India Coronavirus Dispatch: Cases above 200,000 for third day in a row

Over 234,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 2,34,692 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative caseload to 14.5 million, according to a report in the Scroll. Daily cases have stayed above the 200,000-mark for three days in a row. The country saw 1,341 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 175,649, according to central health ministry data. The active caseload is at 1.6 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 12.6 million. As many as 119 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Read more here

Govt's sunny Covid posturing may have set stage for second wave

Epidemiologists say the central government's optimistic Covid posturing may have set the stage for the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, a report in ThePrint said. For instance, at Covid briefings, the Centre has almost always been presenting cases and deaths as rates per million of population, instead of absolute numbers to emphasise low infection and fatality rates compared to the rest of the world. Meanwhile, testing and vaccination figures were offered in absolute numbers, to make the report card look better. If the inoculation statistics were presented as a percentage of the population, it would have shown India is far behind nations like Israel, the US, and Brazil, among others, the report said. Read more here

Delhi: Funeral sites struggle to keep up with rising Covid deaths

As Covid-19 cases continue to soar, funeral sites around the national capital are seeing a big spike in the number of Covid patients being brought for cremation or burial, a report in ThePrint said. The largest burial sites in Delhi are running out of space. According to the bulletin released Friday evening, Delhi recorded 141 deaths in the preceding 24 hours, taking the total tally to 12,649. This is the highest single-day spurt in Covid-19 deaths in the national capital since the onset of the pandemic. Read more here

Oxygen diversion brings ship-breaking to a halt at Gujarat's Alang

Ship-breaking at Gujarat's Alang has come to a grinding halt with the supply of industrial oxygen, that feed the gas torches used for cutting open ships, being diverted for fighting Covid-19, a report in The Indian Express said. The diversion of oxygen is also being felt by several smaller manufacturing units and processes due to the unavailability of oxygen as well as other industrial gases like argon, the report said.

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EXPLAINED: How did the 'double mutant' variant emerge

The so-called "double mutant" variant of the novel coronavirus was first detected in India with two mutations—the E484Q and L452R, an explainer in Bloomberg said. An Indian scientist first reported the variant late last year and more details have been presented before the World Health Organization (WHO). Viruses mutate all the time. Some mutations weaken the virus while others may make it stronger, enabling it to spread faster or become more infectious. The central health ministry first acknowledged the presence of this variant at the end of March but has downplayed it since. Read more here