Covid roundup: G7 vows action on vaccines; curbs to ease in several states from tomorrow

NEW DELHI: India's Covid cases continued to witness a decline as it recorded 80,834 new Covid cases, lowest since April 1 and 3,303 deaths due to the virus in the last 24 hours.
This is the sixth consecutive day when India has reported less than one lakh Covid cases.

On April 1, India recorded 81,466 cases. India's overall tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,94,39,989 with 10,26,159 active cases and 3,70,384 deaths so far.

Here's all you need to know about India's Covid development throughout the day-
Delhi unlock: Restaurants to reopen with 50% capacity; malls, markets to open daily, says Kejriwal
Restaurants with 50 per cent capacity, weekly markets and religious places will reopen in Delhi from June 14, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday, saying the Covid-19 situation has significantly come under control in the city.
Salons, beauty parlours and barber shops closed since the imposition of lockdown on April 19, will also reopen from Monday, officials said.

"All activities, except certain prohibited ones, will be allowed from 5 am on Monday. There are also certain restricted or partly allowed activities announced last week that will continue," Kejriwal said in an online briefing.
He said markets, malls and market complexes allowed to reopen on odd even basis, will now open on all days, from 10 am to 8 pm. Only one weekly market per municipal zone per day will be allowed, he said.
Karnataka unlock to begin from tomorrow in graded manner
Karnataka will also begin the unlock process, barring in 11 districts, from Monday, with the opening of parks and industrial units with riders, besides other relaxations.
Karnataka government has announced that economic and other activities will be allowed from 6am of June 14 to 6am of June 21, in a graded manner. However, weekend and night curfew are proposed to be imposed in the state.
Weekend curfew would be in force from 7pm on June 18 to 5am on June 21. Whereas night curfew would be in force on each night on remaining days between 7pm to 5am during the aforementioned period.

Maharashtra's level 2 unlock plan to begin from June 14
Last week, the Maharashtra government had announced a five-step unlock plan, under which, the state's districts have been divided into five levels - based on weekly positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancies. The revised easing of curbs under level-II will come into effect from Monday, June 14.
In the order, the BMC stated, Mumbai is under level 2 as per the weekly positivity rate of 4.4 per cent and Oxygen bed occupancy of 27.12 per cent but BMC has decided that restrictions will not be eased further and Mumbai will remain under the restrictions of Level 3 of Unlock under Break the chain.

BMC's order is in follow up of this state government order which enabled all local authorities to take their call on easing the restrictions further of making them stricter as per their situation. So, BMC has decided that they will continue with the previous order of June 5 without any changes.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Palghar now under level-II of the state’s unlock plan after the Covid-19 situation improved in the district in terms of the positivity rate and its oxygen bed occupancy.
Modi seeks waiver of vaccine patents at G7 summit
PM Modi participated in the first outreach session of the G7 summit yesterday. The session, titled ‘building back stronger - health’, focused on global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and on strengthening resilience against future pandemics.
PM sought the Group of Seven developed nations' support for the proposal moved by India and South Africa for a temporary global waiver on patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines.
He expressed appreciation for the support extended by the G7 and other guest countries during the recent wave of Covid infections in India. He highlighted India's ‘whole of society’ approach to fight the pandemic, synergising the efforts of all levels of the government, industry and civil society.

PM also explained India’s successful use of open source digital tools for contact tracing and vaccine management, and conveyed India's willingness to share its experience and expertise with other developing countries.
PM committed India's support for collective endeavours to improve global health governance. He sought the G7's support for the proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa, for a TRIPS waiver on Covid related technologies.
Haryana extends lockdown till June 21st with some relaxations in the state
The Haryana government on Sunday extended the statewide Covid-induced lockdown by a week, till June 21, allowing a few relaxations amid a dip in the daily cases.

Shops in the state can now stay open from from 9 am to 8 pm, an increase in operational timings by two hours, and on all seven days of the week instead of the current odd-even system, an official order said.
Tamil Nadu govt further eases Covid curbs from tomorrow amid lockdown
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin announced more relaxations in as many as 27 districts of the state which includes permission for the ubiquitous tea shops to reopen from June 14.
However, there will be no easing of curbs in 11 districts, seven in western and four in Cauvery delta regions.
Restaurants and bakeries have already been allowed to function. Salons, parks and state-run liquor outlets in 27 districts in Tamil Nadu would reopen on June 14.
Places of worship and tourist locations will continue to remain closed and there would be no public or private bus services during the extended spell of lockdown.
Relaxations announced in Jammu and Kashmir
The Jammu and Kashmir administration also announced further easing of restrictions in eight districts showing significant improvement in the Covid-19 situation.
The decision to grant relaxations in Shopian, Kulgam, Ganderbal and Bandipora in Kashmir division and Poonch, Reasi, Ramban and Doda in Jammu division was taken at a meeting which focussed on total weekly new cases (per million), positivity rate, bed occupancy, case fatality rate and vaccination coverage of the targeted population, an official order said.
Bihar lifts Covid lockdown
While Bihar lifted lockdown on June 9 with some restrictions like night curfew continuing, Uttar Pradesh had last Tuesday extended relaxations in curbs to all 75 districts of the state as active cases had come down the 600-mark in each of them.
The night curfew from 7 pm to 7 am and weekend curfew (for the entire day) was continuing throughout UP.
Over 1.53 crore vaccine doses still available with states
More than 1.53 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories, and over 4 lakh more will be delivered to them within the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said Sunday.
More than 26 crore (26,64,84,350) doses have been provided to states and UTs so far, through the Government of India (free of cost) channel and through direct state procurement category, it said.
Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 25,12,66,637 doses (as per data available at 8 am Sunday), the ministry said.
Centre gave over 26 crore Covid vaccine doses to states/UTs
The Centre has provided more than 26 crore Covid vaccine doses to States and Union Territories UTs so far, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday.

More than 26 crore (26,64,84,350) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far, through the Government of India (free of cost channel) and through the direct state procurement category. Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 25,12,66,637 doses," reads the official statement.
No clarity on Covid-19 vaccine procurement, say private hospitals
Several private hospitals across the country said they have no clarity on procuring Covid-19 vaccines under the new policy announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that it has led to the vaccination being put on hold at their centres.
The hospitals have sought a proper mechanism and a single-window system to be put in place for procurement of vaccine doses. They also claimed that they had approached the vaccine manufacturers -- Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII) -- and also state governments, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, in a recent communication to the Union health ministry, Prakash Kumar Singh, director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, is learnt to have written, “As per your direction, we are not accepting any further orders/payment from any private hospital in the country. We await your further direction with regard to roadmap for future supplies to private hospitals.”
Oxygen Express trains delivered over 30,000 MT of liquid oxygen across India
Amid the second wave of Covid-19, Oxygen Express trains have delivered more than 30,000 metric tonnes (MT) of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) to States and Union Territories so far across the country.

According to an official statement by the Ministry of Railways, so far, Indian Railways has delivered nearly 30,182 MT of LMO in more than 1,734 tankers to various states across the country.
A total of 421 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey.
More than 15,000 MT of liquid medical oxygen has been delivered to the southern states of the country by these special trains.
Nationwide sero survey will help in building strategy on Covid vaccination, lockdown, says health expert
Health experts dealing with Covid-19 believe that a nationwide coronavirus serological survey will be beneficial as it will help in bringing out exact viral load and thus help in building up strategies.
Sero surveys estimate as well as monitor infection trends in the population which is specifically location-based to understand the current course of the virus.
The Centre recently announced that it would commence a nationwide sero surveillance project and has asked the States to participate for fact-based monitoring of the situation.
States/UTs to get over 4 lakh Covid vaccine doses in next 3 days
More than four lakh (4,48,760) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States and the Union Territories (UTs) within the next 3 days.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) made the announcement through a statement and also clarified that more than 1.53 crore (1,53,79,233) Covid-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and the UTs to be administered.
Russia's Sputnik V likely to be available at Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo Hospital from next week
The Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V is expected to be available at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi from June 15, sources said.
According to the sources, the program for Sputnik V rollout at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital will depend on the consignment received.
The first phase of the Sputnik V rollout by Apollo Hospitals and Dr Reddy's Laboratories had started on a pilot basis on May 17 in Hyderabad and on May 18 in Vishakhapatnam.
80% Tibetans in Ladakh, Jangthang jabbed with first dose of Covid-19 vaccine
As many as 80 per cent of Tibetan residents in Ladakh and Jangthang received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
Despite the vaccine shortage across India, especially for the age group of 18-44, the authorities and staff of Tibetan Primary Health Centre in Ladakh has successfully vaccinated 799 adults from 18-44 with the first dose.

The Covid-19 vaccination drive was launched by Tibetan Primary Health Center (TPHC) with the support from Indian Union Territory Government of Ladakh starting March 2021, reported Central Tibet Administration.
(With inputs from agencies)