Healthcare workers attend to Covid-19 patients in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)Coronavirus India Live Updates: As the country battles the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the government on Thursday said the virus may emerge again and so preparations have to be made at the national level in collaboration with states, infrastructure needs to be ramped up while curbs and appropriate behaviour must be followed.
V K Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog, said over two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be made available in the country in five months between August and December, enough to vaccinate the entire population. He added that the Russian Covid vaccine Sputnik V is also likely to be available by next week.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be interacting the the district magistrates of 100 districts having high Covid-19 caseload during two meetings on May 18 and 20, news agency PTI reported while quoting government sources. This will be the first such interaction that the prime minister will have with the top district-level administrative officers on the Covid-19 situation.
India reported 3.62 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. Maharashtra’s count remained under 50,000 for the fourth consecutive day, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu recorded new highs of over 43,000 and 30,000 cases, respectively. The country reported 4,120 deaths on the same day, led by Maharashtra (843) and Karnataka (517). Active cases have increased to 37.10 lakh.
As India grapples to contain the second wave of Covid-19, records analysed by The Indian Express show a pattern of vaccine inequality, with seven states accounting for a staggering 85 per cent of all doses administered to those in the 18-44 age group so far.
On the other hand, India’s top drug regulatory body has given Bharat Biotech permission to conduct Phase II/III clinical trials of Covaxin among children between the ages of 2 and 18. This is an important milestone in the Covid-19 vaccine’s development.
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)
West Bengal reports 20,839 new Covid-19 cases, 19,181 recoveries and 129 deaths. (ANI)
A PIL has been moved in the Bombay High Court challenging the Maharashtra government's April 2021 decision to cancel this year's class 10 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams in view of rising Covid-19 cases.
The plea also challenged decisions to cancel class 10 exams of ICSE and CBSE boards in view of the Covid surge.
The plea said that if the respondent state board for higher and secondary education is going to conduct an examination for class 12, which it has postponed, with nearly 14 lakh students appearing for it, there is no justification for cancelling class 10 SSC exam, which is likely to be given by about 16 lakh students. Similar is the situation for ICSE and CBSE boards, so there is no justification for cancelling class 10 exams, the plea said. (Express News Service)
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said in Shimla on Thursday that vaccination for people aged 18 to 44 years in the state will begin on the 17th of this month. It would be provided on a first-come-first-serve basis and people will have to register themselves for it, he said. (Express News Service)
The Himachal government Thursday announced an incentive of Rs 6,000 each for sanitation workers in the urban local bodies of the state, keeping in view their essential services during the ongoing pandemic. Each sanitation worker in municipal corporations, municipal councils, nagar parishads and nagar panchayats will be provided an incentive of Rs 2,000 per month for the months of April, May and June, the government declared. (Express News Service)
Manipur BJP chief S Tikendra Singh passed away at Shija Hospital in Imphal where he was undergoing treatment for Covid-19. (ANI)
After Bharat Biotech said it cannot supply more doses of Covaxin to Delhi, the city government wrote to the Serum Institute of India (SII) asking it to "come to its rescue", saying it has limited stock of Covishield for 18 to 44 years which will finish in one week. To this, the SII said they are doing their best to meet countrywide vaccine requirements, official sources said. In a letter to the SII, Director of Family Welfare, Delhi Government, Dr Monika Rana said, "We rely on your support for provision of sufficient quantities of vaccine in a time-bound manner." "Delhi has a limited stock of Covishield for 18 to 44 years which will finish in one week and vaccination centres will have to be closed due to non-availability of vaccines," she said.
"In order to prevent this, you are requested to come to our rescue and provide for more vaccine immediately," the letter read. Delhi is facing an unprecedented crisis and timely vaccination of all the eligible beneficiaries will help control the pandemic, Dr Rana said. As per official sources, in reply to her letter, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India said, "We fully understand your concern and assure you once again of our best efforts to meet the Delhi and countrywide vaccine requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic." (PTI)
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma Thursday announced the extension of lockdown in the worst-affected East Khasi Hills district till May 24. The decision to extend the lockdown for another week was taken following a review of the COVID-19 situation. The state government on May 8 had extended the lockdown in East Khasi Hills district till May 17. To curb the spread of the contagion, a complete lockdown had been imposed in the district from 8 pm of May 5 to 5 am of May 10. State capital Shillong is located in East Khasi Hills district. "A review meeting on the #COVID19 situation was held today. In view of the increasing trend of active cases & based on the report received from districts, Government has decided to extend the #Lockdown in East Khasi Hills till 24 May 2021," the chief minister tweeted. (PTI)
The Karnataka government on Thursday announced floating a global tender for procuring two crore Covid-19 vaccines owing to supply shortage. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said a Task Force has been set up to oversee the preparation for a probable third wave of COVID-19. "The state has placed a purchase order for three crore doses of vaccines, two crore doses of Covishield and one crore doses of Covaxin. We are floating global tenders for an additional two crores," Yediyurappa told reporters here.
He was briefing them about the various measures initiated by his government to deal with the pandemic and improving the health infrastructure in the state. On the occasion, he said the government was appointing Prof Kang as an adviser on vaccination strategy. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited AMU on Thursday to take stock of the coronavirus situation at the university, where at least 35 serving and retired faculty members have died due to Covid or Covid-like symptoms in the recent weeks. Expressing grief over the deaths at Aligarh Muslim University's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, he said he hoped that the vaccination drive on the campus would pick up soon and help in improving the situation.
On his first visit to AMU since he assumed office in 2017, the chief minister also said that the supply of oxygen to the university's medical college is being augmented. The university hospital, however, hasn't reported any deaths due to the shortage of oxygen. Meanwhile, the Congress termed Adityanath's visit "an attempt to cover up the total breakdown of health services in UP". (PTI)
Uttarakhand reports 7,127 new Covid-19 cases, 5,748 recoveries and 122 deaths in the last 24 hours. (ANI)
The Election Commission has decided to put off the biennial election to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council in view of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, state Chief Electoral Officer K Vijayanand said on Thursday. The Commission has reviewed the matter and decided that due to outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19 in the country, it will not be appropriate to hold the biennial election...till the pandemic situation improves..." the CEO said in a press release. (PTI)
Mumbai, in the last 24 hours, reported 1,946 new Covid-19 cases, 68 deaths and 2,037 recoveries. (ANI)
For the first time, the number of active coronavirus cases crossed the two-lakh mark in Andhra Pradesh, touching 2,01,042, as the state added 22,399 fresh positives in 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday. The latest bulletin said 18,638 Covid-19 patients had recovered and 89 others succumbed in a day.
The state Covid-19 chart now showed 13,66,785 total positives, 11,56,666 recoveries and 9,077 deaths. In 24 hours, East Godavari district reported the highest 3,372, Chittoor 2,646, Guntur 2,141, Anantapuramu 2,080 and Visakhapatnam 2,064 new cases. (PTI)
Facing a Covid vaccine shortage, the Punjab government on Thursday decided to join the global COVAX alliance for sourcing the immunisation shots at the best price. By doing so, Punjab will become the first state in the country to take the initiative of addressing the vaccine shortage amid the deadly second wave of the pandemic, a state government statement said here. Abbreviated as COVAX, the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access is a worldwide initiative aimed at providing equitable access to anti-Covid vaccines. COVAX is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi and the World Health Organization, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF. (PTI)
In view of a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Chhattisgarh government on Thursday cancelled tenders for the construction of the new assembly building and also stopped work on major projects in the state.
It has also decided to take more stringent measures to prevent the infection from spreading.
Construction work of the new governor’s house, assembly house, chief minister’s house, residences of ministers and senior officers, new circuit house in the ‘Nava Raipur’ area (New Raipur) has now been stopped with immediate effect, a statement issued by the state government said. (PTI)
A 47-year-old woman spent two days with the bodies of her mother and brother in a house in Bengaluru. The incident came to light on Wednesday, after a tenant living in the building informed the police station about a foul smell emanating from his landlord’s house.
According to the police, the incident was reported in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, and the deceased have been identified as Aryamba (65) and her son Harish (45), an employee of a private company. The family lived in BEML Layout.
The police said Harish had tested positive for Covid-19 and succumbed two days ago. Investigation is on to determine how Aryamba died. Read more
Kerala reports 39,955 fresh Covid-19 cases, 33,733 recoveries and 97 deaths on Thursday till 5 pm. With this, the active case count of the state has surged to 4,38,913. (ANI)
Telangana, on Thursday, reported 4,693 fresh Covid-19 cases, 6,876 recoveries and 33 fatalities till pm. (ANI)
Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Thursday said the class 10 examinations scheduled to commence from June 21 has been postponed due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the state. The increasing coronavirus cases in the state coupled with the concerns of parents, students and many school associations has resulted in this decision, the Minister's office said in a statement quoting him. A suitable call will be taken after the second wave of Covid-19 dies down, it said. (PTI)
The Centre on Thursday approved extending the gap between the first and second dose of the Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks following recommendations by an expert panel. The current gap between two doses of the vaccine is 6-8 weeks.
Earlier in the day, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization had recommended the same to the Centre. No changes, however, have been made to the interval of Covaxin.
The panel also said that pregnant women can choose their vaccine and lactating women will be eligible after delivery. Currently neither is eligible to get the shots. (PTI)