Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol during his visit to the Jumbo Covid Hospital on Monday. (Express photo by Ashish Kale)Public celebration and gatherings for upcoming festivals, including Holi, have been prohibited in Delhi and Mumbai amid a renewed surge in Covid-19 cases across the country. The Uttar Pradesh government, on the other hand, has issued a set of guidelines asking senior citizens and vulnerable groups to stay away from celebrations and said no processions or gatherings will be allowed without prior administrative permission.
MHA has issued a set of guidelines for the effective control of Covid-19. The guidelines, which will be effective from April 1, has asked states and Union Territories to enforce the ‘test-track-treat’ protocol and laid down containment measures. It has also said governments should take all necessary measures to promote Covid- appropriate behaviour in workplaces and in public, especially in crowded places. The suspension of international flights has been extended till April 30. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.
The government has decided that everybody above 45 years of age will be eligible for vaccination from April 1. Announcing this, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said, “We request that all eligible should immediately register and get vaccinated.”
Till date, only people above 60 years of age and those in the age group of 45-60 who have co-morbidities were eligible for vaccination. According to the Centre’s estimate, around 27 crore people belong in these categories. Anybody suffering from serious cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, AIDS and persons with disabilities had been included in the list of people suffering from comorbidities.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Monday said the state government has now allowed more hospitals to carry out vaccination drives to curb the spread of the virus. (Express File Photo by Pawan Khengre)
With a fresh Covid-19 surge feared during the upcoming festive season, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday issued directions for “aggressive Covid tests” at airports, bus stations and railway stations, and said the Covid-19 vaccination drive would be intensified. The government told authorities to stop the wastage of vaccines at any cost.
As per the latest directions, no processions will be allowed during the festive season without the administration’s permission. Read More
Three more deaths due to Covid-related complications were reported in Mohali district on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 414. As many as 263 new coronavirus positive cases were also reported in the district, increasing the tally of cases to 24,182. At present, there are 2,561 active cases in the district.
DC Girish Dayalan said that 115 patients were deemed recovered from the infection and were discharged from hospitals and home isolation. Read More
Chandigarh on Tuesday reported 214 new cases and one death, taking the tally of cases to 24,881 and the toll to 364.
The total number of active cases was 2,066. While 110 men tested positive, the number of women who were COVID positive was 104. As many as 2,056 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of samples tested to 2,96,079. A total of 100 people were discharged from various facilities of the city. Read More
Just like the imported UK, Brazil and South African variants of SARS-CoV2 virus, the local ones are equally important in terms of genomic surveillance, according to experts. While Maharashtra had reported mutations, it is still unclear whether it is linked to the surge in the state, they said.
Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have reported a rise in daily new cases of coronavirus infection, accounting for 81 per cent of daily new cases (40,175) on March 22. Read More
Amid a rise in daily Covid-19 cases in the city, the BMC has banned all private (inside housing societies) and public Holi celebrations — Holika Dahan and Rang Panchami. Palghar district administration has also banned celebrations at public and private places.
Punjab Tuesday recorded 53 Covid-19 deaths, the second highest toll in a day this year, and added 2,274 fresh cases, bringing the toll to 6,435 and the infection count to 2,17,663.
State on Monday had recorded 58 Covid deaths, the maximum in a day this year. Tuesday was the seventh consecutive day when state added more than 2,000 fresh cases amid a second wave being witnessed in Punjab after the single-day highest count of 2,896 cases on September 17 last year. Read more
Public celebration and gatherings for upcoming festivals, including Holi, have been prohibited in Delhi and Mumbai amid a renewed surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.
The Uttar Pradesh government, on the other hand, has issued a set of guidelines asking senior citizens and vulnerable groups to stay away from celebrations and said no processions or gatherings will be allowed without prior administrative permission. (Read full report here)
The number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 5 crore, a significant milestone in the fight against the pandemic, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.
According to a provisional report till Tuesday 7 pm, 5,00,75,162 vaccine doses have been given, which include 79,03,068 healthcare and 83,33,713 frontline workers who have received the first dose, and 50,09,252 healthcare and 30,60,060 frontline workers who have taken the second dose.
Besides, 2,12,03,700 senior citizens and 45,65,369 beneficiaries above 45 years with specific comorbidities also were administered the first dose.
"Total 15,80,568 vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday till 7 pm, the 67th day of the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive. (PTI)
After Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, his mother and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's wife Rashmi Thackeray too has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Tuesday.
The chief minister and his wife had taken a first dose of the vaccine against coronavirus at the government-run J J Hospital here on March 11.
'Her COVID-19 test came out positive on Monday night. She has been quarantined at `Varsha', the official residence of the chief minister,' said an official. (PTI)
A siren was sounded for two minutes at 7 pm at Jabalpur’s Ranital Chowk today to raise awareness among the public about wearing masks. The initiative will continue for a week, in view of rising Covid-19 cases. (ANI)
Kerala reported 1,985 new Covid-19 cases and 10 deaths on Tuesday. However, the state’s active caseload dropped to 23,883 even as the toll rose to 4,517.
At 252, Kannur reported the highest number of cases on Tuesday, followed by Kozhikode at 223 and Thrissur at 196.
In a relief, no in-bound flier from the UK, South Africa and Brazil tested positive over the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 102 passengers from the UK have tested positive for the new strain, followed by four detected with the South African variant and one with the Brazilian one. Of the total 107 such cases, 102 have already recovered. (Read full report here)
Amid rising cases in NCT of Delhi, public celebrations for upcoming festivals such as Holi, Navratri, and gatherings in general, have been banned. All DMs and concerned authorities should ensure strict adherence to the order, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has stated. (ANI)
Maharashtra reports 28,699 new cases, 13,165 recoveries, and 132 deaths in the last 24 hours Total cases 25,33,026, total recoveries 22,47,495, death toll 53,589, active cases 2,30,641. (ANI)
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to states and UTs on the Centre's decision on vaccination for people above 45 years from April 1. (ANI)
A total of 89 deaths have been reported following COVID-19 vaccination till March 16, but none of the fatalities has been attributed to the inoculation so far, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
In written reply to a question, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said that adverse events following immunization (AEFI) are monitored through a well-structured and robust surveillance system.
Causality assessment of all serious and severe AEFI cases is done by a designated committee to determine if an adverse event is related to the vaccine or vaccination process or otherwise, he said.
Adequate measures have been put in place to manage AEFI cases like availability of anaphylaxis kits at each vaccination site, immediate referral to AEFI management centre and observation of vaccine recipients for 30 minutes at session site so as to take timely corrective measure. (PTI)
The 6th India-Austria Foreign Office Consultations took place on March 18 virtually, with discussion on bilateral ties, Covid-19, post-pandemic recovery and vaccines, Indo-Pacific developments, terrorism, India-EU Relations and India’s priorities during its term in UNSC, says MEA. (ANI)
A Covid testing drive is being conducted at Jammu Railway Station. “25 to 30 teams have been deployed at the railway station and every passenger is being tested,” said Dr Rakesh Kumar, in charge of Covid-19 testing there. (ANI)
The supply of Covid vaccines from Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech could increase by July-August, according to Professor V K Paul, member (health) NITI Aayog. “The SII manufactures 60 million doses per month and can be in a position to supply 470 million doses by August,” Paul said on Tuesday.
Across the country, the cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses are nearing 5 crore and more than 2 crore beneficiaries are aged over 60 years, according to data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Responding to a query on the 90 per cent use of Covishield vis a vis Covaxin, Paul said this disparity pertained mainly to a supply issue. “Covaxin hesitancy has melted to a large extent and has less side effects,” he said. (Read full report by Anuradha Mascarenhas)
Karnataka on Tuesday reported 2,010 new Covid-19 cases as Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar admitted that the state had entered the second wave of the pandemic.
“The second wave has begun in the state. The number of cases is increasing in several parts of the state. People should be vigilant and ensure that Covid-19 precautions are followed,” he said. (Read full report by Ralph Alex Arakal)
145 new cases reported on Sunday among students and contacts, taking the total cases in Manipal Institute of Technology (in Manipal) campus, to 299. A total of 5,800 students quarantined on campus, says Dr Sudhir Chandra Sooda, Udupi District Health Officer. (ANI)