Outside Zydus Biotech park on Saturday. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)Coronavirus India Live Updates: As part of his three city visit to review the development of different vaccines for the novel coronavirus in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday landed Ahmedabad and travelled by car to Zydus Cadila’s plant. Zydus Cadila’s vaccine candidate, ZyCov-D, commenced it’s phase-II clinical trials in August.
From Ahmedabad, PM Modi is expected to fly to Hyderabad, where he is scheduled to visit vaccine maker Bharat Biotech’s facility. After this, he will travel to Pune to the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune. “PM Modi’s visit to these facilities and discussions with scientists will help him get a first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
India’s Covid-19 tally rose to over 93.51 lakh on Saturday, after the country detected 41,322 new cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am. As many as 485 new deaths took the country’s toll to 1,36,200. Of India’s 93,51,110 cases, over 4.54 infections are active, while over 87.59 lakh patients have recovered after testing positive.
India’s second national serosurvey conducted by ICMR found that nearly 70 per cent of Indians aged 10 and above were exposed to the SARS-CoV-2.
In other news, BJP’s national vice-president Baijayant Panda tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday and has isolated himself. In a late night tweet Friday, Panda said, “Because of certain symptoms, I got tested today and have been found Covid positive. I am now in isolation on doctor’s advice. Request all those who came in contact with me in the last few days to take the necessary precautions & isolate or get tested.”
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Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a tour of the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad to review the Covid-19 vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D's developemt. The plant is located in the Changodar industrial area, over 20 km from Ahmedabad.
Nationalist Congress Party MLA Bharat Bhalke died while undergoing treatment for post-COVID complications on Saturday, a hospital official said. Bhalke,60, a three-term MLA from Pandharpur- Mangalvedha constituency in Solapur district was admitted to a Pune-based private hospital on November 9 after being diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
A doctor who treated Bhalke said he was tested COVID- 19 positive on October 30 and returned home after recovery. He was readmitted on November 9 after complaints of fever and cough, the doctor said. Bhalke's condition deteriorated recently and he was on ventilator support. (PTI)
Express Photos by Nirmal Harindran
India's Covid-19 tally rose to over 93.51 lakh after recording 41,322 new cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Saturday. As many as 485 new fatalities took the country's death toll to 1,36,200. Out of India's 93,51,110 total cases, over 4.54 infections are active, while over 87.59 lakh patients have recovered after testing positive.
As part of his three city visit to review the development of different covid-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday reached Ahmedabad. Modi proceeded to Zydus Cadila's plant, where he will take account of the vaccine development for an hour.
Delhi recorded 5,482 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day, while 98 more fatalities linked to the disease pushed the city's death toll to 8,909 on Friday, authorities said.
According to a bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department on Friday, the total number of coronavirus cases climbed to 5,56,744 on Friday, of which 5,09,654 have recovered. The tally of active cases in Delhi was 38,181 down from 38,734 on Thursday. The positivity rate was 8.51 per cent. It was 8.65 per cent on Thursday and 8.49 per cent on Wednesday.
As many as 64,455 tests, including 28,100 RT-PCR tests and 36,355 rapid antigen tests, were conducted the previous day for the detection of COVID-19, according to the bulletin. (PTI)
Baijayant Panda, National vice president of the BJP and incharge of the party's Delhi unit, tested positive for coronavirus on Friday and has isolated himself. In a late night tweet, Panda said, "Because of certain symptoms, I got tested today & have been found Covid positive. I am now in isolation on doctor's advice. Request all those who came in contact with me in the last few days to take the necessary precautions & isolate or get tested."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Friday on key bilateral, regional and international issues, as the two leaders agreed to work towards a "quantum leap" in cooperation between India and the UK in all areas, including trade and investment, defence and security, and fighting COVID-19.
They exchanged views on the challenges posed by the pandemic, and reviewed the promising cooperation between India and the UK in the area of vaccine development and manufacturing, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said. The leaders agreed that officials from both sides would continue their work to quickly finalise an ambitious long-term roadmap for the India-UK partnership, it said.
"Had an excellent discussion with my friend, UK PM Boris Johnson on an ambitious roadmap for India-UK ties in the next decade. We agreed to work towards a quantum leap in our cooperation in all areas - trade and investment, defence & security, climate change, and fighting Covid-19," Modi tweeted.
Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 150 and reached 47,491 on Friday, while the toll increased by one to touch 686, an official said.
The number of people who have recovered reached 45,492 after 152 people were discharged during the day, leaving the state with 1,313 active cases, he added. A total of 2,645 samples were tested during the day, he added.
Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 47,491, new cases 150, death toll 686, discharged 45,492, active cases 1,313, samples tested till date 3,42,681.
The Maharashtra government on Fridayextended thelockdown on account of coronavirus in the state till the midnight of December 31, 2020, an official release said. In the last couple of months, the government has eased several lockdown restrictions.
Revised guidelines have been issued from time to time by, allowing resumption of various activities as part of the "Mission Begin Again", the release said.
Earlier this week, the government allowed reopening of places of worship. Schools for students from Std 9th to 12th have also reopened in some parts of the state this week. Hotels and bars have been already allowed to reopen.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on Friday fighting back rebels from within his own Conservative Party who are opposed to most of England being put into the toughest two tiers of high COVID-19 alert after the country's second stay-at-home lockdown ends next Wednesday.
In a Downing Street briefing on Thursday after he ended his self-isolation on being in contact with a COVID-19 positive MP, Johnson defended the three-tier system as the best chance of avoiding a third complete national lockdown in the New Year.
"If we ease off now, we risk losing control of this virus all over again, casting aside our hard won gains, and forcing us back into a New Year national lockdown with all the damage that would mean," said Johnson.
Hyderabad-based drugmaker Hetero Drugs, through its biologics arm, will be producing "over" 100 million doses of Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V starting 2021, said the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Friday. The firm, through subsidiary Hetero Biopharma, is expected to produce these doses over the course of the year, according to RDIF. The vaccines produced here may also be used to fulfill demand from other countries.
Sputnik V is also expected to be tested in mid- to late-stage clinical trials in India by Dr Reddy's Laboratories, another Hyderabad-headquartered drugmaker.
According to the latest interim analysis of data collected from participants undergoing Sputnik V trials in Russia, the vaccine seems to have demonstrated an efficacy of 91.4%.
With the addition of 742 new cases of coronavirus, the count of infections in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 2,26,337, an official said on Friday. Apart from the latest infections detected on Thursday, the district also recorded 14 casualties that have raised the toll to 5,648, the official said.
With a recovery rate of 94.27 per cent, a total of 2,13,373 persons have been discharged from various hospitals in the district so far, he said. There are currently 7,316 active cases in the district, the official said.
According to the official data, of the COVID-19 cases reported so far, Kalyan alone accounts for 53,350 infections, followed by Thane city with 50,657, Navi Mumbai with 47,701 and Mira Bhayandar with 23,950 cases.
Five coronavirus patients died after a fire broke out in the ICU of a designated COVID-19 hospital at Rajkot in Gujarat on Friday, officials said. The Supreme Court took cognizance of the fire incident and sought a report from Gujarat government on the issue. Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said 26 patients at the hospital were rescued and shifted to other facilities.
The fire broke out around 12.30 am in the ICU ward located on the first floor of the four-storey Uday Shivanand Hospital in Anand Bungalow Chowk area, where around 31 patients were admitted, Patel added. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani expressed grief over the incident and ordered a probe into it. He also announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased.
Rajkot Police Commissioner Manoj Agarwal said, 'Out of the 11 coronavirus patients admitted to the ICU ward, five lost their lives in the fire, which was quickly brought under control before it could spread to other floors.' Patel said the blaze broke out in the ICU ward and was brought under control within half an hour by the fire brigade. While three coronavirus patients died on the spot, two others succumbed to the injuries while they were being shifted to another hospital, he added.
Hyderabad-based drugmaker Hetero Drugs, through its biologics arm, will be producing "over" 100 million doses of Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V starting 2021, said the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Friday.
The firm, through subsidiary Hetero Biopharma, is expected to produce these doses over the course of the year, according to RDIF. The vaccines produced here may also be used to fulfill demand from other countries. (Read more here)
India on Friday assured the people of Nepal that once it rolls out a vaccine against COVID-19, meeting their requirement will be a priority for New Delhi, amid a spike of the deadly disease in the Himalayan nation. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, addressing a lecture hosted by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA), a Kathmandu-based non-partisan foreign policy think-tank, said that India is on the cusp of the availability of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus .
As the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines, India is at the forefront of this effort. We have at least five promising vaccine candidates at advanced stages of trials. I would like to assure the people of Nepal that once a vaccine is rolled out, meeting Nepal's requirement would be a priority for us, Shringla said. He said that the year 2020 has brought with it the additional challenge in the form of COVID-19 pandemic and this has been the most globally disruptive event since the second world war. (PTI)