India continues to lead the world in terms of average daily cases detected. As of April 15, India recorded 1,75,910 daily cases on an average. With 70,483 average daily cases, the U.S. was a distant second followed by Brazil with 66,689 average new cases. However, in terms of average daily deaths, India (952) was second to Brazil (2917).
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Active cases in the country surpasses 16-lakh mark
A record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 1,75,649, the health ministry said on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has surpassed the 16-lakh mark, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.
Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases has climbed to 16,79,740 in the country, accounting for 11.56 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 87.23 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 1,26,71,220, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.21 per cent, the data stated.
Odisha CM wants vaccine in open market
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that COVID-19 vaccines be made available outside the government supply chain in the open market so that willing citizens who can afford vaccines can avail them.
Mr. Patnaik suggested rationalisation in vaccine distribution with a focus on metropolitans who contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the country and cautioned against lockdown in big cities that would have a cascading impact on other areas.
PM Modi seeks curtailment of Kumbh Mela
As COVID-19 cases in the country topped over 2.3 lakh cases on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought a curtailment of the Kumbh Mela under way in Haridwar, suggesting to ‘akharas’ (congregations of Hindu seers) that the event be concluded with symbolic rituals.
Manipur clamps night curfew till April 30
The Manipur government has clamped night curfew effective from Friday night in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases in the State. The order issued by Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar said that essential services would be exempted from the curfew which will remain in force from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. till April 30.
Bharat Biotech to make 6 crore Covaxin doses by July
The production of indigenously developed Covaxin vaccine will be doubled by May-June and then increased nearly 6-7 fold by July-August 2021. Bharat Biotech makes 1 crore doses a month now. Production may reach nearly 10 crore doses a month by September, the Department of Biotechnology said on Friday.
The DBT has funded three state-run facilities — the Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, Mumbai; Indian Immunologicals Limited, Hyderabad and Biologicals Limited, Bulandsh-ahr — to make vaccines. Haffkine has been given ₹65 crore but it will take anywhere between 6-12 months to be able to produce the vaccine; the other two facilities are expected to begin producing 10-15 million doses a month by August
Researchers propose method to treat rare blood clotting reaction to vaccine
The U.S. on April 13 paused the use of Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine following adverse reactions in a few vaccinated persons while investigations are on to understand the mechanism of the rare reaction better. This followed the fact that six people in about 7 million vaccinated with J&J’s vaccine developed blood clots in the days following vaccination.
A similar adverse reaction to AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been observed in rare cases. In this situation, a German and Austrian group, led by Andreas Greinacher of University Medicine Greifswald, in Germany, has announced a partial understanding of this mechanism and a possible method of treatment.
Several districts face vaccine shortage in Tamil Nadu
A shortage of COVID-19 vaccines was reported from a number of districts across Tamil Nadu. While a few districts have already run out of Covaxin, the available stocks of Covishield will last only a few days in a number of districts.
Many districts were looking for fresh supplies to continue vaccination. The surge in cases has led to an increase in demand for the vaccines, resulting in quick depletion of the stocks, a section of health officials
Migrants leaving city in hordes, but not due to lockdown fears
Despite the Delhi government announcing weekend lockdown, migrant workers in the Capital appear not to be leaving the city yet, though they’re gathering at transport hubs in hordes. Most migrant workers The Hindu spoke to at Anand Vihar ISBT said they are going home for reasons other than lockdown fear and plan to return.
Some, however, were scared that the weekend lockdown might extend. Vir Singh (33) from Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun, sat with his wife, children and other family members with eight pieces of luggage and said he was scared if the lockdown will extend. However, they will come back if the lockdown is not announced, he said.
Yediyurappa met hundreds of people since April 14
The news of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa testing positive for COVID-19 again has created a scare among the political and bureaucratic circles as he had attended an official meeting on Friday and a slew of political rallies in bypoll-bound Belagavi on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Friday morning, just before he was confimed COVID-19 positive, he had chaired a meeting on COVID-19 with senior officers and Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar.
‘Adolescent girls face more pressure during pandemic’
Twenty five girls from seven cities set out to interview their peers to record the impact of COVID-19 on their lives and found that adolescent girls were grappling with an increased pressure to get married, spent longer hours on household chores, lacked tools to continue school education online, and reported an increase in gender-based violence.
(With inputs from our Correspondents and agencies)