Social workers distribute pamphlets in Mumbai urging people to not celebrate Holi this year. (PTI)Eight states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab, account for 84.5 per cent of the 68,020 fresh cases recorded in the country in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said Monday. Maharashtra has reported the highest daily rise of 40,414 Covid-19 cases, followed by 3,082 in Karnataka, 2,870 in Punjab, 2,276 in Madhya Pradesh, 2,270 in Gujarat, 2,216 in Kerala, 2,194 in Tamil Nadu and 2,153 in Chhattisgarh, the ministry informed.
With 291 deaths in the last 24 hours, the overall death toll touched 1,61,843. There are 5,21,808 active coronavirus cases in the country while as many as 1,13,55,993 people have recovered from the disease.
Meanwhile, as the number of currently active Covid-19 cases touched a new record in Maharashtra, the state appeared headed towards a lockdown in the coming week, officials told The Indian Express on Sunday. The lockdown option was discussed at a meeting Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had with Health Minister Rajesh Tope, Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas, and the Covid Task Force to consider ways to bring the surge in cases under control. Over the last three days, Maharashtra has recorded more than 1.13 lakh new infections; 40,414 new cases were detected on Sunday.
A health worker collects swab sample from a person for Covid-19 test, at the India Gate in New Delhi on Saturday. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
On the occasion of the Tukaram Beej ceremony in the temple town of Dehu near Pune -- which is attended by lakhs of devotees from across Maharashtra -- only 50 persons will be allowed on the premises of Sant Tukaram Maharaj Devsthan on March 30 this year, Pimpri-Chinchwad Police have said.
Police had earlier declared a curfew in Dehu and surrounding areas from Sunday morning till midnight of March 30, due to rising Covid-19 cases.
The Tukaram Beej ceremony is observed every year to mark the day on which, devotees believe, saint-poet Tukaram, during his last keertan (sermon), left for heavenly abode.
The ceremony is important for the Warkari sect in Maharashtra, and is usually attended by 3 to 5 lakh devotees every year. Last year, the ceremony was observed with restrictions due to the lockdown at the time. Read more
With the city likely to face shortage of beds for treatment of critical Covid-19 patients, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to revert to its earlier strategy of reserving 80 per cent of beds in private hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients.
“The number of Covid-19 patients in the city is rapidly increasing... in September and October last year, patients had to struggle to find available beds. The situation is similar now... reports of various government and private agencies have indicated that the number of Covid-19 patients is likely to increase in large numbers in coming days...,” said Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar on Monday.
He said, “The state Health department had directed private hospitals to provide 80 per cent of their total beds for treatment of Covid-19 patients. Accordingly, private hospitals in the city should make available 80 per cent of their operational beds for Covid-19 patients within the next two days, by March 31”. Read more
In the wake of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray indicating that a state-wide lockdown could be imminent to deal with rising cases of Covid-19, a section of farmers in the state have opposed such a move, pointing out the financial hardships it will entail.
Farmers say they would face severe losses in sale of products such as milk, fruits and vegetables if markets close.
While growers of non-perishable commodities like chana, tur and wheat might not face problems with disposal of their produce, a lockdown would result in huge losses to them. Last year, the nationwide lockdown in March had hit farmers hard, with many vegetable and fruit growers forced to throw away market-ready produce. Read more
Kerala reported 1,549 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, while 1,897 people have been cured, and 24,223 people are undergoing treatment for the infection, the government said. The toll mounted to 4,590 with addition of 11 recent deaths. (PTI)
Nagpur reported 3,177 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The district also saw 2,600 recoveries and 55 deaths. The cumulative case count now stands at 2,21,997. (ANI)
Delhi reports 1,904 new Covid-19 cases, 1,411 recoveries and 6 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state currently has 8,032 active cases. (ANI)
With four hotspot districts contributing more than half the load, Andhra Pradesh on Monday added 997 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count to 8,99,812, even as five people succumbed to the infection, the highest toll in a day in about three months. Also, 282 more patients recovered from the infection, taking the total recoveries to 8,86,498.
According to the latest bulletin, the toll now stood at 7,210 and active cases 6,104. The state also crossed another milestone completing 1.50 crore tests for coronavirus at 2.81 lakh per million and an overall positivity rate of 5.99 per cent. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu’s Health and Family Welfare Department secretary, J Radhakrishnan, on Sunday said that the government will not take any sudden decision on imposing another lockdown in the state as it causes unnecessary panic among the public.
He said that there is laxity among workers and the government in taking steps to curb the spread of Covid-19 cases in the state. “We should not squander the gain achieved through effective monitoring measures,” he added.
Radhakrishnan and a team of health officials visited the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital to inspect the allocation of 300 additional beds for Covid-19 patients. (Read Janardhan Koushik's report)
The Indian Army has gifted one lakh doses of India-made Covid-19 vaccines to the Nepal Army as part of the efforts of the militaries of the two neighbours to enhance bilateral cooperation.
The vaccines were handed over by the Indian Army officials to their counterparts from the Nepal Army at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Sunday, the Indian Embassy here tweeted. "100,000 doses of #MadeInIndia COVID-19 vaccine gifted by Indian Army to the Nepali Army were received at Tribhuvan Airport," the mission tweeted. (PTI)
As Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray hinted at another lockdown as cases keep surging across the state, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has appealed to the CM to not impose a shutdown but put in place restrictions to contain the spread of the virus.
The state BJP, too, is not in favour of another lockdown.
“A complete lockdown will hit the economy of the state. The poor will suffer again. Industries, shopkeepers, traders and the working class will be hit hard. This is why I am not in favour of a complete lockdown,” Raut said. (Read Manoj Dattatrye More's report)
Odisha's Covid-19 caseload mounted to 3,40,402 on Monday after 208 people tested positive for the virus, while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 1,921, a health department official said.
Nuapada district reported the highest number of new cases at 36, followed by Khurda (33) and Kalahandi (22). Odisha, for the fifth consecutive day on Monday, reported above 200 fresh cases, he said. The number of active cases now stands at 1,737, while 3,36,691 patients have recovered from the disease so far, the official said. (PTI)
A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked officials to prepare a plan for implementation of a lockdown, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil said lockdown is not a solution for the rise in cases.
Talking to reporters here after meeting Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta, Patil said not the only BJP, but all traders and workers from unorganised sectors will oppose the lockdown. "Lockdown is not an answer to the increasing Covid-19 cases in the state. If the lockdown is imposed, you (state government) will not give any package (for relief to affected people). How people have spent the last one year cannot be understood by sitting inside Matoshree," Patil said. (PTI)
Authorities in Barwani have decided to seal the Madhya Pradesh district's border with neighbouring Maharashtra to check the spread of coronavirus infection, an official said on Monday.
The number of Covid-19 cases has been increasing in Barwani, district Collector Shivraj Singh Verma said. The main reason is that the district shares border with Maharashtra, where there has been a spike in coronavirus infection, he said.
Verma said the district shares 150 to 200-km-long border with Maharashtra and a large number of people cross the border every day for work. (PTI)
A U Asana, the AIADMK candidate for Karaikal (South) in the April 6 Assembly poll in Puducherry, tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. A Health Department spokesman said that Asana underwent a check cup as he planned to come here on Tuesday to attend the rally to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI)
A large number of people, most of them without masks, gathered on a road in Mahim area of Mumbai on Monday morning and celebrated Holi while dancing to loud music, in violation of the Covid-19 guidelines.
Around 100 to 150 people came out of their homes to celebrate the festival on the road located in Mahim Koliwada, even as police officials present there apparently did nothing to stop them. Some women danced to loud music, while a few persons in the crowd were seen wearing PPE suits. (PTI)
Police have raided a farmhouse in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city and arrested nine people for allegedly violating the lockdown and other Covid-19 norms, an official said on Monday, PTI reported.
After the raid conducted on Sunday evening, the police sealed the farmhouse located in Sunshine Colony, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pratul Sinha said.
In the wake of the rising coronavirus cases, the Madhya Pradesh government had last week announced Sunday lockdown in 12 cities - Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Betul, Chhindwara, Ratlam, Khargone, Vidisha, Ujjain, Gwalior, Narsinghpur and Saunsar.
Sinha said that despite the lockdown and other Covid-19-related restrictions, the accused organised a party at the farmhouse where liquor was also served.
Pune on Sunday reported 8,324 new coronavirus infections, its highest-ever single day count, and powered Maharashtra to a new peak. The state detected 40,414 new cases, a new record.
Along with Pune, Mumbai also scaled a new high, reporting 6,933 cases.
Last year, the maximum number of cases reported by Pune on a single day was 5,939, recorded on September 10. But in the last one week, this number has been exceeded multiple times. For the last five days, Pune has consistently reported more than 6,000 cases, more than any other city in the country. In this month, Pune has added more than one lakh infections.
A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press.
The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar claimed that its campus is completely "Covid-19 free" though some coronavirus cases have been detected in the isolated quarantine centre.
So far the campus has been coronavirus free except for 5 cases in September, 2020 and now some are in the isolated quarantine centre, IIT, Bhubaneswar, Director, Prof RRV Rajakumar said in a statement on Sunday. (PTI)
The government Monday said Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Chhattisgarh account for 84.5% of the new Covid-19 cases.
It further added that Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka & Chhattisgarh account for 80% of active cases.
India on Monday recorded 68,020 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total tally to 1,20,39,644, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
With 291 deaths in the last 24 hours, the overall death toll touched 1,61,843. There are 5,21,808 active coronavirus cases in the country while as many as 1,13,55,993 people have recovered from the disease. Maharashtra recorded 40,414 new cases on Sunday, yet another high for the state. Karnataka reported more than 3,000 cases for the first time since November 5.
Sixteen staff members of a pub at Bengaluru’s New BEL Road tested positive for COVID-19: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike --- ANI
Police conducted a raid at controversial Walking Street Night Club in Phase XI late Saturday night and rounded up youths who were partying in the club despite the night curfew. Police booked the owner of the night club and the organisers of the party.
The police received information about the night party at the club on Saturday, following which police parties led by Deputy SP (City-2) Deep Kamal conducted a raid around 1.30 am and found that the party was going on, and liquor and hookah were also being served to the youth present there. Read More
Four more deaths were reported in Mohali district due to Covid-19 infection on Sunday, taking the tally of fatalities to 423. As many as 287 positive Covid-19 cases were reported too, increasing the total number to 25,880 with 3,301 active cases.
Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said that 211 patients recovered from the infection. He added that a total of 21,156 patients have recovered from the infection. Read More
PANCHKULA REPORTED the most Covid cases in a single day since the beginning of pandemic on Sunday, with as many as 257 people testing positive. This also marked the third continuous day which recorded more than 200 cases since the district battled its first covid peak in September last year. Meanwhile no covid related death was reported.
The district has reported a severe and sudden hike in cases in the past ten days. Read more
Chandigarh on Sunday reported 296 new cases, the highest single-day figure this year, taking the total tally of cases to 26,194. The city also reported three deaths which pushed the toll to 377.
A 68-year-old resident of Sector 25, suffering from chronic liver disease, passed away at GMSH-16. A 54-year-old man from Sector 14, a case of acute respiratory distress syndrome and Type 2 diabetes mellitus, succumbed to the disease at PGI, while a 64-year-old man from Sector 12, a case of diabetes, hypertension and chronic kidney disease, also died at PGI. Read More
Fewer people in the Muslim-dominated areas of Ahmedabad city have turned up for Covid-19 vaccination despite awareness campaigns by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
According to AMC records, the civic body has inoculated over 3.2 lakh people till Saturday. Of the total, 28,383 (8.84 per cent) were vaccinated in the southwest zone, 29,201 (9.1 pc) in east zone and 38,944 persons (12 pc) in central zone. The three zones have nearly 60-70 PER CENT Muslims population. Read More
Maharashtra reports 40,414 fresh Covid-19 cases, 108 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state currently has 3,25,901 active cases. (ANI)
The Mumbai Police issue a curfew order under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code and says it will register an FIR against any gathering of more than 5 persons who are seen in any public places between 8 pm and 7 am till April 15. The order has been issued by Shivaji Rathod, Mumbai Police Deputy Commissioner (operations).
Delhi reported over 1,800 coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest in around three-and-half months, while the positivity rate rose to 2.35 per cent, the Health Department said. Nine more people succumbed to the disease, taking the toll to 11,006, it said.
The 1,881 new infections pushed the tally to 6,57,715, while over 6.39 lakh patients have recovered from the virus. This is the highest number of cases since December 13 when 1,984 people tested positive for the virus, according to official data. The city had recorded 1,558 cases on Saturday, 1,534 cases on Friday, 1,515 cases on Thursday, 1,254 cases on Wednesday and 1,101 cases on Tuesday — the first time since December 24 that the number of cases crossed the 1,000 mark. (PTI)
Punjab reports 2,963 fresh Covid-19 cases, 2,155 discharges, and 69 deaths. (ANI)
The Delhi Police on Sunday said patrolling will be intensified during Holi celebrations and strict action will be taken against those who do not follow coronavirus guidelines issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority.
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the DDMA had, on Tuesday, ordered that there would be no public celebrations in the national capital during upcoming festivals such as Holi and Navaratri. Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal said patrolling will be intensified during Holi. "Pickets will be placed by the district police in their respective areas. The patrolling will be increased during the festival. Police will focus on those who are involved in drunken driving and action will be taken against them. (PTI)
In view of rising cases of Covid-19, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has decided not to celebrate Holi this year. He has appealed to people to celebrate the festival at home, the state government informed. (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh reported 1,005 fresh novel coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest single-day rise after November 26, pushing the cumulative count up to 8,98,815. The state now has 5,394 active cases, the highest number since the 5,259 on December 9.
A health department bulletin said 324 patients had recovered and two more succumbed to the infection in the state in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday. The total recoveries have now touched 8,86,216 and the toll was 7,205, it said. (PTI)
Karnataka records 3,082 new Covid-19 cases, 1285 recoveries and 12 deaths in last 24 hours. The cumulative case count stands at 9,87,012, while the death toll has climbed up to 12,504. The state currently has 23,037 active cases. (ANI)
Nagpur reports 3,970 new Covid-19 cases, 3,479 recoveries and 58 deaths in last 24 hours, the Civil Surgeon of Nagpur informs. (ANI)
Nagpur reports 3,970 new Covid-19 cases, 3,479 recoveries and 58 deaths in last 24 hours, the Civil Surgeon of Nagpur informs. (ANI)
Actor Vikrant Massey on Sunday said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is under self quarantine. Massey, 33, took to Instagram and asked those who came in contact with him to also get tested for the virus. The "Mirzapur" star wrote that he contracted the virus despite following necessary precautions while shooting. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says Covid cases are rising because people are not following guidelines seriously which is why strict steps like lockdown are needed to be considered. At a meeting with senior health officials and Covid task force members, the Chief Minister instructed them to prepare for restrictions similar to a lockdown if people continue to violate Covid-related rules. (ANI)
Odisha's Covid-19 tally climbed up to 3,40,194 on Sunday as 290 more people, including 10 students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bhubaneswar, tested positive for the virus, an official said. Of the new cases, 171 were reported from quarantine centres and 119 were detected during contact tracing. The coastal state has been recording over 200 fresh cases for four consecutive days, starting from March 25. (PTI)
Union Minister Rattan Lal Kataria on Sunday said he has tested positive for Covid-19. "My Covid report has come positive. I am alright. I am in Medanta Hospital (Gurugram) under the observation of doctors," the minister of state for jal shakti and social justice and empowerment said in a tweet. (PTI)
As Covid-19 cases surge in Maharashtra, the Bombay Bar Association has written to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Dipankar Datta, to allow court proceedings to go virtual, or at least become a hybrid of physical and virtual.
Maharashtra recorded the highest positivity rate in the country on Saturday, registering 35,726 new cases. (Read full report)
Over 470 children below the age of 10 have been infected with Covid-19, since the beginning of this month in Bengaluru, as the city is witnessing a spike in infections.
A total of 244 boys and 228 girls have been infected from March 1 to 26, official data showed. According to some experts, unlike in the past children are now vulnerable because they are more exposed to outdoor activities, functions and gatherings, as also schools reopening for a certain age group, which was not the case earlier due to lockdowns.
“There is more and more exposure of children because of the opening of schools, also a lot of functions and gatherings. Earlier they used to be protected, but since they are exposed to several of these events, the risk has also gone up considerably,” Dr Giridhara R Babu, Professor and Head Lifecourse Epidemiology, Public Health Foundation of India, said. (PTI)
Over 4,200 prisoners were released on bail and 41 on parole since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March last year, Director General of Police (DGP), Prisons, V K Singh has said.
He said there is only one COVID-positive patient among the prisoners, who is being treated at a hospital in Kathua district. (PTI)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said he will not attend any public Holi programme due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases and appealed to the people to celebrate the festival with their families and avoid crowds.
The national capital recorded 1,558 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the highest since since December 15 when 1,617 people tested positive for the virus, according to official data. (PTI)
Eight states and UTs have a weekly positivity rate of coronavirus infection higher than the national average of 5.04 per cent, with Maharashtra recording the highest rate at 22.78 per cent, the Union Health ministry said on Sunday.
Apart from Maharashtra, the other seven states and UTs with higher positivity rate than national average are Chandigarh (11.85 per cent positivity rate), Punjab (8.45 per cent), Goa (7.03 per cent), Puducherry (6.85 per cent), Chhattisgarh (6.79 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (6.65 per cent) and Haryana (5.41 per cent). (PTI)
“The rate at which the numbers are increasing is quite alarming and it also suggests that this wave has a more infectious strain. The huge surge in UT cases along with Tricity may also be a fallout of the same characteristics. For such a surge in number of cases, the variant must be established in the community and cannot be explained with travellers alone,” said Dr Zafar Ahmed, Senior Consultant, Critical Care, Pulmonology and Chest and Sleep Medicine, Fortis Hospital.
With Chandigarh reporting a high of 294 cases on Saturday and 81 per cent of the 401 samples sent by the Punjab government for genome sequencing having tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19, doctors are apprehending that the surge in cases here could be because of the variant. Read More
Made in India vaccines land in Denmark for Department of Peace Operations' personnel: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar
Puducherry added 137 new coronavirus cases during last 24 hours taking overall tally in the union territory to 41,101, a senior official of Department of Health and Family Welfare Services said on Sunday.
The 137 new cases were identified at the end of the examination of 2,020 samples, Director of the Department S Mohan Kumar said in a release. (PTI)
The Delhi Prisons Department has set up a COVID-19 vaccination centre inside Tihar Jail to vaccinate eligible inmates, officials said on Sunday.
A total of 326 inmates in the Delhi's prisons are above 60 years, and over 300 are in the 45-59 age bracket with comorbidities. These two categories are eligible for vaccination in the ongoing nationwide drive. (PTI)
While Pimpri-Chinchwad saw a dip in positive cases on Saturday—100 less than Friday's count, active cases have recorded a four-fold rise in the last 30 days.
PCMC's additional health chief Dr Pavan Salve said by February 26, Pimpri-Chinchwad had as many as 3,331 active cases. "And by March 27, we recorded 15,415 active cases. The active cases have jumped four times in one month period. Everyday we are registering more than 1,800 cases. This figure was less than 1000 at the end of February," he said. Read More
The daily count of new coronavirus infections in Pune climbed down marginally from Friday’s peak, with the city reporting 6,563 cases on Saturday. On Friday, 7,147 cases were detected in Pune, which was a new high.
With Saturday’s addition, Pune has so far seen more than 5.08 confirmed infections, the second highest for any city in the country after Delhi, which has recorded over 6.55 lakh cases so far. Read More
All educational institutions of Punjab have been closed till March 31. The exams of non-board classes of schools affiliated to Punjab School Education Board have also been postponed for the time being.
It was in March last year when we heard the term 'Janata Curfew'. It became an inspiration for the entire world as it was an extraordinary example of discipline: PM Modi during the 75th episode for Mann Ki Baat (ANI)
The daily death toll of 312 is the highest since December 25, 2020 when 336 new deaths were reported. The 312 new fatalities include 166 from Maharashtra, 45 from Punjab, 14 from Kerala, 13 from Chhattisgarh, and 10 from Delhi.
A total of 1,61,552 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 54073 from Maharashtra, 12659 from Tamil Nadu, 12492 from Karnataka, 10997 from Delhi, 10322 from West Bengal, 8783 from Uttar Pradesh and 7203 from Andhra Pradesh and 6621 from Punjab.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. (PTI)
In barely 10 days, the number of active Covid-19 patients in Haryana has doubled with the daily count of new cases beginning to rise rapidly.
The number of active patients in the state on March 18 was 3,957, which touched 8,410 Saturday as the state reported 1,383 new cases and seven deaths in the last 24 hours. Read More
Ludhiana administration has started its special doorstep vaccination drive four days ahead of schedule with vaccination camps in mohallas amid rising inquiries from people. The drive was to start from April 1 earlier, but it began on March 26 with a mobile vaccination camp in Partap Nagar, in the ward of Congress councillor Mamta Ashu.
On Friday at the camp, 106 persons were inoculated with their first dose. Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma on Saturday launched Covid vaccination camps at Housing Board colony and another at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji in Model Town Extension locality of the city. Mamta inaugurated the free vaccination camp at Housing Board colony where 128 people got the dose on Saturday. 100 persons got themselves vaccinated at Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh ji. Read More
With the addition of 3,225 new cases of coronavirus, the tally in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 3,05,784,an official said on Sunday.
Besides these new cases reported on Saturday, the virus also claimed the lives of eight more people, pushing the death toll in the district to 6,432, he said. (PTI)
62,714 new cases of coronavirus infections detected on Saturday. Maharashtra reported 35,726 of these cases. With 3,162 cases, Chhattisgarh reported more than Punjab.
Active cases rise to more than 4.86 lakh. 312 deaths reported on Saturday, the highest since December 24.