A beneficiary receives a dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Mumbai | Express file photoCoronavirus India Highlights: India has requested members of the European Union to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin vaccines to travel to Europe, news agency PTI reported citing sources said.
The sources said India has requested the EU member nations to accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal under its ‘Green Passport’ scheme.
Earlier today, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) extended the restrictions on scheduled international passenger flights to and from India extended till July 31st, 2021. “However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) added.
Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India recorded 45,951 new covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Wednesday, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. 817 deaths were reported on Tuesday, the lowest since April 9. There are a total of 3,03,62,848 cases in the country while at least 2,94,27,330 people have recovered from the disease. Active cases have dropped to 5,37,064 and the recovery rate has touched 96.92 per cent, the ministry said.
A woman receives a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at a centre in Kukshet Gaon Municipal School No 12 in Sarsole, Navi Mumbai. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who had been facing flak from the ruling NDA in Bihar for his reluctance to get vaccinated against COVID-19, on Wednesday took the jab along with elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav.
Both the sons of RJD national president Lalu Prasad took their Sputnik shots at the Medanta hospital here.
"We took the Sputnik vaccine, A vaccine is a vaccine. What difference does it make whether it is Indian or foreign", Yadav told reporters afterwards. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked his Council of Ministers to spread awareness among people about following Covid-19 protocols and vaccination to keep the third wave of the pandemic at bay.
Chairing a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers, he also asked the ministers to ensure that the projects for which they have laid the foundations are completed and inaugurated by them. He also asked them keep track of the projects and ensure these are not delayed, sources said. More details here.
India has requested members of the European Union to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin vaccines to travel to Europe, news agency PTI reported citing sources said.
The sources said India has requested the EU member nations to accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal under its 'Green Passport' scheme.
The European Union's Digital COVID certificate framework to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic is to come into effect on Thursday. Under this framework, persons who have taken vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU.
Nilgiris has become the first district in Tamil Nadu to achieve 100 per cent Covid-19 vaccination with the first dose among the eligible tribal communities and tea-estate workers. Various NGOs like Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association (NAWA), Nilgiris Wayanad Tribal Welfare Society were roped in and special vaccination camps were organised in more than 400 tribal hamlets in Nilgiris which has a population of 2,75,000. Read the full report here.
India believes there is an urgent need for carrying out "major reforms" in the World Health Organization to ensure a timely, focused and effective response to potential future pandemics, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday.
Harsh Vardhan, who is also the chairman of the WHO Executive Board, said the global crisis arising out of Covid-19 pandemic is further compounded by ever-evolving new variants of the virus, and highlighted the need for greater collaboration between countries on various aspects of health to defeat it.
The Odisha government on Wednesday extended the partial lockdown in the state for 15 more days till 5 AM on July 16, a senior official said.
The existing restrictions will end at 5 AM on Thursday.
The state government has divided the 30 districts into A and B categories. Twenty districts where the test positivity rate (TPR) remains less than five per cent are in the A category, while the remaining 10 coastal districts, where the number of cases is high, are in the B category, Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the medical fraternity on the occasion of National Doctors' Day on Thursday. The event is being organised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Industries in Gurgaon are being impacted by rumours of a third wave of Covid-19. Officials from several associations said the fears are keeping both workers and business at bay, and hindering attempts to limp back to normal.
There are two major industries located in Gurgaon — the automobile industry and the garment industry. Both, officials said, are facing a shortage of labour and demand. Read full report here.
The Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court Wednesday that it won’t be seeking the Centre’s approval for home vaccination of bedridden and immobile persons. The drive will commence on an experimental basis, starting with Pune and subsequently, in other districts, the state said.
The Maharashtra government added that it wanted to inform the court and the petitioner on the conditions for such a drive, and it was open to suggestions and objections.
The state further submitted that the experiment would start today by inviting emails from interested persons on a dedicated email id, announced publicly through print and electronic media.
Vaccination centres in Ranchi wore a deserted look on Wednesday due to vaccine shortage. Locals were seen waiting outside centres to get the inoculation done"I request govt to make proper arrangements for the vaccination of people. There's no information available here," a resident told news agency ANI. Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta said there is a shortage of vaccines in the state. "We've requested the Government of India to give vaccines so that we can inoculate our people & save them from the potential third wave of #COVID19," he added. Here is a picture from a vaccination centre in Ranchi.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Wednesday extended the restrictions on scheduled international passenger flights to and from India extended till July 31st, 2021, news agency ANI reported.
However, the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA, an order said. It further said that international flights may be allowed on select routes on a case to case basis.
The Brazilian government, which agreed to purchase 20 million doses of Bharat Biotechs COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, on Wednesday announced suspension of the contract following allegations of irregularities in the deal.
“By recommendation of @CGUonline, we decided to temporarily suspend the Covaxin contract.
According to CGU’s preliminary analysis, there are no irregularities in the contract, but, due to compliance, the @minsaude opted to suspend the contract for further analysis,” Brazil Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga tweeted.
Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its preliminary estimate of household financial savings.
For lakhs of households in the country, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a decline in financial assets such as bank deposits, pension money, life insurance funds and currency holdings. While the RBI estimated an increase in debt of around 20 crore households, which contribute around 60% of gross savings in the economy, financial savings showed a decline of over 45% from June to December 2020.
The sero survey by PGI focused on the paediatric age group of the city has started, and the initial data from the survey shows that out of the 276 samples tested, 185 were found to have antibodies.
“Today, initial data from the survey shows that out of the 276 samples tested, 185 were found to have antibodies, which means around 63.7% of children in Chandigarh have already been infected by COVID-19, and they could have got the infection from their parents or their immediate families. The data reveals that a large number of children have been infected, and gives us a clue about how the magnitude of the third wave will not be focused on children. Even in the second wave, the majority of children had mild infection, with the mortality low,” said PGIMER director Jagat Ram, adding that the survey will help in true assessment of paediatric population at risk and in detecting antibody formation in response to previous infection.
Several markets, big and small, in East Delhi have been ordered to remain shut till July 5 for crowding and not being able to follow social distancing norms.
This includes Main Bazar Laxmi Nagar from Vikas Marg to Lovely Public School, Kishan Kunj and its surrounding markets such as Mangal Bazar, Vijay Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Jagatram Park and Guru Ramdas Nagar.
Markets were allowed to reopen in the city on an Odd-Even basis, where half the shops would open on one day and the other half on the alternate day.
Some weeks ago, Purna Laxmi Debbarma, an 85-year-old from Ramakrishna Para in West Tripura district, got her first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. “I didn’t feel any pain,” she said, rubbing her left arm. “I will be healthy now with this vaccine. I’m happy.”
With 98 per cent of its 45-plus population and 80 per cent of the 18+ population getting at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, Tripura has one of the highest vaccination figures in the country. But it wasn’t an easy journey for the tiny Northeast state — from battling initial vaccine hesitancy and tackling irregular supplies of the vaccine, to now being a vaccine trailblazer.
Tripura’s population of 37 lakh is spread across eight districts. Many of the tribal hamlets have rough terrain and are poorly connected. What made it doubly tough was the lack of awareness on Covid, let alone the vaccine, in some of the remote areas of the state.
Some weeks ago, Purna Laxmi Debbarma, an 85-year-old from Ramakrishna Para in West Tripura district, got her first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. “I didn’t feel any pain,” she said, rubbing her left arm. “I will be healthy now with this vaccine. I’m happy.”
With 98 per cent of its 45-plus population and 80 per cent of the 18+ population getting at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, Tripura has one of the highest vaccination figures in the country. But it wasn’t an easy journey for the tiny Northeast state — from battling initial vaccine hesitancy and tackling irregular supplies of the vaccine, to now being a vaccine trailblazer.
Tripura’s population of 37 lakh is spread across eight districts. Many of the tribal hamlets have rough terrain and are poorly connected. What made it doubly tough was the lack of awareness on Covid, let alone the vaccine, in some of the remote areas of the state.
Supreme Court Wednesday directed the government to frame guidelines to pay ex-gratia compensation to the families of those who died due to Covid-19, news agency ANI reported.
The Chandigarh Administration on Tuesday gave further relaxations to shopkeepers by allowing them to open shops till 9 pm.
A decision to this effect was taken in the war room meeting. After detailed discussions, it was decided to keep all the relaxations intact with the only change that all shops will be allowed to open till 9 pm in place of 8 pm permitted earlier. The shopkeepers will, however, ensure that Covid-appropriate behaviour is followed.
The Chandigarh Administration on Tuesday gave further relaxations to shopkeepers by allowing them to open shops till 9 pm.
A decision to this effect was taken in the war room meeting. After detailed discussions, it was decided to keep all the relaxations intact with the only change that all shops will be allowed to open till 9 pm in place of 8 pm permitted earlier. The shopkeepers will, however, ensure that Covid-appropriate behaviour is followed.
India recorded 45,951 new covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Wednesday, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
There are a total of 3,03,62,848 cases in the country while at least 2,94,27,330 people have recovered from the disease. Active cases have dropped to 5,37,064 and the recovery rate has touched 96.92 per cent, the ministry said.
Out of the new coronavirus cases, Kerala reported 13,550 new cases, while Maharashtra had 8,085. 817 deaths were reported on Tuesday, the lowest since April 9. Maharashtra reported 238 deaths. The overall death toll has reached 3,98,454. And 33,28,54,527 people have been administered at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine so far.
Even as Kerala’s pandemic situation remains grim, the state on Tuesday allowed ferrying of the bodies of Covid-19 patients to their homes to enable relatives to conduct the last rites. Thus far, the pandemic protocol had not allowed the bodies of Covid victims to be laid at their homes for this.
While the second wave has subsided in other parts of the country, Kerala continues to add five-digit cases daily. The test positivity rate of the state has been hovering at 10 per cent for the last week as against the country’s weekly figure of 2.74 per dent. Of the 5.52 lakh active cases in the country, Kerala accounts for 1 lakh.
India’s Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, effectively neutralises both Alpha and Delta variants of coronavirus, the US’ National Institute of Health has said.
The NIH said results of two studies of blood serum from people who had received Covaxin suggest that the vaccine generates antibodies that effectively neutralise the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) and B.1.617 (Delta) variants of SARS-CoV-2, first identified in the UK and India, respectively.
The top American health research institute, which has a history of strong scientific collaboration with India, also said that an adjuvant developed with funding from it has contributed to the success of the highly efficacious Covaxin, which has been administered to roughly 25 million people till date in India and elsewhere.
About 49 per cent of the population aged 60 years and above has been vaccinated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, government said on Tuesday. Out of estimated 59.7 crore people in the age group of 18-44 years, about 15 per cent have been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine, it said.
Delhi recorded 101 new Covid-19 cases and four more deaths on Tuesday, according to data shared by the health department. The positivity rate increased slightly to 0.15 per cent from 0.10 per cent on Monday, the data showed. On Monday, the city had recorded 59 cases, the lowest single-day rise this year, and two deaths.
The Punjab government on Tuesday further eased Covid restrictions, allowing reopening of bars, pubs and taverns with 50 per cent capacity from July 1.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, however, said owners will have to ensure that their staff members take at least one dose of Covid vaccine and the social distancing guidelines are followed, according to a government statement.
The next phase of restrictions will remain in force till July 10.
Skill development centres and universities have also been allowed to open, subjected to the staff and students having taken at least one dose of the vaccine. Earlier, IELTS (International English language testing system) coaching institutes were allowed to be opened with a similar condition. (PTI)
Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India is not among the vaccines which have been approved by the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) for the “vaccine passport” programme that allows free movement of people in and out of Europe.
The EU Digital Covid Certificate, or the “green pass” as it is popularly known, has been created to restore freedom of travel for the public and remove the barriers on entry placed due to the pandemic.
With the new vaccine passport system coming into effect across EU from July 1, the absence of Covishield from the list of EMA-approved vaccines can be of particular concern for Indians who hope to travel to European countries soon. More details here.
Pune based startup Thincr Technologies has developed a special kind of N95 mask coated with anti-viral agents known as virucides which have been tested and shown to inactivate the coronavirus. Over the last two months, 10,000 such masks have been distributed to government hospitals and institutions. Read the full report here.
During the briefing, Dr VK Paul said that the contentious issue of indemnity sought by Moderna and Pfizer is still under consideration. With DGCI's approval, Moderna’s vaccine is now the fourth Covid-19 jab to be available in India after Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik.
"These four vaccines (Covaxin, Covishield, SputnikV and Moderna) are safe for lactating mothers. Vaccine has no association with infertility," Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog said during the briefing.
"There has been a continuous decline in cases since India reported a peak, including a progressive decrease in cases in districts. Recovery rate stands at 96.9 per cent," Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said during a briefing.
"There has been a continuous decline in cases since India reported a peak, including a progressive decrease in cases in districts. Recovery rate stands at 96.9 per cent," Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said during a briefing.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said on Tuesday it was in talks with the Indian government to explore ways to speed up the delivery of its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine in the country. The US-based company said in April it was seeking approval to conduct a bridging clinical study of its Janssen Covid-19 vaccine candidate in India. More details here.
Pharmaceutical company Cipla has been given the approval by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to import Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in the country, news agency PTI reported citing sources.
Cipla had filed an application seeking permission for import of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine on Monday. It referred to DCGI notices dated April 15 and June 1, which state that if the vaccine is approved by the USFDA for Emergency Use Approval (EUA), the vaccine can be granted marketing authorization without a bridging trial.
Hitting out at the government over the stimulus measures announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to support the pandemic-hit economy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said no family can spend the economic package on its daily needs and that it is nothing “but another sham”.Reacting to the government’s stimulus package for the economy, Gandhi said, “No family can spend FM’s ‘economic package’ on their living-food-medicine-child’s school fees.”
Sitharaman on Monday announced Rs 1.5 lakh crore of additional credit for small and medium businesses, more funds for the healthcare sector, loans to tourism agencies and guides, and waiver of visa fee for foreign tourists as part of the package to support the economy.
India's drug regulator may soon grant restricted emergency use authorisation for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, official sources said on Tuesday. Moderna has also informed that the US Government has agreed to donate a certain number of doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine through COVAX to the Government of India for use and has sought approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for these vaccines. Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm Cipla, on behalf of the US pharma major, has requested for import and marketing authorisation of these jabs. According to the sources, an approval is likely to come anytime as the CDSCO is in favour of doing so. (With PTI)
The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday suspended the Char Dham yatra until further notice, a day after the state high court stayed for four weeks the Cabinet’s decision to allow the yatra for local residents of three districts from July 1.
On Monday, the government issued SOPs for the first phase of Char Dham yatra, in which residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts would be allowed only after prior registration and RTPCR/TrueNat/RAT Covid negative test report. The SOPs said all residents of Uttarakhand will be allowed to visit the four shrines in the second phase from July 11, if they are carrying a negative Covid test report.
The apex court on Tuesday also directed states and union territories to set up community kitchens and run them to serve migrant workers amid the pandemic.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to allocate food grains to states and union territories for distribution among migrant workers, free of cost, till the pandemic continues. It instructed the Centre to develop a portal by July 31 for registration of unorganised sector along with providing them with benefits.
Researchers have found evidence that a coronavirus epidemic swept East Asia some 20,000 years ago and was devastating enough to leave an evolutionary imprint on the DNA of people alive today.
The new study suggests that an ancient coronavirus plagued the region for many years, researchers say. The finding could have dire implications for the COVID-19 pandemic if it is not brought under control soon through vaccination.
“It should make us worry,” said David Enard, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who led the study, which was published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology. “What is going on right now might be going on for generations and generations.” (Read NYT's full report here)
The Health Ministry Monday said the country reported at least 40,845 cases of mucormycosis and 3,129 fatalities from the fungal infection during the second wave of the pandemic. More than half of the affected patients were on steroids.
Of the total number of mucormycosis patients, 34,940 had Covid, 26,187 had the co-morbidity of diabetes, and 21,523 were on steroids, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said while chairing the 29th meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers on Covid-19.The official data also showed that 13,083 patients were in the 18-45 age group, 17,464 were in the 45-60 group, and 10,082 were aged above 60.
Observing that there were “serious issues relating to supply of oxygen” at Goa Medical College (GMC) in May, the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday said that “some lessons” will have to be learnt from the incident so that “numerous causalities that arose, especially at GMC, may not have been in vain”.
Disposing of all but one PIL filed by the South Goa Advocates Association related to Covid-19 management, a division bench of Justices M S Sonak and M S Jawalkar said it was neither possible nor advisable for the court to micromanage issues related to Covid-19.
Taking note of various suggestions made by petitioners in the PILs, and the state government’s response to these, the court said, “There was no clarity as to whether there was a deficiency in oxygen reserves or whether there were logistical difficulties in the matter of actual supply of oxygen to patients. Therefore, we were constrained to make orders and issue directions in this regard.” (With Mayura Janwalker)
India recorded 37,566 new covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Tuesday, taking the country’s total to 3.03 crore. This is the lowest single day spike since March 17 and less then 40,000 daily cases after 102 days. Out of these, active cases fell to 5.52 lakh while over 2.93 crore people have recovered. With 907 new deaths, the toll is now at 3.97 lakh.