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.
80% of India’s adult population fully vaccinated
Eighty per cent of India’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 175 crore, according to official data.
India has crossed the historic milestone of administering both doses of coronavirus vaccine to 80 per cent of its adult population, Mr Mandaviya said in a tweet.
“With the mantra of ‘sabka prayas’ under the leadership of PM @NarendraModi ji, the country is moving at a fast pace towards 100 per cent immunisation,” he said.
According to official data, around 96.5% of the country’s adult population has been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Over 2 crore adolescents in the 15-18 age group have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the data stated. (PTI)
India logs 22,270 fresh COVID-19 cases, 325 deaths
India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 4,28,02,505 on Saturday with 22,270 more people testing positive for the viral disease, while the number of active cases came down to 2,53,739, according to Union Health Ministry data.
The death toll reached 5,11,230 with 325 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 a.m. stated.
Daily COVID-19 cases in the country have remained below one lakh for 13 consecutive days now.— PTI
Biden to extend U.S. national emergency due to COVID-19 health risk
President Joe Biden said on Friday the U.S. national emergency declared in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be extended beyond March 1 due to the ongoing risk to public health posed by the coronavirus.
Biden said the deaths of more than 900,000 Americans from COVID-19 emphasized the need to respond to the pandemic with “the full capacity” of the federal government.
“There remains a need to continue this national emergency,” Biden said in a letter on Friday to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate.
The letter was released by the White House. — Reuters
Beijing 2022 reports no new COVID cases on February 18
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee said on Saturday that no new COVID-19 cases were detected among games-related personnel on February 18. — Reuters
Canadian police arresting protesters, towing rigs in Ottawa
Police began arresting demonstrators and towing away vehicles Friday in Canada's besieged capital city, and a stream of trucks soon began leaving under the pressure, raising authorities' hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the country's COVID-19 restrictions.
The crackdown on the self-styled Freedom Convoy began in the morning, when hundreds of police, some in riot gear and some carrying automatic weapons, descended into the protest zone and began leading demonstrators away in handcuffs as holdout truckers blared their horns in protest. Police smashed through the door of at least one RV camper before hauling it away.
A steady procession of trucks began leaving Parliament Hill in the afternoon as lines of officers pushed through the streets.
Hong Kong to postpone election amid COVID-19 surge
Hong Kong will delay its election of its next Chief Executive because of the current surge in COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR). Current Chief Executive (CE) Carrie Lam said on Friday the selection of the next CE will be delayed by six weeks because of the current wave of cases, adding that it would take at least two months to stabilise the current surge and bring it under control. The SAR on Friday continued to report thousands of new cases of the Omicron variant, reporting 3,629 confirmed cases and more than 7,600 preliminary positives, most of which will also likely be confirmed as positive cases.
Six African countries to receive mRNA vaccine technology
The first African countries selected to receive the technology necessary to produce mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 are Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia, a summit meeting of European Union and African Union nations heard on Friday.
The six countries have been chosen to build vaccine production factories as part of a bid the World Health Organization launched last year to replicate what are believed to be the most effective licensed shots against COVID-19.
Africa currently produces just 1% of coronavirus vaccines. According to WHO figures, only 11% of the population in Africa is fully vaccinated, compared with the global average of about 50%.
