Coronavirus News Highlights: Ensure that no one is left out of vaccination’s circle of safety, says PM Modi; Kerala logs 15,951 new cases

Himachal Pradesh reports 112 new COVID-19 cases, 163 recoveries and 3 deaths in the last 24 hours

Active cases: 1,746Total cases: 2,18,314Death toll: 3,653 (ANI) 

With more than 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccines available, US health authorities said they’re confident there will be enough for both qualified older Americans seeking booster shots and the young children for whom initial vaccines are expected to be approved in the not-too-distant future.

The spike in demand — expected following last week’s federal recommendation on booster shots — would be the first significant jump in months. More than 70 million Americans remain unvaccinated despite the enticement of lottery prizes, free food or gifts and pleas from exhausted health care workers as the average number of deaths per day climbed to more than 1,900 in recent weeks. | Read More

Delhi reports 29 new COVID cases and 37 recoveries today

Active cases: 371Total recoveries: 14,13,258Death toll: 25,085 (no new deaths today) (ANI)

Kerala reports 15,951 fresh COVID-19 infections, 17,658 recoveries and 165 deaths today.

Active cases: 1,63,280Total recoveries: 44,41,430Death toll: 24,603

1,03,484 samples were tested during the last 24 hours (ANI)

Delhi records 29 coronavirus cases, zero deaths in a day. Positivity rate stands at 0.05 percent: Health bulletin (PTI)

Andhra Pradesh's Covid tally reaches 20,46,841 with 1,184 fresh cases, 11 more fatalities push death toll to 14,136; number of active cases stands at 13,048: Health bulletin (PTI) 

Kerala on Sunday registered 15,951 fresh COVID-19 cases and 165 deaths, which took the caseload to 46,29,915 and toll to 24,603. The number of people who recovered from the infection since Saturday was 17,658 which brought the total recoveries to 44,41,430 and the number of active cases to 1,63,280, an official press release said. As many as 1,03,484 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, the release said. Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest number of cases in 2,572, followed by Thiruvananthapuram 1,861, Thrissur 1,855, Kottayam 1,486, Kozhikode 1,379, Malappuram 1,211, Palakkad 1,008, Alappuzha 985 and Kollam 954. Of the new cases, 73 were health workers, 70 from outside the state and 15,191 infected through contact, with the source of it not clear in 617. There are currently 4,74,901 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 4,53,119 are in home or institutional quarantine and 21,781 in hospitals. (PTI)

Nashik district in Maharashtra on Sunday reported 100 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the tally to 4,08,078, while 113 patients recovered, health officials said. The death toll rose to 8,624 after one patient succumbed to the COVID-19 infection, they said. With 113 patients discharged on Sunday, the total count of recoveries in the Nashik district rose to 3,98,448. With 2,592 new tests, the number of samples examined for coronavirus so far in the district went up to 25,63,212, they added. (PTI)

Police in Norway on Sunday reported dozens of disturbances and violent clashes including mass brawls in the Nordic country's big cities after streets, bars, restaurants and nightclubs were filled with people celebrating the end of COVID-19 restrictions.The Norwegian government abruptly announced Friday that most of the remaining coronavirus restrictions would be scrapped from Saturday and that life in the nation of 5.3 million would return to normal.The unexpected announcement by Prime Minister Erna Solberg late Friday afternoon to drop coronavirus restrictions the next day took many Norwegians by surprise and led to chaotic scenes in the capital, Oslo, and elsewhere in the country on Saturday.Rowdy celebrations across Norway by hundreds of citizens started Saturday afternoon and lasted until the early hours of Sunday. Police said unrest was reported in several places, including in the southern city of Bergen and the central city of Trondheim, while the situation was the worst in Oslo.Long lines were seen outside Oslo's nightclubs, bars and restaurants late Saturday and police registered at least 50 fights and disturbances during the course of the night. Neither vaccination status certificates nor negative test results are required to enter such venues in Norway. "That's exactly what I predicted would happen," angry nightclub manager Johan Hoeeg Haanes in Oslo told Norwegian newspaper VG. "It was a life-threatening situation in the city because they (government) didn't give us at least a few days advance notice. This was a dangerous situation as police said all places were packed."Among other incidents, Norwegian media reported that police received an alert about a man carrying a machete on a bus in Oslo and people fainted while waiting to get into pubs in Trondheim.  "There was a significantly greater workload (Saturday) than during the summer. There were a lot of people out already in the afternoon and it continued during the night," Oslo police spokesman Rune Hekkelstrand told the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. Solberg responded to criticism of the sudden move to reopen society by saying that Norwegian health experts had supported the measure."We shall not have strict (coronavirus) measures unless they are professionally justified. People must be allowed to live as they wish," Solberg said late Saturday in a comment to VG.Norway is the second country in Nordic region to lift COVID-19 restrictions after Denmark did so on September 10.More than 76% of Norway's population of 5.3 million have received one vaccine dose, and nearly 70% have had both shots, according to official figures. (AP) 

Kerala reports 15,951 fresh COVID19 infections, 17,658 recoveries and 165 deaths today.

Active cases: 1,63,280Total recoveries: 44,41,430Death toll: 24,603

1,03,484 samples were tested during the last 24 hours (ANI)

Puducherry logged 78 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours as the overall caseload rose to 1,26,090, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Sunday.The union territory reported two deaths in the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Sunday as the toll increased to 1,838, Director of the Health Department G Sriramulu said in a release here. The 78 fresh cases were identified at the end of the examination of 4,677 samples and were spread over Puducherry (50), Karaikal (19) and Mahe (9). The Yanam region, an enclave of Puducherry in Andhra Pradesh, did not report any new infections.The Health department Director said the number of active cases in the union territory stood at 901 with 119 patients in hospitals and the remaining 782 in home isolation.As many as 107 patients recovered and were discharged during the last 24 hours, he said, adding the overall recoveries stood at 1,23,351.The test positivity rate was 1.67 per cent while the fatality and recovery rates were 1.46 per cent and 97.83 per cent respectively.The Department has so far tested 17.72 lakh samples and found 15.04 lakh of them to be negative.Sriramulu said so far 9,71,937 doses of the vaccine have been administered which included 6,81,362 first dose and the remaining 2,90,575 were second dose.  (PTI) 

Andhra Pradesh added 1,184 fresh coronavirus cases to its tally that now touched 20,46,841 on Sunday. The latest bulletin said 1,333 patients had recovered from the infection in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday while 11 others succumbed. The gross recoveries now increased to 20,19,657 and toll to 14,136. The number of active cases is now 13,048. In 24 hours, East Godavari reported the highest 218 and Kurnool the lowest three new cases. Six districts added between 110 and 170 while five others registered between 10 and 60 fresh cases. Chittoor district saw three fresh fatalities, Guntur and Krishna two each, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and West Godavari one each in a day.  (PTI)

Andhra Pradesh reports 1,184 new COVID-19 cases, 1,333 recoveries and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours

Total cases: 20,46,841Total recoveries: 20,19,657Death toll: 14,136

Active cases: 13,048 (ANI)

Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,266 on Sunday as 40 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the Himalayan state's coronavirus death toll to 386, a health bulletin said. East Sikkim recorded the highest number of new cases at 28, followed by 10 in West Sikkim and two in South Sikkim. Sikkim now has 612 active cases, while 29,955 people have recovered from the disease, and 313 patients have migrated to other states so far. The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stood at 96.8 per cent. The Himalayan state has thus far tested over 2.47 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 653 in the last 24 hours, it said, adding that the positivity rate stood at 6 per cent. PTI

Amid a rise in dengue, influenza and viral fever cases in different parts of India, experts claim that herbal drugs like Fifatrol can help in boosting immunity and hasten recovery from these diseases. Professor K N Dwivedi of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) said in Ayurveda, there are some herbs and concoctions which can prevent the progression of infections due to seasonal flu and vectors such as mosquitoes and eliminate them gradually. He pointed out that Fifatrol, a formulation of time-tested immunity strengthening herbo-mineral preparations like guduchi, daruharidra, apamarga, chirayata, karanja, kutaki, tulsi, godanti, mrityunjaya rasa, tribhuvana kriti rasa and sanjivani vati, has been found to help fight infection, flu and cold. Developed by AIMIL Pharma, the herbal drug is being recommended by Ayurveda experts for even dengue and viral flu patients and it is very effective. According to sources, during a trial on dengue patients at AIIMS, Bhopal, Fifatrol was found to have increased blood platelet count significantly. - PTI

As courts resume physical hearing after easing of coronavirus induced lockdown in the country, the National Information Centre has introduced a "Covid management patch" to allow judicial officers to retain only urgent cases to prevent overcrowding of courtrooms and impede the spread of the virus. The COVID-19 Management Patch has been developed in the case information system (CIS) to help in smart scheduling of cases, according to information put in public domain by the Department of Justice in the Law Ministry. According to one such document, the patch enables the courts to proceed in a systematic and planned manner to reduce the risks associated with the presence of a large number of people in court premises. This will help contain the spread of coronavirus in district and subordinate courts. - PTI

Britons are encouraged these days -- though in most cases not required -- to wear face coverings in crowded indoor spaces. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson regularly appears in the packed, poorly ventilated House of Commons cheek-by-jowl with other maskless Conservative lawmakers. For critics, that image encapsulates the flaw in the government's strategy, which has abandoned most pandemic restrictions and is banking on voluntary restraint and a high vaccination rate to curb the spread of the coronavirus. As winter approaches, bringing the threat of a new COVID-19 surge, Britain's light touch is setting it apart from more cautious nations. ‘The story of this government in the pandemic is too little, too late,’ said Layla Moran, an opposition Liberal Democrat lawmaker who heads the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus. She said some UK hospitals are already seeing the number of virus patients in intensive care units that they would normally expect in the depths of winter, though overall daily hospital admissions are running at about a fifth of January's peak. - AP

Authorities here in Madhya Pradesh were left baffled when a man, hesitant to take vaccine against COVID-19, said he will take the first jab in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A video of the incident, which took place on Saturday, surfaced on social media platforms, and district officials later said they will again reach out to the man and convince him to get vaccinated. The incident occurred when a vaccination team reached the tribal village Kikarwas, located about 130 km from the district headquarters, said Manoj Dubey, the resource coordinator of Dahi block in Dhar. In the video, a state government team was seen trying to convince the hesitant villager, asking him who should be called so that he can be vaccinated? The villager initially says a senior official should be called. - PTI

The Union Health Ministry on Sunday termed as "fallacious" reports in a section of media alleging that Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said there will be a mass transfer of AIIMS Delhi doctors. According to the media reports, the minister made the statement while speaking on the 66th Foundation Day of AIIMS on Saturday "The reports further state that the government will soon implement a transfer policy to introduce uniform medical standards in all AIIMS across the country. This policy will lead to mass transfer of doctors of AIIMS Delhi to the new AIIMS, while new doctors will be appointed for AIIMS Delhi," the ministry said in a statement. "It is clarified that the headlines of various newspapers quoting the Union Health Minister from yesterday's AIIMS New Delhi 66th foundation day event are incorrect and misleading. The Union Minister did not make such statements yesterday. These reports are fallacious, ill-informed and have clearly misrepresented the facts," it said. - PTI

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spent several days on holiday in Siberia where he was hiking and fishing, the Kremlin said on Sunday, following a short spell in self-isolation as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.Putin said in the middle of September he would have to spend "a few days" in self-isolation after dozens of people in his entourage fell ill with COVID-19. He had to cancel his trip to Tajikistan for a security summit.Putin has cultivated a macho image, appealing to many Russians, and has previously been pictured riding a horse barechested and in sun glasses, as well as carrying a hunting rifle and piloting a fighter jet.This time, his outings were more mundane.The Kremlin published 20 photos of Putin standing in a river and catching a fish, walking through lush meadows and talking to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, his usual holiday companion.Putin, 68, has had two shots of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. The Kremlin has said he was feeling healthy. – Reuters

Puducherry logged 78 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours as the overall caseload rose to 1,26,090, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Sunday. The union territory reported two deaths in the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Sunday as the toll increased to 1,838, Director of the Health Department G Sriramulu said in a release here. The 78 fresh cases were identified at the end of the examination of 4,677 samples and were spread over Puducherry (50), Karaikal (19) and Mahe (9). The Yanam region, an enclave of Puducherry in Andhra Pradesh, did not report any new infections. The Health department Director said the number of active cases in the union territory stood at 901 with 119 patients in hospitals and the remaining 782 in home isolation. As many as 107 patients recovered and were discharged during the last 24 hours, he said, adding the overall recoveries stood at 1,23,351. The test positivity rate was 1.67 per cent while the fatality and recovery rates were 1.46 per cent and 97.83 per cent respectively. - PTI

Shackled by poverty in a home that came under water when Cyclone Amphan barrelled into her village and left penniless by the pandemic, the hapless mother married off her 15-year-old daughter � their story emblematic of the Covid-climate crisis in the Sundarbans that has seen a sharp rise in the number of child marriages. It was May last year, recalled Rashmi Devi*. With only a tent as cover for her seven-member family following the super cyclone and no money for food, the marriage proposal for her young daughter seemed like a godsend. "We could barely manage one meal every day and the decision to get her married seemed right at the time. In my mind I thought there will be one less mouth to feed and she will get more than just salt and rice to eat," the mother told PTI over the phone from Canning in the Sundarbans that falls in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district. Sixteen months later, the decision doesn't seem so right. The family is still in dire straits and her son-in-law is behind bars on charges of dowry harassment. Rashmi's* family is not the only one. Communities in the ecologically fragile Sundarbans delta region are still reeling under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, say survivors and activists. According to the NGO Goranbose Gram Bikash Kendra, 159 child marriages have been reported in the South 24 Parganas district since 2020. This includes 64 from January to August this year and 95 from 2020. In 2019, before the pandemic, 68 child marriages were recorded in the area. - PTI

Three oxygen plants were inaugurated by Union minister Sanjiv Balyan and Uttar Pradesh minister Kapil Aggarwal. The plants were inaugurated on Saturday in a district women's hospital, a district hospital and a Community Health Centre (CHC) in Budhana town here. At the event, Balyan said the government is preparing itself to deal with the next possible wave of the coronavirus pandemic. He said the plants were set up under the PM Cares Fund and added that a fourth oxygen plant will be installed at the CHC in Khatoli town very soon. PTI

The COVID-19 death toll in Arunachal Pradesh rose to 274 with one more person succumbing to the disease in the northeastern state, a senior health department official said on Sunday. A 76-year-old woman from Lower Subansiri district died at a health facility in the district on Saturday due to acute respiratory distress syndrome with Covid pneumonia, the official said. Meanwhile, single-day recoveries continue to surpass fresh COVID-19 cases in the frontier state, as 79 more people recuperated from the disease on Saturday while 33 new infections pushed the tally to 53,717, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. He said 53,717 people have recovered from the disease so far in the state. - PTI

39 inmates incl 6 children tested COVID positive in last 10 days in Byculla jail. All COVID positive people shifted to the isolation center. 120 inmates & jail staff were tested for COVID. A pregnant woman inmate admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure: BMC - ANI

Australia's Victoria state reported 779 new COVID-19 infections and two deaths on Sunday, off the previous day's record high as the country's prime minister presses state leaders to be ready to reopen once they meet vaccination targets.The daily increase was still the state's second-highest, after the 847 cases logged on Saturday, as officials battle to contain a Delta variant outbreak that has taken root since mid-year.Australia's two most populous states, Victoria and New South Wales, have been struggling to contain the highly infectious variant while they ramp up vaccinations to 80% of the population, a threshold that will allow officials to ease strict lockdown measures.Three-quarters of Australians have had a first dose of vaccine, while just half have had both doses.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in an interview aired on Sunday that he expects states to open up borders and ease restrictions once the 80% vaccination threshold has been met. – Reuters

One person tested positive for COVID-19 in Ladakh, taking the overall infection tally to 20,778, officials said on Sunday. They said the active cases in the Union Territory dropped to 157 after the recovery of nine more patients from the disease. Ladakh has registered 207 Covid-related deaths -- 149 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. A total of 4,789 persons were tested for COVID-19 in the twin districts on Saturday and the reports of one of them returned positive in Kargil, the officials said. They said nine COVID-19 patients were discharged from Leh, taking the tally of cured patients to 20,414, they said. With this, the total number of active cases in Ladakh has come down to 157, including 153 in Leh and four in Kargil. PTI

India reports 28,326 new COVID cases, 26,032 recoveries, and 260 deaths in the past 24 hours. 

Active cases: 3,03,476Total recoveries: 3,29,02,351Death toll: 4,46,918

Vaccination: 85,60,81,527 (68,42,786 in the last 24 hours) - ANI

West Bengal reports 762 new COVID-19 cases, 766 discharges and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Total cases 15,65,645Total recoveries 15,39,244Death toll 18,727

Active cases 7674 (ANI) 

Gujarat on Saturday reported 16 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 8,25,830, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,082, an official said. The recovery count increased by 12 during the day to touch 8,15,999, leaving Gujarat with 149 active cases, he said.Surat led with six cases, followed by three in Vadodara, among other districts, he added. An official release said the total number of COVID-19 vaccination doses administered so far in Gujarat stood at 5,93,80,142, including 5,05,671 on Saturday. The neighbouring Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar haveli, Daman and Diu did not have an active case as on Saturday, an official said.Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 8,25,830, new cases 16, death toll 10,082, discharged 8,15,599, active cases 149, people tested so far - figures not released.  (PTI) 

Haryana reported one COVID-related death and added nine new infections on Saturday, pushing the total infection tally in the state to 7,70,805, a government bulletin stated.  According to the health department's daily bulletin, the death toll rose to 9,810 after one fatality was reported from Kurukshetra district.Among the districts, Gurugram reported six cases.The total active cases in the state were 102, while the overall recoveries was 7,60,663. The recovery rate was 98.68 per cent, the bulletin said.  (PTI) 

Telangana on Saturday reported 248 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,64,898, while the death toll rose to 3,912 with one more fatality.   The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 66, followed by Karimnagar (21) and Ranga Reddy (18) districts, a state government bulletin said, providing details as of 5.30 PM on Saturday.The number of recoveries outnumbered fresh cases on Saturday with 324 people  recuperating from the infectious disease.  The cumulative number of recoveries till date was 6,56,285. Active cases stood at 4,701.  The bulletin said 52,702 samples were tested today and the total number tested till date was 2,61,57,678.The samples tested per million population were 7,02,785.The case fatality and recovery rates were at 0.58 per cent and 98.70 per cent compared to 1.3 per cent and 97.75 per cent, respectively at the national level. (PTI) 

Nagaland's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,119 on Saturday as 34 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 662, a health bulletin said.Dimapur district registered the highest number of new cases at 26, followed by Kohima (six) and Mokokchung (two), it said, adding that the fresh fatality was recorded in Dimapur.Nagaland now has 465 active cases, while 29,014 people have been cured of the disease to date, including 34 in the last 24 hours, and 978 patients have migrated to other states thus far. The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stood at 93.23 per cent.   The state has thus far tested over 3.66 lakh samples for COVID-19, and inoculated over 6.82 lakh people, of whom 3.34 lakh have been fully vaccinated. (PTI) 

Kerala's Covid tally rises to 46,13,964 with 16,671 fresh cases, 120 more fatalities push death toll to 24,248; number of active cases stands at 1,65,154: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (PTI) 

Tamil Nadu reports 1724 new COVID-19 cases, 1635 recoveries and 22 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Total cases 26,55,572Total recoveries 26,02,833Death toll 35,476

Active cases 17,263 (ANI)

Karnataka reports 787 new COVID-19 cases, 775 recoveries, and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Total cases 29,72,620Total recoveries 29,21,567Death toll 37,717

Active cases 13,307 (ANI)

Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,226 on Saturday as 28 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the Himalayan state's coronavirus death toll to 385, a health bulletin said.   East Sikkim recorded the highest number of new cases at 11, followed by eight each in West Sikkim and South Sikkim, and one in North Sikkim, it said. Sikkim now has 617 active cases, while 29,911 people have recovered from the disease, and 313 patients have migrated to other states so far.The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stood at 96.7 per cent.The administration has tested over 2.46 lakh samples for COVID-19 to date, including 657 in the last 24 hours, it said, adding that the positivity rate stood at 4.2 per cent. (PTI)

Mourning the loss of lives lost due to the global coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated India’s commitment to start giving vaccines to needy persons in other countries, even as he gave a clarion call to manufacturers to “Come, Make Vaccine in India”.

“For the last one-and-a-half years, the whole world is facing the biggest pandemic in 100 years. I pay homage to all those who lost their lives in such a terrible pandemic and extend my condolences to the families,” Modi said, addressing the high-level 76th United Nations General Assembly session here. | Read More

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 7,92,487 on Saturday with the addition of 16 cases, a health department official said.The death toll remained unchanged at 10,518, the official added.The recovery count in Madhya Pradesh now stands at 7,81,852, leaving the state with 118 active cases.With 67,595 new tests, the number of samples tested so far in Madhya Pradesh went up to 1,82,47,709 on Saturday, the official added.A total of 6,07,88,981 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in MP, including 4,96,367 doses on Saturday, an official release said.Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 7,92,487, new cases 16, death toll 10,518 (no change), recovered 7,81,852, active cases 118, number of tests so far 1,82,47,709. (PTI)