A Covid patient taking Oxygen supply at Gurudwara Damdama Sahib at Nizamuddin, in New Delhi, on Sunday (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)Coronavirus India Live Updates: In light of the ongoing heavy surge in Covid cases, 13 Opposition leaders including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and Uddhav Thackeray, in a joint statement on Sunday, asked the Centre to launch a free mass vaccination drive across the country with a budgetary allocation of 35,000 crore. The leaders have also asked the Centre to provide uninterrupted oxygen supply to all hospitals and health centres.
As the national capital continues to struggle with high Covid cases and the resultant oxygen shortage, Delhi High Court on Sunday asked the Delhi government to ensure that oxygen cylinders, flow meters and medicines required for COVID-19 treatment are not sold above MRP. “Those found hoarding and black-marketing medicines and equipment related to COVID-19 should be booked,” the HC said.
Haryana will go into a complete lockdown for a week from May 3, state minister Anil Vij has said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a virtual meeting with experts to review availability of oxygen, medicine and human resources to deal with the pandemic.
A day after India’s daily Covid cases passed the grim four lakh mark for the first time, the country registered 3,689 deaths — the highest toll reported in a day so far. As many as 3.92 lakh fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
Odisha government on Sunday announced a 14-day lockdown in the state, starting from May 5 to May 19. During the period, essential services will continue to function and restricted movement of people will be allowed.
In other news, counting of votes in four states and a Union Territory is underway, bringing to an end a heated, acrimonious poll season amid a raging pandemic.
A Covid-19 patient waits outside LNJP Hospital in New Delhi on Friday. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)
EVEN THOUGH the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claimed that they have enough ambulances to deal with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, several private ambulances in the city have stepped in, considering the huge workload.
The private ambulances are being used, sometimes at rates as high as Rs 1,000 for a kilometre, by families to ferry Covid-19 patients to hospitals/Covid care centres for oxygen or carry the bodies of Covid victims to nearby crematoriums. On the other hand, the BMC has asked people to call 108, 1916 or any war room number to avail of their free ambulance service.
When The Indian Express enquired with private ambulances outside five hospitals in Mumbai, including KEM Hospital, Sion Hospital and Nair Hospital, it was found that the ambulances were charging heavy prices. Read more
The number of people vaccinated Sunday, the second day of the third phase, dropped by more than a half to just 25,712 people in the 10 districts of Gujarat where the drive for vaccinating the 18-44 age group has been rolled out, from 55,235 inoculated a day ago.
In the above 45 years category, 32,333 people received their first dose as against 57,495 who were administered for their second dose, as per the state health department’s Covid bulletin.
In Ahmedabad city, 7,074 people in the 18-44 age group were vaccinated, a dip from 13,289 reported Saturday across 80 vaccination centres. Read more
THE STATE government has decided to send 100 samples of the novel coronavirus for genome sequencing to CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) for a detailed analysis of virus mutants and variants.
A pact will formally be inked between Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Maharashtra, and IGIB, Delhi. Maharashtra is one of the worst-hit states in the ongoing second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, with over 60,000 cases emerging daily. The state has a test positivity rate of over 20 per cent.
Genome sequencing undertaken by Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) had pointed out a distinct strain of the virus emerging from Vidarbha region, since early March. Read more
With hospitals in Gurgaon bringing up the issue of oxygen shortage repeatedly over the last few days, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, in a meeting with officials in the district late Sunday evening, suggested that they explore the possibility of increasing use of oxygen concentrators to reduce consumption of liquid oxygen.
Khattar arrived in Gurgaon post 6 pm and chaired a meeting with officials to discuss the Covid situation, touching upon streamlining oxygen supply, curbing black marketing of oxygen cylinders, and availability of Remdesivir, among other things. Read more
TWO DAYS after an order was issued by the Gujarat Administration Department (GAD) to reappoint staff and officials under the health department, the state government in a fresh resolution (GR) has replaced the “contract-based re-appointment” with “extension” of three months for all employees retiring between April 30 and June 30 this year.
Cancelling the GAD’s order, the state health department’s May 1 GR stated that services of all those official and employees from class I to IV, retiring between April 30 and June 30 this year, including medical, para-medical and administrative staff, have been extended till July 31, 2021. Read more
West Bengal records highest-single day spike of 17,515 fresh COVID-19 cases, according to the Health dept. ---PTI
Haryana deputy CM Dushyant Chautala writes to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urges Centre to consider exempting GST on oxygen concentrators. ---PTI
Journalists will be given Covid vaccine priority in the state, says Nitish Kumar.
Karnataka reports 37,733 fresh Covid cases and 21,149 recoveries. With 217 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, the total death toll now stands at 16,011. Active cases are numbered at 4,21,436.
Maharashtra witnesses 56,647 new Covid cases and 51,356 discharges, with 669 deaths reported pushing the total death toll to 70,284.. Active cases in the state stand at 6,68,353.
A DAY after the Delhi High Court threatened to initiate contempt proceedings if its direction on supplying 490 MTs of medical oxygen to the national capital was not complied with, and asked the Centre to arrange cryogenic tankers as well for the national capital, the union government approached the court on Sunday on an urgent mentioning and sought recall of the order.
It also alleged that “apathy on part of the Delhi government has become a regular and daily affair”. The court was also told by the Centre that the allocation of Delhi has been increased to 590 MTs but it is receiving only some 440 MTs on a daily basis.
The central government through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said “great harm” would be caused to the “system” in place against the Covid-19 pandemic if the court decides to go into the legal aspect of whether the responsibility to arrange tankers in the constitutional scheme would be of Centre or the state. Read more
Vaccination for people above 45 years will continue to be suspended on Monday in Mumbai. Earlier, the BMC had suspended vaccination drive for 45 plus for three days till May 1 due to shortage of vaccines.
However, five special vaccination centres for 18-45 years age group will continue to remain open from 9am to 5pm. All the five centres will have 500 vaccines each.
Second 'Oxygen Express' for Delhi arrives in national capital with 120 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen, third such train begins its journey for Delhi from Angul in Odisha: Railway ministry
In a joint statement, Opposition parties called upon the central government to ensure uninterrupted supply of oxygen and free vaccination drive across the country.
As the national capital continues to struggle with high Covid cases and the resultant oxygen shortage, Delhi High Court on Sunday asked the Delhi government to ensure that oxygen cylinders, flow meters and medicines required for COVID-19 treatment are not sold above MRP. “Those found hoarding and black-marketing medicines and equipment related to COVID-19 should be booked,” the HC said.
At least two hospitals in Delhi sent out desperate SOS calls to authorities on Sunday to replenish their dwindling oxygen stocks as smaller facilities continued to battle an acute shortage of the live-saving gas amid spiralling coronavirus cases. Madhukar Rainbow Children's Hospital in Maviya Sunday sounded an alarm about their depleting stocks around afternoon, saying 50 people, including four newborns, were "at risk". --PTI
Veteran actor Randhir Kapoor, who is undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at a hospital here, on Sunday said he has been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The 74-year-old actor was admitted at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus earlier this week. "I am doing much better. I was there in the ICU for a day and then they moved me out because I didn't have any breathlessness or needed oxygen. I had a high temperature. I am better now," Randhir Kapoor told PTI. The actor informed he will be discharged soon. "I am anxious to get out. My children told me to get into the hospital (given the COVID-19 scenario)," he added. --PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reviewed various measures to augment human resources for effective management of the COVID-19 situation and possible steps discussed include incentivising students and pass-outs of medical and nursing courses to join the pandemic duty, sources said. The final details are likely to be announced on Monday, they added. "Decisions may include delaying NEET and incentivizing MBBS pass-outs studying for it to join the COVID-19 duty. The decisions may also include utilising services of final-year MBBS and nursing students," a government source added. --PTI
Brother of BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi dies of Covid-19. "My younger brother Ashok Kumar Modi (65) died of CORONA at 2.45 PM in Patna Doctors made all effort but we could not save him," he tweeted.