At Covid-19 vaccination centre in Navi Mumbai. Coronavirus India Live Updates: Delhi on Saturday recorded 135 fresh cases of Covid-19 and seven more deaths –– lowest since April 1.
Telangana government on Saturday decided to lift Covid-19-induced lockdown completely. According to Telangana CMO, the number of cases and Covid positivity rate in the state have dropped significantly. The disease has come under complete control, the CMO added. “The decision was taken after reviewing the reports provided by the medical authorities to withdraw the lockdown to this extent. The cabinet also directed the officials of all the departments to completely lift all the regulations imposed during the lockdown,” the CMO said on Twitter.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that his government is aiming to inoculate half of the state’s population in one month. The state will administer 3 lakh doses each day starting from June 21. Sarma also highlighted that all government staff in Assam should get vaccinated in next 10 days as offices are to reopen from July 1.
India recorded 60,753 new covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Saturday, taking the country’s total to over 2.98 crore. Active cases further declined to 7.6 lakh. With 1,647 new fatalities, the death toll is 3.85 lakh. Kerala, with 11,361 new cases, was the only state to have reported more than 10,000 infections.
Preliminary data from India’s healthcare workers have shown that Covid-19 vaccination reduced chances of hospitalisation by 75 to 80 per cent and also reduced the need for oxygen therapy and critical care, the Union Ministry said. In 8,991 vaccinated health workers, the role of vaccines in preventing critical hospitalisation was as high as 94 per cent.
In other news, sports legend Milkha Singh passed away on Friday night after a month-long battle with the novel coronavirus. Former national volleyball captain and Singh’s wife, Nirmal Kaur had succumbed to the infection earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday the Delta variant of Covid-19, first found in India, was on its way to become a dominant virus mutation globally due to its highly transmissible nature. The global body has accepted Bharat Biotech’s Expression of Interest (EoI) for Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin and scheduled a pre-submission meeting on June 23. In this, the manufacturer will have an opportunity to put forth a summary on overall quality of the jab.
Mumbai reports 696 new Covid-19 cases
The Centre on Saturday said any assault on doctors, healthcare professionals may create sense of insecurity among them and asked the states to take care of their protection. The Centre also told the states to register FIR against those who assault doctors, healthcare professionals and keep watch on social media for objectionable content which may exacerbate situations of assault on health professionals, reported PTI.
The Telangana cabinet on Saturday resolved to remove all restrictions put in place while imposing a state-wide lockdown in the second week of May.
The cabinet meeting convened at the Chief Minister’s residence examined reports regarding the present situation of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state. A decision to lift the lockdown was taken after officials from the Medical and Health Department suggested that the number of new infections as well as positivity rate has come down drastically and the disease was under control in the state.
An official statement from the CMO said that instructions have been passed on to officials in all departments to lift all the restrictions imposed during the lockdown. The cabinet also noted that the virus is under control in the neighbouring states too. “Based on the reports submitted by the officials, the cabinet concluded that Telangana has brought corona under control faster compared to other states. Based on this, the state cabinet has decided to lift the lockdown from June 20.” Read more
Delhi on Saturday recorded 135 fresh cases of Covid-19 and seven more deaths –– lowest since April 1.
If Covid-appropriate behaviour is not followed and crowding not prevented, the next wave of the viral infection can strike the country in the next six to eight weeks, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria warned on Saturday. Until a sizeable number of the population are vaccinated, Covid-appropriate behaviour needs to be followed aggressively, he said and stressed on the need for stricter surveillance and area-specific lockdowns in case of a significant surge. Guleria reiterated that till now, there is no evidence to suggest that children will be affected more in the next wave of the infection. Earlier, India's epidemiologists had indicated that a third wave of COVID-19 is inevitable and is likely to start from September-October. India was hit severely by a brutal second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April and May, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with shortage in oxygen supply at various hospitals adding to the woes. --PTI
Telangana government on Saturday decided to lift Covid-19-induced lockdown completely. According to Telangana CMO, the number of cases and Covid positivity rate in the state have dropped significantly. The disease has come under complete control, the CMO added. “The decision was taken after reviewing the reports provided by the medical authorities to withdraw the lockdown to this extent. The cabinet also directed the officials of all the departments to completely lift all the regulations imposed during the lockdown,” the CMO said on Twitter.
Weekend lockdown will remain in force in Pune for a while, says Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. He said that decision has been taken considering the huge crowds seen at markets and tourist spots last weekend, & reports of a third wave in US, UK in last few weeks.
More than 2.87 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories, and over 52.26 lakh doses will be received by them in the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. It said that 28,50,99,130 vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far through the Centre -- free of cost channel -- and through the direct state procurement category. Of this, the total consumption, including wastage, is 25,63,28,045 doses, the ministry said.
Stating that the easing of Covid-related lockdown norms has led to crowding in some markets and other places, the Centre Saturday urged states to ensure the “extremely important” five-fold strategy of Covid-appropriate behaviour, test-track-treat, and vaccination was in place to prevent the spread of the disease.
In a letter to all states and Union Territories (UTs), Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that vaccination against Covid-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission.
Therefore, all state and UT governments should step up the speed of vaccination to cover maximum number of people in an expeditious manner, he said.
The minority affairs ministry will run a campaign from June 21 for creating awareness about vaccination against Covid in rural areas and to dispel apprehensions being spread by "some vested interests" over the inoculation drive in the country, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday.
As part of the "Jaan Hai To Jahaan Hai" programme, the minority affairs minister said the ministry along with various socio-educational organisations, NGOs and women self-help groups, will launch the awareness campaign on June 21. The nationwide awareness campaign will be launched from minority dominated Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh, he said in a statement.(PTI)
Kerala, which reported 11,361 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, was the only state to have added more than 10,000 infections to the country’s tally on Saturday.
The state has been reporting the highest number of infections for the last four days. On June 18, it reported 12,469 cases, 13,270 infections on June 17 and 12,246 on June 16. Till June 15, apart from Kerala, Tamil Nandu and Karnataka were also reporting more than 10,000 daily cases. These states recorded over 100 deaths on that day.
Though the infection curve has peaked and is currently in the process of decline, Kerala continues to report an excess of over 100 deaths daily.
Senior IPS officer and Director Vigilance of Odisha Police, Debasis Panigrahi died at a private hospital in Kolkata while undergoing treatment after being infected with COVID-19, family sources said on Saturday. He was 55. Panigarhi, a 1991 batch IPS officer, is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. He was airlifted to the private hospital in Kolkata on June 8 and died at about 10.15 pm on Friday night, the source said. He had tested positive for Coronavirus despite taking two doses of vaccines in the first week of June and was initially under home isolation. But as his health declined, he was admitted to Cuttack Ashwini Covid Hospital where he was put in ventilator support. (PTI)
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago (IUIC) have successfully used graphene to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments.
In experiments, researchers combined sheets of graphene, which are more than 1,000 times thinner than a postage stamp, with an antibody designed to target the spike protein on the coronavirus. They then measured the atomic-level vibrations of these graphene sheets when exposed to Covid-positive and Covid-negative samples in artificial saliva. These sheets were also tested in the presence of other coronaviruses, like MERS-CoV.
The researchers found that the vibrations of the antibody-coupled graphene sheet changed when treated with a Covid-positive sample, but not when treated with a Covid-negative sample or with other coronaviruses. (Read more here)
💉Covovax-With the Novavax vaccine demonstrating an overall efficacy of 90.4 per cent in late-stage trials against moderate and severe disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, the Serum Institute of India (SII) is likely to begin clinical trials of Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate on children in July.
💉Biological E (Corbevax)- The government has made an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore to Hyderabad-based manufacturer Biological E to reserve 30 crore doses of its under-development Covid-19 vaccine– Corbevax. This was the first time that the Centre placed an order with a vaccine manufacturer before the product has been granted emergency use authorisation (EUA) by the regulator.
💉ZyCov-D- Manufactured by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila, the vaccine is currently in Phase 3 trial and is likely to apply for an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) soon.The Centre expects to have “enough data” on whether ZyCov-D can be given to children when the company seeks licensure for it, Dr VK Paul had said in a briefing last month. It will produce 5 crore doses in August-December, he said.
💉Sputnik’s booster shot- Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology has also announced it will make available a version of the Sputnik V vaccine that targets the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
💉Gennova (HGCO19)
Pune-headquartered Gennova Biopharma is working on an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine is currently in the midst of Phase-I trial.
💉Bharat Biotech’s nasal shot vaccine
In 2020, Bharat Biotech had announced that it would be manufacturing up to a billion doses of a single-dose intranasal Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri.
Secretary in the Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Guruprasad Mohapatra died of COVID-19 related complications on Saturday.
Condoling his death Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet said, Saddened by the demise of Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, DPIIT Secretary. I had worked with him extensively in Gujarat and at the Centre. He had a great understanding of administrative issues and was known for his innovative zeal.”
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that all government staff in Assam should get vaccinated in next 10 days as offices are to reopen from July 1.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that his government is aiming to inoculate half of the state's population in one month. The state will administer 3 lakh doses each day starting from June 21.
On May 23, my wife, Meera, tested Covid positive. We hurriedly informed the executive committee of our housing society and self-isolated immediately. Meera only had a slight fever initially, and we could manage at home. After two days, Meera’s older sister, Girija, who stays with us, and I both tested positive. Girija had the same low fever, but I was asymptomatic. My friends attributed this to my being a regular walker, walking up to 10 km a day. However, on the fourth day, I too developed a low-grade fever. With all of our three-member senior citizen household testing positive, things changed — and brought immediate challenges. While this development did not stop the flow of food and other essentials to us from our caring neighbours and we continued to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and concern from the members of our residential society, we literally became “untouchables” for our well-meaning and concerned friends, neighbours and relatives. Communication with the outside world was restricted to chats and calls on the mobile. We are not that young: I am almost 74, Meera is 67 and suffers from acute asthma, and Girija is 70. (Read more here)
A village of roughly 40 Gujjar families on a hilltop posed the sole challenge for weeks to authorities in a block in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district from achieving a Covid vaccination milestone. The fear of the vaccine was such that the people would flee to nearby forests each time they saw medical teams in the village.
On Wednesday, however, Sunderbani became the first of the 19 blocks in the border district to record 100 per cent vaccination in the 45-plus age group after a medical team, accompanied by police personnel, trekked to the village on a now-or-never mission – and returned with success.
It took six trips, a lot of persuasion – and appeals by one from their own community – to convince the people of Chawrian Mohrah to take the jabs. Those who refused to listen and tried to flee to the forests once again, sources said, were caught by police personnel and made to take the vaccine, an allegation district authorities said they were looking into. (Read Arun Sharma's report here)