A man looks at the list for trying to find his name in the beneficiarie list for Covid Vaccination at Kamala Nehru Hospital in Pune. (Express photo by Ashish Kale)Coronavirus Lockdown in India 2021 Highlights: If there was one song that could well describe what’s going on right now, it would be British band Bastille’s ‘Pompeii’. Sample the lyrics of this 2013 mega-hit: ‘But if you close your eyes; Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?….How am I gonna be an optimist about this?’ After all, a year has gone by and if you don’t look at the calendar, it looks and feels the same. Novel coronavirus, humanity’s worst enemy in the last 100 years, is wreaking havoc since it was first reported from the wet market of China’s Wuhan. The origin of the virus is still unknown and people are still not ready to wear a mask.
We were introduced to the term ‘lockdown’ when Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the order for strictest restrictions that anyone had faced anywhere in the world. The 21-day lockdown that came into force from 12:01 am was announced by PM Modi during his 8 pm national address today n 2020. Giving just four-hour notice, the lockdown declaration sparked an absolute frenzy on the city streets. Within hours, all malls and grocery stores were emptied with people buying everything possible in panic mode. While the urban population was whipping Dalgona coffee, it was the silent, almost-hidden, never-spoken-about migrants that bore the burnt of the lockdown, that caught many in surprise.
A year later, as the nation marks the first anniversary of the first national lockdown, it seems we are living in a time loop. Europe is seeing a new number of cases again, Maharashtra is again the epicentre of Covid infections in India. Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are also showing an uptick. So what has changed? The key aspect is that we have the power of corona vaccines. While Western nations are going for Pfizer and Moderna, India is relying on Oxford/AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech’s Covid jabs to achieve the elusive dream of herd immunity.
On the anniversary of the national lockdown 2020, India remembers those who lost their lives and frontline workers who made supreme sacrifices! Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus lockdown and lockdown anniversary from India. We will also be looking at what’s happening in terms of pandemic around the world.
Highlights
Rajasthan reported 669 more coronavirus cases on Wednesday, while another person succumbed to the pathogen, the Health Department said. The toll climbed to 2,808 and and the infection tally rose to 3.27 lakh, it said. The death occurred in Jaipur, which also recorded the 106 new infections, according to a bulletin. (PTI)
Haryana reported six COVID-19 fatalities on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 3,110 and the tally to 2,82,569 with 981 fresh cases, a health department bulletin said.
Punedistrict reported 6,741 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its case count to 4,86,262, a health official said on Wednesday evening. The death toll in the district reached 9,682 with 42 patients succumbing to the infection during this period, he said. Of 6,741 cases, 3,509 were detected in the PuneMunicipal Corporation limits. As many as 1,410 patients were also discharged from the hospitals in the city.
The infection count in Punjab climbed to 2,20,276 with 2,634 fresh COVID-19 cases while 39 more fatalities took the toll to 6,474 in the state on Wednesday. The number of active cases increased from 19,403 on Tuesday to 20,522 on Wednesday, according to a medical bulletin. Jalandhar reported a maximum of 351 cases, Ludhiana 320, Mohali 303, Amritsar 290, Patiala 276 and Hoshiarpur 249, among districts which witnessed new cases.
Uttarakhand reported 200 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a chunk of them from Haridwar, which is in the final stages of preparations to host the Kumbh Mela from April 1. While no fatality due to the disease was reported in a day, the state is witnessing a surge in infections. Haridwar reported the highest number of 71 new cases, followed by Dehradun with 63, Nainital 22, Udham Singh Nagar 14, eight each in Pauri, Rudraprayag and Tehri, five in Pithoragarh and one in Almora, a COVID-19 control room bulletin said. However, no fresh cases were detected in Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat and Uttarkashi districts. (PTI)
Dharavi, Mumbai's largest slum, on Wednesday recorded 62 new coronavirus cases, a significant growth in daily cases after a gap of nearly 10 months, a civic official said. On May 18 last year, Dharavi had reported 85 such cases. However, the infection count had started dropping gradually due to factors like lockdown, migration out of the slum and a number of steps taken by the administration, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday reported 1,712 new COVID-19 cases, taking its case tally to 2,80,289. Seven fatalities increased the death toll to 3,919, a health official said. As many as 950 people were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries in Madhya Pradesh to 2,66,323, he added. (PTI)
A new "double mutant variant" of SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in Delhi, Maharashtra and some other places in addition to the three "variants of concern" -- first noticed in the UK, South Africa and Brazil -- that have been found in at least 18 states and union territories, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry, however, said it could not be sufficiently established yet if these variants were behind the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in some states. National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director S K Singh on Wednesday said that 771 cases of variants of concern (VOCs) have been detected in a total of 10,787 positive samples in 18 states and UTs which include 736 samples positive for viruses of the UK (B.1.1.7) lineage. (PTI)
Delhi records 1,254 new COVID-19 cases, highest in over 3 months; 6 deaths take toll to 10,973: Authorities. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday recorded 195 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,29,031, while no fresh death was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 49 were from the Jammu Division and 146 from the Kashmir Division of the union territory, they said. The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest of 77 COVID-19 cases, including 23 travellers, followed by 35 in Jammu district. (PTI)
Maharashtra reports 31,855 new COVID-19 cases, its highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic: Health official. (PTI)
All ongoing and scheduled exams of degree, PG and other courses under universities in Telangana have been postponed following temporary closure of educational institutions due to surge in COVID-19 daily cases in the state, authorities said on Wednesday. The revised schedule will beannounced later, a senior official of the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) said. (PTI)
The Gujarat government on Wednesday issued a notification banning public celebration of Holi and said the ritual of "Holika Dahan" can be observed in small gatherings amid the COVID-19 situation in the state. As per the notification issued by the home department, public celebrations and mass functions cannot be allowed on the day of Dhuleti on March 29 due to the prevailing pandemic. (PTI)
Mumbai reports 5185 new COVID19 cases, which is the highest single-day spike. The city reported 2088 recoveries and 6 deaths today.
Total cases 3,74,611Total recoveries 3,31,322Death toll 11,606
Active cases 30,760 (ANI)
Kerala reported 2,456 new COVID-19 cases and ten more deaths on Wednesday, taking the infection count to 11,10,257 and the toll to 4,527. State health minister K K Shailaja said the state tested 56,740 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 4.33 per cent. Till now, the state has tested 1,28,10,707 samples. Meanwhile, 2,060 people recuperated from the disease today, taking the total cured in the state to 10,80,803. (PTI)
Rajasthan reports 669 new COVID19 cases, 258 recoveries and 1 death today.
Total cases 3,27,175Total recoveries 3,19,695Death toll 2808
Active cases 4672 (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday reported 585 fresh cases of coronavirus, the largest single day spike after December 9, pushing the caseload to 8,95,121. A total of 1.48 crore tests have been conducted so far and the overall infection positivity rate was 6.03 per cent, according to the latest bulletin. Four persons succumbed to COVID-19 in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday while 251 recovered, the bulletin said. The number of active cases mounted to 2,946 after 8,84,978 patients recovered from the infection and another 7,197 died in the state. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday expressed concern over the spurt in coronavirus cases in the state and appealed to the people to help the government in making its campaigns against the pandemic a success. The chief minister wrote letters to religious heads, political parties, different organisations and media, seeking their support in making the government's 'Mera Mask Meri Suraksha' and 'Meri Holi Mere Ghar' campaigns successful. (PTI)
Manipur reports 10 new COVID19 cases and 1 death today.
Total cases 29,362 Total recoveries 28,935 Death toll 374
Active cases 53. (ANI)
Odisha's COVID-19 caseload on Wednesday went up to 3,39,246 after 170 more people tested positive for the virus, the highest daily spike in the last 45 days, a health department official said. Of the 170 new cases, 99 were reported from quarantine centres, while the remaining 71 were detected during contact tracing, the official said. The fresh cases included 27 from Nuapada district, 23 each from Cuttack and Khurda districts and 22 from Sundergarh district. (PTI)
Twenty-two tourists, who had travelled in a bus from Gujarat on a 15-day tour of north India including Uttarakhand, have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said. The tourists started from Gujarat on March 7 and reached Rishikesh via Pushkar, Jaipur, Udaipur, Mathura and Haridwar on March 18. As some of them were found to have symptoms of fever during thermal screening on their arrival in Rishikesh, their swab samples were taken for RT-PCR test on March 18 and their reports arrived on March 22 confirming that they were infected with the novel coronavirus, in-charge of COVID cases for Narendra Nagar subdivision Jagdish Chandra Joshi said. (PTI)
Delhi is heading towards challenging two-three months in the wake of a resurgence in coronavirus cases, though the situation can be kept under control if vaccination is opened up for more people and COVID-19 protocols are strictly adhered to, experts said on Wednesday. The national capital reported 1,101 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest since December 19 when 1,139 cases were recorded in a single day, according to official data. Dr B L Sherwal, the managing director of Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, said, "We expect the numbers to increase in April and May. The problem is that the number of cases could be more as the virus has mutated." However, the infection this time is mild to moderate and the case fatality ratio is low, he said. (PTI)
Uttarakhand reports 200 new COVID-19 cases and 49 recoveries today, no deaths reported.Total cases: 98,880Total recoveries: 94,634Death toll: 1,706Active cases: 1,115(ANI)
Karnataka reports 2,298 new COVID19 cases, 995 discharges and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours.Total cases 9,75,955Total recoveries 9,46,589Death toll 12,461Active cases 16,886(ANI)
Former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat and four members of his family test positive for COVID19. (ANI)
All Anganwadi centers in Chandigarh shall remain closed with immediate effect till 31st March in view of surge in COVID-19 cases. All Anganwadi workers and helpers shall attend the centres to carry out the field activities as usual till further orders: Chandigarh Administration. (ANI)
About 88 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in the country are in the age group of 45 years and above, making them the most vulnerable section that needs to be protected, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the case fatality rate in this age group is 2.85 per cent. READ MORE
Covid-10 patients are now associating themselves with varied kinds of symptoms that stays even after the person has recovered. Loss of smell (anosmia) and taste were some of the prominent signs of Covid-19, but some people are also experiencing parosmia i.e. a change in perception of odour. Covid-toe and Covid-tongue are some of the other unusual disorders that are haunting coronavirus infected patients. Parosmia is a condition in which affected individuals experience distorted or changed sense of smell i.e their perception of smell is different from the ordinary perception of smell and sometimes pleasant odours might smell unpleasant to them. READ FULL STORY HERE
Superstar Salman Khan on Wednesday received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. The 55-year-old actor, who was spotted at the Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra in the evening, shared the news on Twitter. "Took my first dose of vaccine today...." Salman Khan wrote on the microblogging site. The "Bharat" star's parents -- veteran screenwriter Salim Khan and producer Salma Khan -- received their first dose of the vaccine a few days ago, a source close to Salman Khan said. On Tuesday, the government announced that from April 1, all people above 45 years of age will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines. (PTI)
The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday announced that it will order 7 million doses of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V worth over USD 69 million. The Cabinet approved a proposal to purchase 7 million doses of the vaccine at a cost of over USD 69 million, it was announced in a Cabinet note. The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) approved the Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use in Sri Lanka based on recommendations by a Cabinet-appointed negotiation committee, it said. The vaccine is yet to be approved by the World Health Organisation despite the fact that it has been approved by 39 countries for emergency use, according to health officials. (PTI)
Pakistan's top health official said Wednesday his country will purchase 1 million doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine and 60,000 doses of the vaccine made by Chinese company CanSino Biologics. Faisal Sultan, a special assistant to the prime minister, said on Twitter that an order has been placed for the purchase of Chinese-made vaccines which will be delivered to Pakistan within days. The purchases will be in addition to 1.5 million doses of vaccine which China is donating to Pakistan in phases. Without giving more details, Sultan said Pakistan will also receive several million doses of vaccines in April. Pakistan is currently facing a third wave of coronavirus infections. (AP)
Telangana, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Chandigarh have low COVID-19 vaccination coverage of frontline workers, says Union Health Ministry
The European Union is moving toward stricter export controls to ensure more COVID-19 shot supplies for the bloc that should boost its flagging vaccine drive. The EU's executive body said Wednesday on the eve of a summit of the 27 leaders that it has plan ready to that more vaccines produced in the bloc are available for its own citizens before they can be shipped for exports. EU nations have been specifically stung by the United Kingdom, which has received some 10 million doses from EU plants while they say nothing came back from Britain. The EU now insists on reciprocity as it sees vaccination rates in Britain racing upwards, while the bloc proceeds at a crawl. (AP)
After 10 days without any new COVID-19 case, Nagaland on Wednesday reported a fresh infection pushing the coronavirus tally to 12,226, Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said. One more person also recovered from the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 11,979. "1 +ve case of COVID-19 reported today at Dimapur. 1 +ve patient of COVID-19 have recovered in Mokokchung," the Health Minister said in a tweet. (PTI)
The Union Territory of Puducherry registered a spike in new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM on Wednesday. A total of 126 cases were identified at the end of the examination of 2,124 samples in the Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions while two senior citizens died of the virus. This raised the overall tally to 40,645, said the Director of Health and Family Welfare Services S Mohan Kumar in a press release. (PTI)
Food ordering platform Swiggy on Wednesday said it would cover the entire vaccination cost for its fleet of over 2 lakh delivery partners across the country. This comes close to the heels of the central government's announcement on the next phase of the nationwide vaccination commencing April 1, 2021, for individuals aged 45 and above. In the first tranche of the programme, 5,500 of Swiggy's delivery partners, aged 45 and above will be eligible to opt-in for the vaccination, Swiggy said in a statement. (PTI)
We have adequate supplies of vaccine for the COVID19 vaccination program that has been brought forth. There is no inadequacy of vaccine supply, said Dr. VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog, on Wednesday.
771 cases of Coronavirus variants detected across 18 states - 736 of UK variant, 34 of South African variant and 1 of Brazilian variant: National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director Dr SK Singh (ANI)
Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Wednesday said it has significantly reduced the price of its generic version of Remdesivir, which the company sells under the brand name ‘Remdac’, to Rs 899 for a 100 mg vial. The company had launched Remdac in August 2020 at Rs 2,800 per 100 mg lyophilized injection in the country. READ MORE
Top 10 districts with high active COVID-19 cases include nine from Maharashtra and one from Karnataka: Union Health Ministry