Coronavirus India Highlights: 2 vaccine doses prevented 95% deaths during second wave, says Covid task force head

Delhi reports 66 new Covid cases, one death

Media briefing by Health Ministry on Covid-19.

"One dose of vaccine was able to reduce the mortality rate by 82%. Two doses of vaccine were successful in preventing 95% of deaths due to COVID-19 during the second wave," Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog

Forty-seven districts across 12 states and UTs reported over 10 per cent Covid-19 positivity rate for week ending July 15, said Health Ministry

At least 328 children have lost one or both parents to COVID-19 infection in Maharashtra's Raigad district so far, a senior official said on Friday. District Collector Nidhi Choudhary said a task force was established in the district to trace children who have lost one or both parents to the disease. As per the information collected by the district authorities, at least 14 children have been orphaned, while 314 have lost a parent to COVID-19 infection. As many as 33 children have lost their mothers, while 281 have lost their fathers to the disease, it was stated. The state government will provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh per child, which will be released once the boys attain the age of 21 and the girls turn 18, the collector said, adding that a monthly allowance of Rs 1,100 each will be put in the bank accounts of the parent or guardian. Meanwhile, a proposal has been submitted to the government to provide pension to 165 widows under the national family pension scheme, she said. --PTI

Only 73 districts recorded more than 100 Covid-19 cases daily in week ending on July 14, said Health Ministry.

"Analysis shows a projected decline in the use of face masks as we resume activities. We should incorporate the use of face masks in our lives as a new normal," said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, during a media briefing on Covid-19.

People who exhibit over five symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first week are more likely to develop long Covid, irrespective of their age or gender, according to a review of studies. In long Covid, patients experience prolonged symptoms extending sometimes for months. The review, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) on Thursday, summarised current research on symptom prevalence, complications and management of long Covid. --PTI

Odisha on Friday reported 2,070 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally to 9,49,929, while 64 more fatalities pushed the toll to 4,925, a senior health department official said. Of the 2,070 new cases, 1,195 were reported from quarantine centres, and the rest detected during contact tracing, the official said. Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is part, recorded the maximum number of new cases and fatalities at 446 and 22 respectively. --PTI

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for praising the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of the Covid crisis, saying his "certificate" cannot hide the truth of the Yogi Adityanath dispensation's "cruelty, negligence and mismanagement" during the second wave of the coronavirus.  Modi, during his visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Thursday, praised the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of the Covid crisis and said the way it had controlled the second wave was "unprecedented"."Modi ji's certificate cannot hide the truth of Yogi government's aggressive cruelty, negligence and mismanagement during the second wave of coronavirus spread in Uttar Pradesh," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. (PTI)

During a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to take proactive members to rule out any chance of a third wave.

"We are at a point where there are talks about a possible 3rd wave of COVID. In last few days, around 80% of new cases have come from these 6 states," PM Modi said.

During a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to take proactive members to rule out any chance of a third wave.

"We are at a point where there are talks about a possible 3rd wave of COVID. In last few days, around 80% of new cases have come from these 6 states," the Prime Minister said. 

The Supreme Court Friday asked the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to reconsider its decision to allow Kanwar yatra amid the Coronavirus pandemic saying health of people and right to life is paramount.

“It is of prima facie view that it concerns all of us and is at the heart of the fundamental right to life. The health of citizens of India and right to life is paramount, all other sentiments whether being religious is subservient to this basic fundamental right,” the apex court bench said.

The court asks the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise the court about its decision on Monday, otherwise, it will pass an order. Read the full report here. 

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that states must not permit Kanwar Yatra to Haridwar in Uttarakhand, in view of the Covid-19 situation. However, considering religious sentiments, state governments must develop a system to make 'Ganga Jal' available via tankers for Kanwariyas at designated locations. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked Uttar Pradesh to reconsider its decision to hold the Kanwar Yatra amidst the pandemic. 

The capital of the United Arab Emirates has announced a sudden overnight lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, even as the rest of the country remains open for tourism. The state-run WAM news agency announced late Thursday the lockdown would begin Monday and last each day from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. It comes just ahead of the long Eid al-Adha holidays in the UAE, which begins Monday as well. (AP)

The Maharashtra government has exempted those people who have got both the doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from carrying a negative RT-PCR test report for entering the state, although there has to be a gap of at least 15 days between the second dose and the date of arrival. An order to this effect was issued late night on Thursday by state chief secretary Sitaram Kunte. "A person entering the state should be vaccinated with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 15 days should be lapsed since the administration of the second dose. That person should be in possession of the final vaccination certificate issued through the COWIN portal," the order said. (PTI)

More than 70,000 Covid tests are being conducted everyday in Madhya Pradesh, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said. "Around 21 new cases have been reported in the state today. The recovery rate in the state is 98.8 per cent," Mishra told ANI. 

India reported 38,949 new coronavirus cases and 542 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the country’s total caseload rose to 3.1 crore, while the death toll increased to 4.12 lakh. Active cases presently stand at 4,30,422.

With 

neighbouring Uttar Pradesh among others saying it will not stop the kanwar yatra, a cautious Uttarakhand is drafting a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to handle pilgrims who might enter the state despite the government suspending the procession within its boundaries.

DGP Ashok Kumar, who held a meeting with police officers on the issue Thursday, said forces will be deployed on Uttarakhand borders, for which assessment of the number of police personnel required had been done, and kanwar enforcement teams constituted in every district. The yatra begins around the last week of July. Read the full report here. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Kerala later today to review the coronavirus scenario in these states. 

In view of the rise in Delta variant cases of the novel coronavirus, the Manipur government has announced a total curfew of 10 days, starting from July 18.

The head of the World Health Organisation acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the Covid-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak, and he said Thursday he is asking China to be more transparent as scientists search for the origins of the coronavirus.

In a rare departure from his usual deference to powerful member countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said getting access to raw data had been a challenge for the international team that traveled to China earlier this year to investigate the source of Covid-19. The first human cases were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Tedros told reporters that the UN health agency based in Geneva is “asking actually China to be transparent, open and cooperate, especially on the information, raw data that we asked for at the early days of the pandemic”. Read more

The COVID-19 caseload in Gujarat reached 8,24,384 on Thursday, after 38 persons tested positive for the infection in the last 24 hours, an official from the state health department said. At least 90 patients were discharged from hospitals, raising the count of recoveries to 8,13,673, while the death toll in the state stood at 10,074, with no new casualties, the official said. The rate of recovery in Gujarat now stands at 98.7 per cent, he said, adding that the state is now left with 637 active cases, of which eight patients are on ventilator. The Union Territory of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu reported one new case in the last 24 hours, an official said. A total of 10,564 cases have been detected in the region so far, of which 10,538 patients have recovered and four died of the infection, he said, adding that 22 patients are undergoing treatment. --PTI

Maharashtra's coronavirus caseload rose to 61,89,257 with the addition of 8,010 new infections on Thursday, while the death toll jumped to 1,26,560 after 170 patients succumbed to the respiratory illness, a health department official said here. The state witnessed a drop in the daily COVID-19 cases, while the fatalities remained the same as compared to Wednesday, when it had reported 8,602 new infections and 170 deaths. Significantly, Parbhani and Jalgaon cities did not report any new coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours, the official said. The official said as many as 7,391 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, pushing the number of recovered cases to 59,52,192. Maharashtra's COVID-19 recovery rate is 96.17 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.04 per cent, he said. The state now has 1,07,205 active coronavirus cases. According to the official, out of 4,48,24,211 COVID-19 tests done so far, 2,14,935 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. --PTI

The Union Health Ministry Thursday raised with the states the issue of violations in Covid-19 norms in many parts of the country, especially hill stations, and stressed the need for focussed public health measures to contain the pandemic. In a letter to all states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said complacency at this juncture has the potential to lead to another surge in coronavirus cases. “Violations of Covid norms have been observed in various parts of the country, especially in hill stations, public transport and markets. Needless to say, such complacency at this juncture has the potential to result in another surge in cases,” he said.

Goa on Thursday recorded 126 fresh cases of coronavirus that took its tally of infections to 1,69,341, an official from the state health department official said. At least 134 patients were discharged from hospitals, while one died of the infection during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 1,64,460 and the toll to 3,102, the official said. The coastal state is now left with 1,779 active cases, he said. With the addition of 4,063 swab samples tested during the day, the total number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 9,88,300, the official added. Goa's Covid-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 1,69,341, new cases 126, death toll 3102, discharged 164460, active cases 1779, samples tested till date 9,88,300.  --PTI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that there are no plans to reopen schools in Delhi for now, news agency PTI reported. The national capital reported 72 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Thursday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.10 per cent, according to information shared by the health department.

The Centre on Thursday asked states and union territories to conduct a quick gap analysis for various infrastructure components under the Emergency COVID-19 Response Package and stressed on effective advance preparations for efficient clinical management of the infection. The Union health ministry reviewed preparations under the recently approved Rs 23,123 crore "India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package (ECRP): Phase II" with health secretaries and senior officials of all states and UTs through a video conference. The Cabinet approved the new scheme for financial year 2021-22 on July 8. This package aims to accelerate health system preparedness for immediate responsiveness for early prevention, detection and management with a sharp focus on health infrastructure development, including paediatric care and with measurable outcomes. During the review meeting, states and UTs were guided on policies and guidelines from the Union health ministry on different aspects of Covid management, which would help them in strengthening their healthcare infrastructure to streamline COVID-19 response. --PTI

In a case of much back and forth, the UK government claims it has managed to get the authorities of Malta to permit travellers from Britain who have been vaccinated with doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine made in India. The European Union (EU) country was in the headlines as a couple told the 'The Daily Telegraph' that they were prevented from boarding a plane to visit their son in Malta because their batch of the vaccines was made in India. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was confronted about the issue and he stressed that Malta was "not right" to block travel as it was the same product as the one produced in the UK. --PTI

BJP workers stage a protest in Kolkata against the fake Covid-19 vaccination drive. Party leader Debasree Chaudhuri and others have been detained. “Our fight against the West Bengal government’s anti-people policies will continue," says Chaudhuri.

Puducherry logged 103 new cases of coronavirus during the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, pushing the overall tally to 1,19,405. The death toll rose to 1,773 with a 73-year-old woman succumbing to the infection. The deceased had co-morbidities including diabetes. Director of Health and Family Welfare services S Mohan Kumar said the new cases were identified at the end of examination of swabs of 6,367 people.

The new cases were spread over Puducherry (81), Karaikal (14), Yanam (1) and Mahe (7), Kumar said. He said there were 1,307 active cases of whom 257 patients were in hospitals and the remaining 1,050 were in home isolation. A total of 122 patients were discharged after recovery today and the overall recoveries were at 1,16,325. The test positivity rate was 1.62 per cent, while fatality and recovery rates were at 1.48 per cent and 97.42 per cent,respectively. (PTI)

Twenty children from Puducherry were hospitalised on Thursday after testing positive for Covid-19, the director of health and family welfare services S Mohan Kumar said. They were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College Hospital at Kadirkamam. Kumar told PTI that details of their age were being collected. (PTI)

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea seeking reduction of the 12-16 week interval for the second dose of Covishield vaccine to eight weeks for persons over 50 years of age and those having comorbidities. "We are not inclined to issue notice. We will dismiss with costs," said a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh on a PIL by Dr Siddharth De.

"Are you aware of any procedure? How are doses fixed? Who is fixing the doses? We will have to alter the procedure if at all we have the power to do so," the court questioned the counsel for De, advocate Kuldeep Jauhari. Jauhari responded that there was a Covid working group and other expert groups which looked into the aspect. He added that based on studies conducted by scientists in the UK, there was a need to reduce the dosage interval in view of the new variants of Covid-19. (PTI)

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has tested positive for Covid -19 virus in England and is staying in home isolation at the moment, The Indian Express has learnt. Pant is home quarantined at his relatives’ place at present and is likely to join the tour party in Durham later.

The Indian squad sans Pant will return to bio-bubble in Durham on Thursday. Sources said the left-hander experienced a sore throat, which led to a Covid test and it returned positive. His teammates and support staff, who came in contact with the player, were kept in isolation for three days and they have completed their isolation period. (Read Devendra Pandey's report)

Arunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 tally rose to 41,279 as 465 more people tested positive for the infection, while two new fatalities pushed the death toll to 195, a senior health official said here on Thursday. A 23-year-old woman from Lower Siang district died at the Dedicated Covid Hospital (DCH) at Pasighat in East Siang district, after delivering a healthy male baby.

The immediate cause of her death was attributed to Amniotic Fluid Embolism, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. A 40-year-old man from Kurung Kumey district died at the Dedicated Covid Health Center (DCHC) Koloriang on Wednesday due to Covid Pneumonia, the official said. The Capital Complex Region recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 109, followed by Lohit (47), Papumpare (40), West Kameng (39), Changlang (32), East Siang (27), West Siang (20), Lower Subansiri (19) and Anjaw (17). (PTI)

Interns at Ahmedabad's Sola Civil Hospital go on strike over pending Covid allowance. “During the second wave, the government had announced Rs 5,000 as Covid allowance from March to June. We haven't received it yet. Other intern doctors will also join if our demands are not met,” Dr Rutvij Kanani

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government of Canada suspended all direct flights from India until July 21. However, passengers from India who wish to visit the country now have the option of taking a connecting flight as long as they obtain a negative Covid-19 certificate from a third country before continuing their journey to Canada, according to the government’s latest guidelines. 

Canada will not be accepting Covid-19 molecular test reports from India, the country’s official travel advisory noted. Instead, passengers will have to produce test results from the last point of departure before their arrival in Canada.

Jharkhand reported 68 new Covid- 19 cases in the last 24 hours, which pushed the tally to 3,46,479, a health department bulletin said on Thursday. The Covid-19 death toll remained at 5,120 as no new fatality due to the contagion was reported in the last 24 hours, it said. Of the 68 new cases, Ramgarh reported 14 cases followed by Ranchi (11) and eight cases each from Dhanbad and Jamtara.

No new case was reported from Dumka, Garhwa, Giridih, Khunti, Pakur, Palamu, Saraikela, Simdega and West Singhbhum districts. Jharkhand now has 344 active Covid-19 cases, while 3,41,015 patients have recovered from the disease including 71 during the last 24 hours, the bulletin said. The mortality rate in the state remained at 1.47 per cent, higher than the national average of 1.30 per cent. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state has improved to 98.42 per cent, better than the national average of 97.30 per cent. (PTI)

Covid-19 deaths and cases are on the rise again globally in a dispiriting setback that is triggering another round of restrictions and dampening hopes for a return to normal life.

The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that deaths climbed last week after nine straight weeks of decline. It recorded more than 55,000 lives lost, a 3 per cent increase from the week before. Cases rose 10 per cent last week to nearly 3 million, with the highest numbers recorded in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Britain, WHO said. The reversal has been attributed to low vaccination rates, the relaxation of mask rules and other precautions, and the swift spread of the more-contagious delta variant, which WHO said has now been identified in 111 countries and is expected to become globally dominant in the coming months. (PTI)

Active cases show a rise of about 2,000. As on Wednesday, there were 4.32 lakh active cases in the country. Kerala has seen its active cases increase by almost 10,000 in last one week. Five states in the northeast, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura, have also recorded rise in active cases in the previous week.

The recovery rate has increased to 97.28% while weekly positivity rate remains below 5%. The daily positivity rate is at 2.15%. Testing capacity has been ramped up and a total of 43.80 crore tests have been conducted to date, the Health Ministry said.

India reported 41,806 fresh cases and 581 more fatalities due to the coronavirus disease in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload and death toll to 3,09,87,880 and 4,11,989 respectively, according to the Union health ministry’s update on Thursday. As many as 39,130 patients recovered from the viral disease in the said period, taking the cumulative count of recoveries to 30,143,850, the bulletin released at 8am showed. The active cases stand at 4,32,041 and constitute 1.39 per cent of the caseload.

From Thursday, pregnant women can get vaccinated at 35 designated centres in Mumbai. Following directions of the Union health ministry, the BMC on Wednesday issued guidelines for vaccination of pregnant women. While 12 special centres will operate in island city, 13 will be open in western suburbs and 10 in eastern parts of the city. Read more

Even as Kolhapur has started showing a slight decline in weekly Covid positivity rate (July 6 to 12), as compared to its previous one, it continues to remain a district of concern, a fresh analysis for state Covid-19 figures has shown. Other districts of concern include Pune, Satara, Sangli and Ratnagiri, which are among 10 districts whose weekly positivity rate remains higher than the state average of 4.36 per cent. The analysis also shows that Nandurbar sits on top of the list of these 10 districts with a weekly positivity rate of 11.72 per cent.

While experts said measures such as contact tracing were not up to the mark, according to Dr Subhash Salunkhe, adviser to the state government on Covid-19 and currently on tour in Sangli, the reason for a rise in cases in this district can be attributed to a large number of people gathering for elections at some sugar factories. Read more

A player of the Indian cricket team in England has tested positive for Covid -19 virus and is staying in home isolation at the moment, The Indian Express has learnt. The player is home quarantined at his relatives’ place at present and is likely to join the tour party in Durham later.

The Indian squad sans the player will return to bio-bubble in Durham on Thursday. Sources said the player experienced a sore throat, which led to a Covid test and it returned positive. His teammates and support staff, who came in contact with the player, were kept in isolation for three days and they have completed their isolation period. (Read Devendra Pandey's report)

Taking suo motu cognisance of a report in The Indian Express on the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to allow the Kanwar Yatra which has been suspended by neighbouring Uttarakhand amid fears of a possible third Covid-19 wave, the Supreme Court Wednesday sought responses by Friday from the Centre and the governments of UP and Uttarakhand.

Issuing notices, the bench of Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai said: “We were a little disturbed given today’s headline in the ‘Indian Express’ of 14.07.2021 about the ‘Kanwar Yatra’, which is likely to be held from 25.07.2021.” Read more