The Health Ministry said on Monday that 56,81,14,630 vaccine doses had been provided to the States and Union Territories so far, through all sources. “Of this, the total consumption, including wastage, is 54,22,75,723 doses (according to data available at 8 a.m.). More than 2.89 crore (2,89,47,890) balance and unutilised COVID vaccine doses are still available with the States and private hospitals to be administered,” the Ministry said in its release.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Virus-free New Zealand investigating new community COVID-19 case
New Zealand said on Tuesday that a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified in the community and is now under investigation.
The case is located in Auckland and a link between the case and the border or managed isolation is yet to be established, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The last reported community case of COVID-19 in New Zealand was in February.
- Reuters
No academic activity in schools on first day
As schools reopened all over Andhra Pradesh on Monday after more than a year, worried parents were seen accompanying their wards to the school to ascertain what precautionary measures were being taken on the premises and in the classrooms to keep everyone safe.
No academic activity began in any of the schools. Students were told to come prepared from Tuesday. While students of class X have been asked to come daily, those in classes VI and VIII were asked to come three days a week and students of classes VII and IX were asked to come on the other three days.
As per the guidelines issued by the government, there was no gathering for assembly or prayer, and only 20 students were permitted to sit in a classroom. Students were told to sanitise their hands before taking their seats. They were later given Jagananna Vidya Kanuka kits containing a bag, shoes, books, notebooks, socks and uniform.
Schools in A.P. reopen after 17 months
The schools that remained closed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic were reopened on Monday, after a gap of about 17 months. The schools, many of them renovated under the ‘Mana Badi Nadu-Nedu scheme, saw a thin attendance on the first day.
The educational institutions in the State were closed after the Centre announced the Janata Curfew on March 23, followed by the lockdown announced to check the first wave of the pandemic last year. The schools were all set to reopened in March this year. However, the closure continued owing to the second wave.
Only some junior, degree and PG colleges reopened this year. Many schools and colleges conducted online classes for over a year. They collected fees from students for online classes. Some educational institutions tried to begin classes at the beginning of this academic year. However, they had to shelve the plans due to the second wave.
Odisha reports over 100 cases in 0-18 age group in two days
Amidst talks of possible third wave of COVID-19, Odisha has reported more than 100 new cases among population in the age group of 0-18 years consecutively for past two days.
The Health and Family Welfare on Monday issued bulletin saying 104 out of 868 persons reported to be infected during the past 24 hours were in the age group of 0-18 group, accounting for 11.98%. On Sunday, 138 out of 1,058 were children aged below 18 and they had tested positive for the coronavirus, constituting 11.15%. Some experts had predicted that children could be affected more during the third wave.
“Children in age group of 0-18 years are yet to be vaccinated. As per the prediction of the public health experts, there is possibility of increased incidence of COVID-19 cases amongst the population of this age group in the eventuality of a third wave,” Pradipta Mohapatra, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), wrote to all Collectors recently.
‘Rapid response teams’ to tackle new variants
The Delhi government will be forming ‘rapid response teams’ to react when new variants of interest of COVID-19 are found in the city through genome sequencing, according to officials.
Each team will have a microbiologist or virologist and a clinician among others to monitor an area from which the variant of interest emerges in the city.
“The team will collect data about the new variant of concern from the lab and quickly get into action. The team will visit the area from where it was found and do proper contact tracing and these samples will be sent for genome sequencing. Also, the area will be closely monitored,” a Delhi government official said.
The move follows directions from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) last week.
‘List action plan to deal with possible third COVID-19 wave’
Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri on Monday asked the Delhi government to spell out its action plan to deal with the possible third wave of COVID-19 infection in the Capital.
Mr. Bidhuri demanded that hospitals in all the 14 districts of the Capital be notified to ensure people don’t have to run pillar to post for treatment.
This, he stated, was important since it was being said that children were expected to be “most impacted” by the third wave.
At least 3.94 lakh missed Covaxin 2nd dose within 6-week window
The number of people missing their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine remains a cause for concern in Tamil Nadu, with the latest data showing that at least 3.94 lakh missed their second dose of Covaxin within the Indian Council of Medical Research-advised window of a maximum of six weeks.
A similar analysis done by The Hindu two months ago showed that 1.41 lakh people had missed their second dose as of second week of June. By then, the State had administered a total of 16.6 lakh doses of Covaxin, including the first and the second dose. Since then, the total number of Covaxin doses administered has more than doubled to 35.6 lakh as of August 15.
Consequently, the number of people who missed their second dose within the six-week period has also more than doubled from 1.41 lakh to 3.94 lakh. In other words, 22%, or roughly one in every five persons who took the first dose six weeks ago, failed to take their second dose.
Special drive to administer second dose in two districts
Considering the complaints about non-availability of COVID-19 vaccine for those who have taken their first dose and are waiting for the second, the Ballari district administration has planned to launch a four-day COVID-19 vaccination dose-2 drive on Wednesday.
In a media note released here on Monday, the District Health and Family Welfare Officer said that the drive will begin on Wednesday and end on Saturday.
It is noted that those who have taken the first dose of Covaxin vaccine 28 days ago and Covishield 84 days ago are eligible to take their second dose during the drive. The officer appealed to the eligible beneficiaries in Ballari and Vijayanagar districts to approach the nearest public health facilities and take the second dose.
Paralympic Games not to have spectators
All fans will be barred from the Paralympics in Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic, just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics, organisers said Monday.
There were a few exceptions made during the Olympics with some fans allowed in outlying areas away from Tokyo.
This time, all fans will be barred except the possibility of some children attending a few unspecified events. Organisers have also asked the public not to come out to view road events.
1.87 lakh vaccine doses have been administered to prisoners
Nearly 3,250 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to those who have been recorded on the CoWIN portal as people with disabilities. Additionally, 1.87 lakh vaccine doses have been administered to prisoners across the country, according to information submitted by the Health Ministry in the Rajya Sabha during the recently concluded Parliament session. It has noted that this data is as per the information available on the portal as on August 4.
U.S. CDC lowers India to 'Level 2: Moderate'
The United States eased its travel advisory for India on August 16, lowering it to Level 2: Moderate. The new travel advisory of Level 2 – which is considered as safe – came in the wake of the significant improvement in Covid situation in India.
Early this year, the U.S. had put India in Level 4, asking its citizens not to travel to India, which at that point of time was experiencing an unprecedented second wave of COVID-19.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now issued a Level 2 Travel Health Notice for India due to COVID-19, indicating a moderate level of COVID-19 in the country.