Coronavirus India LIVE Updates: States including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka contributed in pushing India within touching distance of 50,000-cases-a-day mark.
Coronavirus India News Live Updates: With nearly 50,000 cases (48,916) on the second consecutive day, the total number of coronavirus infections in India crossed the 13 lakh-mark to reach 13,36,861 on Saturday. Also, 757 deaths in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll to 31,358. Currently, India has 4,56,071 active cases and 8,49,431 people have been treated and discharged.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Friday reiterated that India has one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 infection and death rates. For the third day in a row, the number of recoveries in a 24-hour span saw another record high, pushing the recovery rate to 63.45 per cent.
States including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka contributed in pushing India within touching distance of 50,000-cases-a-day mark. In the last one week, Maharashtra, the worst-affected state in the country, seems to have found a new level for its daily numbers. It has been consistently reporting figures above 8,000, thanks mainly to the surge in Pune.
Meanwhile, AIIMS Delhi on Friday administered first dose of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to a 30-year-old male. The subject will be monitored for two weeks after which he will be given the second dose. Covaxin is India’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by Bharat Biotech India (BBIL) in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology (NIV). Globally, over 15 million people have been infected with the virus, including 6,36,262 deaths and 8,763,516 recoveries.
Movie-goers wearing masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus are spaced apart as they watch a movie in a newly reopened cinema in Hangzhou in eastern China (Chinatopix via AP)
With nearly 50,000 cases (48,916) on the second consecutive day, the total number of coronavirus infections in India crossed the 13 lakh-mark to reach 13,36,861 on Saturday. Also, 757 deaths in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll to 31,358. Currently, India has 4,56,071 active cases and 8,49,431 people have been treated and discharged.
Beijing partially reopened movie theatres Friday as the threat from the coronavirus continues to recede in China's capital. Cinemas in parts of the city deemed at low risk of cross-infection began admitting moviegoers under social distancing rules. Tickets must be booked in advance, attendance is capped at 30% of capacity and no eating or drinking is allowed during the show.
As with most venues in China, a temperature check and online travel record were required for entry. Cinemas have been closed for around six months but began reopening this week in major cities throughout the country. China reported just 21 new virus cases on Friday, six of them imported, with the rest in the Xinjiang region and Jilin province. Beijing has gone more than two weeks without any cases of local transmission, spurring authorities to lift many restrictions on activities.
BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena is among the 958 people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan where eight more COVID-19 deaths were reported on Friday, officials said. The total number of coronavirus infection cases reported in the state so far has reached 34,178 of which 9,029 patients are under treatment and 23,536 have recovered. The death toll has climbed to 602. (PTI)
AIIMS Delhi has administered the first dose of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to a 30-year-old maleFriday, days after the medical institute received approval from the ethics committee to start the human trials. The subject will be monitored for two weeks after which he will be given the second dose.
The country’s top medical institute is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting Phase I and II randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.
Rigorous implementation of pandemic lessons, systematic containment, and proper planning and procurement to plug the gaps in health infrastructure are key, the Centre has told nine states that are currently facing a surgein novel coronavirus infections.
At a high-level review meeting that went on for three hours over a video link on Friday, the Centre emphasised six main issues to the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, top sources told The Indian Express.
While swimming in itself is seen as the safest sport with its virus-killing chlorine cover, getting into the pool and back is fraught with risks. Given the inability to enforce strict social distancing on land, authorities in India have been reluctant to open pools for amateur swimmers, whose numbers will need to be severely restricted. Click here to read our explainer.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences administered the first dose of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to a 30-year-old man on Friday, days after it received approval from the ethics committee to start human trials. He will be monitored for two weeks and then given the second dose. The country’s top medical institute is among 12 sites selected by the ICMR to conduct Phase I and II randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.
“The first dose of 0.5 ml of the intramuscular vaccine was administered to him on Friday. He was kept under observation for two hours. A diary has been handed over to him for continuous monitoring of the conditions. We will also coordinate with him daily for at least a week to understand if he is facing any medical issues,” Dr Sanjay Rai, principal investigator of the Covid-19 vaccine trial at AIIMS, told The Indian Express.
Covaxin, being developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and National Institute of Virology (NIV), recently got the nod for human clinical trials from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
Even as the country inches towards 13 lakh coronavirus cases, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Friday reiterated that India has one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 infection and death rates. India saw a record single-day spike of 49,310 cases, taking the country’s tally to 12,87,945. However, for the third day in a row, the number of recoveries in a 24-hour span saw another record high, pushing the recovery rate to 63.45 per cent.