India recorded over 3 lakh cases for the second straight day on Friday, clocking 3,32,730 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed. (Express photos by Nirmal Harindran)Coronavirus India Live Updates: Delhi on Friday reported a staggering 348 deaths due to Covid-19 as hospitals in the national capital continued to grapple with a severe shortage of medical oxygen. As many as 24,331 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours. A total of 23,572 people have recovered from the infection while 75,037 people were tested during the day. The positivity rate was recorded at 32.43 per cent. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, during his meeting with PM Modi, had highlighted the crippling oxygen crisis in hospitals in the capital.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday held a meeting with leading oxygen manufacturers across the country, asking them to utilise the industry’s full potential to meet medical oxygen demand in the coming days. The PM said there was a need to increase the availability of oxygen cylinders as well as to upgrade logistical facilities for its transportation, PTI reported.
Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approves emergency use for Zydus Cadila’s Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b, ‘Virafin’ for the treatment of moderate Covid-19 infection in adults. A single dose of Virafin shows significant improvement as 91.15% of patients were tested RT PCR negative by day 7. It also reduces hours of supplemental oxygen in the patients.
Chairing a meeting with chief ministers of different states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the railway and Air Force have been deployed to reduce the travel and turnaround time for oxygen tankers so that states facing a shortage of medical oxygen could get it in time. The PM also said that every state should ensure that no oxygen tanker, meant for any state, is stopped or gets stranded.
India recorded over 3 lakh cases for the second straight day on Friday, clocking 3,32,730 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed. With this, India’s trend of registering the world’s highest daily tally continues, pushing the country’s total infection count to 16,263,695 cases. As many as 2,263 people also died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, mounting the coronavirus death toll to 186,920.
A Covid-19 patient outside LNJP hospital in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Delhi on Friday recorded 24,331 fresh Coronavirus cases and 348 deaths.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed that the state recorded 28,447 new Covid-19 cases Friday, along with 5,663 new recoveries and 27 fatalities. As many as 1,30,617 samples were tested during the last 24 hours. There are 1,78,983 active cases and 11,66,135 people have recovered so far in the state, he said.
He also said there would be lockdown-like restrictions on this weekend in the state. "Only essential services and emergency travel to be allowed. There is a cap of 75 people indoor & 150 outdoor for marriages and a maximum of 50 people for funeral services," ANI quoted him as saying.
Telangana reported 6,206 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to over 3.79 lakh while the death toll rose to 1,928 with 29 more fatalities, the highest-ever in a single day, the State government said on Friday.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 1,005 followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (502) and Nizamabad (406), it said in a bulletin providing details as of 8 PM on April 22.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao's son KT Rama Rao, a Minister, in a tweet today, said he tested positive for the virus. (PTI)
West Bengal on Friday registered the highest single-day spike of 12,876 COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 7,13,780, the state health department said in a bulletin.
The death toll also went up to 10,825 with 59 fresh fatalities, it added.
Since Thursday, 6,878 patients recovered from coronavirus in the state. The number of active cases currently is 74,737. (PTI)
Sixty-five healthcare personnel, including doctors, deployed on Kumbh duty have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said here on Friday.
All of them have been kept in isolation, they said.
A total of 751 healthcare personnel -- 336 doctors and 415 nurses and paramedics -- had been deployed in the Kumbh Mela area after being vaccinated. (PTI)
Karnataka's COVID-19 fatalities on Friday crossed the 14,000 mark with 190 deaths, while the single-day highest of 26,962 fresh cases took the caseload to 12,74,959, the health department said.
While the total fatalities were 14,075, the active cases in the state too crossed the two lakh mark -- 2,14,311, including 1,128 in the ICU. The state had reported the single-day highest mark on Thursday with 25,795 cases.
According to the health bulletin, 10,46,554 people were discharged cumulatively, including 8,697 on Friday, in the state.
The department said 1,77,466 tests were done today, including 1,59,681 using the RT PCR and other methods, taking the total tests done so far to 2.44 crore. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh on Friday recorded 13,590 COVID-19 cases, taking the caseload to 4,72,785, while the death toll rose by 74 in the last 24 hours to touch 4,937, an official said.
He said 10,833 people were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the recovery count to 3,80,208, leaving the state with 87,640 active cases.
"With 1,782 new cases, Indore's caseload went up to 98,112 while that of Bhopal rose to 77,158 with the addition of 1,753 cases. Indore reported six deaths, taking the toll in the district to 1085, while the toll in Bhopal increased by five to touch 697. Indore and Bhopal have 12,425 and 10,507 active cases respectively," the official informed. (PTI)
With Covid-19 cases surging in Pimpri-Chinchwad, 70 to 80 per cent of asymptomatic persons or those with mild symptoms continue to be in home isolation. Families of such patients have demanded that the PCMC should help them with hospital admissions in case they develop severe symptoms. The civic body has said it was closely monitoring all home-isolated patients by making at least one phone call every day. By Thursday evening, Pimpri-Chinchwad had 15,348 patients in home isolation.
"Every day, we are making one call to patients to get an update... We will make the call till the 14-day isolation period is over," said PCMC health chief Dr Anil Roy on Friday.
The PCMC has set up a call centre, the work for which has been outsourced. "As of now, we are making 10,000 calls a day to patients. It will go up as the patient count increases. In the next two to three days, we should be making 15,000 calls a day if the number remains around that figure," Dr Roy said. Read this report by Manoj Dattatrye More
Hours after the new Covid-19 restriction banning inter-state and inter-district travel was implemented, Maharashtra Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey restarted the e-pass system that was brought in place during last year’s nationwide lockdown. An explainer on how this e pass system will work.
Who needs to apply for e-pass and who is exempt? Read this explainer by Sagar Rajput
Gurgaon’s Artemis Hospital had a tense Friday as staff struggled to meet oxygen demands of patients because they hadn’t received their supply for the day.
Officials at the hospital, which is treating 140 Covid patients, with 50 in the ICU, said at 10 am that the supply would only last three hours. Over the last few days, they said, the hospital had been receiving a third of its usual oxygen supply, even as demand had increased “three to five times”.
“We are getting a supply which only lasts us 24 hours, sometimes even less. Yesterday because the supply did not come, I had to put out an urgent tweet in the morning,” said Dr Devilna Chakravarty, the managing director. Read this report by Sakshi Dayal
Adhering to the Karnataka government guidelines imposing restrictions during weekends till May 4, 2021, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has announced no trains would be operated on Saturdays and Sundays.
However, during weekdays from Mondays to Fridays, trains will begin operations as usual at 7 am. However, the last service from terminal stations such as Nagasandra, Silk Institute, Mysuru Road, and Baiyappanahalli stations will begin at 7.30 pm.
All trains operating during the last service daily, during weekdays, will have connection trains at the Kempegowda Metro Station at Majestic as well, BMRCL clarified. (Input by Ralph Alex Arakal)
Hours after Karnataka CM Yediyurappa requested PM Modi to provide 2 lakh vials of Remdesivir to the state, state Health Minister Sudhakar says they are trying to procure it directly from abroad. "We are seeking Centre's approval for this," he said.
Andhra Pradesh announces imposing night curfew from April 24 to curb the spread of Covid-19. (PTI)
Gurgaon DC today issued orders directing all shops, including "shopping malls/ plazas/ arcades/ community markets" be closed by 6 pm every day "with immediate effect fill further orders". "Essential categories" excluded, restaurants only allowed home delivery.
The order comes as 4,319 new Covid cases were recorded in Gurgaon today. The district now has 20,760 Covid cases of which 19,667 are in home isolation.
PM Modi held a meeting with leading oxygen manufacturers across country via video conferencing. According to PMO, he said this time is not only to deal with challenges but also to provide solutions in a very short time. He stressed on need to maintain good co-ordination between government and oxygen producers.
"PM appreciated oxygen producers for increasing their production in last few weeks. He acknowledged the several steps taken to increase the production of liquid oxygen. PM also thanked the industry for diverting industrial oxygen to meet medical requirements in the country," the PMO said.
"Prime Minister said keeping in mind the requirements of states pertaining to oxygen, government is working on effective use of Railways and Air Force so that the tankers reach the production centre as soon as possible." (ANI)
Sterlite Copper plant, owned by the Vedanta group of companies, has sought approvals of the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre to operate its oxygen plants to meet the rising demand for Covid-19 patients across the country. The company has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking its permission to open only the oxygen plant at the copper smelter unit to produce 1,050 tonnes of oxygen per day for hospitals.
However, tension prevailed at the Thoothukudi collector’s office Friday during a public hearing on the reopening of the copper plant. The Tamil Nadu government had asked the Thoothukudi district administration to conduct a public hearing and sent its report by April 23 (Friday) to submit an affidavit before the Supreme Court. Read this report by Janardhan Koushik
Andhra Pradesh has decided to provide Covid-19 vaccine free of cost to all those above the age of 18 years, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement. (ANI)
Haryana BKU leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni has said there should be no compulsion on the protesting farmers to get themselves tested or vaccinated and if health workers tried to force them, they will not allow them to enter.
A few days ago, Haryana's Home and Health Minister Anil Vij had said that the farmers sitting at Haryana's borders with Delhi will be tested and vaccinated.
Sonipat, along with Gurgaon and Faridabad, is among Haryana districts which are witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases.
"If they try to force us, then we will not even allow them to enter (the protest site)," said Chaduni, adding that testing or vaccination should be left to farmers' choice.
A large number of farmers have been sitting in protest against the Centre's three new agri laws for months at Haryana's borders with Delhi at Singhu and Tikri.
Sonipat Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jashandeep Randhawa told reporters here that more than 1,100 farmers have been vaccinated so far. (PTI)
Facing a severe shortage of medical oxygen, the Delhi government has requested the Railways to operate 'Oxygen Express' trains to save COVID-19 patients gasping for breath in the city's hospitals, Railway Board Chairman Suneet Arora said on Friday.
After Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh and the Delhi governments too have lined up for 'Oxygen Express' services, he said.
Each tanker of the 'Oxygen Express' trains can carry around 16 tonnes of medical oxygen, Arora said, adding these trains travel at a speed of around 65 kmph. "We have received a request from Delhi just now, and we are still planning its movement. We will likely get the oxygen from Rourkela," the Railway Board chairman said.
"Andhra Pradesh has asked for oxygen to be moved from Angul in Odisha. We have asked the Delhi government to keep their trucks ready, and our wagons, ramps are ready in the NCR area," he added. (PTI)
The ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India may peak between May 11-15 with 33-35 lakh total 'active' cases and decline steeply by the end of May, according to a mathematical module devised by IIT scientists.
"We have found that there is a reasonable chance that the active cases in India could peak sometime between May 11-15 with 33-35 lakh cases. It is a sharp slope, but on the way down, it would likely be equally sharp, coming down very fast and by end of May may see a dramatic reduction," Manindra Agrawal, professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT-Kanpur, told PTI.
The scientists in the as yet unpublished study said there are several novel features in the SUTRA model. Whereas previous papers divided the patient population into asymptomatic and Infected, the new model also accounts for the fact that some fraction of asymptomatic patients could also be detected due to contact tracing and other such protocols. (PTI)