A Covid-19 patient arrives at the newly built 500-bed care centre at Ramlila maidan, in New Delhi, on Sunday. (Express Photo: Amit Mehra)Coronavirus India Live updates: The pandemic situation in Uttar Pradesh is not alarming or out of control, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday. UP is even prepared for a third wave of Covid-19, if it comes, Adityanath said. “We are hiding nothing. Everything is transparent… Every detail of testing, recoveries and deaths are uploaded on the (government’s Covid) portal,” Adityanath told a group of reporters in Noida.
Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech on Sunday said its Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ has been found to be effective against coronavirus strains found in India and the UK. Citing a study published in peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the Hyderabad-based vaccine major noted that vaccination with Covaxin produced neutralising titres against all key emerging variants tested, including B.1.617 and B.1.1.7, first identified in India and the UK, respectively.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on the other hand, also announced on Sunday that the lockdown in the National Capital has been extended by another week till May 24. “We are extending the lockdown for one more week. Instead of tomorrow, lockdown is extended till next Monday, 5 am in Delhi,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called upon the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to discuss the Covid situation in their respective states.
A newly set up Covid care centre. (PTI)
The first day of the 15-day lockdown in West Bengal witnessed empty roads with policemen patrolling several areas to stop people from venturing out without an emergency.
Commercial establishments, private and government offices, education institutions remained closed, public transport stayed off the roads and only essential services were operational. Metro services in Kolkata too remained suspended.
Police officers were deployed across the city to intercept vehicles and check their papers before allowing them to proceed. They also spread awareness about lockdown norms using public announcement systems. Read more
With companies in Haryana’s Manesar industrial hub closed for longer than maintenance shutdowns, workers living in adjoining villages are beginning to turn restless.
Unlike a year ago, the workers have stayed put thus far — however, this may change if the Covid situation does not improve and the shutdown extends for another 2-3 weeks, company officials and union leaders watching the labour dynamics in this industrial ecosystem said. (Read Sandeep Singh's report)
Supported by a pillow and slouched over his hospital bed, Jagdish Prasad Mittal, 79, watches his son Manoj frantically dialling people, enquiring if an ICU bed is available in any hospital along the 120-km stretch from their hometown Nim Ka Thana in Rajasthan’s Sikar district to Jaipur, the state capital.
Opposite him at the Covid ward of the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Nim Ka Thana, another septuagenarian Mariam Bano gasps for breath, her body suddenly convulsing. Bano’s grandson Syed Yunus cries for the duty doctor who rushes along with nursing staff to check on her. But a few moments later, a curtain is drawn around Bano’s bed. She is declared dead. (Read Deep Mukherjee's report)