A senior police officer makes an announcement urging people to come for screening and sample collection in Ramganj locality of Jaipur (Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras)The Rajasthan government on Sunday extended the coronavirus lockdown by 15 days till June 8. However, the state may allow some relaxations in commercial activities from June 1 in districts where the Covid-19 situation will improve significantly, according to a government release. The home department on Sunday issued an order extending the lockdown from 5 am on May 24 to 5 am on June 8. People going for vaccination will be allowed to move within their respective urban local body or panchayat samiti during the lockdown period.
The Haryana government on Sunday extended the ongoing lockdown by another week and will now remain in place until 5 am on May 31. Standalone shops will be allowed to open during the day when curfew is not in place. Other shops will be allowed to remain open between 7 am and 12 pm on odd – even basis. However, malls will remain closed.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday extended the ongoing lockdown in the city till May 31. Kejriwal said that if Covid-19 cases continue to decrease, they will begin the unlock procedure in a phased manner from May 31 onwards. With 1,600 new cases in the last 24 hours, the positivity rate in the city has reached 2.5%, he added.
India recorded 240,842 new cases of coronavirus and 3,741 deaths on Saturday, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. There are a total of 2,65,30,132 Covid-19 cases in the country while the death toll has reached 2,99,266. Tamil Nadu reported 35,873 new cases while Karnataka had 31,183. A total of 2,34,25,467 people have recovered from the disease.
Active cases have come down by more than a lakh for the third straight day. There are 28.05 lakh active cases in the country at present. Out of the 3,741 deaths reported on Saturday, Maharashtra reported 713, Tamil Nadu had 448, while Karnataka reported 451. As many as 19,50,04,184 people have been vaccinated so far. The government Sunday said the daily positivity rate has declined to 11.34%. Over 21.23 lakh tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the highest tests conducted in a single day, it further said.
Government teacher Anita sanitizes children's hands as she had tested positive after UP Panchayat polls. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
THE CENTRE has approved the setting up of five new oxygen manufacturing plants in Himachal Pradesh, health officials said on Sunday.
In coordination with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), two pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants will be established at IGMC hospital in Shimla, and one each at regional hospital in Una, military hospital in Yol and regional hospital in Solan, an official said, adding that each of the plants will have a production capacity of 1,000 litres per minute (LPM).
He said a 20 kilolitre cryogenic tank has also been installed at IGMC Shimla and its trial will be held in a few days.
According to an oxygen logistics team, around 67 metric tonnes (MT) of oxygen is being produced in Himachal daily, out of which 56 MT is consumed. ENS
The Rajasthan government on Sunday announced extension of Covid-triggered lockdown in the state till June 8.
The state may allow some relaxations in commercial activities from June 1 in districts where the Covid-19 situation improves, PTI reported.
Madhya Pradesh government issued orders for relaxing Covid-19 curfew in five districts - Khandwa, Burhanpur, Bhind, Alirajpur and Jhabua.
The government in consultation with district crises management committee has allowed markets to function all day long, government offices with 100 percent staff and labour markets among other sectors to remain open from May 24 to 31. Depending on the situation in these districts, a gradual graded unlocking of other districts will be worked out.
West Bengal on Sunday reported 18,422 new Covid-19 positive cases with Kolkata alone reporting 3,056 new infections.
The state also reported 156 deaths, and 19,429 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
The total caseload stands at 12,48,668 with 1,29,362 active cases.
Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 26,672 new Covid-19 cases, 29,177 recoveries, and 594 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The total positive cases in the state stands at 55,79,897 while the number of active cases is 3,48,395
Tamil Nadu recorded 35,483 new Covid-19 cases today, pushing the caseload to 18,42,344. With 422 deaths in the last 24 hours, the toll touched 20,468.
As many as 25,196 people were discharged taking the number of recoveries to 15,27,733 leaving 2,94,143 active infections. Chennai accounted for 5,169 new infections and 81 deaths. The city's overall tally reached 4,78,710. There are 49055 active cases in the city.
Total number of Black Fungus cases in Haryana has touched 398, with maximum of 147 cases being reported from Gurgaon district: Health department (PTI)
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Sunday, termed yoga guru Ramdev's statement on allopathic medicines extremely unfortunate and asked him to withdraw it.
"The statement disrespects the corona warriors and hurt the sentiments of the country. Your statement on allopathy can break morale of healthcare workers, weaken our fight against Covid," Vardhan further told Ramdev in a letter. (PTI)
AAP MLA Atishi said on Sunday said that there will be no Covaxin doses left for inoculating those above 45 years of age, frontline and healthcare workers in the national capital after Monday evening.
She added there was no clarity yet from the Centre on the supply of the next instalment and hence all centres inoculating 18-44 age group will be temporarily shut from Monday due to non-availability of vaccines.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday directed District Collectors to intensify measures like door to door survey to detect people with Covid-19 symptoms during the week long intense lockdown commencing on May 24.
Conducting medical camps for early detection of infected people, increasing testing and continuation of the vaccination drive without slackness were among the measures the Chief Minister underscored. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court on Sunday observed that the absence of medical resources forced Covid-19 patients to fend for themselves and look for oxygen concentrator as an alternative to liquid medical oxygen (LMO) and even procure the device from overseas amid short supply. (PTI)
The Haryana government on Sunday extended the ongoing lockdown by another week, till 5 am on May 31.
Standalone shops will be allowed to open during the day when curfew is not in place. Other shops will be allowed to remain open between 7 am and 12 pm on odd – even basis. However, malls will remain closed.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, after a high-level meeting, Sunday said the state governments have been asked to send suggestions on pending Class 12 board exams before May 25 and a final decision will be taken at earliest to remove uncertainty in students' minds.
He added that the safety and future of students, teachers are supremely important.
Delhi recorded 1,649 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest since March 30, and 189 fatalities on Sunday, while the positivity rate slipped to 2.42 per cent, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended the lockdown in the capital by another week. This is the second day on the trot that the number of deaths remained less than 200.
This is also the lowest daily spike in cases recorded since March 30 (992) and the first time that the count has gone below the 2,000-mark since April 1, when 2,790 people tested positive for the infection. (PTI)
Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has informed that the general blockade with relaxations will remain in force till May 24. Essential services will be allowed. Shops will be open till 12 noon.
Curfew with existing practical relaxations will continue till May 31. Extension of the curfew will be reviewed depending on situation, reports ANI.
The Delhi Police has decided to not issue any challans for a day. On Sunday, police personnel will stop violators but will not issue a Rs 2,000 fine. Instead, they will offer them a face mask and roses.
On Sunday, the health ministry reported that the daily positivity rate for coronavirus infections has declined to 11.34 per cent as India recorded 2,40,842 daily new cases, the lowest figure since April 17.
The decline in positivity rate comes in the backdrop of states extending their lockdowns and, in some cases, imposing fresh restrictions to continue the fight against the pandemic and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Sunday said the Covid inoculation drive for 18-44 age group has been suspended as supply of vaccines isn't smooth.
At an interaction with paediatricians, Uddhav said, "I'm hopeful that from June production capacity of vaccines will increase, then, we can run 24hr vaccination drive in the state."
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Sunday said the Covid inoculation drive for 18-44 age group has been suspended as supply of vaccines isn't smooth.
At an interaction with paediatricians, Uddhav said, "I'm hopeful that from June production capacity of vaccines will increase, then, we can run 24hr vaccination drive in the state."
In second tragedy of its kind, two young brothers living in the Akurdi area of Pimpri-Chinchwad succumbed to Covid-19 in a span of three days. The duo had no co-morbidity. Their father, who is also undergoing treatment for the virus, is yet to be informed of the deaths.
The two brothers have been identified as Aditya Vijay Jadhav(28) and Apurva Vijay Jadhav (25). Apurva was unmarried while Aditya had married over a year ago and has no kids. Last year in July, three brothers living in the Pimprigaon area in their 50s died of Covid.