world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Serum Institute of India, has written to the Prime Minister's Office proposing reforms in the existing drug regulatory system, including allowing manufacturing and stockpiling of non-COVID vaccines while undergoing clinical trial.
In the letter, Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) referred to the Health Ministry's May 18, 2020, gazette notification, saying it allowed manufacturing and stockpiling of COVID-19 vaccine under clinical trial for marketing authorization for sale or distribution.
"Because of this rule, it became possible for us to manufacture and stockpile the COVID-19 vaccine during the clinical trial and we could make the vaccine available in such a short span of time to protect millions of lives," he said in the letter dated March 2.
The world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Serum Institute of India, has written to the Prime Minister's Office proposing reforms in the existing drug regulatory system, including allowing manufacturing and stockpiling of non-COVID vaccines while undergoing clinical trial.
In the letter, Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) referred to the Health Ministry's May 18, 2020, gazette notification, saying it allowed manufacturing and stockpiling of COVID-19 vaccine under clinical trial for marketing authorization for sale or distribution.
"Because of this rule, it became possible for us to manufacture and stockpile the COVID-19 vaccine during the clinical trial and we could make the vaccine available in such a short span of time to protect millions of lives," he said in the letter dated March 2.
Serum Institute Writes To PMO, Proposes Reforms In Drug Regulatory System
The world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Serum Institute of India, has written to the Prime Minister's Office proposing reforms in the existing drug regulatory system, including allowing manufacturing and stockpiling of non-COVID vaccines while undergoing clinical trial.
In the letter, Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) referred to the Health Ministry's May 18, 2020, gazette notification, saying it allowed manufacturing and stockpiling of COVID-19 vaccine under clinical trial for marketing authorization for sale or distribution.
"Because of this rule, it became possible for us to manufacture and stockpile the COVID-19 vaccine during the clinical trial and we could make the vaccine available in such a short span of time to protect millions of lives," he said in the letter dated March 2.
The world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Serum Institute of India, has written to the Prime Minister's Office proposing reforms in the existing drug regulatory system, including allowing manufacturing and stockpiling of non-COVID vaccines while undergoing clinical trial.
In the letter, Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) referred to the Health Ministry's May 18, 2020, gazette notification, saying it allowed manufacturing and stockpiling of COVID-19 vaccine under clinical trial for marketing authorization for sale or distribution.
"Because of this rule, it became possible for us to manufacture and stockpile the COVID-19 vaccine during the clinical trial and we could make the vaccine available in such a short span of time to protect millions of lives," he said in the letter dated March 2.
Tsunami Waves Observed After Powerful Pacific Quakes: US Monitor
Evacuations from coastal areas were ordered in New Zealand, New Caledonia and Vanuatu Friday as tsunami waves were observed following a cluster of powerful South Pacific earthquakes, authorities said.
"Tsunami waves have been observed," the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, revealing ocean gauges had picked up small waves near the Tonga capital Nuku'alofa measuring about three centimetres (1.3 inches).
Evacuations from coastal areas were ordered in New Zealand, New Caledonia and Vanuatu Friday as tsunami waves were observed following a cluster of powerful South Pacific earthquakes, authorities said.
"Tsunami waves have been observed," the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, revealing ocean gauges had picked up small waves near the Tonga capital Nuku'alofa measuring about three centimetres (1.3 inches).
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