Coronavirus India June 30 Highlights: India’s vaccination coverage exceeds 33.54 crore; Jharkhand govt issues new guidelines on Covid unlock

West Bengal: Gyms to reopen in the state with 50% strength from tomorrow. "We thank our CM for the decision. We are going through a very bad situation. We will try our best to follow all COVID protocols" says a Gym owner in Kolkata pic.twitter.com/W20iuUBbTX

— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2021

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COVID-19 vaccination in Delhi has gained pace with over two lakh people being inoculated daily for three days in a row, senior AAP leader Atishi said on Wednesday. Issuing the daily vaccination bulletin, the MLA from Kalkaji said a total of 2,03,035 doses were administered in Delhi on Tuesday, out of which approximately 1.5 lakh were given to those in the 18-44 age group. "Currently, the speed of vaccination is increasing at a fast pace due to vaccine availability for the 18-44 age group. Yesterday was the third consecutive day when more than 2 lakh doses were administered in the capital. The speed of the second dose of vaccination is also increasing as over 37,000 people received their second jab on Tuesday," said Atishi. (PTI)

Rajasthan recorded three coronavirus deaths and 100 positive cases on Wednesday, taking the total number of fatalities and positive cases to 8,921 and 9,52,422 respectively. Jaipur, Alwar and Banswara recorded one death each, according to an official report. Of the fresh positive cases, maximum of 43 were reported from Jaipur. A total of 9,42,030 persons have recovered from the infection so far and the number of active cases at present is 1,471. (PTI)

President Vladimir Putin revealed Wednesday that he had received the domestically developed Sputnik V vaccine earlier this year, stressing the importance of getting vaccinated amid a surge of new coronavirus infections and deaths in Russia. During an annual call-in show taking pore-screened questions, Putin voiced hope the immunisation drive could help avoid a nationwide lockdown. Russia on Wednesday reported 21,042 new infections and 669 deaths similar to numbers it has been reporting daily since June 24. The number of reported deaths was a record for a single day for the country. While reaffirming his position that vaccinations should be voluntary, Putin emphasised that decisions by local authorities in regions across Russia that made shots mandatory for some workers should help contain the surge. Those decisions were based on the law and aimed at avoiding the need for a lockdown, when entire enterprises shut down and people are left without their jobs, without their salaries," Putin said. (AP)

• Jharkhand Government issues new guidelines to be effective from July 1; all shops to remain open till 8 pm, cinema halls, bars, restaurants and multiplexes to open with 50% capacity: Information Public Relations Department, State Govt
• Stadiums, Gymnasiyns and parks to open. Banquet hall abd community halls to open with 50 persons limit: Information Public Relations Department, Jharkhand Government (ANI) 

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 9,771 new cases of COVID-19, taking the tally to 60,61,404, while the death toll rose to  1,21,945 after  141 patients succumbed to the infection, according to a health department official. The state reported about 1,700 more cases, but 90 less fatalities as compared to Tuesday, when the  new infections stood at 8,085 and the deaths at  231. The official said as many as 10,353 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, pushing the  number of recovered cases to 58,19,901. The state now has 1,16,364 active COVID-19 cases. Maharashtra's COVID-19 recovery rate is 96.02 per cent, while the fatality rate  is 2.01 per cent, he said. According to the official, out of 4,16,37,950 COVID-19 tests conducted so far, 60,61,404 have tested positive for coronavirus, reflecting a case  positivity rate of 14.56 per cent. Currently, 6,17,926 people are in home quarantine and 4,173 in institutional quarantine, he said. According to the official, Mumbai reported 706 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 7,22,222, while the death toll increased to 15,451 with the addition of 25 fresh fatalities. (PTI)

A 10-day unlock will begin in Nagaland from Thursday after a month-and-half-long lockdown imposed in view of a surge in coronavirus cases, a notification said. The lockdown, imposed on May 14 and repeatedly extended, ended on Wednesday, following which Unlock-1 will come into force from July 1-10. The decision was taken at the June 28 meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) on COVID-19 headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. Shops dealing with all kinds of goods are permitted to remain open from 6 AM to 2 PM, the order issued by Chief Secretary J Alam on Wednesday said. (PTI)

The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday extended till July 7 the ban on inter-state movement of passenger buses to Maharashtra, an official said. An order of this effect was issued by MP's additional transport commissioner Arvind Saxena on Wednesday. The earlier order issued on June 22 was effective till June 30. The MP government has already lifted the ban on the bus operations with Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. (PTI)

The Gujarat government on Wednesday extended the deadline by ten days for the owners, operators and employees of commercial units in the state's 18 cities to get compulsorily vaccinated against COVID-19. The state home department said in a notification that its earlier deadline for the owners, operators and employees of commercial units in 18 cities, and others involved in trade activities with all such facilities, to get vaccinated till June 30 has been extended by ten days to July 10. The government's decision comes as a large number of people involved in commercial units in the 18 cities are yet to be inoculated against coronavirus  due to a short supply of vaccines. (PTI)

#COVID19 | Punjab reports 262 new positive cases, 452 recoveries, and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours.Total positive cases: 5,95,609Active cases: 3,134 (ANI)

Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday recorded 33 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 fresh fatalities, raising the tally of infections to 7,89,804 and the death toll to 8,969, the state health department said. A total of 78 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries in Madhya Pradesh to 7,80,265, the department said. The state now has  570 active cases, it said. With five new cases each, the caseload in Indore and Bhopal went up to 1,52,838 and 1,23,128, respectively. With one death, the toll in Indore rose to 1,391. Bhopal did not report any fresh death due to coronavirus in the past 24 hours, keeping its  toll unchanged at  972, the department said. (PTI)

Meghalayas COVID-19 tally rose to 49,513 on Wednesday as 352 more people tested positive for the infection, while seven fresh fatalities pushed the northeastern states coronavirus death toll to 838, a health official said. The state now has 4,216 active cases, while 44,459 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 392 in the last 24 hours, Health Services director Aman War said. Meghalaya has so far tested over 6.9 lakh samples for COVID-19 till date. (PTI)

PM Narendra Modi asks ministers to spread awareness among people about vaccination and importance of following Covid protocols: Sources.(PTI)

Due to lack of adequate vaccine stocks, vaccination will be closed on July 1, 2021, at Government and Municipal Centers in Mumbai: Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation (ANI)

Tamil Nadu has recorded 4,506 new COVID-19 cases and 113 deaths, including that of a five-month-old baby, pushing the caseload to 24,79,696 and 32,619 respectively, the Health Department said on Wednesday. As many as 5,537 people got discharged today, aggregating to 24,08,886 leaving 38,191 active infections, a bulletin said. The state reported its highest daily infection at 36,184 on May 21 and has since been reporting a decline. On May 30, the daily cases dropped below 30,000; on June 7 the numbers were below 20,000; and on June 17 they were less than 10,000. Coimbatore reported an excess of 500 cases while 23 districts reported new infections in double digits. Chennai registered new infections with 257 people aggregating to 5,32,529 till date. (PTI)

Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday recorded 143 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its infection tally to 2,02,123 while two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 3,463, an official said. The latest deaths were reported from Bilaspur and Kangra districts, the official said. According to the Himachal Pradesh health department, there are 1,625 active COVID-19 cases in the state. As many as 169 more COVID-19 patients recovered from the disease the previous day. With this, the number of cured patients has increased to 1,97,006, the official said. (PTI)

The Mizoram government has decided to further relax lockdown restrictions in the state, including allowing partial reopening of churches and limited sporting activities, officials said. Churches will be open for morning and evening prayers, but no congregation would be permitted, the state government said in a release. Sports practice with 10 people indoors and 25 people in open air is allowed, an official order, effective from 4 am on Wednesday till midnight of July 15, said. Commercial passenger vehicles are also allowed to resume operations but with limited seating capacity. Drivers and conductors should have received at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, it said. Educational institutions, public parks, picnic spots, movie theatres, gymnasiums and community halls will continue to remain closed in all parts of the state. Social or public gatherings are also prohibited, while the number of attendees at funerals and weddings is fixed at30. (PTI)

Gujarat on Wednesday reported 90 new cases of COVID-19 and three casualties that took the tally of infections to 8,23,523 and the toll to 10,059, an official from the state health department said. The daily count of infections remained below the 100-mark for the third consecutive day, after falling to the level for the first time since April last year. At least 304 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the number of recoveries to 8,10,451, the official said. With the recovery rate at 98.41 per cent, the state currently has 3,013 active cases, of which nine patients are on ventilators, he said.  Ahmedabad district reported the highest number of 18 new cases, followed by Surat with 16, Vadodara with 13 and Rajkot, Anand, and Narmada with four infections each, the official said, adding that Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Devbhumi Dwarka reported one death each. The Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu reported five new COVID-19 cases and three recoveries that took the tally in the region to 10,532. (PTI)

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has gone past 33.54 crore, including more than 25.14 lakh jabs given on Wednesday, the health ministry said. A total of 13,43,231 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group received the first dose and 87,735 were given the second dose of the vaccine on Wednesday. Cumulatively, 9,14,62,206 people in the age group have received the first dose, while 21,77,618 have been administered the second dose since the start of the third phase of the nationwide vaccination drive, the ministry said in a statement. A total of 33,54,69,340 vaccine doses have been administered across the country, including 25,14,153 on Wednesday, according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm. (PTI)

The Bangladesh government on Wednesday roped in the Army to enforce a nationwide seven-day-long lockdown as health officials reported record spike in single-day COVID-19 infections at 8,822 new cases and warned the situation could worsen in the coming weeks. "The coronavirus claimed 115 lives, the second highest in a day, and infected  8,822 people in the last 24 hours," a Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) spokesman said. The fresh fatalities have taken the country's pandemic death toll to 14,503. According to data, Bangladesh's days of highest infection count were on Tuesday and Wednesday as the DGHS reported 7,686 new cases and 112 deaths on Tuesday. "The infection rate today stands at 25.13 per cent (today), while it was 23.97 per cent yesterday," the spokesman said. The government earlier ordered a "strict countrywide restriction" which the media dubbed as "shutdown" from 6 am on July 1 to midnight on July 7, in an effort to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of the virus, which was first identified in India. (PTI)

As the European Union relaxes travel restrictions under its 'Green Passport' scheme, India has requested the members of the 27-nation grouping to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin vaccines to travel to Europe, sources said. The sources said India has requested the EU member nations to accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal. The European Union's Digital COVID certificate framework to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic is to come into effect on Thursday. Under this framework, persons who have taken vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU. The individual member states have the flexibility to also accept vaccines that have been authorised at the national level or by the World Health Organisation. "We have requested EU member states to individually consider extending similar exemption to those persons who have taken COVID-19 vaccines in India, that is Covishield and Covaxin, and accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal," said a source. The sources said the genuineness of such vaccination certification can be authenticated on the CoWIN portal. (PTI)

Nagaland's COVID-19 tally rose to 25,239 on Wednesday as 128 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 495, a health bulletin said. Kohima district reported the highest number of new cases at 51, followed by Dimapur (25) and Mokokchung (23), it said, adding the fresh fatalities were reported in Dimapur. As many as 165 more people have been cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 22,699, the bulletin said, adding the state now has 1,341 active cases. The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state has slightly improved to 89.93 per cent. (PTI)

• After 53 days of lockdown, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is set to resume the metro train services from 1st July onwards strictly adhering to COVID-19 guidelines and protocols: KMRL#Kerala
• Initially, train services will resume from 08:00 hrs to 20:00 hrs with a headway of 10 mins during peak hours and 15 mins during non-peak hours: Kochi Metro Rail Limited (ANI)

Microblogging platform Twitter on Wednesday said the average daily number of tweets about COVID-19 from India increased by 7X during April-May this year as compared to the February-March period. Social media emerged as a lifeline for many during the deadly second wave of the pandemic with people turning to platforms like Twitter and Facebook with SOS calls as they looked for resources like oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, plasma donors, and ventilators. "The average daily number of tweets about COVID-19 from India increased by over 600 per cent (7X) during the surge (April 1-May 31, 2021). People in India came together to support each other and share information, bolstering replies during the surge months by 1.5X," Twitter said in a statement. Tweets from medical professionals in India increased by 1.5X during the surge period as they used Twitter to share important information. Also, tweets on COVID-19 grew manifold during April 1-May 31, 2021, and the service witnessed 100 per cent growth in COVID-19 conversations compared with the previous two months (February 1-March 31), it added. (PTI)

Haryana's COVID-19 tally increased to 7,68,639 on Wednesday with 87 fresh cases while the death toll climbed to 9,431 as 14 more people succumbed to the disease. According to the state health department's daily bulletin, among other districts, Palwal and Ambala reported 10 cases each. Hisar and Gurugram reported two deaths each, the bulletin stated. The total number of active COVID-19 cases in Haryana stands at 1,437. So far, 7,57,771 people have recovered from the disease and the state has a recovery rate of 98.59 per cent, it said. The cumulative positivity rate stands at 7.67 per cent, the bulletin said. (PTI)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of depriving her state of an adequate number of COVID vaccines, while providing ample supplies to even smaller states. She said that despite the short supply of vaccines, at least 2.17 crore doses have been administered to people in the state by the government, and private bodies till Tuesday. "We are not being given an adequate number of vaccines. While other states have received at least 3 crore doses, we have got one crore less. Had we received one crore more doses, we could have inoculated an additional one crore population. This has become a big area of deprivation," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat Nabanna. "The Centre is providing vaccines to various states but depriving West Bengal. Ours is also a state," she said, directing Chief Secretary H K Dwidevi to write to the Centre on this issue. (PTI)

Sikkim on Wednesday reported 220 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally in the state to 20,544, a health department bulletin said. The death toll rose to 307 as two more patients succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, it said. Of the new cases, 102 were registered in East Sikkim, 88 in South Sikkim and 30 in West  Sikkim. The Himalayan state now has 2,023 active cases, while 17,962 people have recovered from the disease, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Maharashtra: Manish Tripathi, prime accused in Mumbai vaccination scam, has been sent to Police custody till July 4. (ANI)

Telangana on Wednesday recorded 917 new COVID-19 cases and 10 fatalities, taking the tally till date to 6,23,510 and 3,661 respectively. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 108 followed by Nalgonda (71) and Karimnagar (66) districts, a bulletin said while providing details as of 5.30 PM today. The number of recoveries outnumbered fresh cases during the day with 1,006 people recuperating from the infectious disease thereby taking the cumulative number of recoveries to 6,06,461. The number of active cases was 13,388, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Can a citizen refuse to take vaccine as a matter of right? "It is doubtful whether the right to refuse to take the vaccine can be exercised in such circumstances," the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said. "Vaccinating oneself may not only be to protect oneself but also in the larger interest of public health." "When such larger interest of public health comes into play and it is possible that a person who has not taken the vaccine may not reveal any symptoms but still be a silent carrier, it is doubtful whether the right to refuse to take the vaccine can be exercised in such circumstances," the bench explained. The explanation followed a submission from the state that there is an element of reluctance in some quarters to take the covid vaccine. The bench said that the State should try and persuade them with awareness campaigns and scientific data to indicate the efficacy of the vaccines and the indispensable nature thereof in dealing with the present pandemic. (PTI)

Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday recorded 364 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its infection tally to 3,15,662 while seven more fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,323, officials said. Of the fresh cases, 149 were reported from the Jammu division and 215 from the Kashmir division of the union territory, they said. Srinagar district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 67, followed by 45 in Reasi. There are 4,600 active COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir while 3,06,739 patients have recovered from the disease so far, the officials said. (ANI)

Having seen "the worst" in their lives during the second Covid wave, graveyard managers in Delhi are praying there is no third round but say they are also looking for alternatives if there is one. The second wave of COVID-19 claimed scores of lives in the national capital,  triggering an unprecedented rush at graveyards and crematoriums. "We saw the worst in our lives in the past two months and attended to up to 25-28 bodies a day on several occasions. I pray to the god to stop the third wave," said Qayamuddin, a managing committee member of the Agle Islam graveyard at Delhi Gate. The sprawling facility stared at the prospect of running out of space for burials during the second wave itself, said Mashqoor Rashid, another member of the managing committee. Rashid claimed that more than 1,500 bodies, mostly of COVID-19 victims, were buried there in the last two months. "What can we do other than praying that there is no third wave. We can accommodate burial of 250-300 bodies on the space that we have now created," Rashid said. According to a Delhi Minorities Commission report, there are 131 graveyards in the city. However, burial of people dying due to COVID-19 was allowed at only four of them at Delhi Gate, Shastri Park, Tahirpur and Mongolpuri. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu reports 4,506 new #COVID19 cases, 5,537 recoveries, and 113 deaths today.Active cases: 38,191Total recoveries: 24,08,886Death toll: 32,619 (ANI)

The Madras High Court on Wednesday requested the authorities concerned, particularly the Social Welfare department, to ensure that no destitute or homeless or pavement dweller or other citizen of similar kind is left out in the Covid vaccination drive. The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the request while closing a PIL petition from a person named Muruganantham. The bench said to ensure vaccination to this category of people, all Corporations, Municipalities and Town Panchayats should be sensitised by the department to include these vulnerable persons for immediate inoculation since they stand more exposed than other citizens to contract coronavirus. (PTI)

The Congress on Wednesday said the Supreme Court asking the government to grant compensation to the families of COVID-19 victims is a vindication of its stance and has exposed and debunked the Centre's plan to abdicate its responsibility. The opposition party alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again failed the nation by not standing with the families of Covid victims and demanded that he immediately announce a "COVID Compensation Fund" with a relief of Rs 10 lakh each to them. Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the government should also announce concrete steps to tackle the imminent third wave of COVID-19. "We, the Indian National Congress, demand that the prime minister and the Modi government should wake up from their indifference and slumber to the unfolding human tragedy, which could have been largely prevented but for the criminal mismanagement and successive failures of the government," he said in a statement. "The prime minister should immediately announce a "COVID Compensation Fund" with a relief of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the victims of COVID-19," he added. The Congress leader said as demanded by the Congress and other opposition parties, the government should lay down realistic targets and ensure vaccination on a mission mode, instead of repeatedly trying to use it as an image management or branding exercise. This is the only way to fight COVID-19 and heal those who have suffered, he said. (PTI)

COVID19 | Manipur reports 592 new cases, 9 deaths and 494 recoveries today; the recovery rate in the state is 89.73% (ANI)

Goa's coronavirus caseload rose by 240 and reached 1,66,689 on Wednesday, while 201 patients recovered from the infection, a health department official said. The death toll increased to 3,054 as six more patients succumbed to the infection during the day, he said. The number of recovered cases in the state rose to 1,61,361 after 201 patients were discharged from hospitals during the last 24 hours since Tuesday evening, the official said. Goa now has 2,274 active cases, the official said. "With 4,206 new coronavirus tests, the number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 9,22,260," he added. (PTI)

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said the national capital has not reported any case of Delta plus variant of COVID-19 so far, adding that there is no communication from the Centre to make any special arrangement to deal with it. He said a genome sequencing lab to detect the variants of coronavirus will become operational at Lok Nayak Hospital within a week. Another such lab is being created at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, he said. "There are several variants of coronavirus, but there are only two ways to protect yourself against it -- get vaccinated and use masks. There is no separate communication from the Centre to make special preparations for the Delta plus variant. Also, Delhi has not reported any such cases so far," Jain told reporters. He said the Delhi government is in the process of increasing hospital beds to accommodate 37,000 cases a day in case of a third wave. (PTI)

Vaccine major Serum Institute of India is confident of receiving approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its COVID-19 vaccine Covishield in a month, company's chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said on Wednesday. He also said the issue of vaccine passports should be on the basis of reciprocity between the countries. "The EMA is absolutely correct in asking us to apply, which we have through AstraZeneca, our partners, a month ago, and that process has to take its time. An approval process even with UK MHRA, WHO took its time and we have applied to the EMA," Poonawalla said at India Global Forum 2021. "We are quite confident that in a month EMA will approve Covishield. There is no reason why not to, because it is based on AstraZeneca data and our product is identical to AstraZeneca more or less and it has been approved by WHO, UK MHRA. So it's just a matter of time. It is not really going to hinder anything," he added. But the reason why it was flagged is because if the issue is not  addressed now, and when India gets off the red list and when citizens want to travel they should not be refused in a given country just because they have a Covishield certificate. On the issue of vaccine passports, Poonawalla said that it was a slightly different issue. "The issue with vaccine passports is slightly different. What I am trying to say is that let us take a manufacturer outside of India. Let's say they have been approved by WHO and everyone in that country gets vaccinated taking that product and now when those citizens need to travel, what good is their vaccine certificate if it is not acknowledged and reciprocity is not there between the countries," Poonawalla said. (PTI)