Beneficiaries at a vaccination center in Karave Gaon in Navi Mumbai on Monday. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)Coronavirus India Live Updates: The government on Tuesday expressed concern over the “gross violations” of Covid-appropriate behaviour in several parts of the country and said this can nullify the gains made so far.
Addressing a press conference on the pandemic situation in the country, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said people talk about the third wave as a “weather update” but fail to understand that adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour or the lack of it is what will prevent or cause any future waves.
Earlier today, the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Tuesday announced plans to start producing the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in India from September. The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year, it added.
India reported 32,906 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest since March 16, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. The country’s active caseload has declined to 4.32 lakh. The recovery rate has increased to 97.28 per cent, the ministry data stated.
Delhi Police fly drone over crowded Sarojini Nagar market to check Covid rules, in New Delhi on Sunday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
As images and videos of mask-less tourists inundate social media, the threat of a third wave of coronavirus infections looms large in the country. In view of the upcoming festivals like the Kanwar Yatra which sees a mass gathering and the rise in travelers to popular destinations, several experts have warned against the easing of restrictions.
“The third wave is inevitable and imminent,” the Indian Medical Association warned Monday, as global evidence and history of pandemics suggest. The top doctors’ body has expressed concern over the lax attitude of the people and the government allowing events that may turn into super-spreaders. More details here.
Andhra Pradesh reported 2,567 fresh cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday. The latest bulletin said 3,034 patients had recovered from the infection while 18 more succumbed in the state. The gross positives now rose to 19,26,988, recoveries to 18,87,236 and toll 13,042. The active caseload dropped to 26,710, news agency PTI reported.
The government on Tuesday expressed concern over the "gross violations" of Covid-appropriate behaviour in several parts of the country and said this can nullify the gains made so far.
Addressing a press conference on the pandemic situation in the country, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said people talk about the third wave as a "weather update" but fail to understand that adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour or the lack of it is what will prevent or cause any future waves. (PTI)
“The world is witnessing third wave (of COVID-19)… We’ve to join hands to ensure that the third wave doesn’t hit India. PM Modi today clearly said that we should focus on keeping the third wave at bay, instead of discussing when it would come in India,” Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog said during a briefing.
A medical student from Kerala’s Thrissur district, who was the first in India to test positive for coronavirus last year, has contracted the virus again, an official confirmed. The 20-year-old, a student at a medical university in Wuhan in China, was detected with the virus for the second time in a routine test conducted before a flight to Delhi. An official said that she has no symptoms and is in isolation at her home in Thrissur. She has not taken the vaccine yet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala on July 16 to discuss the Covid-19 situation.
Earlier today, Modi interacted with CMs of the North-Eastern states on the Covid-19 situation. The interaction was attended by CMs of Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) will begin production of Sputnik V in September, according to a statement released by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Tuesday.
The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII’s facilities in September, the statement said.
PM Modi said it is a matter of concern that people are travelling without face masks at hill stations and market places, news agency ANI reported.
'It's a matter of concern, that people are travelling without face masks at hill stations & market places,' he said.
At the meeting with chief ministers of the northeastern states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said there is a need to curb the Covid-19 situation at the micro level.
"The number of Covid-19 cases is rising. We need to take strict action to curb the situation at the micro level. We need to keep an eye on COVID variants, experts are studying them. We need to encourage people to follow COVID19 appropriate behaviour," Modi said, news agency ANI reported.
To combat the possible third wave of Covid-19, we need to continue to accelerate the vaccination process, PM Modi further said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday interacted with Chief Ministers of the northeastern states on the Covid-19 situation via video conferencing, news agency ANI reported.
Madhya Pradesh on Monday added 1,478 ‘backlog deaths’ from the second wave of the pandemic till June 30 to its existing record taking the Covid-19 death toll to 10,506 from 9,027 deaths reported in the state until Sunday.
The additional deaths came to the fore after the government on June 26 issued a letter to all district authorities urging them to report any deaths till June 30 which were not added so far on the government’s ‘Sarthak’ portal. The exercise was started after Chhavi Bharadwaj, Mission director of National Health Mission, issued an order.
Madhya Pradesh on Monday added 1,478 ‘backlog deaths’ from the second wave of the pandemic till June 30 to its existing record taking the Covid-19 death toll to 10,506 from 9,027 deaths reported in the state until Sunday.
The additional deaths came to the fore after the government on June 26 issued a letter to all district authorities urging them to report any deaths till June 30 which were not added so far on the government’s ‘Sarthak’ portal. The exercise was started after Chhavi Bharadwaj, Mission director of National Health Mission, issued an order.
Indian Medical Association (IMA), Uttarakhand Tuesday urged Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to disallow the proposed Kanwar Yatra (July – August) in order to control the occurrence of the 3rd wave of the coronavirus pandemic, news agency ANI reported.
As the Capital’s Covid count continues to dip — Delhi recorded 45 cases, the lowest in 15 months, on Monday — and with lockdown restrictions eased considerably, markets and public spaces across the city have drawn huge crowds, forcing authorities to crack down.
Over the past two weeks, at least nine markets, including Lajpat Nagar, Gaffar Market, Sadar Bazar and Laxmi Nagar, were forced to shut down for flouting social distancing and other Covid protocol, though they were subsequently reopened after assurances from market associations and other stakeholders.
While the government attempts to strike a balance between resuming economic activity and not risking another surge in cases, the caution is also linked to the fact that Delhi’s peaks have been far sharper than elsewhere — in April this year, the Capital recorded 28,395 cases in a single day, more than any other city.
With 45 cases, Delhi recorded the lowest number of Covid cases over 24 hours in nearly 15 months on Monday.
The city has been maintaining a positivity rate below 0.2% since June 23. While Monday saw the lowest number of positive cases in this stretch, the positivity rate on Sunday was actually lower at 0.07%. But because a lower number of tests were conducted in the last 24 hours since it was the weekend, Monday saw 45 cases with a positivity rate of 0.08%.
India reported 32,906 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest since March 16, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
The country's active caseload has declined to 4.32 lakh. The recovery rate has increased to 97.28 per cent, the ministry data stated.
The health ministry said 2020 deaths were reported on Monday. Madhya Pradesh added 1,478 previously uncounted deaths to its tally. Maharashtra reported 148 deaths while Kerala had 100.
After the photos of crowds at hill stations without masks or social distancing, which prompted the Centre to issue an alert, the numbers are out.
Official figures show 35,425 tourists reached the outskirts of Nainital and 32,000 more travelled to Mussoorie in Uttarakhand over the last weekend as Covid figures dipped across the country.
Of these, 32,900 tourists were allowed to enter Nainital and 20,000 to Mussoorie while the rest were turned back on various grounds, ranging from not carrying a Covid-negative report or proof of hotel booking to failure to register on the state government-mandated portal.
Cautioning people from falling prey to “voices that demoralise our nation”, Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, on Monday said India “should have done much better” while handling the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
In his address to shareholders, Adani said, “We must admit that every life lost, is a tragedy.
Undoubtedly, our country should have done much better, especially during the deadly wave two. However, as nations of the world marshal their resources to fight the pandemic, I see India being targeted by several critics for not doing more to protect its citizens, especially in vaccination.”