Kerala reported 3,671 cases on Friday while Punjab, with 622 cases, contributed the third highest number of cases in the country. (Representational)Coronavirus India Live Updates: The Centre on Saturday advised states and UTs reporting an increase in coronavirus cases to enforce COVID-appropriate behaviour by dealing firmly with violations and ensure effective surveillance in case of potential super spreading events so as not to squander last year’s gains.
On Friday, India recorded 16,488 new Covid-19 cases and 113 deaths. Maharashtra accounted for 8,333 or more than half of the new Covid cases detected. Kerala reported 3,671 cases while Punjab, with 622 cases, contributed the third highest number of cases in the country. Active cases rose further to 1.56 lakh.
Days ahead of the scheduled second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive, the Centre Friday held a meeting with states on the rollout, where it communicated that registrations will begin in three ways for those above the age of 50 and those above the age of 45 with associated co-morbidities. It said private hospitals may be allowed to charge a user fee of up to Rs 100 from each beneficiary towards infrastructure costs. The second phase of the drive is scheduled to begin March 1.
Meanwhile, for the last three days, the national capital has been reporting over 200 cases of Covid-19 in a day, a rise from the cases reported over the past month. On Friday, the city saw 256 new cases and one death, taking the total number of cases in Delhi so far to 6,38,849. The death toll has been recorded at 10,906. On Thursday the city saw 220 cases, while there were 200 cases detected on Wednesday.
In other news, several Pune hospitals have been reporting a two-fold increase in incoming infected patients and are now facing pressure to reallocate their bed strength to cater to the rush. Barely a month ago, several hospitals had closed some of their Covid wards as cases were on the decline.
Chairing a high-level review meeting with chief secretaries of states and UTs reporting an increase in coronavirus cases, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Saturday advised them to enforce COVID-appropriate behaviour by dealing firmly with violations and ensure effective surveillance in case of potential super spreading events so as not to squander last year’s gains.
The meeting was held with the chief secretaries of states and UTs of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir.
“They were advised not to lower their guard, enforce COVID appropriate behaviour and deal firmly with violations. It was strongly underlined that they need to follow effective surveillance strategies in respect of potential super spreading events,” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement. Read more
In view of the recent spike in coronavirus cases, the Gujarat government has decided to extend the night curfew in four major cities of the state, including Ahmedabad, by another 15 days.
The ongoing night curfew in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, was to end on February 28.
An official statement issued on Friday night said, the government decided to extend the night curfew by another 15 days in view of the recent rise in coronavirus cases in four municipal corporations. This is the fifth extension of the night curfew, which first came into force in November last year after a spurt in COVID-19 cases in these cities post-Diwali.
The ongoing night curfew starts at midnight and ends at 6 am. (PTI)
For the first time in its recent history, the Kerala capital on Saturday witnessed the famous Attukal Pongala, one of the world's largest all-women congregation, without the mass gathering of women devotees in public places and long lines of wayside make-shift hearths.
As authorities have issued strict instructions in view of COVID-19 spread, the annual pongala ritual was confined to homes this time unlike lakhs of women devotees gathering in and around the city roads and bylanes and preparing the offering for the deity as part of the ritual.
As per the instructions, none were allowed to offer 'pongala' (sweet offering) in public places or on roads. Instead, they could make the offering from their homes. No priests would visit home to sanctify the 'pongala' but devotees can do themselves, it said.
The ritual at the Attuakal Devi temple in Thiruvananthapuram was limited to the offering prepared at the 'pandara adupu', the main hearth. (PTI)
Mumbai Police has registered a case against three marriage halls for allowing more number of guests than the prescribed limit of 50 on the complaint of the city civic body, an official said on Saturday.
At each of these three marriage halls, located on CST Road in Kalina, at least 200 guests had assembled on Friday, the civic official said.
He said many guests gathered at these halls were not wearing a face mask and social distancing norms were also not adhered to. (PTI)
The cabinet secretary will chair a high-level review meeting on Saturday with eight states and union territories exhibiting a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Union Health Ministry said. The states showing a surge are Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. India's total COVID-19 active caseload is 1,59,590 which is 1.44 per cent of the total infections.
With new infections soaring due to a highly contagious coronavirus variant and hospitals filling up, one of the hardest-hit countries in the European Union is facing the inevitable: the tightest lockdown since the start of the pandemic. The Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Friday the new series of measures is necessary to protect the lives of our citizens. --AP
The recent surge in coronavirus infections has seen Pune re-emerge as the city with the second highest number of confirmed cases, overtaking Bengaluru, after a gap of nearly four months. Pune district now has over 4.06 lakh confirmed cases, while Bengaluru has more than 4.04 lakh. Delhi, with more than 6.38 lakh cases, is, obviously, quite far ahead. For the last four consecutive days, and on six occasions in the last eight days, Pune has reported more than 1,000 cases, the highest for any city in the country. Bengaluru and Delhi are, these days, reporting cases in the lower hundreds. Read more
With 611 more persons testing positive for coronavirus, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 2,63,625, an official said on Saturday. These new cases were reported on Friday, he said. As the virus claimed the life of sevenpersons during the day, the death toll in the district rose to 6,263. Its COVID-19 mortality rate stood at 2.38 per cent, he added. So far, 2,51,722 patients have recuperated from the infection, which took the recovery rate to 95.48 per cent. There are 5,640 active cases in the district at present, the official said. --PTI
India recorded 16,488 new Covid-19 cases and 113 deaths on Friday. Maharashtra accounted for 8,333 or more than half of the new Covid cases detected. Kerala reported 3,671 cases while Punjab, with 622 cases, contributed the third highest number of cases in the country. Active cases rose further to 1.56 lakh.