India yesterday started the phase 3 vaccination against Coronavirus infections. Under this phase, all above 18 years of age are eligible to receive Covid-19 jab. Coronavirus India News Highlights, Covid-19 Cases in India State-Wise Highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet experts at 9:30 am today (Sunday) to review oxygen and medicine availability. As many as 12 Covid-19 patients, including a senior doctor, died yesterday in a hospital in Delhi due to a shortage of medical Oxygen. According to sources, Prime Minister Modi is expected to review the human resource situation, in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, and ways to augment it.
India reported 3,92,488 new COVID19 cases in the last 24 hours, as per data from the Union Health Ministry. As many as 3,689 people died due to Covid-19 related complications, while 3,07,865 patients have been cured/discharged from hospitals. On Saturday, India achieved the grim milestone of reporting over 4 lakh Coronavirus cases for the first time (also the highest single-day surge in the world). According to Union Health Ministry’s data, India saw 4,01,993 fresh Coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases to 1,91,64,969 on Saturday. The active Covid-19 caseload also increased to over 32 lakh. India has been witnessing over 3 lakh Coronavirus cases daily for the past 10 days. Several states/UTs have been reporting their peaks, much more than the figure reported during the first wave last year, in terms of single-day coronavirus cases as the second wave continues its spike.
Meanwhile, India yesterday started the phase 3 vaccination against Coronavirus infections. Under this phase, all above 18 years of age are eligible to receive Covid-19 jab. A total of 86,023 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years received their first dose of Covid vaccine across 11 states on May 1, according to the Union Health Ministry. The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.68 crore, it said.
In order to limit the spread of Coronavirus infections, the Odisha government on Sunday declared a 14-day lockdown in the state from May 5 to contain the spread of COVID-19, an official order said. Barring weekends, essential commodities would be available on all other days during the two-week-long lockdown, the order issued by Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said. “There shall be lockdown throughout the state with effect from May 5, 2021 (Wednesday) till 5 am of May 19, 2021 (Wednesday),” the order stated. Delhi yesterday extended the Covid-19 lockdown in the city for one more week. Kerala is under lockdown. There are severe restrictions in states like Karnataka and Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha. As the Covid-19 crisis in India deepens further, Union and state governments announced new measures, guidelines, and restrictions. Here’s FE Online blog covering every single development – virus, vaccine, Covid-19 guidelines, curbs, and lockdown, etc.— all you need to know. We will also keep an eye on global happenings as well. Follow our live blog and get instant, verified updates on the coronavirus pandemic:
Highlights
Haryana reports 13,322 fresh COVID-19 cases, 10,423 recoveries, and 145 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 1,05,270Total recoveries: 4,05,132Death toll: 4,486 (ANI)
Bihar: 100 oxygen beds of ESIC hospital, Bihta has started functioning as Dedicated COVID Healthcare Center from yesterday. 17 patients have been admitted so far. Another 100 beds to be made functional in the next 3 days. (ANI)
Services during morning (7AM to 11AM) & evening (4PM to 8PM) peak hours across the network will be available with a frequency of 15 minutes.For rest of the hours of the day, services across the network will be available with a frequency of 30 minutes: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (ANI)
West Bengal's COVID-19 tally jumps to 8,63,393 with record 17,515 fresh cases; 92 fatalities push toll to 11,539: Health Dept (PTI)
West Bengal's COVID-19 tally jumps to 8,63,393 with record 17,515 fresh cases; 92 fatalities push toll to 11,539: Health Dept (PTI)
Journalists will be given COVID19 vaccine on priority in the state: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (ANI)
Uttarakhand: Dehradun district magistrate extends 'Corona Curfew' till 5 am on May 6 (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh recorded 290 more coronavirus deaths and 30,983 infections on Sunday, the Health Department said on Sunday. The toll has risen to 13,162, while the tally reached 13.13 lakh. There are 2.96 lakh active cases, according to a health bulletin. Lucknow reported 25 deaths, followed by 21 deaths in Kanpur, 20 in Ghaziabad, 18 in Jhansi, 16 in Varanasi, 14 in Allahabad and 13 in Agra, it said. Of the 30,983 fresh COVID-19 cases, as many as 3,342 were reported from Lucknow, 1,610 from Varanasi, 1,571 from Gautam Buddh Nagar, 1,357 from Kanpur, 1,089 from Saharanpur, 1,085 from Ghaziabad and 1,033 from Meerut. In the past 24 hours, 36,650 coronavirus patients have recuperated, taking the number of recoveries to 10.04 lakh. More than 2.97 lakh samples were tested for COVID-19 and over 4.13 crore samples have been tested so far in the state, the statement said. (PTI)
The Congress on Sunday slammed Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for not extending the lockdown in the coastal state in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases. Earlier in the day, the CM announced that the four-day lockdown in the state will be lifted on Monday morning but the COVID-19 induced curbs will remain in force till May 10. Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat has appealed to traders and businessmen in his Margao Assembly constituency to voluntary observe a week-long lockdown. "I have already appealed to the government to extend the lockdown in Goa but it appears that irresponsible BJP government is in no mood to listen," Kamat said in astatement. (PTI)
Delhi reports 20,394 new COVID-19 cases, 24,444 discharges and 407 deaths
Active cases: 92,290Death toll: 16,966 (ANI)
The COVID-19 tally in Nashik rose by 3,691 on Sunday to touch 3,31,037, while the day also saw 33 deaths and 4,838 people getting discharged, an official said. The district's toll stands at 3,568 and the recovery count is 2,90,563, he added. With 15,717 samples being examined on Sunday, the number of tests in Nashik went up to 12,44,089, he said. (PTI)
A record 44 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in a day in Himachal Pradesh, pushing the death toll to 1,556, a senior health official said on Sunday. Besides, the state recorded 2,453 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the infection tally to 1,04,491, said Nipun Jindal, Special Health Secretary, citing the data updated till 7 pm. There are 20,727 active COVID-19 cases in the state, he added. As many as 1,610 coronavirus patients recuperated from the infection in a day, taking the total recoveries in the state to 82,148, the official said. (PTI)
Maharashtra: Pune district reports 11,661 fresh COVID19 cases, 159 fatalities, and 9,566 recoveries, in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 98,746Total cases: 8,60,844Total recoveries: 7,48,870Death toll: 13,396 (ANI)
We got to know that non-COVID hospitals are using more oxygen cylinders despite having fewer patients in their hospitals. We've seized empty oxygen cylinders from a private hospital & issued a notice seeking explanation: Ramji Mishra, City Magistrate, Rampur (ANI)
The third and the largest phase of vaccination, under which beneficiaries in the 18-45 age group will be given jabs against coronavirus, will begin here on Monday. Around 90 lakh people in this category will be eligible for the jabs. Five vaccination booths each have been set up at 77 schools for the inoculation exercise, an official said on Sunday. | Read More
56,647 new cases and 51,356 discharges and 669 COVID-19 deaths reported in Maharashtra today.
Active cases: 6,68,353Death toll: 70,284 (ANI)
Gujarat records 12,978 new COVID-19 cases, 11,146 discharges, and 153 deaths in the last 24 hours
Total cases: 5,94,602Total discharges: 4,40,276Active cases: 1,46,818Total deaths: 7,508
Total vaccination: 1,24,31,368 (ANI)
Vaccination for those aged 45 years & above will be closed on 3rd May due to insufficient vaccine stock. Vaccination for 18 to 44 years will continue only at five centers. Only those who are registered through the app should come to the vaccination center: BMC (ANI)
Tamil Nadu on Sunday reported a all-time high of 20,768 new COVID-19 cases pushing the caseload to 12,07,112 while the death toll rose to 14,346 with 153 fatalities. According to the Health department, recoveries mounted to 10,72,322 Sunday with 17,576 patients being discharged, leaving 1,20,444 active cases. | Read More
Cabinet secretary expressed anguish at recent instances where people suffered due to lack of adequate, timely availability of oxygen: Govt (ANI)
Manipur records 256 fresh COVID-19 cases, 80 recoveries, and 5 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 1,823Total recoveries: 29,923Death toll: 415 (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh records 12,662 fresh COVID-19 cases, 13,890 recoveries, and 94 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 87,189Total recoveries: 4,95,367Death toll: 5,812 (ANI)
Mumbai reports 3,672 new positive cases, 5,542 discharges, and 79 deaths today.
Active cases: 57,342Death toll: 13,330 (ANI)
Rajasthan reports 18,298 new COVID-19 cases, 11,262 recoveries, and 159 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 1,89,178Total recoveries: 4,40,215Death toll: 4,558. (ANI)
Leaders of 13 Opposition parties Sunday urged the Centre to launch a free mass vaccination drive across the country in view of the unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases. In a joint statement, they also called upon the Centre to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply to all hospitals and health centres as they manage the staggering patient loads in view of the rising cases. The signatories include Congress president Sonia Gandhi, JDS leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. "In times of the uncontrollable surge of the pandemic across our country, we call upon the Central government to focus all attention in ensuring the uninterrupted flow of Oxygen supplies to all hospitals and health centres across the country," they said in a joint statement. (PTI)
Kerala recorded 31,959 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with the total caseload mounting to 16 lakh as the active caes soared to 3.39 lakh, the state government said. As many as 16,296 people have been cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 12,93,590, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters in Kannur. In the last 24 hours ending 2 PM, as many as 1,12,625 samples have been tested taking the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) to 28.37 per cent. So far, 1,60,58,633 samples have been tested. While Kozhikode accounted for 4,238 cases, the highest, four districts--Thrissur, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram- accounted for over 3,000 infections on Sunday. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district had recorded its first 100 COVID-19 deaths in a span of 343 days, while the next 100 came in just 13 days, according to official data. The district, adjoining Delhi, in western UP is one of the worst-hit places in the state during the pandemic with 237 deaths and 8,261 active coronavirus patients now. Gautam Buddh Nagar had recorded its first COVID-19 death on May 8, 2020 when a 60-year-old man, a resident of Sector 22 in Noida, had succumbed to the deadly virus, according to officials. The district had reached the grim milestone of 100 deaths on April 16, 2021 when two people had died due to COVID-19, according to the figures released on that day by the UP Health Department for a 24-hour period. (PTI)
The second 'Oxygen Express' for Delhi arrived here on Sunday with 120 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen and a third such train has begun its journey for the national capital from Angul in Odisha, the railway ministry said. The train from Angul is carrying 30.86 tonnes of oxygen, it said. The second wave of the coronavirus has put huge pressure on the country's health system, with hospitals facing shortage of oxygen, medicines and equipment to treat COVID-19 patients, besides beds. The railways has delivered 1,094 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen in 74 tankers to various states across the country since April 19, the ministry said on Sunday. (PTI)
The Goa Association of Resident Doctors on Sunday said the medical oxygen situation in the state's premier COVID-19 facility was "not even close to sufficient" and it was inconveniencing patients and coming in the way of operating equipment effectively. GARD functionaries have written a letter on this issue to the dean of Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), which is the coastal state's largest coronavirus treatment facility. "The oxygen supply in various COVID wards is not even close to sufficient. The central oxygen flow delivers very low flow of oxygen at times and is inadequate to keep NIVs (non invasive ventilation) and ventilators working effectively," the doctors' body said in the letter, a copy of which is available with PTI. (PTI)
Himachal Pradesh on Sunday recorded 1,351 fresh COVID-19 cases which took the tally to 1,03,389, while the death toll rose to 1,537 with 25 more people succumbing to the disease, a senior health official said. There are 19,763 active COVID-19 cases in the state, Special Health Secretary Nipun Jindal said citing data updated till 2 pm. As many as 1,491 coronavirus patients have recuperated from the infection in a day, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 82,029, the official said. (PTI)
Himachal Pradesh on Sunday recorded 1,351 fresh COVID-19 cases which took the tally to 1,03,389, while the death toll rose to 1,537 with 25 more people succumbing to the disease, a senior health official said. There are 19,763 active COVID-19 cases in the state, Special Health Secretary Nipun Jindal said citing data updated till 2 pm. As many as 1,491 coronavirus patients have recuperated from the infection in a day, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 82,029, the official said. (PTI)
The Madhya Pradesh government on Sunday extended 'corona curfew' in capital Bhopal till May 10, an official said. The curfew, in force since April 12 with extensions on April 19 and 26, was to end at 6am on Monday, he added. "The corona curfew was extended in Bhopal and Berasia town till 6am on May 10 as per an order by district collector Avinash Lavaniya. Essential services and emergency travel are exempted from the curbs," the official informed. As on Saturday, Bhopal has a COVID-19 caseload of 91,456, including 742 deaths. (PTI)
Kerala today reported 31,950 new COVID19 cases and 49 deaths: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Sunday directed the Delhi government to ensure that medicines and equipment like oxygen cylinders and concentrators needed for COVID-19 treatment not be sold above the maximum retail price (MRP). A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli directed the government to book those persons found hoarding or black-marketing medicines and equipment related to COVID-19 and be brought before the court for taking independent contempt action against them. The direction was issued after the court was informed by some lawyers that there was rampant overcharging of medicines and equipment. (PTI)
COVID-19-induced restrictions will remain in force in Goa till May 10 during which various commercial establishments will remain closed while political and social gatherings will be banned, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Sunday. Goa, a popular tourist hotspot, had reported an extremely high test positivity rate of over 50 per cent on Thursday. Speaking to reporters, he said the lockdown imposed in Goa on April 29 will be lifted at 6 am on May 3 as announced earlier. "The lockdown in the state will be lifted tomorrow 6 am onwards but the COVID-19 related restrictions will continue to be in force for a week to ensure that the spread of the virus is controlled," Sawant said. (PTI)
Andhra Pradesh Government postpones Intermediate exams which were scheduled to begin from 5th May, 2021: Andhra Pradesh CMO. (ANI)
The Bombay High Court here on Sunday asked the Central government to increase the supply of Remdesivir injections to Maharashtra observing the current reduction in the allocation of the crucial drug is not consistent with the number of active COVID-19 cases as of May 1. In a special hearing, the bench of Justices SB Shukre and Avinash Gharote heard a bunch of petitions on the shortage of medical oxygen and Remdesivir, which is in high demand for treating COVID-19 patients. The bench said the high court came to know about the reduction in the allocation of Remdesivir to Maharashtra from May 1 to May 9. (PTI)
The Centre on Sunday moved the Delhi High Court seeking recall of its order directing supply of entire allocated oxygen of 490 metric tonnes (MT) to the national capital and warning of contempt action for failure to do so. The central government in its application seeking recall of the high court's May 1 order said its officials are working hard and such orders would have a demoralising effect on them. Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli that the Delhi government has been found 'completely wanting in making any efforts whatsoever to arrange for the transport of the quantity allocated to it except for a few tankers". On May 1, anguished by the deaths of eight COVID-19 patients, including a doctor, at the Batra Hospital here due to a shortage of oxygen, the court had directed the Centre to ensure that the national capital receives its allocated share of 490 MT of the life-saving gas during the day and said "enough is enough", "much water has gone above the head". (PTI)
Two men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in black marketing oxygen concentrators, an equipment used for treatment of COVID patients, police said on Sunday. The accused has been identified as Anuj Minda (41), a resident of Ashok Vihar, and Gurmeet Singh (36), a resident of Rohini, they said. The police said the accused were charging Rs 1.65 lakh for an oxygen concentrator against its actual price of Rs 31,000. On Saturday, Bharat Juneja, a resident of Kalkaji Extension, called the Ashok Vihar police station and said as his wife and mother were COVID positive and were in a critical condition. he had purchased an oxygen concentrator from Minda at Rs 1.65 lakh, a senior police officer said. (PTI)
There is a lack of oxygen in Rajasthan in proportion to the number of COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Sunday and appealed to all to rise above politics to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Gehlot, a senior Congress leader, also claimed that state BJP leaders have also admitted that Rajasthan is not getting enough oxygen -- vital for treatment of critical COVID-19 patients -- from the Centre. On Saturday, the state logged a record 17,652 COIVD-19 cases and 160 fatalities which pushed the infection tally to 6,15,653 and death toll to 4,399, according to an official report. The number of active cases has also increased to 1,82,301. "This is the time to rise above politics and work for the state. It is our endeavour that the Centre and state governments work together to fight against COVID-19," Gehlot said. (PTI)