Coronavirus news LIVE Updates: Mumbai reported 733 new cases, taking the total number of infections to 7,15,879 while the toll 15,164 reached with 18 more deaths
news latest update: Maharashtra on Saturday reported 10,697 new infections, taking the case tally to 58,98,550, the health department said. As many as 360 deaths were recorded during the day, taking the death toll to 1,08,333.
The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of hiding deaths in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat and demanded the resignation of the states' chief ministers as well as a judicial inquiry to ascertain the actual Covid figures of the country.
There appears to be no substantial evidence to suggest that children will be more affected or have greater illness severity due to in the anticipated third wave, according to a new report. The Lancet Commission India Task Force prepared the report after convening an experts group comprising leading paediatricians from the country to examine the issue of paediatric in India.
Delhi recorded 213 new cases, the lowest in over three months, and 28 more fatalities on Saturday, while the positivity rate dipped to 0.30 percent, according to data shared by the health department.
As per the latest health bulletin, these new fatalities pushed the death toll from here to 24,800.
"It is noted that a renowned international magazine in its article has speculated that ‘India has suffered perhaps five-to-seven times “excess deaths” than the official number of fatalities’. It is a speculative article, which is without any basis and seems to be misinformed," said the Union health ministry on Saturday.
The GST Council on Saturday slashed the tax rate on medicines such as Remdesivir and equipment like oxygen concentrators and medical grade oxygen. While GST on Tocilizumab and Amphotericin B is slashed to nil from 5 percent, the rate on Remdesivir and anti-coagulants like Heparin is lowered from 12 to 5 percent.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to the CSIR and Laxai Life Sciences Private Limited to conduct clinical trials of Colchicine on patients, according to a statement on Saturday.
Ram Vishwakarma, the advisor to the CSIR Director General, said Colchicine in combination with standard care will be an important therapeutic intervention for patients with cardiac co-morbidities and also for reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to faster recovery.
A number of global studies have confirmed that cardiac complications during course of infections and post-Covid syndrome are leading to loss of many lives, and it is essential to look for new or repurposed drugs, he said.
Indian Medical Association president Dr JA Jayalal on Saturday said that the organisation will "lead a protest of healthcare workers" on 18 June over the violence against healthcare professionals with the 'Save the Saviour' slogan.
"No hospitals will be closed. Doctors will bear black badge, black mask, or black shirt. Doctors serving in Covid wards have been beaten and brutally assaulted in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka. It is responsibility of the government to ensure the safety and security of frontline workers who are working in a pandemic.
"We demand that government brings a central protection law with provisions under CrPC and IPC and also ensure that all government and private hospital have a mandatory security structure," Jayalal.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated 22 oxygen plants in nine of Delhi's hospitals in a bid to bolster the city's healthcare infrastructure with the likelihood of a third wave.
"To strengthen preparations to fight , 22 new PSA oxygen plants at nine hospitals across Delhi being added today," he said.
The Indian Medical Association, which has been keeping track of the impact of on healthcare workers, on Saturday said that a total of 719 doctors have succumbed to in the second wave so far.
With 111 deaths, Bihar was the worst affected, followed by Delhi (109), Uttar Pradesh (79), West Bengal (63), and Rajasthan (43).
The number of active cases further declined to 10,80,690 accounting for 3.68 per cent of the total infections, while the national recovery rate has improved to 95.07 per cent. India's active caseload declined to less than 11 lakh after 63 days while 84,332 new cases reported in 24 hours are the lowest in 70 days, the ministry said. Also, 20,44,131 tests were conducted on Friday taking the total number to 37,42,42,384.
India on Saturday morning reported 84,332 new cases, lowest in 70 days, and 4,002 deaths in the last 24 hours
A decrease in the number of Covid cases should never inculcate a sense of complacency among the public, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday, underlining that the behavioural pattern of putting masks on and off intermittently, the improper wearing of masks and not following Covid-appropriate behaviour contributed to the second wave of the viral disease.
Vardhan said this after inaugurating the newly-revamped Hardayal Municipal Heritage Public Library at Chandni Chowk here, according to a statement issued by the health ministry.
He dedicated the library, which has an enormous collection of rare books, to the nation. The library has been renovated with a public investment of more than Rs 3 crore.
The MP from Chandni Chowk said the steadily declining number of active cases in the country, a trend sustained for 28 days, and less than one lakh fresh cases for the fourth consecutive day have allowed a sliver of opportunity to him to be with the people of his constituency physically, according to the statement.
He expressed his admiration for the rare collection of books in the library such as the Persian Mahabharata, translated by Abul Fazl and composed in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar, a copy of
"The History of World" from 1677 AD, handwritten Bhagavata Purana of 1810 AD, Bhrigu Samhita, an old copy of the Quran in Hindi, the first book ever written in "Braj Bhasha", the native language of the Yamuna plains.
Started in 1862, the library has archived copies of the Delhi Gazette from 1917 to 1988 and has many rare gems in its collection, including 350 manuscripts and 8,000 old books that were in need of proper archiving and storage before the reconstruction, the statement said.
The minister was apprised that several court cases, including one involving the fate of a village on the eve of the country's partition, was settled in court in favour of India sourcing evidence from the library, it added.
Strongly advising adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour to everyone present on the occasion, Vardhan said the decrease in the number of active cases of the infection should never inculcate a sense of complacency among people.
"This behavioural pattern of putting masks on and off intermittently, improper wearing of masks and not following Covid-appropriate behaviour contributed to the second wave of Covid. When many of our doctors, nurses became corona warriors in an act of self-sacrifice to protect us, with many of them eventually succumbing to Covid, it is our moral duty to do the maximum to support them...," he was quoted as saying in the statement.
Speaking on the government's digitisation drive in the context of digitalisation of library archives, Vardhan said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has relentlessly pursued the mission of a Digital India. In the entire lockdown, people could get government benefits directly transferred to their accounts. The JAM trinity has enabled the Direct Benefit Transfer to the account of 10 crore farmers at the push of a button. Similarly, the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) currently being implemented in the Union territories will bring speed, transparency and accountability in our health system. Such digital interventions in other areas have vastly improved the lives of Indians."
He observed that these interventions have shattered the popular saying of the 1980s that for Re 1 allocated by the Union government, only 15 paisa actually reach the intended beneficiaries.
Vardhan also said the Centre would soon have enough Covid vaccines at its disposal to fully vaccinate every person aged 18 years and above in the country. "With the increase in the production capacity, we have more vaccines in June compared to May. As the capacity improves, the supply would ease and soon, there will be enough vaccines to immunise every citizen," he said.
North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash said the library would be reopened to the readers, in accordance with the directions of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in view of the pandemic.
The single-storey structure is one of the heritage buildings of the national capital and its restoration work was completed in a year.
Prakash said over Rs 2.83 crore were spent on the restoration work of the library. He said the digitisation and conservation work of the rare books of the library was done by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
A reading area, a news-reading area, a computer room, a staff-seating area and a book-keeping space have been made on the ground floor and a reading area, a conference room and a book-keeping space have been made on the mezzanine level, he added.
There are nearly 1.25 lakh books in the library, including 8,000 rare texts and 350 handwritten manuscripts, the mayor said.
The library comes under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Former Union minister Vijay Goel, senior BJP leader Shyam Jaju, South Delhi Mayor Anamika and East Delhi Mayor Nirmal Jain were present on the occasion among others.
With inputs from PTI
