Testing of residents at Giriraj Housing Society in Seawoods, Navi Mumbai. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)
India coronavirus Highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of the eight Northeastern states on Tuesday to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the region.
More than three out of every five districts that reported a test positivity rate of more than 10 per cent over the past week are in the Northeast.
Data tracked by the Union Health Ministry show that of the 58 districts that reported a positivity rate higher than 10 per cent between July 5 and July 11, as many as 37 were from the Northeast.
While absolute numbers in the Northeast are small compared to the larger Indian states, the overall weekly positivity in India was only 2.21 per cent as of Sunday.
With 37,154 new coronavirus infections, India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 3,08,74,376, while the total recoveries crossed three crore, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll climbed to 4,08,764 with 724 fresh fatalities. While Kerala reported 12,220 new cases, Maharashtra detected 8,535 infections. The country’s active caseload stands at 4,50,899. Active cases in Maharashtra have increased by more than 2,000. Maharashtra now has more active cases than Kerala.
Delhi Police fly drone over crowded Sarojini Nagar market to check Covid rules, in New Delhi on Sunday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
With 45 cases, Delhi recorded the lowest number of Covid cases over 24 hours in nearly 15 months on Monday.
The city has been maintaining a positivity rate below 0.2% since June 23. While Monday saw the lowest number of positive cases in this stretch, the positivity rate on Sunday was actually lower at 0.07%. But because a lower number of tests were conducted in the last 24 hours since it was the weekend, Monday saw 45 cases with a positivity rate of 0.08%.
Madhya Pradesh on Monday added 1,478 ‘backlog deaths’ from the second wave of the pandemic till June 30 to its existing record taking the Covid-19 death toll to 10,506 from 9,027 deaths reported in the state until Sunday.
The additional deaths came to the fore after the government on June 26 issued a letter to all district authorities urging them to report any deaths till June 30 which were not added so far on the government’s ‘Sarthak’ portal. The exercise was started after Chhavi Bharadwaj, Mission director of National Health Mission, issued an order.
As the Capital’s Covid count continues to dip — Delhi recorded 45 cases, the lowest in 15 months, on Monday — and with lockdown restrictions eased considerably, markets and public spaces across the city have drawn huge crowds, forcing authorities to crack down.
Over the past two weeks, at least nine markets, including Lajpat Nagar, Gaffar Market, Sadar Bazar and Laxmi Nagar, were forced to shut down for flouting social distancing and other Covid protocol, though they were subsequently reopened after assurances from market associations and other stakeholders.
The second wave of Covid-19 spread so fast that it was humanly not possible to get control over it, said Union Home and Cooperation minister Amit Shah on Monday, adding that by getting vaccinated at the earliest, citizens can take a resolution that no person dies of Covid now on.
“A resolution can be taken that now on, no one in Nardipur and Gandhinagar constituency will die of corona. You might think, how it is possible. I say that it is possible. Narendrabhai (Modi) has made arrangements of free vaccination for all above 18 years’ age. We should carefully make arrangements of vaccines for all,” Shah said. Read more.
Maharashtra reported 7,603 fresh Covid cases Monday, taking its active cases to 1,08,343. With 53 deaths in the last 24 hours, the state's death toll climbed to 1,26,024, ANI reported.
While no new death due to Covid-19 was reported Monday in Goa, 108 more persons tested positive for the infection and 186 recovered. Goa's infection tally rose to 1,68,824 and the death toll remained unchanged at 3,097, PTI reported.
As the threat of a third wave of Covid looms over the country, the Indian Medical Association's Uttarakhand chapter has written to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami requesting him to cancel the Kanwar Yatra this year.
The fortnight-long yatra that begins around July 25 and goes on till the first week of August with crores of Kanwariyas from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh gathering in Haridwar to collect the holy waters of the Ganga. Last year, the Yatra was cancelled in view of the coronavirus cases in India.
"After the first wave, we went off-guard and did not follow the guidelines of the central government delineated for this pandemic which was a gross negligence on our part and consequently lost several of our kin in the second wave," IMA's state secretary Amit Khanna was quoted as saying by PTI. (File Photo)
Delhi on Monday recorded 45 fresh Covid-19 cases Monday, the lowest single-day rise in over a year, according to PTI. It also reported three deaths, according to the state health bulletin. The positivity rate of the national capital stands at 0.08 per cent.
The Covid vaccination drive was halted in at least 25 of Rajasthan's 33 districts on Monday due to a shortage of doses. "The state had only 10,000 doses on Monday. So, vaccination sessions could not be conducted in about 25 districts of the state," Health Secretary Siddharth Mahajan was quoted as saying by PTI.
He added that Rajasthan will receive eight lakh doses on Monday night, which will be consumed in the next two days. The state had demanded 1.5 crore Covid vaccine doses for July, but the Centre allocated 65 lakh doses, according the Mahajan.
Containment measures in Assam's Jorhat and Golaghat districts, which reported the highest number of new Covid-19 cases on Sunday in the state, have been further tightened, PTI reported.
Jorhat deputy commissioner (DC) Ashok Kumar Barman said that all activities, barring pharmacies, veterinary clinics, milk vending and paper delivery services, have been banned for the next two days in the district, beginning Monday. Golaghat has implemented similar restrictions with all grocery shops, retail shops, vegetable and fruit vendors expect pharmacy and milk vending points to remain closed for two days on July 13 and 14 in the entire district.
Kerala reported 7,798 new Covid-19 cases Monday with 11,447 recoveries and 100 deaths, according to news agency ANI. The state currently has 1,11,093 active cases.
Amid reports of tourists flocking popular hill destinations, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy Monday urged people to follow Covid protocols to curb the spread of the coronavirus. "Each individual of this country has to be a Covid warrior and only then can we defeat this. The government does not want to stop tourists but it is our responsibility to keep everyone safe," he said, according to news agency PTI.
The Indian Medical Association epxressed concern over the lax attitude of people and the state governments indulging in mass gatherings without following Covid protocols, stating that global evidence and history of pandemics suggest that a "third wave is inevitable and imminent."
"It is painful to note that in this crucial time, when everyone needs to work for the mitigation of the third wave, in many parts of the country, both governments and the public are complacent and engaged in mass gatherings without following Covid protocols. Tourist bonanza, pilgrimage travel, religious fervour, all are needed, but can wait for a few more months," IMA said in a statement, according to PTI. The organisation warned that such events can be super-spreaders.
While addresing the Covid warriors felicitation programme at Raj Bhawan in Gandhinagar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "there is still widespread vaccine hesitancy among many communities in Gujarat. It's our duty to make them aware."
"PM Modi has decided to provide 5kg food to daily wage earners till Diwali," Shah was quoted as saying by ANI.
In a virtual meeting held with office-bearers of the CII (Confederation of Indian Industries), Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said that the state government will set up a Covid-19 task force for the industrial sector.
"To prevent further problems, a task force will be immediately set up to ensure that the economic cycle is not impacted," the CM said, according to news agency PTI. The task force will be monitored by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
Failing to get a positive response from the state government, more than 47,000 private schools in Madhya Pradesh have suspended their online classes indefinitely. One of the major demands includes that authorities stop inspecting the already closed schools and renew the recognition certificates of these institutions for five years, instead of one, PTI reported.
“Among other things, we want resumption of physical classes for standards IX to XII immediately," VR Modi, president of another private school association said.There are nearly 5,000 private schools affiliated to the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) and 2,800 affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in the state. Read more.
As the infection positivity rate remains over five per cent in two Godavari districts, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to continue the night Covid curfew in the state, from 10 pm to 6 am. In uniformity with the 11 other districts, the curfew timings have been further relaxed in the East and West districts as well, PTI reported.
Shops and establishments in all districts can be opened for business from 6 AM to 9 PM daily. Wearing of face masks is strictly mandatory, particularly in business establishments and markets, even during the curfew relaxation hours.
While speaking at the virtual inauguration of two 1000 LPM (litres per minute) capacity oxygen plants at the government-run Sir Takhtasinhji Hospital in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said Monday that the government is undertaking capacity-building measures under a comprehensive plan over the next six months to curb the spread of Covid-19.
"We have now ensured adequate funds in every district for buying critical care medical requirements in an emergency," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. A Rs 23,000 crore Covid package was recently approved by the Centre, which would be used for capacity building, the Minister said. "We have made adequate provisions for paediatric care in all hospitals to provide the most effective healthcare for children. We are also developing a system of buffer stock at state and centre level that can be used in case of any health crisis." he added.
A decline in average daily vaccination against the coronavirus has been seen since June 21, when the new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination commenced, government data showed.
According to data available on CoWIN platform, an average of 61.14 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered daily in the week from June 21-27 which dropped to 41.92 lakh doses daily in the subsequent week from June 28-July 4.
In the week from July 5 to July 11, the daily average vaccine doses number further dipped to 34.32 lakh doses.
Among states, however, a mixed trend has emerged with some states and UTs reporting a sinusoidal trend of vaccination while others a dip.
States such as Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh showed a decline in average daily vaccinations since the week of June 21-27 while a sinusoidal trend in administration of daily doses of COVID-19 was seen in states and UTs like Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu and Kashmir, according to CoWIN data.
In the states of Assam and Tripura which recently reported a rise in fresh COVID-19 cases, a declining trend in administration of average daily vaccine doses can be seen.
Even then the daily average vaccination remained higher than the previous phase of COVID-19 vaccination. (PTI)
Amid fears of the third wave of Covid-19, the Maharashtra government has tightened restrictions at tourist spots like Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala, under which people can stay at resorts and hotels, but have to observe Covid curfew and the weekend lockdown while venturing out.
Earlier, with the advance of the monsoon, tourists had been flocking to the popular destinations, leading to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar expressing concerns over the crowding. Pawar on Friday had directed the administration to take strict action against those violating lockdown restrictions. Read full report here.
The steady rise in Covid cases in Pune city has been accompanied by a similar increase in the number of infections among children (those below 18). The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), gearing up for a possible third wave of Covid-19, has made provision of 3,429 beds for children, including 1,719 in 29 private hospitals and 1,710 in government hospitals.
From July 1 to 7, the PMC found 268 children among a total of 2,065 newly infected Covid-19 patients. Also, four of the 40 who died of the virus were children, taking the total Covid deaths among children from the beginning of March to 25. The active caseload for children in the city rose from 324 to 356 during this period. Among this, 47 are hospitalised with 10 on oxygen beds, while no one needs an ICU or ventilator. Children accounted for 9.77 per cent of the total cases between March 1 to June 30 but it increased to 9.8 per cent by July 7. The case fatality rate of children also rose slightly from 0.08 to 0.09.
The government facility for children will include 30 ventilators, 60 ICU beds, 320 oxygen beds and 1,300 normal beds. In private hospitals, 250 paediatricians will take care of children, and 143 ventilators, 242 ICU beds, 1,083 oxygen beds and 251 normal beds are ready. Read more
The popular Janpath market near Connaught Place, the capital’s iconic central business district, has been shut “until further orders” over violation of Covid-19 norms.
“The Janpath Market is hereby closed till further orders for violation of Delhi Disaster Management Authority order and for not following Covid appropriate behavioural norms,” an order issued by SDM (Chanakyapuri) Parmod Kumar read.
The enforcement director of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and personnel of the Connaught Place Police Station have been directed to enforce the order with “immediate effect and submit a compliance report”. Read more
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has requested people in the state to worship Lord Jagannath at their homes as Rath Yatra will not be taken out this year due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation.
Soren said that Rath Yatra could not be allowed for the second consecutive year as the coronavirus threat is still looming large in the state.
“It pains me to not allow Rath Yatra but many stern steps have to be taken to secure our tomorrow. Celebration of many festivals had to be subdued due to Covid-19. Seek blessings of Lord Jagannath from the safety of your homes,” the chief minister said in a statement issued late on Sunday night.
Jharkhand’s coronavirus tally stands at 3,46,279, of which 423 are active cases, while 3,40,737 people have recovered from the disease and 5,119 patients have succumbed to the infection to date. (PTI)
As 300 civic and state-run vaccination centres in Mumbai resumed inoculation after a gap of three days, serpentine queues were observed outside many on Monday. People were seen queuing up since 4 am outside centres for the jab. Most were waiting for their second doses.
With fresh stock received from the state government, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) resumed the Covid-19 vaccination drive at the state and civic-run centres across the city on Monday between 9 am and 5 pm. However, due to limited stock, some centres kept the number of jabs between 50 and 100 on Monday.
Immunisation drives at government centres were suspended on Friday and Saturday after the BMC ran out of vaccine stock. No drives are held on Sundays, as per the procedure. Read more
As studies progress on breakthrough infections of Covid-19 across India, including at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, health experts are warning people not to get complacent after just one dose of a vaccine.
“Most of the infections in vaccinated people occur after a single dose of vaccine. A single dose of vaccine is giving false security to people and they tend to lower their guard. There is a need to be more vigilant as it is only after two weeks of both vaccine doses that there will be some immunity,” Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the Maharashtra Covid-19 taskforce, told The Indian Express.
While breakthrough infections, when fully vaccinated people get the disease, are not uncommon, patients have largely remained asymptomatic in such Covid-19 cases, as per hospital data. Read more
Even though Gurgaon has administered at least one dose of the Covid vaccine to over 89 percent of its population, the pace of the vaccination campaign in the district has slowed down over the last one week, as the health department grapples with a massive shortage of vaccines. With no word from the Haryana government on fresh stocks, the situation is set to continue over the next few days.
As per health department data, the number of people who have been inoculated in the week between July 5 and July 11 are less than half the number inoculated in the preceding week, between June 28 and July 4. While 1,79,678 people were vaccinated last week, only 76,947 people were inoculated this week. Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday conveyed his greetings to everyone on the occasion of the beginning of the 144th Rath Yatra.
“Greetings to everyone on the special occasion of the Rath Yatra. We bow to Lord Jagannath and pray that his blessings bring good health and prosperity in everyone’s lives. Jai Jagannath!”, Modi said in a tweet.
The Rath Yatra ceremony began at Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad this morning. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel were present during the event. The government had recently said that the yatra will be taken out amid a curfew with only five vehicles, including three chariots, amid the pandemic.
CM Rupani had appealed to people to watch the proceedings of the event on television. “We hope that Gujarat becomes the first state to come out of the coronavirus pandemic and that the situation returns to normalcy,” CM Vijay Rupani said during the occasion. Read more