Coronavirus India Highlights: Several Rajdhanis, Shatabdis from Delhi cancelled due to ‘increase in Covid cases & poor occupancy’

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued an advisory on right to health in view of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We have taken into account ground reports relating to human rights violations, particularly denial of right of access to healthcare, and advised states to implement recommendations and submit reports of the action taken within four weeks,” said Bimbadhar Pradhan, secretary general of NHRC.

The advisory was issued on May 4 and, among key recommendations, the rights body said it was the responsibility of a public hospital to transfer the patient to an appropriate hospital if it did not have adequate number of beds for Covid-19 treatment. Read More

People arriving in the national capital from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana through any mode of transport will have to undergo 14 days of mandatory institutional quarantine, said an order issued by the Delhi government on Thursday.
      
However, those who have been administered both doses of any COVID vaccine or carry a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey, will be required to be home quarantined for seven days, it said.
    
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) stated in the order that a virulent variant of COVID-19 is reported to have been found recently in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The new strain of COVID-19 has a shorter incubation period with high transmission rate and the progress of disease is much more rapid in this strain, it said. (PTI)

The city airport on Thursday issued new guidelines for domestic passengers arrivals, making RT-PCR negative report mandatory for passengers landing in Mumbai from seven states, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.  
       
Domestic passengers arriving from Delhi, Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh need to carry RT- PCR negative reports with them before boarding the flight, the private airport operator said in an advisory tweeted on Thursday.  
     
The RT-PCR sample collection should have been done within 72 hours before scheduled time of landing, it said. (PTI) 

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Rajasthan government on Thursday announced a strict lockdown in the state from May 10 to 24 under which marriage functions, intrastate movement and MGNREGA works have also been suspended. 
    
Marriage functions will be allowed only after May 31. The advance booking amount given to marriage gardens, bands etc. will be either returned or adjusted later, the government said. However, marriages will be permitted during this period only in courts or at home in the presence of maximum of 11 people, according to a state cabinet decision.  

The decision to impose a "strict lockdown" was taken at a virtual cabinet meeting Thursday night. Chief Minster Ashok Gehlot said the lockdown will be in force from 5 am on May 10 to 5 am on May 24.    

The state witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases over the past few days. It reported 161 coronavirus-related deaths and 17,532 fresh cases on Thursday, pushing the toll to 5,182 and the infection count to 7,02,568, according to an official report. (PTI)

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday hinted at a lockdown in the state to curb the rising COVID-19 cases and said a final decision on the matter would be taken in the next 2 to 3 days.
    
Sawant attended a meeting of MLAs through video conferencing to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the state. Talking to reporters after the meeting, the Chief Minister said the state government was thinking positively about the lockdown and a decision will be taken in the next 2 to 3 days. "We will talk to all stakeholders before taking the decision," he said.

Goa on Thursday reported its highest daily tally so far with 3,869 COVID-19 cases that took the infection count to 1,08,267, an official from the health department said. The toll mounted to 1,501 after 58 patients died of the infection during the day, the official said. (PTI)

The Delhi Police has registered over 300 cases in connection with cheating and black-marketing or hoarding of oxygen cylinders and medical equipment during the second wave the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said on Thursday.
      
Delhi Police's Public Relations Officer (PRO) Chinmoy Biswal said a total of 303 FIRs have so far been registered in connection with such incidents.
    
"Of these, 225 were registered in connection with cheating people on the pretext of providing Remdesivir injections and oxygen cylinders in the last few days, since a helpline (011-23469900) number was launched to receive public complaints along with the cyber helpline (155260), which is already in service.
    
"Seventy-eight cases of black-marketing and hoarding of oxygen cylinders and medical equipment have been registered and a total of 144 people arrested so far," he said. (PTI)

Joining the chorus of activists and opposition parties in the state, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Thursday urged chief minister Pramod Sawant to enforce a lockdown in the state with Covid-19 infections in the state nearing 30,000 active cases. On Thursday there were 29,752 active cases in Goa and 58 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

The GCCI said that the lockdown imposed in the state last year from March 22 to May 4 had helped in controlling the spread of the virus. “ Unfortunately, this  time  around, we have so far been reluctant  to  use  the  tried  and  tested  method  and  seem  to  be  concentrating more  on  the  economic  revival  rather  than  survival  of  the  citizens”.

The GCCI said partial lockdowns are not effective. “There  is  a  growing  concern  in  the minds  of  the  citizens  and   the  local  authorities that  is  reflected  in  several  of  the  Village Panchayats  and  Municipalities  declaring  their  own  lockdowns   which  are  in contrast  to  the  partial lockdowns  imposed by  the  District  Administrations”. 

GCCI president Manoj Caculo wrote in his letter to the Chief Minister “We submit  that  the  healthcare  infrastructure  in  the  State  is  already  on  the  brink  of  being  overwhelmed, and  there  is an urgent  need  to  take  the  extreme  measure  of  total  lockdown   for  at least  15  days  with  a  view  to  arrest  the  increasing  number  of  positive  cases  and  fatalities and give much required breather to revive the Healthcare systems and the health workers to rejuvenate and ramp up the capacities and capabilities.”

"PM Narendra Modi speaks to CMs of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand about COVID-19 situation in their states," government sources said. "PM Narendra Modi also speaks to LGs of Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir about COVID-19 situation in two union territories," government sources said.

Manipur government Thursday extended containment period in greater Imphal, areas under Imphal Municipal Council, till May 16. Night curfew will remain in force from 7pm to 5am.

Despite a “severe shortage” of water affecting many parts of Delhi, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Thursday said it has no plans to restrict or cut water supply to Covid hospitals or other healthcare facilities.

In a statement, the DJB said media reports have claimed that it was planning to cut water supply in Covid hospitals across the capital due to shortage.

“It is a fact that due to severe shortage of raw water supply from Haryana, there is an overall reduction of 60-65 million gallons per day (MGD) in the water production, which is adversely affecting potable water supply in many parts of Delhi, especially the tail-end of command areas. The situation is aggravated due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic and the peak water demand during the summer months,” the DJB said in a statement. Read more

Kejriwal caps ambulance charges in Delhi

It has come to our notice that private ambulance services in Delhi are charging illegitimately.

To avoid this practise, Delhi govt has capped maximum prices that private ambulance services can charge.

Strict actions will be taken against those who violate the order. pic.twitter.com/71fJChBGdo

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 6, 2021

Those arriving in West Bengal by train must carry negative RT-PCR report, the Railways said on Thursday citing an order from the chief secretary of the state. West Bengal is the latest among a number of states which have made it mandatory for passengers to carry negative RT-PCR tests in order to gain entry into the state. "The Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal have issued an order... Incoming passengers by long distance trains and inter-state buses will also mandatorily carry RT- PCR negative test reports. "No West Bengal-bound passenger is expected to board a train or bus with destination in West Bengal without such a test report. Random checking will be arranged in this regard, for inter alia, checking the authenticity of the test reports also," the Railways said quoting the state government order. West Bengal, which was in election mode with the Assembly poll results being announced on May 2, has reported a huge surge in cases in the past few days. --PTI

Gurugram district administration today announced the launch of a dedicated WhatsApp COVID-19 helpline to provide citizens access to critical information and a central repository of all COVID-19 resources. The helpline has been developed by a group of volunteers, private sector organizations and with the support of various departments within the Gurugram District Administration.  The helpline is free to use and is available in Hindi and English. Citizens can send ‘Hi’ to the number ‎+91 9643277788 on WhatsApp or click on https://wa.me/919643277788 to directly connect to the helpline. 

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the Centre on Thursday for supplying Delhi with 730 metric tonnes of oxygen and requested hospitals to increase COVID beds that they had to cut down due to shortage of the life-saving gas in the past few days. If 700 MT of daily oxygen supply is ensured by the Centre, Delhi government can set up around 9,000-9,500 more oxygen beds, he said. Kejriwal said Delhi received 730 MT of oxygen on Wednesday and the city would require daily supply of 700 MT till the second coronavirus wave lasts. He urged hospitals that were forced to cut down number of oxygen beds due to shortage of the gas in recent days, to increase it now to previous level. This way, he added, 1,000-2,000 more beds will be added, he said. --PTI

Delhi High Court on Thursday suggested Delhi government to rope in LPG cylinder distributers for distribution of oxygen cylinders. Delhi government told the court that they are working on the website for online booking for refilling of oxygen cylinders

Centre moves SC against Karnataka HC order asking it to increase daily liquid medical oxygen allocation for state to 1200 MT instead of 965 MT. The central government sought stay of Karnataka HC order asking it the state's supply . "Will have to look at paper book before issuing any order," says SC on Centre's plea for stay of Karnataka HC order on supply of LMO. --PTI

PM Modi on Thursday undertook a comprehensive review of the Covid-19 situation in India. "He was given a detailed picture on the Covid outbreak in various states and districts. He was informed about the 12 states which have more than 1 lakh active cases. PM was also apprised about the districts with high disease burden," said PIB in a statement.

The statement also said, "PM was briefed about the ramping up of healthcare infrastructure by the states. PM directed that states should be given help & guidance about leading indicators to ramp up healthcare infrastructure.The need to ensure quick and holistic containment measures were also discussed. PM noted that an advisory was sent to the states to identify districts of concern where case positivity is 10% or more & bed occupancy is more than 60% on either oxygen supported or ICU beds. PM also reviewed the availability of medicines. He was briefed about the rapid augmenting of production of medicines including Remdesivir."

PM reviewed the progress on vaccination and the roadmap for scaling up production on vaccines in the next few months. He was informed that around 17.7 crore vaccines have been supplied to the states. PM also reviewed the state wise trends on vaccine wastage. PM was briefed that around 31% of eligible population over the age of 45 has been given atleast one dose. PM spoke about the need to sensitise states that the speed of vaccination doesn’t come down.

Citizens should be facilitated for vaccination despite lockdowns and healthcare workers involved in vaccination must not be diverted for other duties.Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Piyush Goyal, Mansukh Mandaviya other ministers and top officials were present at the meeting.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal writes to PM Modi, says, "I express my gratitude on behalf of people of Delhi for the supply of 730 MT oxygen yesterday. I request you to supply the same amount of oxygen daily to Delhi."

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal writes to PM Modi, says, 'I express my gratitude on behalf of people of Delhi for the supply of 730 MT oxygen yesterday. I request you to supply the same amount of oxygen daily to Delhi' pic.twitter.com/sR4UY6myu3

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2021

The UK strain of coronavirus is currently dominating parts of north India while double mutant could be found mostly in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, Sujeet Singh, Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has said. He, however, added that the B1.1.7 lineage of SARS CoV-2 (UK variant) is declining in proportion across the country in the last month and a half.

Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, Singh said the UK strain is dominating parts of north India including Punjab (482 samples) and Delhi (516), followed by Telangana (192), Maharashtra (83) and Karnataka (82). He said 10 top government laboratories and institutions have been sequencing the genomes of coronavirus since December. A total of 18,053 samples have been sequenced so far, he added.

The High Court of Bombay at Goa directed the state government to ensure that no person is permitted to enter Goa unless they have a Covid-19 negative certificate from May 10. The government was also directed to update its website on a real-time basis on bed availability for Covid-19 patients. The website should indicate not just no. of beds available but also the type - oxygen, ICU, ventilator - of bed available across hospitals.

The govt is also asked to ensure protection, deploy police officials round the clock in hospitals, wards so that doctors, healthcare workers are not attacked by stressed relatives of patients. Zero tolerance for verbal or physical abuse of health workers, the court further said

Australia’s controversial temporary ban on citizens returning home from coronavirus-hit India was challenged in the federal court in Sydney on Thursday by a 73-year-old Australian, who has been stranded in Bengaluru since March last year.

The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens from returning home, if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back.

The government threatened to prosecute them with a possibility of five years of jail term or a penalty of 66,000 Australian dollars (USD 50,899).

Kerala’s active caseload is 3.75 lakh, the third highest in India. Its test positivity rate on Wednesday was 25.69 per cent. With the number of patients admitted to hospitals increasing, the state’s health infrastructure has come under immense pressure.

The state government recently urged the Centre to allot it 1,000 MT of imported liquid medical oxygen, apart from demanding tankers, PSA plants, oxygen concentrators and ventilators.

Covid control room in Kerala's Ernakulam monitors oxygen stock and bed availability for Covid patients pic.twitter.com/up6gWL2VTR

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) May 6, 2021

Popular comedy actor Pandu passed away on Thursday due to Covid-19 related complications. He and his wife Kumudha had tested positive for the virus recently and were admitted to a private hospital. His condition deteriorated on Thursday morning and he breathed his last at the hospital. He was 74.

Australia's controversial temporary ban on citizens returning home from coronavirus-hit India was challenged in the federal court in Sydney on Thursday by a 73-year-old Australian, who has been stranded in Bengaluru since March last year. The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens from returning home, if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back. 

The government threatened to prosecute them with a possibility of five years of jail term or a penalty of 66,000 Australian dollars (USD 50,899). Federal Court Chief Justice James Allsop on Thursday set the hearing of the case on Monday and it will be heard by Justice Thomas Thawley.  

The Centre Thursday told the Supreme Court that it has complied with its order and instead of 700 MT oxygen, it ensured a supply of 730 MT to Delhi for treating COVID-19 patients. The apex court, while staying contempt proceedings initiated by Delhi High Court against central government officials for non-compliance of direction to supply 700 MT of oxygen to Delhi, had sought an answer from the Centre on Thursday morning.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that a survey was conducted in 56 major hospitals of the national capital on May 4 and it revealed that they had significant stock of liquid medical oxygen (LMO).

Sri Lanka on Thursday announced that all arrivals from India will be banned with immediate effect due to the record rise in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring country. Several countries like the UK, the UAE, Australia and Singapore have already banned travellers from India as well as other South Asian countries. The Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday said that travellers from India will not be allowed to disembark in Sri Lanka. The decision has been taken as the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly in India.

Variants are already outracing vaccination progress in many parts of the world, fueling bigger outbreaks that spread faster. While some rich nations that secured effective vaccines early have seen their epidemics wane, the virus is still spreading like wildfire in developing economies, prolonging the pandemic.

The India strain has been called a double mutant because of the presence of two changes in the virus’s genome, called E484Q and L452R. Both affect a portion of the spike protein, called the receptor binding domain, that’s key to the virus entering cells. Some researchers estimate that the B.1.617 variant is as transmissible as the B.1.1.7 variant that emerged in the U.K., thought to be as much as 70% more transmissible than earlier versions of the virus.

Lauding the high courts for effectively supervising the Covid-19 pandemic management, the Supreme Court Thursday refused to expunge critical remarks of the Madras High Court holding the poll panel responsible for the surge in COVID cases in the country. It also trashed the plea that media be restrained from reporting observations of judicial proceedings, saying it will be a “retrograde” act.

A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud, however, acknowledged that the high court’s remarks were “harsh”, but did not expunge them saying they do not form part of the judicial order.

A powerful Indian-American doctors' group has initiated talks with the Canadian government to urgently donate to India as many as 5,000 ventilators that it had purchased last year at the peak of their COVID-19 wave and are now unused. Dr Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, said: "We're working with Canada and the government. They have about 5,000 ventilators." "It is with the Red Cross of Canada. We are urging the Canadian Government to donate this to India through the Red Cross to address the current COVID-19 crisis," he told PTI in an interview.

Dozens of slum households at Sant Gyaneshwar Nagar in Ulhasnagar, 50 km east of Mumbai, have been packing RT-PCR nasopharyngeal kits since last week through a local supplier, Maneesh Keswani. On Wednesday, the local police and the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) seized leftover swab stick stock from at least five households. Keswani has been booked under Indian Penal code and Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. Read more

With no respite in the surge of new coronavirus infections, the Kerala government has announced a lockdown in the state from May 8 to May 16. Kerala registered almost 42,000 cases in the last 24 hours, setting new records. 

The BCCI asserts that organising the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India this year was not a mistake. In an interview, BCCI president and former India captain Sourav Ganguly spoke about the thought process behind organising it at home, why the Board chose six cities as venues, and that Indian domestic players will be compensated irrespective of the fate of the 2021 IPL season. Read the full interview, here

The US has reissued its travel advisory on India, urging its citizens not to travel to the country due to an unprecedented surge in the COVID-19 cases there. India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

“Do not travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution due to crime and terrorism,” the State Department said on Wednesday in its latest travel advisory that looked identical to the one issued on April 28.

Observing that the situation at present is more dangerous than it was a year ago, the High Powered Committee, constituted on orders of the Supreme Court to decongest the jails in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has recommended the release of different categories of undertrial prisoners for 90 days. Approximately 4000 undertrial prisoners are likely to be benefited because of the recommendation. However, the Committee has recommended against the release of those facing trial in riot cases and cases under the "Anti-National Activities and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act".

The Biden administration on Wednesday said it would support waiving patents on Covid-19 vaccines. The statement has important implications because doing away with intellectual property rights will pave the way for cheaper versions of the vaccine to enter the market and also scale up production. Why is there a demand to do away with vaccine patents, and what is the importance of the statement by the Biden administration that would support relaxing intellectual property rights of vaccines? Read our explainer

The daily positivity rate in Delhi has gradually declined over the last week, though the capital’s healthcare infrastructure continues to remain strained. On Wednesday, the city saw 20,960 new cases and 311 deaths due to Covid-19. The positivity rate was recorded at 26.37% after testing 79,491 people. Delhi had recorded the highest number of daily cases on April 20, with 28,395 people testing positive. The highest positivity rate in a single day was recorded as 36.24% on April 22, while the highest number of mortalities were reported on May 3 at 448.

India on Thursday reported 4,12,262 new cases and 3,980 deaths in the last 24 hours. India had become the first country in the world to register over 4 lakh infections in a single day on April 30, when it reported 4.08 lakh infections.

Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and former Union minister Ajit Singh has passed away, his son Jayant Chaudhary confirmed on Twitter. He was 82.

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— Jayant Chaudhary (@jayantrld) May 6, 2021

The Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister Wednesday said a third wave of Covid-19 was inevitable given the high levels of the circulating virus and that they couldn’t predict a time frame for it. Dr K V VijayRaghavan also admitted that experts had not anticipated the “ferocity” of the second wave currently sweeping the country.

The PSA said the new variants now affecting people are “fitter”, had adopted a “hit and run lifestyle”, and required a new approach.

Addressing a briefing of the Union Health Ministry, VijayRaghavan said, “Phase 3 is inevitable given the high levels of circulating virus. But it is not clear on what timescale this Phase 3 will occur. Hopefully, incrementally, but we should prepare for new waves.” Read more

Almost a year after the Western Railways (WR) prepared isolation coaches for Covid-19 patients in Ahmedabad, the municipal corporation (AMC) has again asked the railways to set up 19 isolation coaches with a capacity to admit 304 patients with mild symptoms. According to railway officials, the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railways have already prepared 13 isolation coaches in Sabarmati and six coaches in Chandlodia areas of the city.

Workers in PPE clean the Railway's isolation coach prepared for accommodating covid patients at Sabarmati railway station.

?: @nirmalharindran #Covid19 LIVE updates: https://t.co/3jDcq4fSMs pic.twitter.com/j8ErkDagLy

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) May 6, 2021

Hemkunt foundation to launch their oxygen centre

ANNOUNCEMENT
Incredibly excited to launch our oxygen centre that is coming up soon! So grateful to all of you that have made this possibly through your love, support and generous donations. More details coming soon
#HemkuntFoundation #Covid19IndiaHelp #COVIDEmergencyIndia pic.twitter.com/zVccaYONyn

— Hemkunt Foundation (@Hemkunt_Fdn) May 5, 2021

The Biden administration is throwing its support behind efforts to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to speed the end of the pandemic.
      
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the government's position in a Wednesday statement, amid World Trade Organisation talks over easing global trade rules to enable more countries to produce more of the life-saving vaccines.
    
"The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines," Tai said in the statement. But she cautioned that it would take time to reach the required global "consensus" to waive the protections under WTO rules, and US officials said it would not have an immediate effect on the global supply of COVID-19 shots. (AP)

Chhattisgarh government has postponed vaccination for the age group of 18-44 years after the High Court demanded equitable distribution amongst all economic strata. Taking the decision, the government said that 'continuing vaccination of only Antyodaya card holders might be construed as contempt of court'.

Chhattisgarh government postpones vaccination of age group 18-44yr after the High Court demanded equitable distribution amongst all economic strata. Government says "continuing vaccination of only Antyodaya card holders might be construed as contempt of court" @IndianExpress

— Gargi Verma (@akhbaarwaali) May 5, 2021

Punjab on Wednesday recorded 8,015 fresh Covid cases — the highest single-day surge since the pandemic started last year — the state bulletin released on Wednesday stated. The state also added 182 new deaths due to the virus in the last 24 hours.

Wednesday also marked the first time that the state’s daily case count had crossed the 8,000-mark in Punjab since the pandemic started last year.

According to the state bulletin, the total number of cases also breached the 4 lakh mark on Wednesday, settling on 4,07,509 — of which 63,007 were active. Read More

The Indian Air Force (IAF) Wednesday said it is in the process of airlifting 11 oxygen containers and 350 oxygen cylinders from four countries.
      
India has been badly hit by the second wave of the coronavirus infection as hospitals in several states are reeling under a severe shortage of oxygen, drugs, equipment and beds.
`    
The IAF's statement said that while an IL-76 aircraft is airlifting 350 oxygen cylinders from Singapore to the Hindon airbase, another IL-76 is bringing three cryogenic oxygen containers from Bangkok to the Panagarh airbase. The IAF also conducted multiple flights within the country to transport oxygen containers from one place to another. (PTI)

The US Embassy India shared on its Facebook page that a shipment of Covid relief material for India, including a climate-friendly oxygen generation unit which can turn air into oxygen, is being sent from the US. 

Speaking at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meet, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that vaccination is the only lasting solution to the Covid challenge. “A global answer will require diversified production, uninterrupted supply chains, and generous resourcing. India will do its part,” he said.

He added, “Geopolitical changes have been accelerated by Covid-related trends. Issues of transparency, reliability and resilience will guide policy choices. Open societies and personal freedoms require careful nurturing. We must be on guard against fake news and digital manipulation.” (ANI)

Geopolitical changes have been accelerated by Covid-related trends. Issues of transparency,reliability& resilience will guide policy choices. Open Societies&personal freedoms require careful nurturing. Must be on guard against fake news&digital manipulation: EAM at G7 FMM pic.twitter.com/hVxCWLAoL4

— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2021

Punjab Police have issued at least 6,531 challans to violators for not wearing face masks and arrested as many as 629 people for violating Covid norms across the state in the past three days, Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said on Wednesday.

Gupta said from May 2 to May 4, police registered at least 560 First Information Reports (FIRs) against those found flouting guidelines, including owners of prominent hotels, marriage halls, restaurants, and shops.

He further said that besides issuing fines, the police made over 66,000 mask violators to undergo RT-PCR testing during the drive. Since March 19, when the special drive was launched, the Punjab Police have persuaded over 6.9 lakh people to undergo Covid testing besides penalising over 1 lakh people across the state for not wearing face masks, Gupta added. (ENS)

The UK strain of coronavirus is currently dominating parts of north India while the double mutant variant is found mostly in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, Director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Sujeet Singh said on Wednesday.

He, however, added that the B1.1.7 lineage of SARS CoV-2 (UK variant) is declining in proportion across the country in the last month and a half.

Addressing a press conference, he said the B.1.1.7 (UK strain) is dominating parts of north India including Punjab (482 samples), Delhi (516), followed by Telangana (192), Maharashtra (83) and Karnataka (82).

Ten top government laboratories and institutions have been sequencing the genomes of coronavirus since December, Singh said, adding 18,053 samples have been sequenced so far.

He said the information on genome sequencing has been shared with the states twice in February, four times in March and again four times in April.

Singh said in the video-conferencing with states, the health ministry also informed about the current status of variants of concern and new mutants and it stressed on increased and stringent public health interventions.

The double mutant variant, also known as B.1.617, is mostly dominating Maharashtra (761), West Bengal (124), Delhi (107) and Gujarat (102). (PTI)

'Corona curfew' has been extended till May 10 in the districts of Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, says state government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal. (ANI)

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan along with Member (Health) NITI Aayog Dr VK Paul chaired a high-level meeting today with eastern states of Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand to assess arrangements regarding containment and management of Covid-19.

Evidence suggests that the pandemic is moving eastward and a rise has been observed in daily cases and mortality here, the Union Health Ministry said. “5 critical areas of action were discussed for addressing needs & challenges of recent phase of Covid,” it added. (ANI)

Every month, 50% of Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) cleared vaccine doses of manufacturers would be available for direct procurement by state govts and private hospitals, says MoHFW. It adds that states advised to clear payment of manufactures so that consignments could be delivered in timely manner.

The Government of India would continue to procure its share of 50% of monthly CDL cleared vaccines and would continue to make it available to state governments free of cost as was done earlier. (ANI)

Covid supplies received from global community, including 1,764 oxygen concentrators, 1,760 oxygen cylinders, 7 oxygen generation plants, 450 ventilators, over 1.35 lakh Remdesivir vials and 1.20 lakh Favipiravir strips, have effectively been allocated to states/UTs, says the Union Health Ministry. (ANI)

1,056 ventilators and 43 oxygen concentrators arrived from Australia today.

Delhi: 1056 ventilators and 43 oxygen concentrators arrived from Australia today pic.twitter.com/j1eR38hl1g

— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2021

With Covid cases on the rise, the Nagaland government has imposed a night curfew in Kohima from 7 pm to 6 am. The restrictions were imposed on Wednesday and will be in effect until further orders.

However, medical, emergency and essential services, including pharmacies, movement of goods among others, have been exempted from the purview of the curfew.

Kohima Deputy Commissioner Gregory Thejawelie warned that anybody violating night curfew will be penalised as per provisions under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 besides attracting legal action under Section 188 of the IPC.

On Tuesday, the state reported 266 new Covid cases, taking the total tally to 14,717. The number of active cases now stands at 1,798. There are 108 Covid facilities in the state. (ENS)

In the highest single-day spike, Kerala on Wednesday reported 41,953 new COVID-19 cases, while 23,106 people were cured of the infection, pushing thecaseload to 17,43,932 and recoveries to 13.62 lakh, the state government said.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in view of the rise in the cases, more stringent measures will have to be taken to curb the surge in the state where severe lockdown-like restrictions were already in force.  The toll mounted to 5,565 with 58 more deaths.

Active cases now stood at 3,75,658, while the test positivity rate (TPR) was 25.

Ernakulam district topped with 6,558 new cases followed by Kozhikode (5,180), Malappuram (4,166), Thrissur (3,731), Thiruvananthapuram (3,727) and Kottayam (3,432). (PTI)

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced phased opening of shops after a few of his cabinet colleagues raised the issue of resentment among shopkeepers over selective closure of shops amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Chairing a virtual cabinet meeting, Singh ruled out a complete lockdown while stating that the restrictions currently in place in Punjab were more stringent than the lockdown conditions in many other states.

Besides phased opening of shops, he also announced various incentives for the housing sector, including three-month extension in permission period of construction of plots/projects for allotments, whether private or allotted, by state urban development authorities.

Amid spiralling COVID-19 cases, the CM ordered limiting the number of teachers in government schools to 50 per cent, with the rest taking online classes from home.

Taking note of the resentment among shopkeepers over selective closure of shops, he asked district administration officials to work out phased shop reopening plan for their respective districts, according to a government statement. (PTI)

Maharashtra reports 57,640 fresh Covid cases, 57,006 discharges and 920 deaths.

Maharashtra reports 57,640 fresh COVID19 positive cases, 57,006 discharges, and 920 deaths

Total cases: 48,80,542
Total active cases: 6,41,596
Total recoveries: 41,64,098
Death toll: 72,662 pic.twitter.com/79SuP8SkwQ

— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2021

All journalists will be vaccinated on a priority basis in the state, says Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. “I have instructed Additional Chief Secretary (Health) in this regard,” he adds. (ANI)