Coronavirus March 15 Latest News: The Centre on Tuesday released the guidelines for Covid vaccination of children between the age group of 12-14 years that will begin from March 16. As informed earlier, only Corbevax vaccine would be used for the beneficiaries of this age group. The guidelines have been shared with all the states in a letter issued on Monday. The guidelines state that two doses of Corbevax would be administered to the beneficiaries in the 12-14 years age group at an interval of 28 days. Meanwhile, Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has urged the Union government to include Covovax in the National COVID-19 Vaccination programme for inoculating those aged 12 years and above. According to official sources, SII wants to provide Covovax to private hospitals at Rs 900 per dose plus GST and is also waiting for directions to supply the vaccine to the Centre but has not mentioned the price.
To know more about the Covid-19 situation, here are the top 10 updates from India and around the globe:
1. As the Coronavirus situation improves in Punjab, the state government on Tuesday lifted all Covid-related restrictions,
However, the people have been advised to follow Covid-appropriate behavioural norms, as per the order.
2. The West Bengal government on Tuesday extended Covid-19 restrictions and relaxation measures & advisory which are already in force stands up to March 31. According to the latest Covid guidelines, the movement of people and vehicles, and public gatherings stand prohibited between 12 am and 5 am, except on March 17 on the occasion of ‘Holika Dahan’.
3. Mumbai on Tuesday recorded 50 new COVID-19 cases, taking its overall tally to 10,57,340 but no fresh fatality due to the infection was recorded, according to data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Notably, 14 out of 15 days this month, Mumbai has reported zero fatality due to COVID-19, while on the 13th day in a row on Tuesday, the city saw less than 100 new cases, a BMC spokesperson said.
4: Germany on Tuesday reported record high cases of Coronavirus in the past seven days. The Robert Koch Institute recorded 198,888 new Covid cases which are 42,000 higher than a week ago, bringing the total number of infections to more than 17.4 million, reported Reuters. The seven-day incidence increased to a new high of 1,585.4 infections per 1,000 people. According to earlier reports, Germany was planning to significantly reduce restrictions this week. The government has reportedly said that even though the infections are rising, there is no major risk of overloading the health system.
5: The health ministry data updated in the morning today shows that India officially registered 2,568 new COVID-19 infections. However, India witnessed a marked increase in daily Covid deaths. The government data says that 97 people died due to novel coronavirus-related issues in the span of one day. However, today’s update shows that the active cases continue to recede. India has now 33,917 active Covid-19 cases, the health ministry bulletin says. This is 2,252 fewer cases in comparison with Monday.
Also Read: What we know about the new Covid-19 variant so far
6: In neighbouring China, the latest outbreak driven by the stealth Omicron variant is worsening.
7: China’s new cases recorded on Tuesday more than doubled from a day earlier to hit a two-year high, reported Reuters. This has raised concerns about the mounting pressure on the country’s tough containment measure costs. The daily update by China’s National Health Mission says that the mainland detected 3,507 locally transmitted infections today.
8: In South Korea, the pandemic is not abating. The country witnessed the deadliest day with 293 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours today. The number of serious cases has also gone up. There are 1,196 cases that required hospitalisation, an AP report said.
Also Read: Will Covid-19 be harmless once it becomes endemic? WHO disagrees
9: Meanwhile, the Boris Johnson government has decided to end all remaining COVID-19 pandemic related international travel restrictions. The curbs will come to an end from this Friday. From Friday, no traveller will be required to to fill in a compulsory Passenger Locator Form just before entering the UK.
10: Australia has also said that it would lift its entry ban for international cruise ships from next month. This would effectively end all major COVID-related travel bans that have been in force in Australia for past two years.
