Chennai: A health worker administers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a beneficiary, during a special vaccination drive at a school in Chennai. (PTI Photo)Coronavirus India Live Updates: The Health Ministry on Friday said there has been 86% decline in Covid cases in India since the second wave of the virus peaked in the country. Addressing a press conference, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said, “Under the continued focus of clinical management, the recovery rate, which was at 81.1% on May 3rd, is now at around 97%.”
Announcing that pregnant women are now eligible for Covid-19 vaccination, the ministry said they may register on CoWIN portal or walk in to the nearest vaccination centre to get the jab.
The Centre, meanwhile, rushed Covid-19 teams to six states — Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Manipur — that are reporting a high number of coronavirus infections. These teams are designated for the control and containment of the virus.
India recorded 46,617 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Friday, taking the country’s total to over 3.04 crore. Out of these, active cases declined to over 5.09 lakh while over 2.95 crore people have recovered after testing positive. Kerala continues to be the only state reporting more than 10,000 cases a day. With 853 new deaths, the death toll surpassed 4 lakh. Maharashtra accounts for 1.25 lakh of these, while Karnataka has reported over 35,000. Tamil Nadu has seen more than 32,000 deaths till now.
Johnson & Johnson said late Thursday that its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine generated strong, persistent activity against the Delta and other highly prevalent variants. The US based company said its vaccine was 85% effective and could also help prevent hospitalization and fatalities.
In another development, nine European nations are accepting Covishield vaccines for travel to other countries, sources told PTI. Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain are among the countries allowing travel by people who have taken Covishield vaccines, PTI reported quoting its sources. Switzerland is also accepting Covishield as a Schengen state, it reported.
Meanwhile, Indian drugmaker Zydus Cadila said on Thursday it has applied to the country’s drug regulator for emergency use approval of its Covid-19 vaccine and that it plans to manufacture up to 120 million doses of the shot annually.
A beneficiary poses for a photograph after getting a shot of the Sputnik V vaccine in Pune. (Express Photo: Ashish Kale)
Telangana on Friday reported 858 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to over 6.25 lakh, while the toll stood at 3,678 with nine more deaths. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the highest number of cases with 107 followed by Khammam (81) and Nalgonda (64) districts, a state government bulletin said. The number of active cases was12,726. The total number of cases in the state stood at6,25,237, while with1,175people being cured, the total recoveries are at 6,08,833. --PTI
Delhi recorded two more COVID-19-related deaths and 93 new cases on Friday with a positivity rate of 0.13 per cent, according to a health department bulletin. The national capital had recorded four COVID-19-related deaths and 91 cases on Thursday with a positivity rate of 0.12 per cent. As many as 407 patients recovered in the last 24 hours as the recoveries again outnumbered the new cases. With the fresh cases on Friday, Delhi's COVID-19 caseload has increased to 14,34,374. The death toll stands at 24,983, it said, adding that the case fatality rate is 1.74 per cent. The national capital had recorded 94 Covid cases at a positivity rate of 0.12 per cent and six fatalities on Wednesday. --PTI
Health Ministry says pregnant women now eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
"There has been a decline of 86% in active cases since the peak. Under the continued focus of clinical management, the recovery rate, which was at 81.1% on May 3rd, is now at around 97%," says Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.
"We have noted a decline of 13% in Covid-19 cases as compared to the last week. On average, we are reporting 46,000 cases (daily) in the country," says Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.
In light of the recent COVID-19 vaccination scam, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued additional guidelines and stated that inoculation at housing societies and workplaces will only be conducted by private vaccination centres registered on CoWIN portal, an official said on Friday.
The civic body also released a list of around 95 private vaccination centres in the city registered on CoWIN portal of the Union government and contact details of ward-level war rooms. As per the guidelines issued on Thursday, vaccination at workplaces and housing societies will be carried out by registered private COVID-19 vaccination centres only, and managements of offices and housing societies will have to ensure that these centres are registered on CoWIN by contacting the local authority.
Office and housing society managements will have to designate a person to work as a "nodal officer" and coordinate with private vaccination centres and support vaccination activities, it was stated. (With PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday found himself on the receiving end as Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Dr Harsh Vardhan slammed him for questioning the Centre over lack of vaccine doses.
Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet in Hindi, said that July has come but vaccines haven’t to which Goyal said that “petty politics is not right in the fight against Covid”. “12 crore vaccine doses will be available in July — separate from supply to private hospitals.
The Centre on Friday rushed Covid-19 teams to six states -- Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Manipur-- that are reporting a high number of coronavirus infections. These teams are designated for the control and management of the virus.
Gurgaon has vaccinated more than 80% of its population against coronavirus so far, with 51,241 people being vaccinated on Thursday – more than the target of 50,000 that the health department had set for the ‘Mega Drive Campaign’ held to mark the occasion of Doctors’ Day.
According to data shared by the health department, 42,907 people were administered the first dose of the vaccine on Thursday, while 8,334 received their second dose. Vaccines were given at a total of 220 sites in the district, of which 178 were government health centres, 40 were private hospitals, and two were-drive through vaccination sites.
A vaccination camp was also launched at the HUDA City Centre Metro station. In addition, the health department also began administering Covid vaccines in slums using a mobile vaccine van. (With Sakshi Dayal)
With 853 new deaths, the death toll surpassed 4 lakh. Maharashtra accounts for 1.25 lakh of these, while Karnataka has reported over 35,000. Tamil Nadu has seen more than 32,000 deaths till now.
India recorded 46,617 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Friday, taking the country's total to over 3.04 crore. Out of these, active cases declined to over 5.09 lakh while over 2.95 crore people have recovered after testing positive. Kerala continues to be the only state reporting more than 10,000 cases a day.
With tourism taking a hit amid the second wave of the pandemic and restaurants and bars still not open in Goa, the state government may allow entry to those who have been vaccinated with two doses without the mandatory Covid-19 negative report.
Following directions from the High Court of Bombay at Goa, the Goa government had mandated a Covid-19 negative report for those entering the state May 10 onwards. Earlier this week, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that the government is planning to allow entry of fully vaccinated persons into Goa. He, however, said that at this stage this pertained to those coming into Goa for business and not for tourism.
Sawant had earlier said that the state aims at vaccinating its population with at least the first dose by July 30 after which the government will consider reopening tourism. Till Thursday, 9,30,455 persons have been vaccinated in the state. (With Mayura Janwalker)
Nagaland MLA Toshi Wungtung, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at a hospital in Delhi, died on Thursday, official sources said. He was 56. Wungtung was also advisor to the government for Information and Public Relations, and is the second legislator from Nagaland after C M Chang to have succumbed to coronavirus.
He had contested the 2018 elections on a Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) ticket. Wungtung had tested negative, but later his condition deteriorated and he was airlifted to Delhi, where he died at a private hospital around 8:20 am, the sources said.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Thursday said governments not giving priority to the medical sector and its problems such as insufficient number of professionals and infrastructure are "issues of immediate concern" as he lamented that doctors are brutally attacked on duty for someone else's failure. Addressing the medical fraternity on Doctors' Day and launching the 'Defeat Diabetes Campaign', the CJI said there was a need to start an awareness movement like the anti-tobacco and pulse polio campaigns and the state has to step in in a big way. "It is saddening that our doctors are being brutally attacked while on duty. Why is it that the medical professionals are at the receiving end for someone else's failure? Issues such as insufficient number of medical professionals, infrastructure, medicines, outdated technologies, and governments not giving priority to the medical sector are issues of immediate concern," he said. --PTI
Manipur government has extended the existing night curfew in seven districts, including Imphal city, for ten more days.
While the curfew will remain till July 10, the state eases more activities from the purview of the curfew.
An order issued by the state late Wednesday night said agriculture activities, horticulture activities, shops and establishments dealing with inputs like fertiliser, seeds, pesticides, mechanical tools among others will be permitted.
Government offices of Agriculture and Horticulture departments, NREGA activities, Stationery shops and Opticians outside Imphal main commercial hub (Thangal Bazaar and Paona Bazaar) may open from 10 am to 2 pm on the days when grocery shops are closed, the order stated. Further, opening up will depend on the Covid scenario and the progress in vaccination.
Vegetable vendors and grocery shops will open as per earlier arrangement on July 1, 4, 7 and 10 from 7 am to 10 am, it stated.
The High Court may decide its activities, based on various measures taken up by the Government, as deemed appropriate, it mentioned.
Meanwhile, the state announced that persons entering Manipur, who have been fully vaccinated with two doses of Covid vaccine, shall be exempted from producing negative testing reports.
For persons not vaccinated or partially vaccinated with single dose are required to produce Covid negative test result to enter the state.
Earlier, it was made mandatory to produce negative test result at the Imphal Airport and surface entry point, for people who desire to enter Manipur. -- Jimmy Leivon reports from Manipur
At least 959 children have lost a parent to COVID-19 in Maharashtra's Thane district, Collector Rajesh Narvekar said on Thursday. The details came to light when the collector took a review of the current status of orphaned children in the district. As many as 29 children, who had lost both their parents to the dreaded disease, are eligible for a grant of Rs 5 lakh with interest once they turn 21, Narvekar said. A total of 959 children who had lost a parent to the disease are eligible for Rs 1,125 as maintenance under the scheme, he said. --PTI
Negative RT-PCR certificate not older than 72 hrs to be compulsorily produced by passengers coming to Karnataka by flight, bus, train, taxi. Also, applicable for all flights from Kerala to Karnataka.
Sikkim on Thursday reported 122 new COVID-19 cases which took the tally to 20,666, a health department bulletin said. The death toll rose to 308 as one more patient succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours. Of the new cases, 59 were registered in East Sikkim, 23 in South Sikkim, and eight in North Sikkim. The Himalayan state now has 2,107 active COVID-19 cases, while 17,998 people have recovered from the infection. Altogether 253 coronavirus patients have migrated to other states. --PTI
With four new COVID-19 fatalities in Uttar Pradesh, the death toll in the state rose to 22,601, while the tally climbed to 17,06,252 with 147 fresh cases. Of the fresh deaths, one death each was reported from Kushinagar , Bareilly, Sant Kabirnagar and Maharajganj, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement issued here on Thursday. Of the 147 fresh COVID-19 cases, Lucknow reported 14 fresh cases followed by 12 in Varanasi, seven in Muzaffarnagar, six each in Jaunpur, Pratapgarh and Allahabad and five in Meerut, among others. In the past 24 hours, 260 COVID-19 patients recovered from the disease in the state, taking the total number of patients discharged so far to 16,80,980. The recovery rate of the state has now come to 98.5 per cent. --PTI