A Covid-19 patient at the Shenai banquet hall Covid care facility in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)Coronavirus India Live Updates: India counted 3.43 lakh new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, and 4,000 deaths. The country’s caseload of 2,40,46,809 now includes 37,04,893 active cases, 2,00,79,599 recoveries and 2,62,317 deaths. Maharashtra contributed 42,582 new cases, while Kerala reported 39,955. Uttar Pradesh is no longer in the top five contributors. Andhra Pradesh has stepped in with more than 22,000 cases. Of the toll reported on Thursday, Maharashtra contributed 882 deaths, while 344 came from Karnataka.
India’s coronavirus numbers over the last two weeks suggest the second wave may have reached its peak, or will in the next few days. However, the end of the second wave may still be a long distance away. India’s cases, which touched 4.14 lakh last Thursday, have dropped significantly in the last one week.
Dr Reddy’s administered the first jab of Sputnik V, a Covid-19 vaccine made by Russia, in Hyderabad on Friday. The company said the cost per imported dose would be Rs 995.40, and rates may decrease when local supply begins. Sputnik is the third vaccine to get emergency use approval in India after Covishield (Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (Bharat Biotech).
A day after the Centre extended the gap between Covishield doses to 16 weeks, America’s top infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci told news agency ANI the decision was reasonable, and was unlikely to have a negative effect on vaccine efficacy. Some 90 per cent of the 17.8 crore vaccine doses administered so far are of Covishield.
A worker prepares a bed at an oxygen centre for COVID-19 patients, operated by Hemkunt Foundation, in Gurugram, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (PTI Photo)
Uttar Pradesh on Friday recorded 15,747 fresh Covid-19 cases that took the infection count to 15,96,628 while 312 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 16,958, officials said. In the past 13 days, the number of active cases in the state has come down by over 1.17 lakh.
On April 30, there were about 3.10 lakh active cases and the number currently stands at 1,93,815, said Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad. As many as 1,57,257 patients are in home isolation, he said. While the state reported 15,747 fresh cases the previous day, 26,174 Covid-19 patients recovered from the disease. So far, 13,85,855 patients have recovered in Uttar Pradesh and the recovery rate stands at 86.8 per cent, Prasad said. (PTI)
The Goa Congress on Saturday said they will file criminal cases against Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Viswajit Rane over the deaths caused by alleged shortage of oxygen at Goa Medical College and Hospital.
In a statement, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar said the candid admission that there is a substantial deficit of oxygen supply by the BJP government in Goa shows that it is “irresponsible, insensitive and run by an incompetent and defective Chief Minister’.
“The Congress party is going to file a criminal complaint against both for culpable homicide,” Chodankar said. "If the health minister admits on camera that he was aware that patients were dying between 2 and 6 am on a daily basis and that the death toll in Goa would be around 200-300 per day, why did he not act upon it? What action did the chief minister and health minister take to avert the crisis?” he asked.
Calling it a genocide, the Goa Congress president said, “If needed, will move the court to get justice for those who were killed by the Chief Minister and Health Minister.”
A 70-year-old Covid-19 patient died by suicide at the district hospital in Haveri, police said on Friday. CCTV footage, which went viral, showed the man taking the extreme step after everyone else in the ward went to sleep, the police said. The man from the Lamani tribe from Ranebennuru had tested positive for Covid-19 on May 3 and was admitted to a local hospital, a senior police officer said. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the coronavirus pandemic is rapidly spreading in rural areas, as he urged citizens to take precautions, wear masks and maintain social distance to check spread of the disease that has claimed at least 2.6 lakh lives to date.
The government, he said, is working on "war footing" to control the second wave of infections and is setting up new hospitals and oxygen generating plants while augmenting supplies of medicines and vaccines. He asked states to crack down on black marketing of medicines and other essential items.
"I want to warn you about corona. This pandemic is spreading fast in rural villages. Every government is taking efforts to stop this. Awareness about this among rural people and cooperation of the panchayat institutes are equally important "You have never disappointed the nation. We hope this time too, to protect yourself and family from Covid, all necessary precautions are taken. Wearing mask properly and regularly is important," Modi said. (PTI)
Thirteen more Covid-19 patients died at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in the early hours of Friday, a senior health department official said, taking to 75 the number of people who have succumbed at the government-run facility here in the last four days.
The horror at the GMCH is continuing even as the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court is hearing petitions related to deaths during the “dark hours” at the premier hospital.
While the state government has not revealed the exact cause of recent deaths at the GMCH, it has told the HC that there were “logistic issues” related to supply of medical oxygen to patients. (PTI)
A national tracking platform will be established soon to determine the impact of the jabs against Covid-19 and the breakthrough infections that are likely to occur among those with complete and partial immunisation, official sources said. The recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) to establish such a platform has been accepted by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 and the Union Health Ministry, they said.
The vaccine tracker will be particularly important to monitor the impact of increasing the dosing schedule of Covishield, he said, as the government on Thursday accepted the working group's recommendation to extend the gap between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks. (PTI)
All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) on Friday said as many as 1,000 power sector employees have succumbed to Covid-19 and more than 15,000 have been infected from the virus.
In Maharashtra, a total of more than 7,100 power employees are Covid positive and about 210 have died. While, in Uttar Pradesh, more than 4,000 power sector employees are suffering from coronavirus and there have been 140 casualties. "Amid a record surge in Covid-19 cases in the country, around 1,000 employees working in the power sector have died and more than 15,000 employees have tested positive for the virus," AIPEF Spokesperson V K Gupta said in a statement. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday announced that the state government will provide free medical treatment to all media persons, whether they are accredited or not, and their family members, if they are infected with coronavirus. Earlier this week, Chouhan had also declared accredited journalists as frontline workers (Corona warriors). "We have seen that while performing their duties and in the process of disseminating news, many journalists got infected with Covid-19 and some of them even unfortunately died," the chief minister said in a media statement. (PTI)
Central government will supply 1 crore 92 lakh Covid-19 vaccines to states and Union Territories free of cost by May 31, says Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. (ANI)
Former AAP MLA Jarnail Singh passed away in New Delhi on Friday due to Covid-related complications, his family said. He was 48. Singh was admitted in the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital for the past 12-13 days, his brother Karnail said.
"His high-resolution CT of the chest score was 14/25 which was a little above moderate in terms of infection. But then his condition deteriorated," Karnail added. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia condoled the demise of Jarnail Singh. "Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of former Delhi MLA Sh Jarnail Singh ji. May God bless his soul. He will always be fondly remembered for his contributions to society," Kejriwal said in a tweet.
Sisodia remembered Singh as someone who fought for justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots. (PTI)
Global investment banking major JP Morgan Chase has increased its Covid-19 support to the country manifold, taking the total planned aid to close to USD 16 million, of which USD 3.8 million is for supporting its over 35,000 employees in India. The head of the Wall Street major Jamie Dimon had on April 30 had committed an upfront USD 2 million financial aid along with an appeal to its over 2.5 lakh employees globally to chip in which would be matched by an equal amount by the company.
In an internal communication on Thursday, which PTI has seen, Filippo Gori, the chief executive of JP Morgan Asia Pacific, said the bank has set aside USD 3.8 million for the care of its over 35,000 India employees, and an additional USD 10 million is being earmarked in phases to support the needy in their pandemic recovery phase. (PTI)
On Friday, around 8,500 cases have been recorded in Delhi. This is the first time since April 10 that the case count has dipped below 10,000. Delhi saw over 28,000 cases on April 20. The positivity rate on Friday also dropped to 12%, the lowest in a month.
The Delhi government will bear the cost of educating and upbringing children who have lost both their parents to Covid-19, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Friday. Over the past month, children welfare bodies and helplines have come across several cases where children have been left orphaned. In many other cases, the earning member of the family has died.
Addressing a webcast, Kejriwal said, “We have seen very painful days recently. Many families saw more than one death. Many children lost both parents. I want to tell them that I understand their pain and am standing in support. Every child who has lost their parents will be educated. The cost of their education and upbringing will be borne by the government. I ask neighbours and families to take care of them too. There are parents who have lost children, and families who have lost their earning member. We will take care of them. Main hoon na.” Read Mallica Joshi's report
Gujarat has stopped vaccinating people in the age group of 45 and above for three days starting Friday. This decision has been taken a day after the Centre increased the gap between Covishield doses to 12-16 weeks. In these three days, beneficiaries between the ages of 18 and 44 can be vaccinated, the state government said.
The vaccination for those above 45 will resume on May 17.
Following complaints of large crowds at Government Kilpauk Medical College hoping to buy the anti-viral drug Remdesivir, the Tamil Nadu government Thursday informed the Madras High Court that it is planning to shift the sale of the vials to Nehru Indoor Stadium at Periyampet. The government said it was planning to sell 20,000 vials per day and will be operating additional counters. Read more here
Dr Reddy’s on Friday administered the first shot of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19 in Hyderabad. The company said the vaccines would be priced at Rs 995.40 (Rs 948 + 5 per cent GST).
The company, in a statement, said the first dose was administered as part of a limited pilot. “Further consignments of imported doses are expected over the upcoming months. Subsequently, supply of Sputnik V vaccine will commence from indian manufacturing partners,” it said. Read more here
The government has received three quotations for the supply of a total 3,500 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO), against its global tender for procurement of 50,000 MT imported LMO amid the surge in Covid-19 cases, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said while two of the companies that have sent quotations are foreign, one is domestic, and they have offered to deliver the medical oxygen over three months, rather than the government’s hope of three weeks.
Among the two overseas suppliers, while Singapore-based SSB Cryogenic Equipment Pte Ltd offered to supply 200 MT oxygen, Abu Dhabi-based M/s Gulf Industrial Gases has said it can supply 1,800 MT. The third company, Gujarat-based Ultra Pure Gases Ltd, has offered 1,500 MT. Harikishan Sharma reports
Telangana’s Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Industries, and Information Technology, KT Rama Rao, took to Twitter Thursday evening for an #AskKTR session to gauge the public mood and address concerns over the 10-day lockdown imposed in the state to curb the second wave of Covid-19 infections.
From lockdown to vaccination, here's what transpired during the Q&A session. Rahul V Pisharody reports
A day after the government increased the gap between Covishield vaccine doses to 12-16 weeks, America's top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci tells ANI: "When you don't have enough vaccines, you have to try and get as many people vaccinated as you possibly can. For that reason, when you have a shortage of vaccine, extending the duration between the first and second dose, in order to get more people to at least get their first dose, is a reasonable approach."
"It is very unlikely it will have a negative effect on the efficacy of the vaccine," he adds.