Jammu: A healthcare worker collects a swab sample of a passenger for Covid-19 testing amid a surge in coronavirus cases, at Charbagh railway station in Lucknow, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (PTI Photo/Nand Kumar)Coronavirus News Live Updates Today: The Punjab government on Thursday advised people to wear face masks at crowded places amid a surge in coronavirus cases in some of the states. Punjab on Wednesday had reported 30 fresh cases, taking its coronavirus tally to 7,59,334. According to the advisory issued by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, wearing of masks should be ensured in closed environments such as in buses, trains, aircrafts, cinema halls, shopping malls, departmental stores, offices and classrooms.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said that the number of reported new Covid-19 cases worldwide decreased by nearly a quarter last week, continuing a decline since the end of March. The Geneva-based UN health agency said in a weekly report that nearly 5.59 million cases were reported between April 11 and 17, 24% fewer than in the previous week, AP reported.
India’s effective reproduction number (R-value) for Covid-19, an indicator of how quickly a disease is spreading in the population, has increased to over 1 for the first time since mid-January, during the third wave of the pandemic. The R-value, which saw a steady increase over the last few weeks, was 1.07 for April 12-18, according to Sitabhra Sinha, a researcher from Chennai’s Institute of Mathematical Sciences who has been tracking the country’s R-value since the beginning of the pandemic. It was 0.93 the previous week.
Jammu: A healthcare worker collects a swab sample of a woman for Covid-19 testing, at a market in Jammu, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (PTI Photo)
Jammu and Kashmir reported 10 fresh Covid cases on Thursday that took the infection tally to 4,53,966, officials said. Of the new cases, five each was reported from Jammu and Kashmir division, they said.
Jammu district logged four new cases, followed by three in Srinagar, two in Baramulla and one in Kathua, officials said. There are 55 active cases while the overall recoveries has reached 4,49,160, they said.
The Covid death toll stands at 4,751. No Covid-related fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, officials said. There were 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis (black fungus), they added. (PTI)
A senior health official in Telangana on Thursday urged citizens to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour in view of a rise in cases in some States, even as he discounted the possibility of a fourth wave in the State where about 93 per cent of the people have developed anti-bodies.
Citing the sero-survey conducted recently by the city-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), State Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao said the sero-positivity rate was found to be 92.9 per cent among the general population in the State. The sero-positivity rate was 93.1 per cent among healthcare workers. It was over 97 per cent in Hyderabad.
Rao said R-value in the State is less than 0.5 per cent. R-value indicates the number of people an infected person can spread the disease to. The positivity rate in the State is 0.14 per cent. (PTI)
Vaccine inequity remains an issue both within India, where less than 2 per cent of the population has received a Covid booster, and the globe with 56 countries unable to inoculate even 10 percent of their people, says Johns Hopkins scientist Amita Gupta.
Tracking hospitalisation rates which provide an indicator of severity of illness is key, the chief of the Division of Infectious Disease, and Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said while stressing that no one is safe from Covid until everyone in the world gets vaccinated.
She cited the example of the Omicron variant to buttress her point. The highly transmissible variant is believed to have emerged in November last year in South Africa and Botswana due to inadequate immunisation in African countries before spreading globally, Gupta said, adding that another variant is likely to follow the same trend. (PTI)
Mumbai on Thursday recorded 91 new Covid-19 cases. Of the total, 90 are asymptomatic and one was hospitalised. No virus-related fatalities were reported in the city on Thursday.
Omicron sublineage BA.2.12 has been detected in a majority of the samples sequenced from Delhi in the first fortnight of April and it could be behind the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the city, sources said Thursday.
However, an Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) source has claimed that Omicron variant derivative BA.2.12.1 has also been found in a few samples in Delhi which is said to be contributing to the recent rise in cases in the US.
But officials have not confirmed that it indeed was found in some samples in Delhi. (PTI)
Twelve students at the IIT Madras campus have tested positive for Covid-19, prompting health secretary J Radhakrishnan to inspect the campus and to direct officials to sanitize the locality and follow safety guidelines.
Radhakrishnan said the first case was detected on April 19 and two more students tested positive on April 20 following which the health department, the Chennai municipal corporation and the medical team at the IIT Madras campus took samples of those who were in close contact with these students. Read more
Even though Covid cases are on the rise, there is no need to panic and the risk for those who have taken the vaccines is very low, an Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson said here on Thursday.
According to health experts, it is possible that in the coming days, there may be an increase in new cases of the disease, but the current variant of the virus is a "normal" one, the official said. There is no need to panic but caution has to be maintained, he added.
On guidelines issued by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a meeting to review the Covid situation in the state, the spokesman said there is a need to be vigilant about the health safety of children and that they should be made aware of Covid protocols in schools. (PTI)
The Punjab government on Thursday advised people to wear face masks at crowded places amid a surge in coronavirus cases in some of the states.
Punjab on Wednesday had reported 30 fresh cases, taking its coronavirus tally to 7,59,334.
According to the advisory issued by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, wearing of masks should be ensured in closed environments such as in buses, trains, aircrafts, cinema halls, shopping malls, departmental stores, offices and classrooms. (PTI)
The omicron variant overtook delta in January when the third wave was at its peak in the capital as shown by government data, which revealed that 79% of the total samples sent for genome sequencing was of omicron and 14% was of delta. In February and March, omicron cases had an incidence of 100% and delta stood at zero. A total of 783 samples were sent for sequencing of which 504 were analysed and the prevalence of omicron was at 100%, data showed.
Meanwhile, about 97% deaths during the peak of the third wave of the pandemic had the omicron variant, shows data. While 1,035 people died of Covid from January-March, a majority of these deaths were incidental – they were people with serious illnesses or those admitted to hospitals with co-morbidities, who were later infected with Covid. Read more
Shanghai reported eight more deaths due to COVID-19, taking the toll in the current outbreak in the eastern metropolis to 25, while the Chinese mainland reported over 19,300 cases due to the new Omicron variant. Wednesday saw eight deaths from COVID-19, all in Shanghai, China's National Health Commission reported on Thursday.
With this, the death toll in China since coronavirus emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 has reached 4,663 according to official data. On Wednesday, the Chinese mainland reported total 19,382 COVID-19 cases, including 2,830 who tested positive while the rest were asymptomatic cases with a majority of them in Shanghai, the country's financial hub. (AP)
The Punjab government Thursday has said that wearing of masks in public places will now be mandatory.
The World Health Organisation said that the number of reported new Covid-19 cases worldwide decreased by nearly a quarter last week, continuing a decline since the end of March. The Geneva-based UN health agency said in a weekly report that nearly 5.59 million cases were reported between April 11 and 17, 24% fewer than in the previous week, AP reported.
The number of Covid-19 vaccines being administered in Delhi has remained low – around 22,500 on an average over the last seven days – despite the number of cases of the viral infection beginning to increase and with the Centre pushing for better vaccination coverage. The number of vaccines administered in Delhi went down in mid-February and early March because Delhi reached a saturation point in most categories. Over 90% of the adult population in the capital have been fully-vaccinated.
After a lull, the numbers once again went up when the administration of the second dose for children between the ages of 15 and 17 years started and then again when the drive was opened up for those between the ages of 12 and 14 years. At present, the highest number of shots is being administered to the latter. Read more
Thailand on Thursday received 200,000 doses of India-made Covovax vaccines as part of a flagship initiative of the Quad grouping to help countries combat the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine doses were handed over to Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok by India's Ambassador to Thailand Suchitra Durai, Australian envoy Allan McKinnon, Japan's Nashida Kazuya and US Charge d'Affaires James Wayman, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
"The consignment comprising 200,000 doses of Made in India, Covovax vaccines was presented to Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health of Thailand on April 21 in Bangkok," it said. Thailand on Thursday received 200,000 doses of India-made Covovax vaccines as part of a flagship initiative of the Quad grouping to help countries combat the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine doses were handed over to Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok by India's Ambassador to Thailand Suchitra Durai, Australian envoy Allan McKinnon, Japan's Nashida Kazuya and US Charge d'Affaires James Wayman, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "The consignment comprising 200,000 doses of Made in India, Covovax vaccines was presented to Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health of Thailand on April 21 in Bangkok," it said. (PTI)
With some states registering a spike in Covid-19 cases, the Odisha government on Wednesday asked all the district authorities and other stakeholders to maintain a close watch on the situation and keep a contingency plan ready to deal with any possible exigency. Public Health Director Dr Niranjan Mishra, however, asserted that the COVID situation in Odisha is very much under control and there is nothing to worry about.
Nevertheless, he said that the state needs to remain prepared because of the rapid-spreading nature of the coronavirus. The Directorate of Public Health, in a letter to all the district collectors, chief medical officers, authorities of medical college and hospitals and municipal commissioners, asked them to maintain surveillance to ascertain whether there is an outbreak in any cluster. (PTI)
India recorded 56 new Covid-19 related deaths over the last 24 hours, out of which 53 were from Kerala and one each from Delhi, Mizoram and Odisha.
The daily positivity rate recorded in India in the last 24 hours was at 0.53 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.43 per cent, according to the Union health ministry.
The question of the number of people who died in India as a result of the pandemic has been festering in recent months. Scientists estimate this number by counting the total number of people who died during the pandemic and comparing this with the number of people who were expected to have died based on historical data on mortality. The difference between these two figures is referred to as “excess mortality”, which could be attributed to the pandemic. Not all these additional deaths are directly due to the virus; some could also have been due to indirect effects of the pandemic, such as people dying of hunger or of other diseases because of the shutting down of the economy and routine health care during the lockdown. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that, had the pandemic not happened, there would not have been any of these additional deaths. Vikram Patel writes
Telangana on Wednesday recorded 20 new Covid-19 cases taking the state's tally to 7,91,692. Hyderabad reported the highest number of cases with 14. A health department bulletin said 13 people recuperated from the infection raising the cumulative number of recoveries till date to 7,87,387.
As 1,231 patients recovered from the Covid-19 infection in the last 24 hours, the active cases of the country stood at 13,433. The active case percentage stood at 0.03% of the total infections.