An Indian health worker in protective suit takes the swab of a child to test for COVID-19 in Burha Mayong village, Morigaon district of Assam, India | AP PhotoCoronavirus India Highlights: The Centre will provide a financial package of Rs 1,300 crore to the Northeastern states to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on Tuesday. Reviewing the Covid-19 situation with health ministers of all the Northeastern states in Guwahati, Mandaviya said the fund is being provided to purchase medicines, enhance oxygen supply, increase beds — general, ICU and children — at local and district-level hospitals, PTI reported.
Earlier in the day, the Assam government relaxed the curfew timings in the state and allowed inter-district movement of passengers except to and from Kamrup Metropolitan district. The new guidelines, which also permits the opening of final year classes of technical education, will be effective from 5 am on Wednesday until further orders.
Also, as per the revised guidelines, all shops, commercial establishments, offices, banks, will be allowed to remain open till 6 pm and curfew will be clamped from 7 pm to 5 am. Hotels, resorts, bars, will also be allowed to remain open till 6 pm, though cinema halls will remain closed. Movement of goods carrying vehicles was already allowed and public transport between the districts remained suspended. The odd-even rule for plying of vehicles has been lifted.
Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry said that India administered over 88.13 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the highest ever vaccination achieved in a single day. Cumulatively, 55,47,30,609 vaccine doses have been administered through 62,12,108 sessions across India, as per the provisional report till 7 am. India on Tuesday reported 25,166 new Covid-19 cases and 437 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
A senior citizen receives her first dose of Covid vaccine at the Fortis hospital in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. (Express file photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Maharashtra reported 4,408 new coronavirus cases and 116 fresh fatalities on Tuesday, while 5,424 patients recovered from the infection, a state health department official. With this, the tally of Covid-19 cases in the state climbed to 64,01,213, while the death toll rose to 1,35,255, he said.
Significantly, Nandurbar district in North Maharashtra did not report a single active case of coronavirus for the second day in a row. The official said 5,424 patients were discharged from hospitals across the state in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of recovered cases to 62,01,168. Maharashtra now has 61,306 active cases. (PTI)
India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 56 crore (56,00,94,581) landmark milestone, as per the 7pm provisional report today. Nearly 50 lakh (49,48,965) vaccine doses have been administered today, as per the 7 pm provisional report, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The UK government on Tuesday updated its official travel advisory for India to reflect the country's upgraded status under the Covid-19 based traffic light system, no longer advising against 'all but essential travel'. India moved from the UK's red list travel ban to amber on August 8 and now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advisory has been updated to coincide with the easing of rules.
"Following the peak of India's second Covid-19 wave in May, pressure on the Indian health care system has lifted, as the number of Covid-19 cases has fallen," reads the FCDO update. "A limited number of flights between India and the UK continue to operate. To book tickets and to see important guidance prior to travel you should check airline websites. Before you travel, check the 'Entry Requirements' section for India's current entry restrictions and requirements," it notes. (PTI)
Kerala on Tuesday reported 21,613 new Covid-19 cases taking the infection count to 37,03,578. With 127 additional Covid-related deaths, the number of people succumbing to the disease rose to 18,870.
As many as 18,556 people have been cured of the infection since Monday, taking the total recoveries to 35,29,465 and the number of active cases to 1,75,167. The state recorded TPR at 15.48 per cent with 1,39,623 samples tested in the last 24 hours. Malappuram recorded the highest with 3,193 coronavirus cases.
The Centre will provide a financial package of Rs 1,300 crore to the Northeastern states to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on Tuesday.
Reviewing the Covid-19 situation with health ministers of all the Northeastern states in Guwahati, Mandaviya said the fund is being provided to purchase medicines, enhance oxygen supply, increase beds -- general, ICU and children -- at local and district-level hospitals. (PTI)
Delhi reported 38 fresh coronavirus cases and four fatalities, while the positivity rate stood at 0.07 per cent, according to a Health Department bulletin issued on Tuesday. The death toll stands at 25,073, the bulletin said.
Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Tuesday urged people who have recovered from Covid and their family members to voluntarily get evaluated for Tuberculosis (TB).
"There are more than 28 lakh people in the state who have recovered from the COVID-19 infection. Since both COVID-19 and TB infect the lungs we have launched a special drive to ensure early detection of TB in people who have recovered from the virus," the minister said at the Vidhana Soudha here after launching the special TB test drive which will be held across the state from August 16 to 31. (PTI)
After remaining closed for nearly four months, the Delhi government's tourism department has resumed boating in the Naini Lake situated in north Delhi, officials said on Tuesday. The Naini Lake is situated at Model Town under the jurisdiction of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
"The boating in the lake was resumed on August 14 this year. It was decided to start the boating services after restrictions because of Covid-19 were lifted recently," a tourism department official said. A senior official of the horticulture department of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation said cleaning of the pond is also being done regularly and efforts are being taken to ensure that there is no mosquito breeding. (PTI)
The Assam government on Tuesday exempted fully vaccinated incoming people carrying the latest Covid-19 negative report from mandatory testing for the virus on arrival in the state. The order will come into immediate effect, but the exemption will not be applicable for symptomatic passengers, a notification issued by the Health and Family Welfare department said.
All incoming passengers who have been vaccinated with two doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be exempted from mandatory testing on arrival at airports, railway stations, road border points, etc, it said. The passengers must possess a negative Covid test report taken within 72 hours of their arrival in Assam, it added.
"However, passengers who are symptomatic shall have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR testing at their own cost on arrival at airports, railway stations, etc. in Assam," the notification read. (PTI)
Curfew timings have been relaxed and inter-district movement of passengers allowed, except to and from Kamrup Metropolitan district, as per the revised Covid-19 SOP for the state, Assam Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said on Tuesday. The new guidelines, which also permits the opening of final year classes of technical education, will be effective from 5 am on Wednesday until further orders, he added.
The minister said the decision to relax the SOP was taken at a meeting on Monday evening, chaired by the chief minister, in view of improvement in the overall COVID situation in the state. He said, "The number of new COVID-19 cases has been coming down in the state. But, the situation in Guwahati is not satisfactory. We are keeping a close watch." (PTI)
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation under strict lockdown on Tuesday after one new case of the coronavirus was reported in its largest city of Auckland, the country’s first in six months.
All of New Zealand will be in lockdown for three days from Wednesday while Auckland and Coromandel, a coastal town that the infected person had also spent time in, will be in lockdown for seven days.
Imposing its toughest level 4 lockdown rules, schools, offices and all businesses will be shut down and only essential services will be operational.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the authorities' decision to permit 100 per cent seating in Delhi Metro and buses plying in the national capital during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it is for the competent authorities to take a call on regulation of public transport.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said if every user of public transport or citizen is permitted to raise such issues and challenge the government decision, there would be no end to such petitions.
The bench said it is a policy decision taken by the competent authorities after examining the situation and the court cannot interfere with it. (PTI)
The number of Covid deaths remained unchanged in the last two months in Pune even as the positivity rate has been low, around three per cent in the last few weeks, which has led the city administration to relax lockdown rules.
On August 16, the city registered six deaths taking the overall toll to 8,853. The city has seen 173 Covid-19 deaths from July 16 till date, which is almost the same number registered from June 16 to July 16.
India administered over 88.13 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the highest ever vaccination achieved in a single day, the Union Health Ministry Tuesday said.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet, “India achieves the highest single-day record in #COVID19 vaccine doses. Yesterday will go down in the history of the world’s #LargestVaccineDrive. Congratulations.”
India reported 25,166 new Covid-19 cases and 437 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
Out of the new cases, Kerala reported 12,294 new cases, 142 deaths while Maharashtra had 4,145 new infections and 101 fatalities. Active cases in the country have come down to 3.69 lakh.
India reported 25,166 new Covid-19 cases and 437 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
Out of the new cases, Kerala reported 12,294 new cases, 142 deaths while Maharashtra had 4,145 new infections and 101 fatalities. Active cases in the country have come down to 3.69 lakh.
Tamil Nadu on Monday recorded 1,851 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, maintaining its downward graph. With 28 deaths due to the infection, the toll has risen to 34,547. A total of 25,90,632 persons have tested positive so far. With 1,911 COVID-19 positive patients discharged after treatment today, the number of active cases including isolation as of today remain at 20,370, according to a state health bulletin. The daily count of new Coronavirus cases continued to decline marginally from 1,916 on August 14, to 1,896 on August 15. A passenger who returned from UAE added to the fresh cases today. --PTI
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh increased to 17,08,965 on Monday as 17 more people tested positive for the contagious disease while the death toll climbed to 22,785 with one fresh fatality, a health bulletin issued here said. The latest death was reported from Deoria, it said. The total number of recoveries in the state have reached 16,85,761, the statement said. The number of active cases in Uttar Pradesh stands at 419, it said. So far, over 6.92 crore samples have been tested in the state, including 1.89 lakh samples tested the previous day, it said. In the past 24 hours, no fresh case was reported in 62 (of a total 75) districts, the bulletin said, while also stating that the recovery rate in the state is 98.6 per cent. --PTI
The West Bengal government on Monday allowed all production units, mills and industries, including the IT and ITES sector, to function at full strength in normal working hours as part of its relaxations of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. The order issued by chief secretary HK Dwivedi on Monday evening said the relaxations have been allowed provided employees are vaccinated and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and protocols are fully maintained. The additional relaxations also included the opening of museums, including ASI protected monuments and entertainment parks with not more than 50 per cent capacity at a time and compliance with COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and protocols. The state government had extended the COVID-19 restrictions in the state till August 31 and allowed all shops and establishments, including restaurants and bars, to remain open up to the usual working hours but not beyond 10.30 pm. The state has also allowed outdoor government programmes by maintaining physical distancing and health and hygiene protocols. Theatre halls, auditoriums, open-air theatres, stadiums and swimming pools would be allowed to open with not more than 50 per cent of seating capacity at a time, the order said. The relaxations were announced after a review of the COVID-19 situation by the state executive committee of the West Bengal state disaster management authority. --PTI
Goa's COVID-19 tally went up by 62 on Monday to touch 1,72,568, while the day also saw five patients succumbing to the infection and 96 recovering, an official said. The toll in the coastal state is 3,176 and the recovery count is 1,68,519, leaving it with 873 active cases, he said. With 4,225 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in Goa went up to 11,32,949, he added. Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 1,72,568, new cases 62, death toll 3176, discharged 168519, active cases 873, samples tested till date 11,32,949. --PTI