India

New Delhi, May 13 (PTI) After Bharat Biotech said it cannot supply more doses of Covaxin to Delhi, the city government wrote to the Serum Institute of India (SII) asking it to "come to its rescue", saying it has limited stock of Covishield for 18 to 44 years which will finish in one week.

To this, the SII said they are doing their best to meet countrywide vaccine requirements, official sources said.

NEW DELHI (AP) — The man in the WhatsApp video says he has seen it work himself: A few drops of lemon juice in the nose will cure COVID-19.

“If you practice what I am about to say with faith, you will be free of corona in five seconds,” says the man, dressed in traditional religious clothing. “This one lemon will protect you from the virus like a vaccine.”

(Reuters) --- India recorded more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths for a second straight day on Thursday as infections stayed below 400,000, and extended the interval between doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to up to 16 weeks amid a dire shortage of shots in the country.

Experts remain unsure when numbers will peak and concern is growing about the transmissibility of the variant that is driving infections in India and spreading worldwide.

Gorakhpur (UP), May 13 (PTI) A private hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur was sealed by the district administration after it was found to be charging hefty fees to a COVID patient, an official said on Thursday.

District Magistrate Vijyendra Pandiyan on Wednesday ordered the sealing of Badrika Hospital and Research Center at Gorakhpur Medical College road after the patient's family member filed a complaint at the commissioner zone office against the hospital for overcharging.

Mumbai, May 13 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Thursday said considering the prevailing COVID-19 situation and the increase in number of deaths, civic authorities should look for modern techniques while disposing of the bodies in crematoriums to reduce pollution.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Pune resident Vikrant Latkar, raising concerns over air pollution in the areas near crematoriums.

New Delhi, May 13 (PTI) The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Thursday postponed the civil services preliminary examination, scheduled to be held in June, to October 10 in view of the alarming COVID situation.

The commission conducts civil services examination annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

Lucknow, May 13 (PTI) After a number of bodies were seen floating in the Ganga in the past few days, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh must be held accountable for "failing" its people badly.

According to Ballia residents, at least 52 bodies were seen floating at the Ujiyar, Kulhadia and Bharauli ghats in the Narahi area.

However, the district authorities did not tell the exact number of bodies found there.

Kolkata, May 12 (PTI) BJP Lok Sabha MPs Jagannath Sarkar and Nisith Pramanik on Wednesday tendered their resignation as members of the West Bengal assembly, to which they were elected in the recent polls.

Sarkar and Pramanik, MPs of Ranaghat and Cooch Behar respectively, went to the assembly and submitted their resignation letters to Speaker Biman Banerjee.

Pramanik said that they are quitting as MLAs as per the directive of the BJP leadership.

Mumbai, May 12 (PTI) The COVID-19 inoculation drive for the 18-44 years age group in Mumbai has been suspended until further orders, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced on Wednesday evening.

The announcement followed the Maharashtra government's decision to suspend inoculation for this category and divert the vaccine stock for the above 45 years age group due to paucity of doses.

The BMC earlier in the day also issued revised guidelines allowingwalk-in vaccination in Mumbai for certain categories for three days.

Ahmedabad, May 12 (PTI) Teachers of government-run medical colleges in Gujarat went on a strike on Wednesday, accusing the administration of failing to fulfil its assurance about their demands.

Hundreds of professors and lecturers affiliated to the Gujarat Medical Teachers Association (GMTA) joined in the protest.

GMTA members had proceeded on strike last Friday demanding pay hike among other things but withdrew it hours later after the government promised to find a solution.