All eyes are on June 21st launch of the 'free vaccine for all' phase of India's mass inoculation drive. (PTI photo)Coronavirus in India LIVE: The active number of cases in India has gone down to a 74-day low to just a little over 7.6 lakh, a stark decline from about a month ago, when the country had been reporting over 37 lakh active cases. India also recorded a decline in daily cases, going down to 60,753 on Saturday morning, from over 62,000 on Friday morning, according to the data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases reported in the country has reached 2,98,23,546. India also reported 1,647 deaths, taking the death toll to over 3.85 lakh. With the active cases being 2.55% of the total caseload of the country, and the recovery rate improving to 96.16%, India seems to be heading towards the end of the second wave for now.
Meanwhile, India has so far administered nearly 27.24 crore doses of vaccine in 155 days of the vaccination drive, of which, over 33 lakh were administered on Friday itself, the ministry said. Among the doses administered, about 22 crore are first doses, while over 5 crore are second doses.
But with the cases declining, many states across India have started reopening markets and public places, which is a cause for concern because people are likely to flout social distancing norms and the mask mandate, especially in internal markets found in cities where. Even with repeated warnings from the government as well as health authorities against removing masks while out in public, many can still be seen either not wearing a mask, or wearing it improperly. This is worrisome in light of the warnings regarding a third wave, especially now that the Delta variant has mutated into a Delta Plus variant. It is not yet clear whether vaccines or treatment are effective against this variant, but Russia has said that it is going to soon release a version of its Sputnik V vaccine that targets the Delta variant.
Highlights
Mumbai reports 696 new COVID cases, 790 discharges, and 13 deaths in the past 24 hours
Active cases: 14,751Total discharges: 6,88,340Death toll: 15,279 (ANI)
Telangana reports 1,362 COVID cases, 1,813 recoveries, and 10 deaths in the past 24 hours
Active cases: 18,568Total recoveries: 5,90,072Death toll: 3,556 (ANI)
Punjab government has decided to cancel examinations of Class 12th due to COVID pandemic. Punjab School Education Board would declare the results as per the pattern of the CBSE: State School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla (ANI)
Kerala reports 12,443 COVID-19 cases, 115 fatalities. Infection tally rises to 27,97,747, death toll 11,948. Number of active cases of the disease in the state stands at 1,06,861. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh records 294 COVID-19 cases, 51 fatalities. Infection tally rises to 17,04,139, death toll 22,132. The state now has 4,957 cases of the disease. (PTI)
Manipur reports 592 new COVID cases, 294 recoveries and 6 deaths in the last 24 hours.Active cases: 9538Death toll: 1039 (ANI)
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla writes to chief secretaries and administrators of all States/UTs for implementation of a slew of measures to check incidents of attacks of healthcare workers (ANI)
Karnataka reports 5815 new COVID-19 cases, 11,832 discharges & 161 deaths today; active case tally at 1,30,872 (ANI)
Delhi records 135 fresh cases of COVID-19; seven more deaths, lowest since April 1: Authorities (PTI)
Goa reports 302 new COVID-19 cases, 9 deaths and 419 recoveries. The recovery rate in the State is 96.07% and active cases are 3473 (ANI)
Kerala reports 12,443 new COVID cases, 13,145 recoveries and 115 deaths today.
Active cases: 1,06,861Death toll: 11,948 (ANI)
COVID19 | Uttarakhand reports 220 new cases, 217 recoveries and 5 deaths today; the recovery rate in the state is 95.26% (ANI)
It's being predicted that we'll hit third wave of COVID-19. It's also predicated so that we take care that it doesn't happen. It's not just the responsibility of govt but of every citizen also to ensure that it doesn't occur: Dr MV Padma, Head of Dept of Neurology, Delhi AIIMS (ANI)
The UK is undergoing a third wave of coronavirus infections as a result of the highly transmissible Delta variant, an expert who advises the government on its vaccination programme said on Saturday. Professor Adam Finn, who advises on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), told the BBC that the country is now in a firm race between the vaccines and the Delta variant - first identified in India. "It's going up, perhaps we can be a little bit optimistic it's not going up any faster, but nevertheless it's going up, so this third wave is definitely underway,” said Prof. Finn. - PTI
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday launched a scheme to provide monetary assistance of Rs 4,000 each to 13,553 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee families living outside refugee camps to alleviate their difficulties in view of COVID-19. The initiative, being launched for the first time, aims to extend the cash assistance scheme being implemented for rice ration cardholders and the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in government refugee camps and will cost the state exchequer Rs 5.42 crore. - PTI
Uttar Pradesh reports 294 fresh cases and 51 deaths in the last 24 hours; active case tally at 4,957 - ANI
Thousands of heavy metal fans are camping, singing - and even moshing -in the rain at Britain's first full music festival since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The three-day Download Festival, taking place at Donington Park in central England, is one of a series of test events to see whether mass gatherings can resume without triggering outbreaks of COVID-19. About 10,000 fans, a tenth of the festival's pre-pandemic attendance, have tickets to watch more than 40 bands including Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Bullet for My Valentine. Attendees all took COVID-19 tests before the event, and don't have to wear masks or follow social distancing rules during the festival. - AP
Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday said all government staff and workers would be vaccinated by the end of this month. The territorial government has issued circulars in this regard. She said there was good coverage of the vaccination drive and the extension of the special vaccination festival till June 21 was an indication. During the last three days of the festival, as many as 44,000 people have got the jabs, said the Lieutenant Governor. - PTI
With Nashik district in Maharashtra falling under the level-2 category of the five-level 'unlock' plan of the Maharashtra government, the local administration has decided to allow the reopening of malls with a 50 per cent capacity on weekdays from June 21, district guardian minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Saturday. However, the administration has decided to continue with the level-3 restrictions considering the previous experience of crowding and various other factors. The malls will be allowed to operate from 7 am to 4 pm on Monday to Friday. - PTI
The Congress' youth wing observed former party president Rahul Gandhi's birthday by distributing ration kits among the needing and organising vaccination camps on Saturday. Gandhi turned 51 on Saturday. He has decided not to celebrate this birthday in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian Youth Congress, in a statement, said the day was observed as 'Sewa Diwas' as part of which financial assistance was offered to the unemployed and disabled people. - PTI
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.- PTI
Telangana Cabinet reviewed the report of the Medical and Health Department, which had said that the coronavirus is under control and the positivity rate in the state had dropped.
Telangana Cabinet decides to lift lockdown completely, reports news agency ANI
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 8,73,925 on Saturday as 3,427 more people tested positive for the infection, while 42 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 3,550, a health official said. As many as 1,954 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 1,473 infections were detected during contact tracing, he said. - PTI
President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said he was pained to learn about the untimely demise of DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra, an outstanding bureaucrat whose work ethic and dedication to public service would remain worthy of emulation. Mohapatra, 59, a 1986 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Gujarat cadre, died of COVID-19 related complications on Saturday. He took over as the Secretary, Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in August 2019. - PTI
Actor Varun Dhawan on Saturday said that he has taken the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The 34-year-old actor received the vaccine jab at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital here. Taking to Instgram, Dhawan shared pictures from the vaccination centre, in which the actor, dressed in pink polo shirt and beige cargos, is seen receiving the vaccine from a healthcare worker. "#Vaccinated thank you to the wonderful doctors. Don't be a prick go get the prick," Dhawan captioned the photos. In December 2020, the actor was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus alongside his "Jug Jugg Jeeyo" co-stars Neetu Kapoor, Maniesh Paul and director Raj Mehta while they shooting for the film in Chandigarh. - PTI
The said camp was without BMC's permission or without any agreement with any hospital. The police is investigating the matter further: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) report on Kandivali fake vaccine scam case - ANI
Russia on Saturday reported 17,906 new COVID-19 cases, including a record 9,120 in Moscow, pushing the national infection tally up to 5,299,215 since the pandemic began. The government coronavirus task force confirmed 466 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 128,911.The state statistics agency, which keeps separate figures, has said Russia recorded around 270,000 deaths related to COVID-19 from April 2020 to April 2021. - Reuters
With a rise in mucormycosis or black fungus cases in Jharkhand, the state government has directed the health machinery to be on high alert and extend all possible care to the affected people, an official said on Saturday. A total of 79 confirmed and 53 suspected cases have been reported to date in 18 of the 24 districts, he said. "The state has thus far registered 26 deaths due to mucormycosis, while 50 people have recovered from it," Ravi Shankar Shukla, Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM) Jharkhand, said. - PTI
The Assam government has set a target of administering COVID-19 vaccines to three lakh people daily from Monday for the next 10 days, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. Addressing a press meet here, Sarma said there will be no government work over the next one week and the entire machinery will be involved in the inoculation exercise. "This is a part of our Enhanced Immunisation Drive. From June 21, we shall be targeting three lakh vaccinations daily till June 30," he said after reviewing preparations with all stakeholders. - PTI
The Assam government has set a target of administering COVID-19 vaccines to three lakh people daily from Monday for the next 10 days, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. Addressing a press meet here, Sarma said there will be no government work over the next one week and the entire machinery will be involved in the inoculation exercise. "This is a part of our Enhanced Immunisation Drive. From June 21, we shall be targeting three lakh vaccinations daily till June 30," he said after reviewing preparations with all stakeholders. - PTI
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday condoled the death of Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary and Gujarat IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra, who died of COVID-19-related complications. Mohapatra succumbed to COVID-19-related complications at AIIMS, New Delhi earlier in the day. Rupani in a statement said the death of Mohapatra, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of 1986 batch, will be deeply felt. The Chief Minister prayed for peace of the departed soul and prayed for strength to Mohapatra's family to bear the grief, the statement said. - PTI
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
Odisha | Sumati Nayak, a centenarian woman, beats COVID19 in Nayagarh district's Khandapada area. All the doctors and nurses took good care of her. On June 16, she was declared fit. She has been sent to her house: District Collector Poma Tudu - ANI
Mizoram's COVID-19 tally rose to 16,750 as 314 people, including over 80 children, have tested positive for the virus, an official said on Saturday. The fresh cases were reported from various districts with Aizawl registering the highest at 240, followed by Lunglei (27) and Siaha (17), he said. The single-day positivity rate was 9.62 per cent as the fresh cases were detected from 3,261 sample tests, he said. Thirteen patients have travel history and the rest 301 were found to have locally contracted the infection, he said. Of the 314 patients, 160 have developed symptoms of COVID-19, he said. - PTI
The easing of Covid-related lockdown norms has led to crowding in some markets and other places, the Centre said on Saturday, as it urged states to ensure the "extremely important" five-fold strategy of Covid-appropriate behaviour, test-track-treat and vaccination to prevent the spread of the disease. In a communication to all states and Union Territories (UTs), Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also 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 pace of vaccination, to cover maximum number of people in an expeditious manner, he said. The home secretary said that during the second Covid wave, a significant surge in cases was witnessed in several states and UTs, and many of them imposed restrictions in order to contain the spread of the infection. - PTI
Puducherry posted 295 new cases of COVID-19 during the last twenty-four hours ending 10 am on Saturday, raising the overall tally to 1.14 lakh. Six more people died of the deadly disease taking the toll to 1720. Director of the Health Department S Mohan Kumar said the new cases were spread over Puducherry 245, Karaikal 38, Yanam 4 and Mahe 8. The cases were identified at the end of examination of swabs of 9,015 people. The test positivity rate was 3.27 percent today while fatality and recovery rates were 1.50 percent and 95.19 percent respectively. - PTI
Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 28 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally in the union territory to 7,363, a health department official said on Saturday. Twenty-seven new patients were detected during contact tracing and one was airport arrival, the official said. All passengers arriving by flight in the union territory have to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR test before they are allowed entry into the islands, he said. The COVID-19 death toll remained at 127 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours, the official said. - PTI