Here are the top updates from today

9.45 pm: As many as 4,794 healthcare workers receive Covid-19 vaccination in Himachal Pradesh, reports PTI.

9.41 pm: The coronavirus tally in Karnataka mounts to 9,37,933 after the state registers 550 new infections, reports PTI. The toll rises by two to 12,209. There are 6,202 active cases in the state.

9.40 pm: A World Health Organization expert team leaves quarantine to start on-the-ground investigations into the origins of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan, reports BBC.

9.35 pm: Sri Lanka welcomes the first 5 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine it received from India, reports News18. The country says 1.5 lakh health workers and 1.15 lakh selected military and police troops will be the first to receive the vaccine at six hospitals in Colombo and its suburbs.

9.30 pm: Maharashtra registers 2,889 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally in the state to 20,18,413, reports ANI. The toll climbs by 50 to 50,944. There are 43,048 actives cases, while 19,23,187 people have recovered from the infection.

9.27 pm: Rajasthan reports 85 new Covid-19 cases, 188 recoveries and 2 deaths, according to ANI. With this, the tally climbs to 3,17,189, which includes 3,11,867 discharges, 2,763 fatalities and 2,559 active cases.

9.25 pm: Union health ministry says 28,47,608 beneficiaries have been inoculated against the coronavirus till 7 pm on Thursday, reports ANI.

7.29 pm: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation extends international flight ban till February 28, reports NDTV. “The restrictions shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA,” it says in a circular.

7.05 pm: The coronavirus tally in Manipur climbs to 29,022 after the state registers 15 new cases, reports ANI. The death toll stands at 370. There are 28,499 recoveries and 153 active cases.

7.01 pm: Tamil Nadu registers 503 new coronavirus cases, 544 recoveries and 6 deaths, reports ANI. With this, the tally climbs to 8,36,818, including 8,19,850 discharges, 12,339 fatalities and 4,629 active cases.

6.53 pm: The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava says India will further gift 1 lakh coronavirus vaccine doses to Oman, 5 lakh to Caribbean Community countries, 2 lakhs to Nicaragua and 2 lakh doses to Pacific Island states, reports ANI.

6.52 pm: The Ministry of External Affairs says that India has gifted over 55 lakh doses of vaccines since January 20 to the country’s neighbours and the extended neighborhood, reports ANI. The ministry says 1.5 lakh shots of the vaccine were sent to Bhutan, 1 lakh to the Maldives, Mauritius and Bahrain, 10 lakhs to Nepal, 20 lakhs to Bangladesh, 15 lakhs to Myanmar, 50,000 to Seychelles and 5 lakh to Sri Lanka on request.

6.48 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says many experts had predicted that India would be the worst affected country from the coronavirus pandemic in the world, reports News 18. “They said that we will face 2 million deaths [20 lakh], but nothing like that happened,” he adds.

6.46 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that India not only produced Personal Protective Equipment kits to fight Covid-19 but we have also helped other countries, according to News18.

“We are among the nations that have managed to save the most number of lives and we are on our way to significantly reduce the number of active cases,” he says at the World Economic Forum.

6.32 pm: Modi says at the World Economic Forum that India has vaccinated more than 23 lakh healthcare workers in just 12 days, according to India Today. “In next some months, we will achieve our target of vaccinating 300 million elderly people and people with comorbidities,” he says.

6.25 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that India not only managed to beat the coronavirus crisis, it has also helped over 150 countries in the process, reports India Today. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Modi also help to solving the Covid crisis globally with the rollout of more “Made in India” Covid-19 vaccines. “These vaccines will enable other countries to speed up their vaccination process,” he says.

4.18 pm: Number of people infected by the mutant variant of coronavirus that originated in the United Kingdom, rises to 165, reports ANI.

4.14 pm: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan says over 25 lakh people have been vaccinated so far. He says the number of active cases in the country has come under 1.75 lakh.

12.45 pm: Sri Lanka receives 50,000 vaccines sent by India. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanks Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the assistance.

12.41 pm: A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan is likely to leave its quarantine hotel on Thursday after two weeks to begin fieldwork, Reuters reports.

12.37 pm: Border restrictions between Australia’s New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria states are set to be eased as the country records zero new cases for the 11th straight day on Thursday, Reuters reports.

12.28 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan says 70% of India’s coronavirus cases are in Maharashtra and Kerala, ANI reports.

The minister adds that 47 districts in the country have not reported new cases a week. “18 [districts] haven’t seen a case in last 14 days, 6 have not seen a case in last 21 days and 21 haven’t seen a case in last 28 days,” he says.

Vardhan also says that India’s tally of the UK variant cases stands at 153.

12.24 pm: Arunachal Pradesh reports three new cases on Thursday, taking the overall count to 16,824, PTI reports. The state now has only 15 active cases. Its toll stands at 56. As many as 7,087 health workers in the state have received their first dose of the vaccine.

12.21 pm: IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath says countries must work on their healthcare system, be prepared to provide timely assistance to struggling households and businesses and work towards enhanced global cooperation in order to prepare for a coronavirus-like crisis in the future, PTI reports.

12.17 pm: Inequitable distribution of vaccines risks worsening financial vulnerabilities, especially for frontier market economies, the International Monetary Fund says in its Global Financial Stability Report Update.

9.29 am: India on Thursday reports 11,666 new coronavirus cases, taking the overall count to 1,07,01,193. The country’s toll rises by 123 to 1,53,847. The number of active cases stands at 1,73,740, while the recoveries reach 1,03,73,606.

9.27 am: As many as 23,55,499 people have been vaccinated in India till Wednesday, says the Union health ministry.

9.15 am: Madrid health authorities pause vaccinations for at least two weeks amid shortage of shots, AFP reports.

9.14 am: Amid a growing shortage, the European Union urges pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca to supply it with more doses of its Covid-19 vaccine from UK plants.

9.12 am: Delhi’s vaccination drive witnessed a drop on Wednesday, reports Hindustan Times. Only 6,545 of 8,100 targeted beneficiaries got the jab. An out-of-schedule vaccination drive was conducted on Wednesday in Delhi to make up for Republic Day holiday.

9.11 am: South African Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says one million coronavirus vaccine doses will arrive from India on February 1, reports PTI.

9.08 am: India sends Covid vaccine to Sri Lanka.

9.05 am: Here are the top updates from Wednesday

  • India on Wednesday reported 12,689 new coronavirus cases, taking the overall count to 1,06,89,527. The country’s toll rose by 137 to 1,53,724. The number of active cases stood at 1,76,498, while the recoveries reached 1,03,59,305.
  • The Centre said in fresh coronavirus-related guidelines that seating capacity at movie theatres, currently at 50%, will be increased.
  • Delhi on Wednesday registered 96 new coronavirus cases – its lowest daily count in almost nine months. The Capital’s tally rose to 6,34,325, while the toll reached 10,829.
  • Pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech said that its Covaxin shot “effectively neutralises” the mutant strain of coronavirus that emerged in the United Kingdom.
  • Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 10 crore people and killed over 21.56 lakh, according to John Hopkins University. Over 5.53 crore people have recovered from the infection in the world.