Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Govt Curbs Export of Drug Used to Treat Black Fungus; Eli Lilly Gets Nod in India for Antibody Drug

Consignment of 3 Million Doses of Sputnik V Vaccine Land in Hyderabad | A consignment of three million doses of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here on Tuesday. A GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) press release said the vaccine consignment arrived from Russia on a specially chartered freighter RU-9450 which touched down at Hyderabad Airport at 03.43 hours.

Senior BJP Leader Laxmikant Sharma Dies of Covid-19 | Senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Laxmikant Sharma died of coronavirus at a private hospital, family sources said on Tuesday. Sharma, 60, succumbed to the deadly infection at Chirayu Hospital and Medical College on Monday night, the hospital's director Dr Ajay Goenka said.

If you're surprised that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has come up with Greek labels for significant novel coronavirus variants, don't be.

Over 9,900 Minors Contracted Covid in Ahmednagar in May | Over 9,900 minors tested positive for coronavirus at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra last month, but the district administration claimed that around 95 per cent of them were asymptomatic and the situation was not alarming. In May this year, atotal of 86,182 COVID-19 cases were reported in Ahmednagar, district Collector Rajendra Bhosale told PTI.

1,370 Cases of Black Fungus in Karnataka | A total of 1,370 Mucormycosis, commonly known as Black fungus cases were reported in Karnataka. Currently, 1,292 patients are undergoing treatment, the state government said in a statement.

Mamata Relaxes Covid Restrictions in Bengal | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that as the number of active Covid-19 cases has come down in the state, her government relaxed a few restrictions allowing opening of retail shops including bookstalls from noon to 3 pm and construction activities after vaccinating workers. Banerjee said that operations in the Information Technology and ITES sector shall also be allowed with 10 per cent of total strength to enable backend and maintenance works between noon and 3 pm.

A consignment of Sputnik V arrived from Russia on a specially chartered freighter at Hyderabad Airport today.

Eli Lilly Gets Nod for Antibody Drug Combination | Eli Lilly and Co's antibody drug combination has received an emergency use approval in India for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19, bolstering the country's arsenal of medicines to tackle a devastating second wave of the pandemic. A combination of the U.S. drugmaker's monoclonal antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab has been given approval for restricted use in emergency situations in hospital settings in adults, the company's Indian unit said in an emailed statement.

States, UTs Have Stock of More Than 1.57 Crore Covid Vaccines: Centre | More than 1.57 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and UTs to be administered, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The Centre has so far provided, both through the free of cost and through direct state procurement categories, more than 23 crore vaccine doses to states and UTs. Of this, the total consumption, including wastages, is 21,51,48,659 doses, the ministry said. 

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates 270-bed Covid care center at Jindal Steel and Power Plant in Angul district in Odisha, ANI reported.

India is vaccinating lakhs of people everyday against Covid-19 with cumulative number of vaccine doses crossing 21.

India reported 1,27,510 fresh Covid-19 cases, the lowest in 54 days, while the daily positivity rate dropped to 6.62 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. With the fresh cases, India’s tally of coronavirus cases rose to 2,81,75,044. 

WHO Names Covid Variants 1st Found in India as 'Kappa' and 'Delta' | The B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 variants of the COVID-19, first identified in India, have been named as 'Kappa' and 'Delta' respectively by the WHO as it named various variants of the coronavirus using Greek alphabets to simplify public discussions and also help remove stigma from the names. The World Health Organisation's move on Monday came nearly three weeks after India objected to the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an "Indian Variant" in media reports with the Union Health Ministry pointing out that the UN's top health organ has not used the word "Indian" for this strain in its document.

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi writes to Union Health Secretary to reduce the gap between 2 doses for students travelling abroad.

In the face of changing eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine, new variants of the coronavirus and supply constraints, many people are wondering whether they can mix and match Covid-19 vaccines.

Telangana on Monday logged 2,524 Covid-19 cases taking the tally to over 5.78 lakh while the toll stood at 3281 with 18 casualties. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 307, followed by Nalgonda (183) and Rangareddy (142)

India Reports 1.27 Lakh New Cases, Active Case Below 20L | India reports lowest daily new cases of 1.27 Lakh in 54 days. The declining trend in new cases have been maintained. The active caseload further declines to 18,95,520. The active cases is below 20 lakh after 43 days as active cases decrease by 1,30,572 in last 24 hours.

Jharkhand CM Writes to PM Modi Requesting Free Jabs | Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren wrote to PM Modi requesting to provide free vaccine for beneficiaries of all age groups and give freedom to define priorities for vaccination coverage. "We are facing acute shortages of vaccines. The vaccine stock for the 18-44 age group is almost over and there is hardly two to three days stock for people above 45 years. "We have raised the demand for vaccines but there is no clarity...There is no transparency in vaccine allocation," Soren told PTI.

UP Lifting Curbs in 61 Districts from Today | UP is lifting Covid lockdown curbs in a phased manner from today in 61 districts with under 600 Covid-19 active cases. Shops will be open from 7am to 7pm.

Bihar, Chhattisgarh Extend Lockdown | Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh extended Covid-induced lockdown or curfew though there will be some relaxation in curbs. Andhra Pradesh has decided to continue with curfew till June 10, while the complete shutdown in Lakshadweep will remain till June 7. Almost all states and Union Territories have extended the curbs which they first started imposing in mid-April as the second Covid wave hit the country. 

India, Others Want 3-Year Waiver on Covid Equipment, Vaccines | The EU, Britain and Japan continued to voice doubts at the WTO on Monday about a proposed intellectual property waiver on Covid-19 products such as vaccines, a Geneva trade official said. Proposals to initiate text-based discussions on an IP waiver, rather than more general talks, gained traction at an informal meeting of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPS) council, the official said.

Karnataka: Residents of a village in Shivamogga's Sagar Taluk have blocked roads to prevent people from entering the village, as a measure to check the spread of Covid-19, ANI reported.

India’s Active Covid Cases Drop by Over 38% Since May 1 | India’s active coronavirus caseload has dropped by over 38 per cent since May 1. But states such as Tamil Nadu, Assam, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh have recorded a steep hike during the same period, official data showed. The active coronavirus cases in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have dropped by over 85 per cent between May 1-31, showed official data from the respective states.

Covid-19 Variants to Be Labelled as Greek Letters | The World Health Organization is announcing a new nomenclature for the COVID-19 variants that were previously and somewhat uncomfortably known either by their technical letter-number codes or by the countries in which they first appeared. Hoping to strike a fair and more comprehensible balance, WHO said it will now refer to the most worrisome variants known as variants of concern by letters in the Greek alphabet.

The Union Health Ministry on Monday refuted as "baseless and incorrect" some media reports suggesting that even a successful booking on the CoWIN platform for a vaccination slot does not assure one of…

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and sought free Covid jabs for the 18-44 age group, saying the state was unable to incur nearly Rs 1,100 crore on it due to stressed resources. Soren said the state was battling a deadly second wave of COVID-19 with its limited resources. Meanwhile, youths in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla demands to ramp up vaccination for people above 18 years of age. 

Himachal Pradesh: Youths in Shimla demands to ramp up vaccination for people above 18 years of age

"People are not getting slots as only 100 slots are available at a centre per day. I demand that more centres be set up to vaccinate more people," says a local. (31.05) pic.twitter.com/K9szoqwZCX

— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2021

Restrictions in Gautam Buddh Nagar Till June 30 | Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 68 cases on Monday and seven more deaths. So far 62,356 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar, which has 1,073 active cases. Additional Deputy Police Commissioner (Law and Order), Shraddha Pandey imposes restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC in the district till June 30 in the district.

Gautam Budh Nagar: Additional Deputy Police Commissioner (Law and Order), Shraddha Pandey imposes restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC in the district till June 30; issues guidelines #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/wkO7zCwTF1

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 1, 2021

Delhi Recieves Fresh Stock of Covid Vaccine | Delhi received a fresh stock of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines for the 45 plus age group on Sunday, AAP MLA Atishi said, and lamented that vaccination for the youth at government centres has been shut for more than a week owing to lack of jabs for this category. Issuing the vaccination bulletin, Atishi said they received over 25,000 doses of Covaxin and over 83,000 doses of Covishield on Sunday.

Two Children from Rural Karnataka Contract Black Fungus | Mucormycosis, commonly known as black fungus, which was till now affecting only adults, has been detected among children as two cases were reported in rural Karnataka. A 11-year-old girl from Ballari district and 14-year-old boy from Chitradurga district have been infected with the fungal disease. Both are undergoing treatment at government hospitals here and their condition is said to be serious.

21.58 Crore Doses of Vaccine Administered So Far | The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered has crossed 21.58 crore. 12,23,596 people in the age group of 18-44 years received their first dose and 13,402 their second dose of Covid vaccine on Monday.