Coronavirus Live Updates: India Sends Vaccines To Guyana, Jamaica; Active Cases Rise to 1.75 Lakhs

Telangana Reports 166 New COVID-19 Cases | Telangana recorded 166 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the total positives to over 2.99 lakh while two deaths pushed the tally to 1,639, the state government said today. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 27, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 14 and Rangareddy with 12, it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 pm on March 4.

UPDATE | According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 21,99,40,742 samples have so far been tested for the viral disease in the country, including 7,61,834 on Thursday.

Consignment of Made in India COVID-19 vaccines airlifted for Guyana, Jamaica and Nicaragua: Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson.

Consignment of Made in India COVID19 vaccines airlifted for Guyana, Jamaica and Nicaragua: Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs pic.twitter.com/wSu55Pi0hH

— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2021

 Union Minister Giriraj Singh receives the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Sadar Hospital in Begusarai, Bihar.

Bihar: Union Minister Giriraj Singh receives the first dose of #COVID19 vaccine at Sadar Hospital in Begusarai pic.twitter.com/PIbORzNuEi

— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2021

A day after Bharat Biotech announced 81 percent efficacy for Covaxin, a news report stated that India’s first indigenously developed covid-19 vaccine has not yet been reviewed by the Centre. According to a report by Mint, Covaxin is yet to undergo strict evaluation by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to come out of the “clinical trial mode” in India’s mass vaccination programme against coronavirus.

UPDATE | Total Covid-19 cases in India: 1,11,73,761
Total discharges: 1,08,39,894
Death toll: 1,57,548
Active cases: 1,76,319
Total vaccination: 1,80,05,503

UPDATE | India reports 16,838 new COVID-19 cases, 13,819 discharges and 113 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry.

Over 13.8L Given Vaccine | More than 13.8 lakh (13,88,170) COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the country in the last 24 hours, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare said in its latest bulletin.

10 at Mumbai Restaurant Test Positive | At least 10 staff members of Radha Krishna restaurant on SV Road in Andheri (West) test positive for Covid-19. All those infected have been shifted to BKC Jumbo Covid Centre: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

No Fresh COVID-19 Case in Arunachal | Arunachal Pradesh did not report any fresh COVID-19 case in the past two days, a senior health department official said yesterday. The northeastern state's coronavirus tally stood at 16,838, he said. Arunachal Pradesh currently has two active cases, both in Tirap district, while 16,780 people have recovered from the disease and 56 died so far, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said. State Immunisation Officer Dimong Padung said 38,090 health and frontline workers, including 3,615 on Thursday, have received vaccine shots thus far.

Arrange Jabs for Old, Bed-ridden: Maha to Centre | Maharashtra task force on Covid-19 yesterday urged the Union government to arrange for vaccination of bed-ridden people and those staying in old age homes. The task force has suggested alternative arrangements like home vaccination and setting up of temporary vaccination sites at old age homes.

According to the world body, an estimated 50 million of children in India suffered from mental health issues even before the pandemic. At least one in seven children, or 332 million globally, has lived under required or recommended nationwide stay-at-home policies for at least nine months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting their mental health and well-being at risk, it said. (2/2)

COVID-19 Impacted Health, Psychosocial Well-being of Children in India: UNICEF | The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the health and psychosocial well-being of the children in India, UNICEF said on Thursday. Closure of schools prevented children from gaining access to learning and limited interaction with their peers. The pandemic also brought stress on parents and caregivers posing challenges to their capacity of providing care and engaging with their children, it said in a statement. (1/2)

Mumbai Night Clubs Flout Covid Norms | Night clubs in Mumbai continue to flout Covid-19 norms. Clubs in Juhu and in Ville Parle weren't just found to be operating beyond 2am but were also flouting all norms including not maintaining social distancing. Mumbai witnessed more than 1,100 fresh cases yesterday.

13 Pvt Hospitals in Mumbai to Vaccinate 8k at Most in a Day | In Mumbai, 13 out of 29 major private hospitals have joined the vaccination programme. However, these hospitals will only be able to vaccinate around 7,000-8,000 people in a day. In such a situation, the bulk of the work still lies with the government hospitals.

Nearly 11 Lakh Doses Given Yesterday | In a significant jump, India administered nearly 11 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines yesterday. On Wednesday, at least 10 lakh people received the jab against Covid-19. These numbers are a remarkable increase from the earlier average of 5 lakh doses per day.

Hospitals can extend or advance the vaccination schedule any day and do not have to stick to a fixed schedule to inoculate people against Covid-19 and, the government has said, in a move that will help speed up the vaccination drive.

In a statement yesterday, a UK government spokesman said the Serum Institute is one part of our supply chain for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which also includes facilities in Britain and Europe. The government said Britain's Medicines and Health products Regulatory agency had carried out an inspection of the Serum Institute's facilities and confirmed that globally-recognised quality standards are being met. (2/2)

UK to Receive 10 Mn Doses of Covishield | Britain says it will receive 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that will be delivered from the Serum Institute of India, a company that was meant to be producing vaccines for the world's developing countries. The 10 million doses being shipped to the UK are part of a larger order of 100 million doses that was part of the UK's original deal for COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca. (1/2)

Zimbabwe Authorises Use of Covaxin | Zimbabwe becomes first African country to authorise the use of India's indigenous vaccine -- Covaxin. The vaccine has been developed by Bharat Biotech and Indian Council for Medical Research - National Institute of Virology, Pune (ICMR-NIV).

A total of 1,77,11,287 vaccine doses have been given, as per the provisional report till yesterday 7 pm. These include 68,38,077 healthcare workers, who have taken the first dose and 30,82,942 healthcare workers who have taken the second dose, 60,22,136 frontline workers (first dose), 54,177 FLWs (second dose), 14,95,016beneficiaries over 60 years and 2,18,939 individuals aged 45 and above with specific comorbidities, the ministry said. A total of 10,93,954vaccine doses were given till 7 pm on Thursday, the forty-eighth day of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. (2/2)

Over 1.77 Cr COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Given | The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 1.77 crore, the Union Health Ministry said yesterday. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) starting from February 2. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March for those above 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions. (1/2)

Eligiblity for 2nd Phase of Vaccination | People within the age group of 45-59 years with comorbidities are required to produce a comorbidity certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner. A total of 20 comorbidities have been specified for vaccination, the officials said. People eligible for vaccination also have to carry their photo identity cards, including Aadhaar card, PAN card or voter card.

About 69 per cent of people (11,344) turned up at private facilities and remaining 31 per cent (5159) at government facilities for vaccination, as per the data shared by officials. As per official estimates, there are around 43 lakh people in the specified priority category of 60 years or above and those within 45-59 years with comorbidities in Delhi.

Nearly 28K Get Vaccine Shots in Delhi | Nearly 28,000 beneficiaries, including 14,328 senior citizens, received shots of COVID-19 vaccine in Delhi yesterday, according to data shared by officials. In the 45-59 years age group, 21,755 beneficiaries received the jabs, a senior official said. Over 5,100 senior citizens in Delhi had received their first shots of the vaccine on Monday when the second phase of the vaccination drive had begun in the national capital. "Today, 27,959 people were vaccinated, out of which 14,328 were citizens in the age group of 60 and above," the official said.