The country recorded 84,474 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday. The total number of infections has reached 4.22 crore, and the active cases have crossed the 11.5 lakh mark.Read | Tested COVID-positive? Expert advises 10-day isolation 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.Here are the updates:Vietnam
Vietnam starts reopening schools after year-long pandemic closure
More than 17 million Vietnamese students were due to return to school on Monday for the first time in about a year, the health ministry said, as authorities announced plans to start vaccinating children from as young as five against COVID-19.The Southeast Asian country lifted many of its coronavirus curbs in October, but almost all students had been confined to taking online classes since early last year.Most schools in the country are due to reopen by the middle of February, the health ministry said in a statement. – ReutersCanada
Ottawa declares state of emergency over COVID-19 protests
The mayor of Canada’s capital declared a state of emergency Sunday and a former U.S. ambassador to Canada said groups in the U.S. must stop interfering in the domestic affairs of America’s neighbor as protesters opposed to COVID-19 restrictions continued to paralyse Ottawa’s downtown.Mayor Jim Watson said the declaration highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.Thousands of protesters descended in Ottawa again on the weekend, joining a hundred who remained since last weekend. Residents of Ottawa are furious at the nonstop blaring of horns, traffic disruption and harassment and fear no end is in sight after the police chief called it a “siege” that he could not manage. – AP
Delhi
Educational institutions reopen in Delhi from today
Scene at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Delhi Cantonment, as schools reopen in New Delhi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan
Scene at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Delhi Cantonment, as schools reopen in New Delhi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan
Honduras
Honduran President tests positive for COVID
Honduran President Xiomara Castro has tested positive for COVID-19, she said on Sunday on Twitter, adding that she has mild symptoms and will be working in isolation. – ReutersChina
China locks down city on Vietnam border as COVID cases rise
Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Baise ordered residents to stay at home from Monday and avoid unnecessary travel as they enforced curbs that are among the toughest in the nation’s tool-box to fight rising local infections of COVID-19.The outbreak in Baise, which has a population of about 3.6 million and borders Vietnam, is tiny by global standards, but the curbs, including a ban on non-essential trips in and out, follow a national guideline to quickly contain any flare-ups.The effort takes on extra urgency during the staging of the Winter Olympics, which began on Friday and run until February 20, as well as a busy travel season for the Lunar New Year holiday. – ReutersCanada
Canada protests against COVID curbs gain steam
More demonstrators poured onto the streets of Ottawa and other Canadian cities on Saturday demanding an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, as protests against pandemic restrictions entered their second week.In the capital, demonstrators huddled around campfires in bone-chilling temperatures and erected portable saunas and bouncy castles for kids outside Parliament, while waving Canadian flags and shouting anti-government slogans.Their chants of “freedom” were met with cries of “go home” by a smaller group of counter-protestors fed up with the week-long occupation of the capital.India
DCGI grants emergency use permission to single-dose Sputnik Light COVID vaccine
The Drugs Controller General of India has granted emergency use permission to single-dose Sputnik Light COVID vaccine in the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Sunday.This comes following recommendations of an expert panel of India’s central drug authority to grant restricted emergency use authorisation to Sputnik Light subject to various regulatory provisions.Sputnik-Light is the same as component-1 of Sputnik V.
Telangana
Cases plunge due to lesser tests in Telangana
The number of COVID-19 tests and cases have plunged in Telangana on Sunday. The daily tests in the State ranged from 75,000 to 95,000 from the beginning of February, and 2,000-2,900 people were detected with coronavirus in a day.On Sunday (February 6), only 48,434 samples were tested and 1,217 tested positive for the virus. Results of 1,325 were awaited. One more COVID patient has died.The 1,217 new infections include 383 from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), 103 from Rangareddy, 99 from Medchal-Malkajgiri.
India
Active COVID-19 case load crosses 11 lakh
The country recorded 84,474 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday. The total number of infections has reached 4.22 crore, and the active cases have crossed the 11.5 lakh mark.The figures are based on the State bulletins released until 10 p.m. on Sunday. However, Ladakh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Lakshadweep had not yet released data for the day.Kerala recorded 26,729 infections on Sunday, followed by Maharashtra (9,666) and Karnataka (8,425).On Sunday, 887 deaths were recorded in India, considerably lower than the average levels recorded in the last week. The total number of recorded fatalities has reached 5,02,761.
Delhi
Schools, colleges prepare to welcome students back to class in Delhi
As schools for higher classes and higher education institutions have been given the green light to open from Monday, teachers are gearing up to bridge the learning gap that has occurred due to prolonged closures.The Delhi government schools are ready to reopen with redesigned classroom configurations to ensure adherence to all COVID guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education. Private schools are busy getting permission slips signed by parents to gauge the expected number of students as classes will still be conducted in hybrid mode.Higher education institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University, IP University and Ambedkar University Delhi have decided to reopen campus for physical classes, while Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islama have not yet taken a call on allowing physical classes.