Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a meeting with chief ministers all states and Union territories over the spike in Covid-19 cases, via video conferencing, in New Delhi, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (PTI Photo)Coronavirus India Live Updates: Expressing concern over rising Covid-19 cases in some states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for quick and decisive steps to curb the spread of the virus. In a virtual interaction with chief ministers, Modi said the emerging second peak of Coronavirus should be stopped immediately. The Prime Minister’s last interaction with CMs was in January, just before the vaccination roll-out. Mamata Banerjee and Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, respectively, did not attend the meeting.
India detected 28,903 cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, of which 17,864 cases were from Maharashtra — the highest since September 30 last year. More than 1.14 crore people have been found infected in the country till now, while the number of active cases in the country has increased to more than 2.34 lakh. At least 188 deaths were reported on Tuesday, with 87 casualties from Maharashtra and 38 from Punjab.
Meanwhile, former Union minister and BJP leader Dilip Gandhi died of COVID-19 at a private hospital in New Delhi early Wednesday morning. Gandhi, 69, was in Delhi in connection with some personal work. He had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday and was admitted to a private hospital where he was put on a ventilator. He breathed his last around 3 am this morning, BJP leaders said.
In other news, Beijing has made it mandatory for people coming from India and 19 other countries to get themselves inoculated with Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines if they wish to travel to China. For Indian travellers, this condition is a problem because Chinese-made vaccines are not available in India.
In Nagpur on Monday. Amid a new wave of Covid infections, with over 2,000 daily cases, the city headed into a weeklong lockdown starting Monday. (PTI)
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that PM Modi's Covid-19 vision has provided an overarching framework to make India's goodwill with other nations meaningful in terms of practical initiatives. This, as a result, has developed India's reputation as a first and reliable respondent, he said.
Even as the Covid pandemic was in full fury, there were already global demands of our pharmaceutical and medical capabilities, said External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. "If we could meet them, it was largely due to extraordinary ramp-up of our Covid- related capabilities, he said.
Further, he said that India could meet the spiking requirement for Hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol and other relevant drugs across the world, adding that the Government has supplied 150 nations with medicines of which 82 are grants from India. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Covid-19 pandemic showed how impacts can quickly spread across globe and also how the world can come together to fight a common threat.
Speaking at the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, he said Covid-19 has taught that in an interdependent world, no country is immune to the effects of global disasters. Effect of a disaster in one part of the world can quickly spread across the globe, PM said, adding that cooperation is a must for ensuring resilience of the global system.
He added that just as the fight against the pandemic mobilized the energies of the world's seven billion people, our quest for resilience must build on the initiative and imagination of each and every individual on this planet.
Prime Minister Modi, while interacting with the chief ministers, questioned the low testing and vaccination rates in some parts of the country and urged them to contemplate on the matter.
"It is a matter of contemplation that why is there less testing in some areas only. Why is there less vaccination in these areas? I think it's a time of test for good governance...Our confidence should not turn into overconfidence. Our success should not turn into negligence," PM Modi was quoted as saying by ANI.
He said states like Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are overly dependent on antigen tests and asserted that RT- PCR tests should make for over 70 per cent of overall testing.
PM Modi also called for ramping up testing in smaller towns and cautioned against spread of Coronavirus in villages.
Expressing concern over rising Covid-19 cases in some states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for quick and decisive steps to curb the spread of the virus.
In an interaction with the chief ministers on the Covid-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive, Modi said the emerging second peak of Coronavirus should be stopped immediately.
He further asked the heads of the states to take the issue of wastage of covid-19 vaccine doses seriously.
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South Korea's capital has ordered coronavirus tests for all foreign workers as the country expands mass testing targeting expatriates in a campaign that has triggered complaints of discrimination. Seoul officials said Wednesday the testing requirement covers all foreign nationals employed in the city, regardless of their visa status, as well as their employers. They could face fines of up to 2 million won (USD 1,768) if they fail to get tested until the end of March. Seoul had around 240,000 registered foreigners at the end of 2020, but city officials didn't have an immediate estimate on how many of them would be covered by tests. The decision comes after similar measures in nearby Gyeonggi province, which is also forcing employers to require tests for new foreign jobseekers and hire only those who test negative.
The Ahmedabad civic body on Wednesday announced the closure of the city zoo, lakefront and all public gardens here in view of the rising COVID-19 cases. On Tuesday, the city recorded 241 new cases of coronavirus, a sharp increase from 40 cases reported a month back on February 16. The COVID-19 tally in the city has gone up to 60,992, as per official figures.
Germany’s decision set off a domino effect of defections from the AstraZeneca vaccine. A cascade of countries — Italy, France and Spain — soon joined the decision to suspend AstraZeneca, dealing a significant blow to Europe’s already shaky inoculation drive despite a lack of clear evidence that the vaccine had caused any harm.
On Tuesday, the European Union’s top drug regulator pushed back against concerns about the shot, saying that there was no sign of its causing dangerous problems and that its lifesaving benefits “outweigh the risk of the side effects.” The European Medicines Agency was still studying the issue, said Emer Cooke, its executive director, adding that there was “no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions.”
It appears increasingly clear that the suspensions have as much to do with political considerations as scientific ones.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a virtual interaction with chief ministers of the Covid-19 situation in India, amid a second wave of infections. Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and Bhupesh Baghel are reportedly not attending the meeting. Nearly 84 per cent of the daily infections are now being reported from six states -- Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and Kerala. However, other states too are seeing a rise in cases.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual meeting with all chief ministers today amid rising COVID-19 cases across the country. PM Modi's last interaction with chief ministers was in January before the vaccination roll-out.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will not attend the meet today
Former President Donald Trump again urged people to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, saying he would recommend vaccination to "a lot of people that don't want to get it, and a lot of those people voted for me." In an interview Tuesday night on Fox News, Trump acknowledged that people were free to decide for themselves whether they would be vaccinated against COVID-19. ?We have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works," he said.
After a day’s dip, new coronavirus cases showed another big jump in Pune district on Tuesday, with 3,574 infections getting discovered. This is a new high for the district in the ongoing second wave, and the highest since September 27 last year.
Tuesday’s count means Pune is now contributing more than 20 per cent of all the cases in Maharashtra, which in turn accounts for over 60 per cent of the cases reported from across the country.
With Tuesday’s addition, Pune has, till now, recorded more than 4.45 confirmed infections, the second highest in the country after Delhi. Out of these, 28,866 cases are currently active, the highest for any district in the country.
The Philippine government has decided to temporarily ban the entry of foreigners and limit the entry of returning Filipinos at Manila's international airport to 1,500 daily as it struggles to contain an alarming surge in coronavirus infections. A government body dealing with the pandemic said the monthlong travel restrictions would start Saturday and aim to prevent the spread into the country of coronavirus strains from other countries which are believed to be more contagious. Among those to be allowed limited entry are homebound Filipino workers.
Philippine Airlines said it would announce some flight cancellations to comply with the temporary restriction.
In view of rising coronavirus cases in the state, the Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to impose night curfew in Bhopal and Indore municipal areas and also ordered closure of shops at 10 PM in eight other cities. The restrictions would come into force from Wednesday, an official said. The decision was taken by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after reviewing the COVID-19 situation at a meeting with senior officials, he said. The night curfew will be in place in Indore and Bhopal cities from 10 PM to 6 AM, an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dr Rajesh Rajora said.
India detected 28,903 cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, of which 17,864 cases were from Maharashtra — the highest since September 30 last year. More than 1.14 crore people have been found infected in the country till now, while the number of active cases in the country has increased to more than 2.34 lakh. At least 188 deaths were reported on Tuesday, with 87 casualties from Maharashtra and 38 from Punjab. In view of the rising cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may chair a meeting with chief ministers today.
BJP leader Dilip Gandhi passes away at a private hospital in Delhi. He had tested positive for the novel coronavirus
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal Tuesday said he has tested positive for Covid-19, the announcement coming a day after he addressed a party rally in Tarn Taran. Soon after, the Akali Dal announced postponement of its ‘Punjab Mangda Jawab’ rallies launched by the party to “force the Congress government to answer for allegedly reneging on all the promises made to the people” till March 31.
Union Health minister Dr, Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said the Centre was “striking a sensible balance” in sending vaccines abroad, and none sent to the 72 countries so far was at the expense of the people of India.
He said that India believed that the “world was our family” and that “science was global”, but quoted vaccination figures to show that India was well on track in its inoculation programme. Read More
A record 2,64,897 people received coronavirus vaccines in Maharashtra on Tuesday, officials said.
This was the highest number of people vaccinated in a day in the state since the inoculation drive began in January, an official said.
The tally of those who have received vaccine reached 31,33,612.
Of those who received the jab during the day, 2,43,812 were given Covishield doses while 21,085 were given Covaxin, the official said.
As many as 3,61,222 health workers and 72,777 front line workers have been given a second dose of the vaccine too. (PTI)