Students leave with their parents after attending the Delhi Public School, in Noida, Wednesday, April 13, 2022. (PTI)Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India recorded 1,150 cases new Covid-19 cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Sunday, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The active cases currently stand at 11,558 and comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate remained unchanged at 98.76 per cent and 954 recoveries were reported on Saturday. The country’s daily positivity rate is 0.31 per cent and the weekly positivity rate is 0.27 per cent.
Amid an uptick in Covid cases in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, the Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday put all the National Capital Region (NCR) districts on alert mode, according to an official statement. Directions to this effect were given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while chairing a meeting on Covid management in the state, the statement said. During the meeting, the chief minister observed that over the past few days, there has been a rise in Covid cases in the state’s neighbouring areas and its impact can be seen in the NCR districts. He asked officials to put all the NCR districts on alert mode, it said.
Meanwhile, a heat-stable Covid vaccine that is being developed in India and does not need cold chain storage has generated strong antibody response against coronavirus variants, including Delta and Omicron, according to a study on mice. News agency PTI reported, the vaccine candidate, by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and biotech start-up company Mynvax, uses a part of the viral spike protein called the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which allows the virus to connect with the host cell to infect it.
Health workers taking samples for Covid-19 testing. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
Shanghai has set a target to stop the spread of Covid-19 outside of quarantined areas by Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter said, which would allow China's largest city to further ease lockdown curbs and start returning to normal life.The target will require officials to accelerate Covid testing and the transfer of positive cases to quarantine centres, according to a speech by a local Communist Party official dated Saturday, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Shanghai has become the epicentre of China's largest outbreak since the virus was first identified in Wuhan in late 2019, and has recorded more than 320,000 COVID infections since early March when its surge began.Locked-down Shanghai residents have expressed frustration over difficulties sourcing food, lost income, separated families and poor conditions at central quarantine centres. (With Reuters)
Amid concerns over children getting infected with coronavirus as schools reopened, health experts said there was no need to panic they mostly have mild illnesses and recover with just symptomatic treatment. They, however, stressed that the children who are eligible to get vaccinated against Covid must get the jab.
The health experts said consistent and appropriate use of masks, implementation of a standard protocol for sanitisation and hand washing are the key pillars of Covid-appropriate behaviour. "There is no need to panic as data from past waves have clearly shown that children, even if they contract COVID-19, have mild illness and recover spontaneously with just symptomatic treatment," AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria told PTI.
Amid an uptick in Covid-19 cases in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, the Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday put all the National Capital Region (NCR) districts on alert mode, according to an official statement.
Directions to this effect were given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while chairing a meeting on Covid-19 management in the state, the statement said. During the meeting, the chief minister observed that over the past few days, there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases in the state's neighbouring areas and its impact can be seen in the NCR districts. He asked officials to put all the NCR districts on alert mode, it said.
The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive has exceeded 186.51 crore.
India on Saturday questioned the World Health Organisation's methodology to estimate Covid-19 mortalities in the country, saying using such a mathematical modelling cannot be applied to estimate the death figures for such a vast nation of geographical size and population.
The Union health ministry issued a statement in response to a New York Times article titled "India Is Stalling WHO's Efforts to Make Global Covid Death Toll Public" dated April 16, saying the country has on several occasions shared its concerns with the global health body over the methodology used.
India recorded 1,150 cases new Covid-19 cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Sunday, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The active cases currently stand at 11,558 and comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate remained unchanged at 98.76 per cent and 954 recoveries were reported on Saturday.
No Covid case or death was reported in Chhattisgarh for the third time in the past six days on Saturday, keeping the tally and toll unchanged at 11,52,217 and 14,034 respectively, an official said.
So far, 11,38,167 people have been discharged post recovery, including three during the day, leaving the state with 16 active cases, he added.
Currently, 20 districts in the state have no active case, the official pointed out. With 3,149 samples being examined during the day, the overall number of tests in Chhattisgarh reached 1,75,87,235, he added. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Saturday added 23 Covid infections, pushing the overall tally to 34,53,233 while the death toll remained unchanged at 38,025 with nil fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, the health department said.
Recoveries grew to 34,14,983 with 26 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours leaving 225 active infections, a medical bulletin said.
Chennai accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections with 12 new cases, followed by Chengalpet six, Kancheepuram two while Coimbatore, Erode, Thanjavur recorded one each. As many as 13 districts reported nil active cases. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday recorded nine fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the infected number of persons to 4,53,929 while no death due to the virus was reported in the past 24 hours, officials said.
There are 71 active cases in the union territory, while the number of recovered patients was 4,49,107, the officials said. All the fresh cases were from Kashmir division of the union territory, the officials said, adding the Srinagar district recorded the highest of seven cases.
Eighteen of the total 22 districts in the Union territory did not report any fresh cases. The death toll in the union territory due to the pandemic was 4,751 as no fresh death was reported in the past 24 hours. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded 13 new cases of coronavirus that raised the tally of infections to 10,41,243, an official from the state health department said.
The count of recoveries rose to 10,30,461 after nine patients were discharged from hospitals, while the toll stood at 10,734, as no fresh fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, he said.
With the positivity rate of 0.2 per cent, the central state is now left with 48 active cases, the official said. (PTI)
Anti-virus controls that have shut down some of China's biggest cities and fueled public irritation are spreading as infections rise, hurting a weak economy and prompting warnings of possible global shockwaves. (AP)
Keeping up with the trend of the past few days, Covid-19 cases further rose in Delhi on Saturday as the city reported 461 new Covid cases and two deaths, according to data shared by the city health department. With 8646 tests being conducted in the city, the positivity rate as of Saturday evening rose up to 5.33 per cent.
On Friday, the capital had recorded 366 Covid-19 cases and zero death, while the positivity rate stood at 3.95 per cent. Delhi on Thursday had recorded 325 cases and no death, while the positivity rate stood at 2.39 per cent. Read more
Nagaland on Saturday did not report any fresh Covid case for the third consecutive day, a health department official. The Covid tally remained at 35,487, the official said. The state had reported three fresh infections on Wednesday.
Nagaland now has eight active Covid cases, while 33,236 patients have recovered from the disease and 1,484 patients have migrated to other states, the official said.
The Covid death toll remained at 759 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours. The Covid recovery rate is now 93.65 per cent. (PTI)
A top private school here has asked parents to not send their children to school on Monday after a student tested positive for Covid. The number of school students testing positive has been on the rise in the city, raising concerns of parents. The Delhi government has told school authorities to close specific wings or classrooms wherever needed.
Schools in Delhi have a four-day holiday in view of Ambedkar Jayanti, which was on Thursday, and Good Friday followed by Saturday and Sunday.
"Kindly do not send your wards to school on Monday as fumigation or sanitation exercise will be conducted," the school said in a communication to parents on Saturday after the Covid positive case was reported. (PTI)
Gujarat on Saturday reported four Covid cases, taking the state's tally to 12,24,142, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,942, a health department official said.
So far, 12,13,074 people have been discharged post recovery, including 32 during the day, leaving the state with an active caseload of 126, he added. As many as 40,250 people were inoculated against Covid on Saturday, taking the overall number of doses administered in Gujarat to 10.67 crore, a government release informed.
The adjoining Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu continued to be coronavirus-free, local officials said. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Saturday reported 98 new coronavirus infections but no pandemic-related deaths. The day before the state had reported 69 infections and one death.
The state's Covid caseload rose to 78,75,718 on Saturday, while death toll remained unchanged at 1,47,827. There are 626 active cases in Maharashtra now. The recovery rate is 98.12 per cent, while the case fatality rate is 1.87 per cent.
Mumbai city reported 43 cases but no deaths. The tally of cases reported in Mumbai in the last two years rose to 10,57,788, and death toll remained unchanged at 19,562. (PTI)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Saturday said coronavirus cases may have been rising in the national capital, but there is no need to worry as hospitalisation is low.
Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, reiterated that instructions have been issued to schools to follow the government's Standard Operating Procedure if they detect any case.
"There is no need to worry. There might have been a rise in coronavirus cases but we are vigilant and the hospital admissions are low. There are only six coronavirus patients admitted at LNJP hospital," he said. (PTI)
With an uptick in Covid cases here, district authorities have intensified surveillance and are on alert mode for early detection and containment of people infected with the disease.
Some districts have also planned awareness campaigns from next week. The daily Covid cases and the positivity rate in the national capital have seen an upward trend in the last few days. The positivity rate in the last five days, between April 10 and April 15, has increased by three times, according to city health department data.
The positivity rate on April 10 was 1.29 per cent with 141 cases, and this rose to 3.95 per cent on Friday with 366 cases. Surveillance teams are active, on alert mode and are monitoring the situation, a senior official of the South District administration said. (PTI)
Odisha reported 10 new Covid cases on Saturday, seven less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 12,87,912, a health department bulletin said.
The death toll remained at 9,123 as no fresh fatality due to the infection was recorded in the last 24 hours, it said. Fifty-three other Covid patients have died due to comorbidities.
Seventeen people recuperated from the disease on Friday, taking the total number of recoveries to 12,78,622, the bulletin said. Odisha now has 114 active coronavirus cases, it added. (PTI)
No Delhi Capitals players will shake hands with any player from Royal Challengers Bangalore after the night game at Wankhede Stadium on April 16.
Not because there is any problem between the two teams but it’s a BCCI mandate to the Delhi team after their physiotherapist Patrick Farhat tested covid positive on Friday and another support staff tested positive on Saturday.
It is understood that the support staff who tested positive on the morning of the game against RCB is the masseur. Read more