A Covid-19 patient arrives for treatment at LNJP Hospital in New Delhi.Coronavirus India Live updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing a high-level meeting on the Covid-19 related situation and vaccination in the country. The meeting began at around 11 am. On Friday, sounding a note of caution to farmers and rural areas, PM Modi said Covid-19 was spreading to villages at a “rapid” pace, but said India will not lose courage and will fight the pandemic and win. Meanwhile, West Bengal announced lockdown till May 30 with some relaxations.
With the lockdown in place for close to four weeks, Covid cases in Delhi have finally started to dip. Delhi reported 6,500 cases in the past 24 hours and the positivity rate has also dipped to 11 per cent, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday. He also said that Oxygen concentrator banks are being set up in each Delhi district for those under home isolation. They can be delivered to the patient’s home in 2 hours.
India reported 3,26,098 new Covid-19 cases and 3,890 deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday, as per Union Health Ministry. It also reported 3,53,299 recoveries during the same period. With today’s count, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 2,43,72,907 and the number of fatalities stands at 2,66,207. Active cases dropped by more than 31,000 cases to 36.73 lakh.
Karnataka Saturday emerged as a top contributor with 41,779 cases, while Maharashtra reported 39,923 cases. Also, Maharashtra contributed 714 deaths, while 373 came from Karnataka. 311 from Uttar Pradesh.
In Mumbai too, active Covid-19 cases have started dropping. As on Friday, the active caseload dropped to 37,656. A month ago, on April 14, the city had 87,443 active cases with a recovery rate of 81%. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data shows the recovery rate has also improved over the last four weeks. The recovery rate now, according to the BMC dashboard, is 92%. Officials said that the numbers are an indicator of significant improvement in Covid-19 situation in Mumbai after last month’s peak.
Earlier in the day, Dr Reddy’s administered the first shot of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19 in Hyderabad. The company said the imported vaccines would be priced at Rs 995.40 (Rs 948 + 5 per cent GST). The price may reduce when local supply begins.
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.
AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria Saturday warned doctors to brace for cases of mucormycosis, a rare fungal infection, across the country, including among Covid-19 positive persons. He emphasised the urgent need to control and monitor blood sugar levels among Covid patients, with a pattern emerging of more than 90 per cent of mucormycosis patients being diabetics.
Guleria was speaking during a session of a clinical excellence programme to guide state centres of excellence and districts in clinical management protocol.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting on the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive. Government sources said top officials from different ministries attended the meeting. Modi has been holding regular review meetings on the pandemic situation and taking measures as he spearheads the drive to curb the second wave of surge in infections.
Delhi Police has registered 17 FIRs and arrested 15 people for allegedly pasting posters critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the vaccination drive against COVID-19, officials said on Saturday. The posters reading "Modiji humare bachon ki vaccine videsh kyu bhej diya (PM why did you send vaccines of our children to foreign countries?)" were pasted in several parts of the city, they said.
On Thursday, police received information about the posters following which senior officers of the districts were alerted. And based on further complaints, as many as 17 FIRs were registered under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections including section 3 of the Prevention of Defacement of Property Act across various districts of the Delhi Police, the officials said. (PTI)
The Delhi government Saturday said COVID patients who require oxygen support at home post discharge from hospitals would be provided oxygen concentrators at home. For this, the government has written to all hospitals to appoint a nodal officer to provide information about patients who will be requiring oxygen support at home after discharge.
“It has been decided that the patients discharged from COVID hospital who would require Domiciliary Oxygen Support at home post discharge, will be provided Oxygen Concentrators at home for Domiciliary Short-Term Oxygen Therapy (STOT). A nodal officer has been appointed in each district to coordinate the provision of oxygen concentrator for STOT,” Dr B S Charan, Additional Director (Public Health Wing IV) of the Directorate General of Health Services, wrote to heads of all hospitals.
The West Bengal government on Saturday announced a complete lockdown across the state for a fortnight from Sunday, May 16 to May 30.
All government and private offices will remain closed, except emergency services and essential services.
All shops will be closed, except food related and essential services. Shops selling vegetables, groceries, milk and meat can be open from 7 am to 10 am.
Kejriwal further said that Oxygen concentrator banks are being set up in each Delhi district for those under home isolation. They can be delivered to the patient's home in 2 hours. "We're starting oxygen concentrator bank today. Essential to provide oxygen to COVID patients, on time. We've started this for such patients. 200 such banks set up in every dist. Our team will provide the concentrator at doorstep of patients in home isolation, if needed."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday said that in the last 24 hours, 6500 cases have been reported in the national capital. "The positivity rate has further gone down to 11%. So Corona's impact is going down in Delhi. 1000 ICU beds have been set up within 15 days, our doctors and engineers have set an example. I thank them," Kejriwal said.
On Friday, the Punjab government announced that, since it was facing a shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, it had decided to join the global Covax facility to procure supplies. Several other states, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, have over the past few days expressed their intention to import vaccines from abroad.
As the situation currently stands, neither the attempt by states in buying vaccines directly from global manufacturers, nor Punjab’s decision to join Covax is likely to bear fruit. In Punjab’s case, it is not even clear whether it is eligible to join Covax, a World Health Organisation-led platform working to ensure equitable and affordable access to Covid-19 vaccines to countries around the world. Thus far, Covax has been operating only at the level of nations — procuring vaccines for, and supplying to, national governments. Read more
The Telangana High Court Friday stayed the state government's contentious circular regulating entry of COVID-19 patients seeking emergency medical treatment in Hyderabad.
Calling the circular ‘discriminatory’ and violating the right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution of India, the High Court issued notices to governments of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the Center.
Stopping ambulances at the state borders on Thursday was based on a letter from Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, dated May 11, to Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories with detailed guidelines and instructions to the general public. The letter came to public notice only on May 13.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a high-level meeting on the Covid-19 related situation and vaccination.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a high-level meeting today on the COVID-19 related situation and vaccination.
Rs 50,000 for a vial of remdesivir, Rs 40,000 for a large oxygen cylinder: This is what some people paid in Delhi over the last three weeks trying to save lives of loved ones as the Covid surge left the healthcare infrastructure overwhelmed, and created fertile grounds for black marketers.
Members of the healthcare industry, hospital owners and government officials The Indian Express spoke to flagged key factors that led to this — from a lull in cases after the first wave which led to scaling back of production to not enough being done to bolster healthcare infrastructure.
Take the example of remdesivir, typically administered to patients in ICU. A Delhi government official said the problem of black marketing began as hospitals started prescribing it for patients who may not have needed it. Its supply is centralised, and the government allocates it to the states, which then provide it to hospitals based on requirement. It is not available with chemists. Read More
Prior to the pandemic, between June 2019 and till the budget was presented in February 2021, there was certainly a slowdown, a shortage of liquidity, and therefore, when people needed money, they couldn’t get it; we undertook a lot of measures to ensure that liquidity reaches people. In fact, much before the festive season in India, between September and October, we had ensured that banks, NBFCs and others reached out with liquidity. So that year we did have a specific problem of banks not being able to extend credit, which was sorted out and in early 2021, we saw clear signs of recovery. With that, we presented a budget in February 2021. But, of course, within weeks after presenting the budget, there was Covid-19. Read More
The first cases of coronavirous infection have been reported among the Dongria Kondh tribe, settled in the Niyamgiri hills of Rayagada district in Odisha, sparking concern among officials.
One of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups in India, the Dongria Kondhs had remained untouched during the first wave. Given their poor immunity due to lack of nourishment and a secluded way of life, officials are worried about the impact of the current virulent Covid-19 wave on them.
The administration had initiated a door-to-door survey in villages specifically falling under the Kalyansinghpur block following reports of tribe members showing members. Read More
Days ago, the bodies were in scores, unclaimed, uncounted and unidentified. On Friday, at the Gahmar Ghat in Ghazipur, there were five. Two face down in the sand on the Ganga riverbank; one part submerged, the remaining two in fragments. Not far from here, in Unnao, again on the banks of the Ganga, an estimated 200 bodies were laid bare this week by the shifting sand after a heavy downpour.
These bodies, juxtaposed with images of overflowing cremation and burial grounds, frame a tragic rural postcard from UP and downstream Bihar touched by Covid.
Interviews with next of kin, officials, eyewitnesses and local residents in Unnao and Ghazipur reveal that behind the bodies lie long-held traditions, deep economic distress and the sudden rush to lay the dead to rest — all of this under the shadow of a devastating pandemic that has led to several deaths outside official records. Read More
Karnataka emerges as top contributor with 41,779 cases. Maharashtra reports 39,923 cases. Also, Maharashtra contributed 714 deaths, while 373 came from Karnataka. Uttar Pradesh reported 311 deaths.
As many as 326,098 new cases of coronavirus infections detected on Friday. 3,890 deaths reported on Friday. Active cases drop by more than 31,000 cases to 36.73 lakh.
A total of 68,575 people were tested and 12.40% of them were found to be positive — which is the lowest positivity rate in a month. Over 50,000 of these were RT-PCR tests. Over 14,000 people were reported recovered on Friday.
Hello and welcome to our Covid-19 LIVE blog. India reported 3,26,098 new Covid-19 cases and 3,890 deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday, as per Union Health Ministry. It also reported 3,53,299 recoveries during the same period. With today’s count, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 2,43,72,907 and the number of fatalities stands at 2,66,207. At present, as many as 36,73,802 cases are active while 2,04,32,898 people have been treated and discharged.