The single-day surge in Covid-19 cases in India has been below 20,000 for the past 28 days. (Picture: Reuters)Coronavirus Variants and Vaccinations, Coronavirus Active Cases in India Today’s News, November 6 Highlights:
Covid-19 is India is finally seeming to be taking a reverse turn. India achieved its highest recovery rate at 98.23 per cent since March 2020. More than 12, 500 Covid-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, and 10,929 new cases were recorded. Active case count at 0.4 per cent is also lowest since March, the Union Health ministry data said.
At present, there are 1, 46, 950 Covid-19 cases, the lowest in 255 days. The daily positivity rate at 1.35 per cent is less than 2 per cent in the last 33 days. Moreover, the daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 28 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 131 consecutive days now.
Experts, however, have warned that the rising pollution levels can cause havoc to Covid-recovered patients who are vulnerable to residue lung problems, and the toxic gases and particulate matter in the air can affect the lungs directly.
Here are the latest updates on Coronavirus from India and around the globe:
Highlights
Assam reports 239 new COVID-19 cases, 210 recoveries and 5 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 6,11,895Total recoveries 6,02,417Death toll 6,024
Active cases 2,107 (ANI)
Nagaland on Friday reported 11 new COVID-19 cases, four less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 31,905, a health department official said.
Of the fresh cases, nine were registered in Dimapur and one each in Mokokchung and Phek districts.
The death toll rose to 688 as one more person from Dimapur succumbed to the disease, the official said.
Twenty-three people were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,985.
The recovery rate among coronavirus patients now stands at 93.98 per cent, he said.
Nagaland currently has 185 active cases, while 1,047 COVID patients have migrated to other states.
Over 3.98 lakh samples have been tested for the infection in the state so far, the official said.
State Immunisation Officer Dr Ritu Thurr said 12,15,148 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to 7,13,342 people till Thursday. (PTI)
Gujarat recorded 20 new coronavirus infections on Friday which took its caseload to 8,26,700, the state health department said.With no new fatality being reported, the death toll remained unchanged at 10,090.Seventeen persons got discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recovered patients to 8,16,387.There are 223 active cases in the state including four patients who are on ventilator.As many as 7.15 crore doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the state so far, including 4,365 doses given during the day.No new case of COVID-19 was recorded in the adjoining Union Territory of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, local authorities said.Of total 10,654 persons found positive for coronavirus in the Union Territory so far, four died while 10,650 recovered.Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Total cases 8,26,700, New cases 20, Total deaths 10,090, Discharged 8,16,387, Active cases 223 and people tested so far - figures not released. (PTI)
Punjab's Covid tally rose to 6,02,496 on Friday with 31 fresh cases, according to a medical bulletin issued here.
Fourteen new cases were reported on Thursday, while 17 on Friday.
The death toll remained at 16,562 as no new Covid-related fatality was reported in the state.
Of the fresh cases, Ludhiana reported seven cases, followed by three each in Fazilka and Jalandhar and two in Bathinda, among others.
There are 219 active cases in the state, while 51 people have recovered from the infection on Thursday and Friday, taking the number of those who have been cured to 5,85,715.
Meanwhile, three fresh cases were recorded in Chandigarh, taking the total count to 65,359.
The death toll stood at 820 as no new fatality was reported in the Union Territory.
There are 33 active cases in the city, while 64,506 people have recuperated from the infection. (PTI)
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma Friday asked the authorities concerned to acheive 100 per cent COVID vaccination before Christmas year end.
He reviewed the vaccination status in the state with deputy commissioners of the districts of the state and directed them to intensify the vaccination drive, officials said.
Sangma asked the adminsitrations of the districts to try and achieve total vaccination in the state before Christmas as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent virtual review of the COVID situation with the chief ministers. He also set the target of nine lakh vaccinations in the state in the next 40 days, a CMO statement said.
“We must remember the times. We had multiple deaths and inadequate facilities to handle the cases. We must use that experience to intensify our efforts to save lives,” it quoted Sangma.
“We must assume that the third wave (of coronavirus) is coming, this should be our motivation to work on ways to save lives through vaccination,” he added.
The director of health services Aman War said that till date 17.77 lakh doses of the vaccine have been administered in the state. Over 6.68 lakh have availed both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 11.09 lakh have taken the first jab.
He said there are 391 active COVID-19 cases in the state at present and 1456 people have died due to the infectious disease accounting for case fatality rate of 1.74%.
According to the health official, 11.58 lakh people have been tested for the contagion so far and 83,763 of them have tested positive. (PTI)
West Bengal reports 763 new COVID-19 cases, 806 recoveries and 13 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 15,97,095Total recoveries 15,69,757Death toll 19,201
Active cases 8,137 (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh reports 5 new COVID-19 cases, 8 recoveries and 1 death in the last 24 hours.
Total recoveries 16,87,192Active cases 91 (ANI)
In a bid to achieve the target of COVID-19 vaccination of the entire eligible population in Madhya Pradesh by the end of this year, the state government has decided to conduct mega inoculation drives on four days, with the first one scheduled to be held on November 10, an official said.
In order to make this campaign - ‘COVID Vaccination Maha Abhiyan' - successful, government officers and employees of all departments have been given the responsibility of identifying those people who are yet to get either both the doses or the second jab of anti-coronavirus vaccines, he said.
The drives will be conducted on November 10, 17, 24 and December 4. This will be in addition to the regular vaccination programmes conducted throughout the week, he said.
"The government has instructed the authorities to adopt innovative ways and strategy for achieving the target of 100 per cent vaccination. They have been asked to make systematic efforts so that no person remains unvaccinated in the state," the official said.
ASHA workers, self-help groups, village panchayat secretaries, rozgar sahayaks (employment assistants), kotwars and patwaris (local revenue officers), teachers, sales representatives of government fair price shops, MNREGA workers, members of the cooperative institutions and forest guards, among others, have been entrusted the responsibility of identifying unvaccinated people and their eligible family members, he added.
Department-wise responsibilities have been given to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of eligible persons with both the doses. School and college students have been given the responsibility to make their families aware and motivated to get the second dose of the vaccine, according to him.
The responsibility of ensuring the vaccination of pregnant women and lactating mothers has been given to the anganwadi and ASHA workers of the Women and Child Development Department. Similarly, inoculation of labourers and their families by self-help groups will be ensured by the employees of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Rural Livelihood Mission.
Vaccination of persons living in remote forest areas will be ensured by forest guards and forest committees, while the transport department will cooperate in increasing public awareness about vaccination through bus stops and vehicles, he said.
NCC cadets and scout guides will motivate the families that are against vaccination to get themselves inoculated.
As part of the plan, the district collectors will review the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations on a daily basis, the official said.
"The concerned district collectors, district panchayat's chief executive officers and chief medical and health officers will visit such places, where the vaccination coverage is low, and ensure necessary action to achieve the 100 per cent target," he added.
Till Thursday, 7,13,39,290 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Friday reported 109 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection tally to 3,32,760, while two more fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, officials said.
Of the new cases, 11 were from the Jammu division and 98 from the Kashmir division of the Union Territory, they said.
Srinagar district recorded the highest 64 cases followed by 12 in Baramulla district, officials said.
There are 1,009 active cases in the Union Territory, while the number of recovered patients is 3,27,311, they said.
The death toll due to the pandemic rose to 4,440 after two more fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours.
According to officials, there are 49 confirmed cases of Mucormycosis (black fungus) in Jammu and Kashmir as no fresh case was reported since Thursday evening. (PTI)
Mumbai on Friday reported 238 new coronavirus cases and four fresh fatalities, taking the infection tally to 7,57,272 and the toll to 16,269, a civic official said.
On the second day in a row, Mumbai has reported less than 300 COVID-19 cases, a tally coming on the back of under-25,000 single-day tests during the Diwali week.
The financial capital had logged 262 new COVID-19 cases and six fatalities on Thursday.
The official said the city is left with 3,326 active COVID-19 cases after 276 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries to 7,35,135.
The number of daily COVID-19 tests, however, dropped below the 25,000 mark.
The official said 24,901 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, pushing their cumulative number to 1,16,08,806.
On Thursday, 35,018 swab samples were examined in the metropolis.
Presently, Mumbai has 22 sealed buildings (where certain number of residents have tested positive for coronavirus), while the çity is free of containment zones in slums and 'chawls' (old row tenements) since mid-August, he said.
According to the official, Mumbai's coronavirus recovery rate is 97 per cent.
The city's case doubling rate is 1,832 days, while the average growth rate of infections stood at 0.04 per cent between October 29 and November 4, he said.
This year, Mumbai reported the highest cases at 11,163 on April 4 and most deaths at 90 on May 1. (PTI)
Delhi records zero COVID-19 fatality, 32 fresh cases; positivity rate rises to 0.14 per cent: Authorities (PTI)
AQI levels are especially dangerous for the elderly and those with lung-heart problems an that itself predisposes to further chest infections, viral infections and cases of pneumonia. COVID recovered patients, too, are vulnerable: Dr. Ashok Seth, Chairman,Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Delhi (ANI)
Pollution has a huge effect on respiratory health especially on people with lung diseases, asthma as their disease worsens. Pollution can also lead to more severe cases of Covid. Should wear mask as it'll help in protection from both Covid and pollution: Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS Director (ANI)
Kerala reports 6580 new COVID-19 cases, 7085 recoveries and 46 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total recoveries: 48,94,435Death toll 33,048
62,219 samples tested during the last 24 hours. (ANI)
Karnataka reports 214 new COVID-19 cases, 286 recoveries and 7 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 29,89,489Total recoveries 29,43,170Death toll 38,102
Active cases 8188 (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh on Friday reported 150 fresh cases of Covid-19, the lowest number in a day after more than nine months.Only 23,824 samples were tested in 24 hours because of Diwali festival and that reflected in the lesser number of new cases, though the state has been showing a general declining trend in the last few days.The state also logged 217 recoveries and three deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am today, the latest bulletin said.The cumulative coronavirus positive cases now went up to 20,67,706, recoveries to 20,49,555 and toll 14,391.The active caseload decreased to 3,760, the bulletin added.All 13 districts registered less than 30 new cases each with Guntur topping with 28. Kurnool and Vizianagaram added two each.Chittoor, Guntur and Krishna districts saw one fresh Covid-19 fatality each in a day.(PTI)
Pfizer Inc today announced that its investigational novel COVID-19 oral antiviral candidate PAXLOVID was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% compared to placebo in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID-19: Pfizer Inc (ANI)
More than 116.50 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses provided to states and Union Territories so far: Union Health Ministry (PTI)
Pfizer Inc today announced that its investigational novel COVID-19 oral antiviral candidate PAXLOVID was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% compared to placebo in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID-19: Pfizer Inc (ANI)
The number of young Indians trying to get to their land of dreams – the United States of America, has gone up by almost 60 per cent. This is based on the data of US Customs and Border Protection. Compared to the un-documented traffic from India in 2020 during global lockdown due to corona virus pandemic was just about 624. And now the new data indicates that the number has gone up by another 400 young men who are mostly from North India. As soon as the US borders opened up for traffic, according to reports, there has been a surge in number of un-documented people from Central American countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Post-COVID the number of illegal migrants has gone up from countries including Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti too. READ FULL STORY
Biotechnology firm Novavax Inc said it has completed the rolling submission for the emergency use listing (EUL) of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to the World Health Organization (WHO). Earlier on Monday, Novavax and its partner Serum Institute of India (SII) had said that they had received the first emergency use authorisation (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia. "The company has now completed the submission to World Health Organization (WHO) of all modules required for the regulatory evaluation of NVX-CoV2373, the company's recombinant nanoparticle protein-based COVID-19 vaccine with Matrix-M adjuvant," Novavax Inc said in a statement on Thursday. The chemistry, manufacturing and controls module submitted to WHO, as well as other regulatory agencies worldwide, leverages Novavax' manufacturing partnership with the SII, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, it added. Novavax will make further submissions to enable vaccine supply from additional manufacturing sites in Novavax' global supply chain. The filing by Novavax is in addition to a previous filing to WHO by Novavax and SII, the company said. (PTI)
Russia reported 40,735 new COVID-19 cases and 1,192 deaths related to the virus on Friday as the authorities fight a surge that has forced them to re-impose a partial lockdown nationwide. The government coronavirus task force said that collective immunity in the country stood at 48% as of Friday. That was a slight increase from 46.8% a week ago, just before the start of a week-long workplace shutdown announced by President Vladimir Putin to try to slow the spread of the disease. (Reuters)
Even as the number of Coronavirus vaccine beneficiaries is increasing at a constant pace, the large number of people who are yet to get their second shot is becoming a huge challenge. In Pune alone, more than 8 lakh beneficiaries have their second Covishield dose due whereas close to one lakh people are yet to get their second dose of Covaxin dose, the Indian Express reported. Across Maharashtra there are 58 lakh beneficiaries who have only got one dose of their Covishield vaccine and are yet to turn up for their second dose. Similarly, 15 lakh people in the state remain to be administered with the second dose of Covaxin vaccine. READ MORE
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Odisha on Friday registered 170 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest in seven months and 181 less than the previous day, pushing the state's tally to 10,42,943, a health department official said. The COVID-19 death toll rose to 8,350 as three more persons succumbed to the infection. This apart, 53 other COVID-19 patients have also died in the state due to comorbidities. The official said that the state had for the last time reported 170 new cases on March 24 this year. The new cases reported on Friday included 24 children and adolescents in the age group of 0-18 years. The rate of infection in the age group of 0 to 18 years, now stands at 14.11 per cent against the previous day's 12.82, he said. The state had reported 351 new cases on Thursday, 322 on Wednesday, 327 on Tuesday and 316 on Monday. Of the 170 new cases, 98 were reported from quarantine centres while the remaining 72 were local contacts. Khurda district of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, registered the highest 61 cases, followed by Cuttack (19) and Kendrapada (11). Ten districts reported nil cases in the last 24 hours. (PTI)
Germany recorded its second consecutive daily record for new coronavirus cases on Friday as infections pick up across Europe, and its disease control center said unvaccinated people now face a "very high" risk of infection. The country saw 37,120 reported new infections over the past 24 hours, according to the disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute. That compared with Thursday's figure of 33,949, which in turn topped the previous record of 33,777 set on Dec. 18 last year. While it's possible that the figures were pushed up by delayed testing and reporting following a regional holiday Monday in some of the worst-affected areas, they underlined a steady rise in infections over recent weeks that has put COVID-19 firmly back in the headlines in Germany. Another 154 deaths brought Germany's total to 96,346 on Friday. The country's infection rate has now exceeded its peak during a spike of cases in the spring, though it's still short of the worst-ever showing in December, according to Friday's figures. There have been 169.9 reported cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, up from 139.2 a week ago. That's still a lower rate than in several other European countries, but it is ringing alarm bells. (AP)
The Delhi High Court has sought the city government's stand on providing infrastructure and medical staff for a proposed Covid care centre at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The counsel for the JNU Teachers' Association and others, who have filed a petition on the availability of medical facilities on the campus to deal with COVID-19, said that though the university administration has earmarked space in the Sabarmati Dormitory for setting up a Covid centre, doctors and requisite infrastructure are not available. Justice Rekha Palli granted time to the Delhi government's counsel to obtain instructions on assigning staff and providing other facilities to JNU's Covid centre and listed the case for further hearing to January 13, 2022. "Learned counsel for the respondent No. 2 (Delhi government) prays for time to obtain instructions in this regard. At request, list (the case for hearing) on 13.01.2022," the judge said in her order dated October 27. On May 13, the court had directed that a Covid care centre be set up at JNU for immediate isolation of residents testing positive for coronavirus as the number of infections on the campus was "quite high". The court issued the order after it was told that a Covid Task Force and a Covid Response Team were already working inside the campus. (PTI)
The federal government has canceled a multimillion dollar deal with Emergent BioSolutions, a Maryland-based vaccine manufacturer with facilities in Baltimore that were found to have produced millions of contaminated Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses this spring, the Washington Post reported. Emergent disclosed the development Thursday in a conference call discussing its latest financial results, the Post reported. Emergent said it will forgo about USD 180 million due to the contract's termination, according to the Post. Emergent BioSolutions played a role in the Trump administration's effort to speed up vaccine development and distribution. But after winning a contract from the previous administration, Emergent quickly ran into production problems. In March, ingredients intended for use in producing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shots contaminated 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The problems with the vaccines caused a monthslong delay in production. After that, the Biden administration put Johnson & Johnson in direct control of vaccine production there. In June, the Food and Drug Administration decided to discard at least another 60 million additional doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine produced at the plant. The lapses at the Bayview factory in Baltimore hampered J&J's efforts to be a major player in vaccinating people, particularly in remote areas and poor countries. It only requires one dose and standard refrigeration and it's also cheaper than some other vaccines. But there have been problems with the Emergent plant. (AP)
Breakthrough infections constituted a sizable proportion of Kerala’s daily Covid-19 count over the past two weeks, state government data revealed. However, a tiny fraction of the patients required ICU admission or oxygen beds as vaccination reduced the severity of the symptoms, a state health official told The Indian Express. Breakthrough infections is a viral or bacterial infection after vaccination. Health experts suggest breakthrough infections were an expected occurrence in a small percentage of the vaccinated population since no vaccine is 100% effective. Kerala reported 119,401 positive cases between October 19 and November 2, the data showed. Of these, 1,00,593 had been eligible for vaccination, while 67,980 got either a single dose or both doses. READ MORE
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Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan will miss Thursday night's game against the Philadelphia Flyers due to COVID-related protocols, the team announced. The team didn't reveal a timeline for how long Sullivan will be away from the club. The announcement was made a couple hours before faceoff. Assistant coach Todd Reirden will run the team against the Flyers. The news regarding Sullivan comes one day after star captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Brian Dumoulin tested positive for COVID-19. The Penguins said Crosby has mild symptoms and Dumoulin is asymptomatic. Both players were placed in the protocol. On Sunday, the organization announced that defensemen Marcus Pettersson (symptomatic) and Chad Ruhwedel (asymptomatic) entered the protocol. They remain out of action.Pittsburgh has had eight players in the protocol since mid-September. (Reuters)
Brazil registered 436 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday and 13,352 additional cases, according to data released by the nation's Health Ministry. The South American country has now registered a total of 608,671 coronavirus deaths and 21,849,137 total confirmed cases. (Reuters)
Mizoram's COVID-19 count rose to 1,24,026 on Friday with 508 fresh cases, while 797 more patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, a health department official said. Three single-day fatalities were reported during the period, pushing the death toll to 440, he said. At least 119 children were among the newly infected people. The northeastern state now has 6,141 active cases, and a total of 1,17,445 people have been discharged from hospitals so far. The official said the recovery rate stood at 94.69 per cent and the death rate at 0.35 per cent. Mizoram has tested more than 13.33 lakh samples thus far. (PTI)
Scientists at the University of Oxford have identified a gene that may double the risks of lung failure and death from COVID-19, and could explain why people of South Asian ancestry have a higher risk of severe disease. The LZTFL1 gene changes the way the lungs respond to viral infection, and is the most important genetic risk factor identified so far, the researchers said. They noted that the gene version is carried by nearly 60 per cent of people with South Asian background, compared with 15 per cent of those with European lineage. The finding, published in the journal Nature Genetics on Thursday, could also partly explain the impact of COVID-19 in the Indian subcontinent. The researchers used a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and new molecular technology to pinpoint LZTFL1 as a gene responsible for the increased risks. LZTFL1 blocks a key protective mechanism that cells lining the lungs normally use to defend themselves from the viral infection, they said. When these cells interact with SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, one of their defence strategies is to turn into less specialised cells and become less welcoming to the virus. This process reduces the amount on the surface of cells of a key protein called ACE2, which the coronavirus uses to attach itself to the cells. However, for people with the LZTFL1 gene this process does not work as well, and lung cells are left vulnerable to infection by the virus. (PTI)
The union territory of Puducherry recorded 11 fresh coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours ending taking the overall tally to 1,28,145, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Friday. Director of the Department of Health G.Sriramulu said that the new cases spread over Mahe (6), Puducherry (3) and Karaikal (2) and were identified at the end of the examination of 848 samples. The Yanam region did not report any fresh infections during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Friday. The number of active cases stood at 320 with 63 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals while the remaining 257 were in home isolation, the Health department Director said. One patient hailing from Mahe, aged 68 years, succumbed to the infection during the last 24 hours pushing the toll to 1,861. As many as 40 patients recovered in the last 24 hours and the overall recoveries stood at 1,25,964. The Department of Health has so far examined 19.28 lakh samples and found 16.30 lakh out of them to be negative. (PTI)
South Korea on Friday purchased an additional 30 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for 2022, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said in a statement. (Reuters)
Arunachal Pradesh did not report any new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, while 17 more people recuperated from the disease, pushing the total number of recoveries to 54,826, a senior health official said here on Friday. The COVID-19 tally in the frontier state remained at 55,174, the official said. Arunachal Pradesh now has 68 active COVID-19 cases, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. The COVID-19 recovery rate now is 99.37 per cent, Jampa said. The COVID-19 death toll in the state remained at 280 as no new fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, the SSO said. Tawang district has the highest number of active cases at 14, followed by East Siang (11), Lohit (10) and Lower Dibang Valley (9). As many as 11,87,463 samples have been tested for COVID-19 thus far in the state, including 201 on Thursday, Jampa said, adding that the positivity rate stood at 1.53 per cent. (PTI)
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