So far, India has vaccinated over 30.79 crore people against Coronavirus. Covid-19 Vaccine Registration in India Live, Coronavirus Cases in India Live Tracker, Covid-19 India June 25 Live Updates: The vaccination drive in India has gathered pace with the launch of a new vaccination policy on June 21. So far, India has vaccinated over 30.79 crore people against Coronavirus. As many as 64.89 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday, over 53 lakh on Tuesday, and a record 88 lakh on Monday. India aims to vaccinate all people aged above 18 years by the year-end. Will India vaccinate fast enough to protect itself from the next wave? Experts are unsure whether vaccination momentum can be sustained.
India has been reporting around 50,000 new Covid-19 cases for the past few days. Covid-19 deaths and positivity rate have also dropped quite significantly. The recovery rate has also improved to 96.61% on Thursday. The country has 6,27,057 active Covid-19 cases now. India reported 51,667 new Covid-19 cases and 1,329 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Friday. With improvement in the Covid-19 situation, several states have started unlocking. Few states/UTs have opted for relaxations in Covid restrictions, not full unlock, as health experts have warned of a possible third wave if appropriate Covid-19 behaviour not followed. The emergence of the Delta Plus variant further added fear.
According to health experts, the Delta Plus variant, which the health ministry has categorized as a ‘variant of concern, calls for caution, not panic as its virulence and transmissibility are still being investigated. The new Delta Plus variant has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, first detected in India and one of the drivers of the deadly second wave. So far, India has reported 40 cases of Delta Plus variant, most of these cases are from Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. This viral variant also known as AY.1 has also been seen in nine other countries of the world with 205 infections detected in Europe, America, and Asia.
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Parts of Sydney will go into lockdown late Friday as a coronavirus outbreak in Australia's largest city continued to grow. Health authorities reported an additional 22 locally transmitted cases and imposed a weeklong lockdown in four areas, saying people could leave their homes only for essential purposes. The outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant was first detected last week, and 65 people have been infected. "If you live or work in those local government areas, you need to stay at home unless absolutely necessary," said Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of New South Wales state. She said the lockdown, which was due to go into effect just before midnight, would have a significant impact on businesses, especially in the central business district of the city of more than 5 million people. "This is in order for us to ensure that this doesn't take a hold for weeks and weeks, and we believe this is a proportionate response to the risk," Berejiklian said. A day earlier, the premier had said there wasn't any need for further restrictions despite it being the "scariest period" the state had been through during the pandemic. Berejiklian herself tested negative for the virus after her Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall tested positive. Health Minister Brad Hazzard is self-isolating as a close contact of a suspected COVID-19 case in Parliament House. The local council areas in Sydney headed for lockdown are Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and the City of Sydney. People can only leave their homes only for reasons such as essential work or education, shopping, and exercise. Authorities say the cluster spread from a Sydney airport limousine driver. He was not vaccinated, reportedly did not wear a mask and is suspected to have been infected while transporting a foreign air crew. (AP)
With the likelihood of a possible third wave of Covid-19, the Directorate of Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy in Chennai has formed an expert committee to guide the government in handling the crisis. The five-member committee consists of Siddha experts who have a track record of treating infectious diseases, especially among children. According to a source in the directorate, the panel comprises Dr P Sathiyarajeswaran, Director in-charge of Siddha Central Research Institute (SCRI), Chennai, Dr Meenakshi Sundaram, Professor, National Institute of Siddha (NIS), Tambaram, Dr. J Sriram, lecturer Grade II, Government Siddha Medical College, here, Dr S Joseph Maria Adaikalam, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University and Dr Parthiban, Autism specialist from Swabhimaan Trust, here. The committee was formed at a meeting convened on June 21 by the Directorate here to review the preparedness for the third wave of the contagion. (PTI)
The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported only two new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the tally to 7,440, a health department official said on Friday. 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. The archipelago now has 99 active COVID-19 cases, of which 96 are in South Andaman district and three in North and Middle Andaman district. The Nicobar district is COVID-19 free as it has no active coronavirus cases. (PTI)
The virus that causes COVID-19 could have started spreading in China as early as October 2019, two months before the first case was identified in the central city of Wuhan, a new study showed on Friday. Researchers from Britain's University of Kent used methods from conservation science to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 first appeared from early October to mid-November 2019, according to a paper published in the PLOS Pathogens journal. The most likely date for the virus's emergence was Nov. 17, 2019, and it had probably already spread globally by January 2020, they estimated. China's first official COVID-19 case was in December 2019 and was linked to Wuhan's Huanan seafood market. However, some early cases had no known connection with Huanan, implying that SARS-CoV-2 was already circulating before it reached the market. A joint study published by China and the World Health Organization at the end of March acknowledged there could have been sporadic human infections before the Wuhan outbreak. (Reuters)
With the addition of 462 coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 5,29,800, an official said on Friday. These new cases were reported on Thursday, he said. As the virus claimed the lives of 15 persons, the death toll in the district rose to 10,596. Thane's COVID-19 mortality rate now stood at 2.00 per cent, he added. In neighbouring Palghar district, the infection count has gone up to 1,15,621, while the death toll is 2,514, another official said. (PTI)
India reports 51,667 new #COVID19 cases, 64,527 recoveries and 1,329 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry. Total cases: 3,01,34,445 Total recoveries: 2,91,28,267 Death toll: 3,93,310 Active cases: 6,12,868 Total vaccination: 30,79,48,744 (ANI)