Highlights: Night curfew will be imposed in Madhya Pradesh if needed, says CM

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday that a night curfew will be implemented in the state in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak. He further advised residents to strictly adhere to all Covid-related protocols in order to avoid the situation to go bad.

Maharashtra's Pune district on Thursday recorded 1,542 fresh Covid-19 disease cases and eight more related deaths which pushed the overall tally and death toll to 403,497 and 9,214 respectively. More than 385,000 people have recovered till now while 11,161 new samples had been tested for the infection.

Kerala reported 3,677 new Covid-19 positive cases and 14 related deaths on Thursday taking the total number of affected in the state to 10,49,035 and thetoll to 4,150. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state has tested 63,582 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 5.78 per cent.

Till now, 1,12,71,993 samples have been tested in the state. "Out of those infected today 78 reached the state from outside while 3,351 contracted the disease from their contacts. The sources of infection of 228 are yet to be traced. 20 health workers are also among the infected. Meanwhile, 4,652 recuperated from the disease on Thursday taking the total cured in the state to 9,92,372. Currently, there are 51,879 persons under treatment in the state," Vijayan said.

Gujarat recorded 424 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest daily count in a month, taking the tally to 2,68,571, while more than 300 patients recovered from the infection, the state health department said. On January 24, as many as 410 new Covid-19 cases had emerged in the state in a span of 24 hours and since then, the daily infections have been below the 400-mark.

This mark was breached on Thursday when Gujarat recorded 424 fresh cases, taking the infection tally to 2,68,571, said a release by the health department.

The state recorded just one new death due to Covid-19 - in Ahmedabad city - pushing the toll to 4,408, said the release.

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers in the country has crossed 1.30 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. From March 1, the Covid-19 vaccination will be extended to people aged 60 years and above and those aged above 45 years with comorbidities, it stated. On February 24, the Centre held meeting with all states and Union Territories to review the progress of Covid-19 vaccination drive with a focus on improving pace of vaccination. "States and UTs have been advised to expand Covid-19 vaccination sessions to all public health care facilities along with CGHS and PM-JAY-empaneled hospitals from March," the ministry said.

At least 1,116 fresh cases of coronavirus and 13 more casualties due to the infection were reported in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Thursday, an official said. With this, the tally of infection in the district rose to 1,46,831, while the toll reached 4,314, the official said. As many as 1,028 patients were discharged from various treatment facilitates, taking the count of recoveries to 1,35,258, he said. This leaves the district with 7,259 active cases, he said.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 108 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, taking the infection tally to 1,26,201, even as no fresh deaths due to the virus was registered in a span of 24 hours, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 31 were from Jammu division and 77 from Kashmir division of the union territory, they said. The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest number of 47 new cases, followed by Udhampur district with 23. While eight districts did not report any fresh cases, 10 districts had cases in single digits. The number of active has risen to 820 in the union territory, while 1,23,426 patients have recovered so far, the officials said.

Andhra Pradesh added 82 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, taking the caseload to 8,89,585. According to the latest bulletin, the state saw 74 recoveries and no deaths in a day. The total recoveries now stood at 8,81,806, while the active caseload 611, the bulletin said. The death toll remained at 7,168.

The Covid-19 tally in Nashik district of Maharashtra reached 1,21,478 with the addition of 601 cases on Thursday, health officials said. The virus claimed three lives during the day, which took the death toll in the district to 2,095, they said.

So far, 1,16,914 patients have recovered and got discharge from hospitals in the district, of whom 291 recuperated on Thursday alone. As many as 5,36,458 swabs have been tested till now, of which 2,711 were tested on Thursday.

As many as 71 persons tested positive for coronavirus, while two died of the infection in Goa on Thursday, an official from the health department said.

With the addition of latest cases, the state's Covid- 19 tally has reached 54,771 and toll stood at 791, the official said. As many as 33 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 53,449, he said.

The coastal state is now left with 531 active cases, the official said.

Sri Lanka on Thursday received 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines ordered from India. "Actively aiding #lka win against COVID, 2nd consignment of 500,000 COVISHIELD vaccines arrived from #India to #lka today," the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka tweeted. Sri Lanka's acting health minister Channa Jayasumana said 500,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine arrived on Thursday. He said the new batch was ordered under an agreement between the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) of Sri Lanka and the Serum Institute of India. The distribution of vaccines will start on Friday.

France's government on Wednesday ordered a weekend lockdown in the Dunkirk area to arrest an "alarming" rise in cases, signalling extra curbs might also be needed elsewhere as daily cases nationwide hit their highest since November. Unlike some of its neighbours, France has resisted a new national lockdown to control more contagious variants, hoping a curfew in place since Dec. 15 can contain the pandemic. But it reported 31,519 new infections on Wednesday, up from 25,018 a week ago and the most since mid-November.

A new coronavirus variant that shares some similarities with a more transmissible and intractable variant discovered in South Africa is on the rise in New York City, researchers said on Wednesday. The new variant, known as B.1.526, was first identified in samples collected in New York in November, and by mid-February represented about 12% of cases, researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons said. The variant was also described in research published online this week by the California Institute of Technology.

The government in Hungary has decided to extend a partial lockdown until March 15 as coronavirus infections are expected to rise further in the next two weeks, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday. Gergely Gulyas also told a government briefing that the next two weeks would be "exceptionally difficult", adding that the pace of vaccinations are going to accelerate. He said Prime Minister Viktor Orban was expected to receive the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine next week.

With the addition of 281 new cases of coronavirus, the tally of infections in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district reached 49,291, an official said on Thursday.

Apart from the latest cases recorded on Wednesday, the district also recorded three casualties that took the toll to 1,258, the official said. Of the new infections, 262 were reported from Aurangabad city, while remaining 19 were from rural parts of the district, he said. At least 46,721 persons have recovered from the infection in the district, he said, adding that the region is now left with 1,312 active cases.

With the addition of 614 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 2,62,280.

Covid-19 samples from about eight districts have been sent to laboratories across the country, including the National Institute of Virology and National Center for Disease Control, to find out if any new variant is behind the increasing number of cases.

As Maharashtra is battling with the resurgence of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), a new cluster emerged in Washim district after 229 students and three staffers tested positive at a hostel. Read more

India adds 16,738 fresh cases to its tally. Total caseload rises to 11,046,914. The death toll reaches 156,705. Active Covid-19 cases stand at 1,51,708, while 1,07,38,501 people have recovered from the disease, as per the health ministry.

Hong Kong rolled-out vaccine in the Asian financial hub on Monday. Japan, Australia and New Zealand started with Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE and AstraZeneca Plc on priority groups.Malaysia kicked off its drive on Wednesday, South Korea is due on Friday and Thailand is preparing for a few days later.

A new variant known as B.1.526, is spreading across New York City causing concerns among healthcare professionals. It is similar to South Africa variant and is more transmissible and hard to control.

Athletes are being encouraged for vaccination and the IOC has an agreement with COVAX where it's helping to facilitate the distribution, but it will not be compulsory.

The toned-down torch relay, which will begin on March 25 and travel through Japan, will be broadcast live to avoid gatherings on streets, Tokyo Olympic Organising Committee said.

Madhya Pradesh CM assured workers, labourers to not be apprehensive of the scarcity of work as no lockdown will be imposed in the state despite the spike.

Mike Dunleavy, the governor of the US state of Alaska, is resting at home with mild symptoms after being diagnosed with Covid-19, officials have said.