Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray (File)Coronavirus India Live Updates: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said that there could be a shortage of healthcare infrastructure if the COVID-19 situation deteriorates in the State. He also said Maharashtra has administered 65 lakh COVID19 vaccine doses till now, ANI reported.
Mumbai alone reported 8,832 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, which is the highest one-day rise since the beginning of the pandemic.
Kerala reported 2,506 new coronavirus cases Friday, taking the number of active cases in the state to 26,407. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government has not yet taken a decision to impose a lockdown even as the fourth wave of the virus grip the city.
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered the closing of all schools — both government and private — for students of classes 1-8 till April 11, in the wake of an aggressive second wave of coronavirus cases, ANI reported.
India recorded a sharp surge of 81,466 new infections in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s overall caseload to 12,302,110. Maharashtra accounted for 43,183 of the new cases, a new high for the state. Chhattisgarh and Karnataka reported more than 4,000 cases each. Meanwhile, with 469 new deaths, the country’s death toll rose to 1.63 lakh.
As the country grapples with a second wave of coronavirus cases, an expert panel of the top drug regulator has allowed Bharat Biotech to administer a third dose of Covaxin to some of the volunteers in its ongoing clinical trials of the Covid vaccine. The approval, a result of the Hyderabad-based vaccine maker’s proposal to use an additional booster dose, would allow it to test the ability of Covaxin to prompt an immune response that could last a few years, The Indian Express has learnt.
With Maharashtra reporting a sharp rise in cases over the last few weeks, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked officials to prepare fresh SOPs on further restrictions to be implemented across the state. Maharashtra is one of the highest contributors to the country’s Covid caseload. Yesterday, mayor Kishori Pednekar indicated that stricter containment measures could be implemented, including limiting travel in local trains and shutting down religious places, malls and theatres.
At a cloth market in Andheri East, Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
ALLEGING THAT instead of taking aggressive measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, BJP MP Narayan Rane said on Friday that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is threatening people with a second lockdown.
Addressing the media in Mumbai, Rane said, “If there is another lockdown, it will not only badly impact industry and livelihood of the people but also the image of Maharashtra.”Read More
STATE CONGRESS president Nana Patole said on Friday that all individuals above the age of 18 years should be vaccinated against Covid-19. At present, only those above 45 years are being vaccinated across the country.
“Considering the increase in Covid-19 cases and its maximum impact on youths in age group of 20 to 45 years, it is necessary to vaccinate this group... Youths in both rural and urban areas are more vulnerable to Covid-19. Keeping them out does not serve the objective of containing the pandemic,” he told mediapersons. Read More
Two Mumbai-based lawyers have filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court, seeking directions to the Centre, state government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to provide door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination facility for senior citizens aged over 75 years, and for those who are physically challenged, bed-ridden or specially-abled, and facing difficulties in visiting vaccination centres. The plea stated they would need the jab at the earliest.Read More
IN ADDITION to different restrictions across the district to contain the spread of Covid-19, the PMC has decided to close swimming pools, spas, gyms, sports complexes and clubs for a week from Saturday, while violators of prohibitory orders on the gathering of five or more persons during the day will be fined Rs 1,000 each. Read More
SAKSHI GAUTAM, who is part of the management and design of a bar and eatery, finishes talking to a client who wants to come in late. "We will not have time to take your order," she says, indicating the 8 pm deadline in Pune. Now, Gautam and restaurant business professionals are gearing up for a stricter guideline under which eateries, bars and malls will remain shut for a week to combat the surge in Covid-19 cases Read More
Karnataka reported nearly 5,000 new cases on Friday as the test positivity rate rose to 4.12 per cent.
While the state logged 4,991 fresh cases in total on the day, with Bengaluru Urban district accounting for 3,509 of them.
Active cases in the state swelled to 34,219, with the capital city recording nearly 72 per cent of those. Among other districts that reported most cases on April 2 were Mysuru (174), Tumkur(142) and Bidar(126). Read More
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 47827 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The new figure took the state tally of positive cases to 2904076, a Health Department statement said.
As many as 202 coronavirus patients died in the state on Friday, taking the death toll to 55379, it said. (PTI)
As many as 280 persons tested positive for coronavirus in Goa on Friday, taking the tally of infections to 58,584, an official from the state health department said.
At least 81 patients were discharged from hospitals, while one died of the infection during the day, the official said.
With this, the toll in the district stood at 832 and the count of recoveries mounted to 55,838, he said, adding that the coastal state is now left with 1,914 active cases. (PTI)
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said that there could be a shortage of healthcare infrastructure if the COVID-19 situation deteriorates in the State. He also said Maharashtra has administered 65 lakh COVID19 vaccine doses till now, ANI reported.
Mumbai reported 8832 fresh covid cases today taking the total caseload to 4,32,192.
Eleven states and Union Territories, marked as "states of grave concern" because of their rising daily COVID-19 cases, have not shown a commensurate increase in enforcement of containment activities, the Centre said on Friday.
Chairing a high-level review meeting with chief secretaries, Directors General of Police and health secretaries of all states and UTs, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba asked these states to take strict action to contain the contagion. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 2,777 COVID-19 cases, taking its infection tally to 3,00,834, while the day also saw 16 deaths and 1,482 people getting discharged, an official said.
The toll in the state is 4,014 and the recovery count is 2,77,484, he added. (PTI)
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Delhi, the positivity rate has mounted from just below one per cent to 3.57 per cent in the last two weeks, according to official data.
Delhi had recorded 2,790 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest daily count this year while nine more people had died due to the infection, taking the death toll to 11,036, according to the city health department.
The positivity rate also had mounted to 3.57 per cent amid a massive surge in cases in the span of the last few weeks. (PTI)
Amid the surging covid cases, Karnataka announced restrictions in districts with high caseloads including Bengaluru. Restaurants, cinema halls, and pubs in these districts are allowed only 50% seating.
Kerala reported 2,506 new coronavirus cases Friday, taking the number of active cases in the state to 26,407.
Even as the Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday said his government has not yet taken a decision to impose a lockdown in the city. "Not considering imposing lockdown. If such need arises, will consult people of Delhi first," he said.
Kejriwal said Delhi is witnessing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is resulting in the exponential increase in positive cases. "Centre should allow states to vaccinate everyone on war footing. We need to involve non-healthcare facilities in inoculation drive," he said.
The rapidly rising coronavirus numbers in the last month has brought back the spectre of a lockdown. Limited lockdowns have already been imposed in some cities, and the threat of a more stringent lockdown looms large over a state like Maharashtra which is the worst-affected.
Several assessments of the effectiveness of the previous lockdown have already been made. The ongoing second wave of infections offers us another lens to estimate how effective that lockdown was.
On Thursday, more than 80,000 new infections were detected in the country. Even as late as February 22, the case count was only about 10,000. The journey from 10,000 to 80,000 cases-a-day has taken less than 40 days. Last year, the 10,000-mark was first breached on June 11, while the 80,000-figure was crossed on September 2, a gap of 83 days, or more than twice the duration it has taken this time. This, when the conditions for the spread of the disease were far more conducive than it is now. Read this explainer by Amitabh Sinha
Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday inaugurated a special vaccination drive against COVID-19 for those above 45 years old by taking the shot.
Tamilisai, aged 60, took the vaccination at the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital for Women. (PTI)
The Madhya Pradesh government has placed urban areas of Chhindwara district and Ratlam city under lockdown, while it will come into force in Betul district and parts of Khargone from Friday night to prevent the spread of coronavirus, officials said.
The lockdown in Chhindwara's urban areas and Ratlam city came into force from 10 pm on Thursday, which will continue till 6 am on April 5, they said.
The entire Betul district will be placed under lockdown from 10 pm on Friday and urban areas of Khargone district from 8 pm. The curbs there will continue till 6 am on April 5, the officials said. (PTI)
Scientists have predicted using a mathematical model that the ongoing second-wave of COVID-19 pandemic across the country could peak by mid-April, following which the infections may see a steep decline by the end of May.
During the first wave of COVID-19 infections across India, the mathematical approach, named SUTRA, predicted that the initial surge of infections in August would peak by September and lower in February 2021.
Scientists, including Manindra Agrawal from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, applied the model to predict the trajectory of the current surge in infections and found that the number of daily new infections is likely to peak in mid-April for this ongoing pandemic wave. (PTI)