A Covid-infected patient with oxygen support is admitted to the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad. (Express Photo: Nirmal Harindran)Coronavirus India Live Updates: 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. Of the 34.66 lakh doses administered from May 1-May 12, over 85 per cent were administered in seven states: Maharashtra (6.25 lakh), Rajasthan (5.49 lakh), Delhi (4.71 lakh), Gujarat (3.86 lakh), Haryana (3.55 lakh), Bihar (3.02 lakh), and Uttar Pradesh (2.65 lakh).
Leaders of 12 Opposition parties, including four chief ministers, have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the Centre to procure vaccines centrally from global and domestic sources and begin a free, universal mass vaccination campaign across the country.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has deferred hearing the suo motu matter on the Covid situation in the country after Justice D Y Chandrachud contracted the infection.
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, in an interview to The Indian Express, said aid is limited, and optimal use of resources will have to be made. “Priority will be given to high-case burden states,” he said.
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)
A government panel has recommended that those testing positive for Covid-19 should defer vaccination for six months after recovery, according to news agency PTI
Amidst growing rumours of a change of guard in Karnataka, the BJP leadership has ruled out any plans to replace Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa while the state fights the Covid-19 crisis.
The rumours had gained fresh currency following a dash to New Delhi by Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra on May 7 to meet Amit Shah. On Tuesday, BJP organising secretary B L Santosh met Yediyurappa.
Bommai, considered a possible replacement for Yediyurappa, said, “I want to state very clearly that there was no political motive behind the visit to Delhi. During the Covid-19 crisis there is no question of thinking about anything other than the Covid-19 situation.” Read more here
India's top drug regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), has given Bharat Biotech permission to conduct the Phase II/III clinical trial of Covaxin in the age group 2 to 18 years. The trial will be conducted in 525 healthy volunteers. In the trial, the vaccine will be given by intramuscular route in two doses at day 0 and day 28.
As several states float global tenders for Covid vaccines, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweets: "Indian states left to compete/fight with each other in international market. UP fighting Maha, Maha fighting Orissa, Orissa fighting Delhi. Where is 'India'? Portrays such a bad image of India. India, as one country, should procure vaccines on behalf of all Indian states."
"Also when we approach vaccine manufacturers and their countries as 'India' rather than individual states, our bargaining power is much more, Indian govt has much more diplomatic space to negotiate with their countries," he adds.
Industrialist and philanthropist Azim Premji said science and truth have to be the foundations to tackle the Covid-19 crisis, and the scale and spread of the pandemic need to be accepted truthfully.
Speaking during the ‘Positivity Unlimited’ series of lectures organised by the RSS-linked Covid Response Team and being aired on national public broadcaster Doordarshan National every day this week, Premji, founder of Wipro, said, “First, we must act with the greatest of speed on all fronts and these actions must be based on good science. Actions that are not based on science in reality have a detrimental effect on the cause.”
“At the core of the idea of good science is the matter of being willing to accept and confront the truth. So, we must confront this crisis, its scale, its spread and its depth truthfully. Science and truth are the foundation on which we can tackle this crisis and ensure that it is not repeated,” Premji said. Read more here
The Sterlite plant in Tamil Nadu has dispatched its first tanker carrying 4.8 MTs of Liquid Medical Oxygen to Tirunelveli.
An ex-member of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has moved the Supreme Court against the "coercive vaccine mandate", adding that the two vaccines available in India (Covishield and Covaxin) are "inadequately tested". Jacob Puliyel, in his plea, sought a ruling from the apex court that the mandate is repugnant to people's right to autonomy and ability to self-determine what may be infected into their body.
The World Health Organization has said among the potential contributing factors to India's Covid surge is "several religious and political mass gathering events which increased social mixing".
"A recent risk assessment of the situation in India conducted by WHO found that resurgence and acceleration of COVID-19 transmission in India had several potential contributing factors, including increase in the proportion of cases of SARS-CoV-2 variants with potentially increased transmissibility; several religious and political mass gathering events which increased social mixing; and, under use of and reduced adherence to public health and social measures (PHSM). The exact contributions of these each of these factors on increased transmission in India are not well understood,” WHO said. Read more here
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.
This morning, Haryana became the latest state to say it would float global tenders for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. State Health Minister Anil Vij tweeted: "Haryana will float Global tenders to purchase Corona Vaccine for people of Haryana so that free vaccination could be provided to every 18+ citizens of the State at the earliest."
On Tuesday, Mumbai's civic body and Tamil Nadu, too, said they would issue a global Expression of Interest (EoI).
Rae Bareli is among the predominantly rural districts in India’s most populous state that have been buffeted by the second Covid wave. In Sultanpur Khera village, 17 out of 18 people who died in one month showed flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, cold, headache and breathlessness, before death. Of the 17, local residents say 15 were not tested for Covid, or taken to a hospital. And this is why, they say, official records show only two Covid deaths from the village of 3,000 in April.
“For days, we believed it was the usual sardi-khasi (cold and cough). Then, people started dying, and we panicked,” Dinesh Singh, a bank employee, says. Read Dipankar Ghose's report
Good morning and welcome to our live blog on the Covid-19 situation in India. Here are the states that reported the most number of cases and deaths on Tuesday.