Healthcare staff collect swab in Thane (Express photo by Deepak Joshi)Coronavirus India Live Updates: India reported 23,067 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Friday, taking the coronavirus infections tally over 1.01 crore. Of the total 1,01,46,845 cases, 2.81 lakh are currently active while over 97.17 lakh people have recovered after testing positive. As many as 336 new deaths took the death toll to over 1.47 lakh. Kerala, among the fastest-growing states in India, is the only state to report more than 5,000 cases on Thursday.
Fifty-one lakh people in Delhi — comprising healthcare staff, frontline workers, people with co-morbidities, and those aged above 50 — will be administered Covid-19 vaccine in the first phase, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. The Delhi government’s plan is in line with the recommendations made by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of Covid-19 (NEGVAC). Kejriwal said Delhi has made all arrangements to receive and store vaccine doses.
Five Covid-positive flyers from the UK went untraceable after landing at the Delhi airport on Tuesday. While three of them were traced by Tuesday night and admitted to Lok Nayak hospital in the capital, one managed to reach Ludhiana while another reached Andhra Pradesh before they were brought back on Wednesday, The Indian Express has learnt. Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain Thursday said that the Delhi govt. will will approach the Delhi airport authorities over the same.
Meanwhile, a new potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has been found in Britain in cases linked to South Africa, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. South Africa’s health department said last week that a new genetic mutation of the virus had been discovered and might be responsible for a recent surge in infections there. Read our explainer on Mutated coronavirus vs tests and vaccines here.
Night curfew in place in Pune on Tuesday. (Express photo by Ashish Kale)
Dharavi in Mumbai, India's largest slum, reported zero Covid-19 cases on Friday, the first time since April 1, when the first coronavirus case was reported here. At present, there are 12 active Covid-19 cases in Dharavi: eight are in Home quarantine, while four are in Covid care centres.
With the addition of 416 coronavirus positive cases, Thane district's total case count has gone up to 2,40,619, an official said on Friday. These new cases were reported on Thursday, he said.
The fatality count in the district increased to 5,910 with the virus claiming nine more lives during the day. As 2,30,432 patients recuperated, the recovery rate of the district reached 95.76 per cent. There are 4,277 active cases at present, while the district's mortality rate is 2.46 per cent, he said.
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A traveller from the UK, who arrived here a few days ago, has tested positive for COVID-19 and the swab samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to ascertain whether the patient has contracted a new strain of coronavirus, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
The person returned to the state recently amid concern over the detection of a mutated and more infectious strain of COVID-19 in the European country and has been admitted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital here, he told reporters.
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The union territory of Puducherry registered 29 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours while no fresh fatality was reported, a top Health department official said on Friday. The 29 new infections took the overall tally in the union territory to 37,914, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.
The new cases were identified at the end of testing of 2,973 samples and 44 patients were treated and discharged during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Friday. No fresh fatality was reported for a second straight day and the death toll remained at 629.
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With an aim to put curbs on the New Year celebrations considering the coronavirus situation, the district administration in Pune has sent a proposal to the Maharashtra government seeking imposition of night curfew at some popular places, a senior official said on Friday. District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh said that the administration seeks to impose night curfew in some areas close to Pune civic limits and tourist places like Lonavala, Aambi Valley, Mulshi dam, Tahmini Ghat, Khadakwasla and Lavasa from the midnight of December 25 till January 5.
"In view of the COVID-19 situation, a proposal has been sent to the state government to impose night curfew at these places, where revellers go to celebrate the New Year. We are awaiting the government's nod," he said. Night curfew has been already imposed in the city in the wake of a new coronavirus variant being detected in the UK.
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Odisha on Friday reported 325 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the coronavirus tally in the state to 3,27,867, a health department official said. The COVID-19 death toll in the rose to 1,853 with three fresh fatalities in the last 24-hours, he said. The three fatalities were reported from Balasore, Dhenkanal and Khurda districts, he said.
The new COVID-19 cases were detected in 24 of the 30 districts of Odisha, with 187 reported from different quarantine centres, while the remaining 138 are local contact cases. Khurda district of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, recorded the highest number of new cases at 36, followed by Sundergarh (33) and Angul (32).
Six districts - Boudh, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri and Rayagada, did not report any new positive cases in the last 24 hours, he said.
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Uttar Pradesh reported 13 more COVID-19 fatalities and 1,285 new cases on Friday, pushing the death toll to 8,279 and the infection tally to 5,79,982 in the state. Currently, there are 16,159 active cases in the state, and 5,55,544 people have recovered from the disease so far, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here.
He said the recovery rate in the state stood at 95.78 per cent. Prasad said over 1.43 lakh samples were tested for the disease on Thursday, and the total number of tests conducted so far was around 2.31 crore. Of the total active cases, 7,317 are in home-isolation, 1,663 in private hospitals and the rest are undergoing treatment in government hospitals.
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On the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, when the Maharashtra government-imposed night curfew began in the city, the Mumbai Police let off most of those who were found on the roads after the designated hour with a reprimand and a warning.
A senior police officer said, “Since it was the first night of the curfew, we let people off after giving them a warning. However, in the next few days we will start taking action.”
The Mumbai Police had warned that all vehicles found on the roads during curfew hours without a valid reason would be impounded.
Days after the state government allowed reopening of amusement and entertainment parks, the Tourism department on Thursday issued guidelines for safe and secure operations amid Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the standard operating procedure (SOP), all customers would be screened at entry points of amusement and entertainment parks and similar establishments for symptoms of Covid-19. Only those found asymptomatic would be allowed, the guidelines stated.
The SOP added that only those wearing a face mask or cover would be allowed to enter premises and customers would have to wear the mask at all times on the premises.
South Korea's Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Friday 1,241 new coronavirus cases were reported the day before, the highest daily count recorded, with a large outbreak at a prison in Seoul.
South Korea had early success in quickly controlling outbreaks with aggressive testing and contact tracing but has struggled to contain the recent surge in cases.Tougher restrictions to stem new cases were taken this week including a ban on social gathering of more than five people, and ski resorts and tourist spots have been shut in a bid to stop the spread during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"The daily record of confirmed cases was renewed yesterday at 1,241 cases," Chung said at a coronavirus response meeting, adding despite a large majority of the public heeding the government warning, many still flout social distancing rules.(Reuters)
At least seven people who recently returned from the UK have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Telangana. Their samples have been sent to the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) to find out if they have contracted the new strain of the virus, Telangana health officials said.
On Thursday, state Health Minister Eatala Rajender reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the state and the steps being taken to curb the spread of the disease.
Officials informed the minister that 1,200 passengers had flown to Telangana from or via the UK since from December 9. Covid-19 tests were done on 846 persons. (Read more here)
India reported 23,068 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Friday, taking the coronavirus infections tally over 1.01 crore. Of the total 1,01,46,846 cases, 2.81 lakh are currently active while over 97.17 lakh people have recovered after testing positive. As many as 336 new deaths took the death toll to over 1.47 lakh. Kerala, among the fastest-growing states in India, is the only state to report more than 5,000 cases on Thursday.
As many as 216 people who arrived here from the UK in a December 22 flight will be institutionally quarantined as they might have come in contact with seven of their fellow passengers and a crew member who tested COVID-19 positive on arrival, health officials said on Thursday.
They are from different places, including Amritsar, and are being taken from their homes to quarantine centres, they said.
Punjab's Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Thursday directed all civil surgeons to ensure tracing, surveillance and testing of international passengers who recently arrived from the UK.
Sidhu in a statement said a list of 1,822 passengers who arrived from the UK at the Delhi airport and then to Punjab has been received by the state authorities, which he added has already been shared with all districts.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the city government will approach the airport authorities here over a report that two COVID-positive flyers from the United Kingdom had slipped out from the Delhi airport. Amid mounting concern over a new strain of the virus detected in the UK, the Delhi government on Tuesday had said people who have arrived here recently from that country, are being traced and tested, while an institutional quarantine facility was being set up separately for positive cases at the LNJP Hospital.
At a press conference on Thursday, when asked about the report that two passengers from the UK, who had landed at Delhi airport on Tuesday, had further travelled to Punjab and Andhra Pradesh despite testing positive for COVID-19, Jain said, 'I have also read about it in the newspaper today'.
A UK-returned man in Dwarka area here has been found positive for COVID-19 and his family has been quarantined while tracing of others who came in contact with him was underway, officials said on Thursday. Earlier, another person who recently arrived from the UK had tested positive in south east Delhi on Wednesday.
The district authorities have deployed teams to contact those who have returned from the UK in the past four weeks and ensure that they undergo RTPCR tests if they show any symptoms, said a senior government official.(PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Thursday logged 1,035 new COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 8,11,115 and the toll mounted to 12,036 with 12 more deaths. The state capital city's daily case count dipped below the 300 mark for the first time after May. It reported 296 fresh cases. All the 12 dead were aged between 60 and 84 and had co-morbidities, a health department bulletin said. The toll included Chennai's 3,979, the highest in the state.
Barring the state capital, all other districts showed either a single or double digit count of fresh infections, evidencing the trend of a continuing decline in new cases and more recoveries in the past several weeks. (PTI)
Schools and colleges for Classes 9 to 12 will reopen in the limits of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) from January 4, 2021, an official said on Thursday. The civic body had earlier postponed the reopening of schools and colleges in its limits and stated that they will continue to remain shut till January 3. In an order issued on Thursday the civic body stated that schools and colleges for classes 9 to 12 will reopen from January 4.
'It is mandatory for all schools and colleges to follow the COVID-19 protocols and adhere to safety measures such as thermal screening, oximeter checking of students and staff,' the order stated. The schools and colleges will also have to ensure that the seating arrangements are made in keeping with the physical distancing norms, it was stated. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh police on Thursday warned people not to fall prey to mobile phone calls or messages offering to register name for the coronavirus vaccine. "People should not attend any phone call or click on a link (in a text message) offering coronavirus vaccine," said
Rajat Saklecha, Additional Superintendent of Police, Cyber Crime. It is an attempt by cyber fraudsters to get confidential information and siphon off money from bank accounts, he told reporters.
A student who received one such call informed the cyber wing after which an advisory warning about this racket was issued, Saklecha said. (PTI)
South Africa's health minister says the country has seen more than 14,000 confirmed new coronavirus cases in the past day, with a positivity rate of 26 per cent, as overall cases edge toward 1 million. Heath Minister Zwelini Mkhize says the 'alarming rate of spread' of infections is much faster than during the first wave in midyear. His daily report doesn't say how many of the new infections are attributed to the new variant of the virus in South Africa.
The country has more than 950,000 confirmed cases, including more than 25,000 deaths. More than 400 people have died in the past day. Mkhize says COVID-19 is unrelenting and urges South Africans to not be complacent as they enter the holiday season, and he warns that the government will have to review restrictions meant to limit the spread of the virus and consider further measures. More than a quarter of the country's infections are in Gauteng province, home of commercial hub Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria. (AP)
The Karnataka government on Thursday withdrew its night curfew order, hours before it was scheduled to be implemented. The decision to impose night curfew for nine days from 11 pm to 5 am starting from Thursday was taken on Wednesday in line with the Centre's advice, amid concerns over a new COVID-19 variant spreading in the UK. In a statement, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said: "In view of the public opinion that there was no need for night curfew, the decision was reviewed and after consulting with cabinet colleagues and senior officials it has been decided to withdraw the night curfew," Yediyurappa said. (PTI)