A 21-year-old from Kerala’s Thrissur district, who was India’s first recorded case of Covid-19, has again tested positive for the virus. Sources in the health department said the woman, a medical student at Wuhan University of China, has not got either of her vaccination shots.
The government on Tuesday expressed concern over the "gross violations" of Covid-appropriate behaviour in several parts of the country and said this can nullify the gains made so far.
Meanwhile, the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Tuesday announced plans to start producing the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in India from September. The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year, it added.
Addressing a press conference on the pandemic situation in the country, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said people talk about the third wave as a "weather update" but fail to understand that adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour or the lack of it is what will prevent or cause any future waves.
Amid fears of a possible third wave of Covid-19, the Uttarakhand government on Tuesday suspended the kanwar yatra even as neighbouring Uttar Pradesh is pressing ahead with the annual ritual that sees a heavy movement of pilgrims across states in the northern belt.
A total of 90 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, raising the infection count to 17,07,585, while the death toll climbed to 22,704 with two fresh fatalities. The latest two deaths were reported from Sultanpur and Meerut, a health bulletin said.
90 fresh cases were reported in the state in the past 24 hours, while 134 persons were discharged after recovery, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said. The number of recoveries in the state has reached 16,83,453, he said. The active cases as of now stand at 1,428, Prasad said. (PTI)
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Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Wednesday said the state has come out with an augmented testing strategy under which 3.75 lakh people would be tested in the next two days to identify the specific areas and categories of people continuously affected by coronavirus.
The minister, in a release, said that 1.25 lakh people would be tested on Thursday and 2.5 lakh on Friday and the analysis of the results would further help strengthen the fight against COVID-19.
She further said that allthose with influenza like symptoms, severe respiratory infections, diabetes and hypertension, those under 45 years of age who interact with crowds, those over 45 years of age who have not been vaccinated and those who come into contact with COVID-19 sufferers, would be screened under the new testing strategy. (PTI)
Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Wednesday that while other states are being provided COVID-19 vaccines as per their demands, the state is not getting adequate supply.
Sharma said that from June 21, the state has been completely dependent on the Centre for the availability of vaccines.
"While vaccines are being provided to other states of the country as per their demands, Rajasthan is not getting vaccines in adequate supply," he said.
The minister said that 65 lakh Covid vaccine doses have been allocated to the state by the Centre for the month of July, whereas the state requires 75 lakh second doses alone. (PTI)
More than 90 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people in Delhi till date, according to official figures shared by authorities on Wednesday. The latest vaccination bulletin released by the city health department said, less than a day of vaccine stock was left.
Till date, 90,88,718 doses have been administered to people here till date, it said. On Tuesday, 1,29,054 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, which included 92,547 first doses and 36,507 second doses. The figures for Wednesday were still awaited. '
The total number of vaccine doses administered in Delhi till date, includes 69,57,233 first doses and 21,31,485 second doses, the government's vaccination bulletin said. (PTI)
Delta variant sub-lineages -- AY.1 and AY.2 -- are unlikely to be more transmissible than Delta said INSACOG, a consortium of government panel involved in genome sequencing of coronavirus. In a recent bulletin, it also said that AY.3 has been identified as a new sub-lineage of Delta and it is defined by 'ORF1a:I3731V common AY.1 mutations except for S:417'.
It is primarily seen in the US with single reclassified case in the UK and India. There are no known significant properties of this mutation but since it is a Delta VOC sub-lineage, INSACOG will continue to monitor it, the bulletin stated. (PTI)
Nagaland's Covid tally increased to 26,249 on Wednesday as 109 more people tested positive for the infection while two fresh fatalities deaths pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 516, a health bulletin said. A total of 49 more patients recovered from the disease, in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate in the state has slightly decreased from 91.57 per cent on Tuesday to 91.38 per cent. (PTI)
Maharashtra reported 8,602 new coronavirus positive cases and 170 deaths on Wednesday, taking the caseload to 61,81,247 and toll to 1,26,390, a health department official said.
On Tuesday, the state had reported 7,243 cases and 196 fatalities.
A total of 6,067 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, while the number of recoveries rose to 59,44,801. Maharashtra's recovery rate is 96.17 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.04 per cent, the official said. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 2,458 new cases and 55 deaths. Among the fresh infections, 153 were recorded in Chennai.
With the addition of 227 fresh cases, the tally of infections in Goa rose to 1,69,215 on Wednesday, an official from the state health department said, PTI reported. At least 171 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 1,64,326, while the toll stood at 3,101, as no new casualties were reported during the day, the official said.
The coastal state currently has 1,788 patients undergoing treatment, he said. With 5,651 swab samples tested during the day, the total number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 9,84,237, he added. (PTI)
Kerala on Wednesday recorded 15,637 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the infection caseload to 31,03,310, while 128 deaths took the toll to 14,938. As many as 12,974 people have been cured, taking the total recoveries to29,70,175 and the number of active cases in the state to 1,17,708, a state government release said.
Malappuram accounted for the highest number of cases (2030), Kozhikode (2022), Ernakulam (1894), Thrissur (1704), Kollam (1154), Thiruvananthapuram (1133) and Palakkad (1111). (PTI)
Karnataka reports 1,990 new cases and 45 deaths. Among the fresh infections, 400 were reported from Bengaluru.
West Bengal reports 831 new cases and 14 deaths. Among the new cases, 78 were reported from Kolkata. The city also reported two more deaths.
Mumbai reports 635 new cases 582 discharges. The city now has a recovery rate of 96 per cent.
Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 22,792 on Wednesday as 169 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said. East Sikkim district registered the highest number of new cases at 84, followed by West Sikkim (51), South Sikkim (33), and North Sikkim (one).
The Himalayan state now has 2,279 active cases, while 19,937 people have recovered from the disease, 259 patients have migrated to other states and 317 have succumbed to the infection to date. (PTI)
Karnataka Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah Wednesday urged the BJP-led government in the state to convene an Assembly session at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi to discuss issues related to Covid-19 management, vaccination drive, allegations of corruption and the financial situation of the state.
Citing sections 3 and 4 of the Karnataka Conduct of Government Business in the State Legislature Act, 2005, the Congress leader wrote to CM B S Yediyurappa and Assembly Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri demanding that the Assembly session be convened in July. Read full report
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope says, “No new case due to Delta Plus variant has been reported in Maharashtra…I will meet the Union Health Minister and request him to provide an adequate quantity of vaccines to the state We need 3 crore vaccine does every month.” (ANI)
Uttarakhand reports 33 new cases, 140 recoveries and 1 death in the last 24 hours. (ANI)
BMC to start vaccinating pregnant women from tomorrow. The step has been taken after a recommendation by the Experts' task force. BMC will start with 35 centers across Mumbai, which will vaccinate pregnant women. (ANI)
Covid restrictions extended in West Bengal till July 30. Metro rail will now operate 5 days a week with 50% seating capacity. Not more than 50 people will be allowed at weddings and a maximum of 20 to be allowed at funerals. All shops and markets may remain open as per usual operational hours.
Administering a full dose of a standard blood thinner early to moderately ill hospitalised patients with COVID-19 could halt the formation of blood clots and reduce the risk of severe disease and death, according to a study.
COVID-19 is marked by heightened inflammation and abnormal clotting in the blood vessels, particularly in the lungs, and is believed to contribute to progression to severe disease and death.
The researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine in Canada noted that heparin -- a blood thinner given regularly at low dose to hospitalised patients -- stops clots from forming and reduces inflammation.
The yet-to-be-published study, post on the preprint server MedRxiv, examined the benefits of administering a therapeutic full dose of heparin versus a prophylactic low dose to moderately ill patients admitted to hospital wards with COVID-19.
"This study was designed to detect a difference in the primary outcome that included ICU transfer, mechanical ventilation or death," says Mary Cushman, study co-principal investigator and a professor at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine. (PTI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it would examine how far can constitutional courts venture into issues which are exclusively in the domain of executive related to COVID-19 management.
The top court said that the courts need to respect the demarcation of power given under the constitution even though the objective was in fairness to everybody. It said that the court will examine whether at all the Allahabad High Court needed to tread in this arena and whether its ‘Ram Bharose' comment was justified.
The remarks of a bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari came while hearing an appeal against the Allahabad High Court order relating to management of the COVID-19 situation in Uttar Pradesh in which it had said that the entire healthcare system in villages and small cities of the state was "Ram bharose" (at God's mercy).
The bench said, “What we want to lay down is how far a constitutional court can venture into an issue like this. Whether at all the High Court needed to tread on this arena? Despite the objective being in fairness to everybody we have to respect the demarcation. How far ‘Ram Bharose' comments justified.”
Justice Saran said, “There were questions like how many ambulances are there, how many oxygen beds are there. We don't want to comment on these questions. It's not that you cannot give suggestions but how can you ask local companies to take vaccine formula and manufacture it? How can such direction be given?” (PTI)
Hearing a petition, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked a pilots' union to furnish information such as the number of pilots deployed for the `Vande Bharat' mission and their duty hours. It also sought to know how many pilots have been vaccinated for COVID-19 so far.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni was hearing a petition filed by the Federation of Indian Pilots seeking compensation for the pilots who died of COVID-19 or contracted the viral infection while doing their duty,
The petition demanded priority in vaccination and insurance cover for pilots, saying they are providing an essential service. The Union government should provide compensation of Rs 10 crore each for the families of the pilots who died due to COVID-19, it said.
Senior advocate Prasad Dhakephalkar, appearing for the petitioners, stated that since February 2021, at least 13 Indian pilots have died due to coronavirus infection. (PTI)
Delhi reports 77 new COVID cases (positivity rate - 0.10%), 71 recoveries, and 1 death in the last 24 hours.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday launched a stinging attack on the Centre, alleging that vaccination was progressing at a slow pace and the third wave may affect the country badly due to the “failure” of the Modi government.
In a series of tweets from the Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha handle, Kharge wrote, “Govt led by PM @narendramodi claimed that it will fully vaccinate all adults by year end. For that, 80 lakh doses need to be given daily. Yet, only 34 lakh doses are being given daily. Thanks to Modi Govt’s failure, the 3rd wave may hit India very badly.” Read full report
The Gujarat government suspended the COVID-19 vaccination drive on Wednesday in view of Mamata Diwas, which is observed as part of the ongoing universal immunisation programme for pregnant women, children and infants, an official said.
This is the second week in a row that the inoculation drive against coronavirus has been suspended on a Wednesday due to Mamata Diwas.
During Mamata Diwas, healthcare workers across the state check on pregnant women, provide them guidance and give them iron and vitamin tablets. Health workers also administer vaccines, such as BCG, polio and rubella, to women, children and infants.
"Vaccination drive against coronavirus will remain suspended today in view of the tasks health workers need to carry out on Mamata Diwas under the universal immunisation programme," state immunisation officer Dr Nayan Jani said. (PTI)
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 9,45,749 on Wednesday as 2,074 more people tested positive for the infection, while 65 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 4,795, a health official said.
Though there has been a significant decline in daily cases and test positivity rate, fresh single-day fatalities continue to remain around 60 since July 8. Odisha's active caseload has also significantly come down to 22,860 on July 14 from 55,923 on June 14. The total number of recoveries has also soared to 9,18,041, including 2,641 on Tuesday, he said. (PTI)
Amid reports of vaccine shortage from several states, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said Wednesday that the Centre had informed the state governments of the allocation of doses in advance. Despite this, if “we see mismanagement and long queues of vaccine takers, then it is very clear what the problem is and who is the reason behind it,” he added.
In a six-part Twitter thread in Hindi, Mandaviya asserted that “useless statements (on the availability of vaccines) are being made only to create panic among the people”.
In a bid to set the record straight, the Health Minister provided “an actual analysis of the facts”.11.46 crore vaccine doses were made available to the state governments and union territories in the month of June to enable vaccination in government and private hospitals, he said. Read full report
A day after PM Narendra Modi expressed concern over the massive crowds at hill stations and marketplaces, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday wrote to all states and Union Territories asking them to take steps to control crowding and shed off complacency as the R-rate of Covid infections is rising in many states. It has also asked them to make officers personally responsible for any laxity. Read full report by Deeptiman Tiwary
The Delhi High Court Wednesday granted time to the Delhi government to respond to a plea challenging its notification reserving rooms in four hotels linked with two hospitals for treatment of officials of various public authorities and their families.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh gave four more weeks to the Delhi government to file reply to the petition on the request of the government counsel. The court had on May 10 issued a notice seeking reply from the Delhi government on the petition filed by Delhi-based doctor Kaushal Kant Mishra.
According to the Delhi government's April 27 notification, 70 rooms in Hotel Ginger at Vivek Vihar here, 50 rooms in Hotel Park Plaza in Shahdara, and 50 rooms in Hotel Leela Ambience at CBD Ground in Karkardooma, linked to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and all the rooms in Hotel Golden Tulip at Hari Nagar, linked to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (DDU), are reserved for the treatment of officers/officials of Delhi government, autonomous bodies, corporations, local bodies and their families. (PTI)
Observing that the accused lodged in jails are in a "secure situation" compared to the daily working people in society who are exposed to the "outside social atmosphere", a court here had rejected the interim bail plea of Chintan Upadhaya, arrested in connection with the murder of his artist wife and her lawyer in 2015, and another accused who had sought the relief citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
A detailed order of the court was made available on Tuesday. Chintan Upadhaya and Pradeep Rajbhar had sought temporary bail citing a surge in COVID-19 cases, coronavirus variants and the pandemic. Hema Upadhyay, a Mumbai-based artist, and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani were killed on December 11, 2015 and their bodies disposed of in suburban Kandivali. (PTI)
Amidst concerns of yet-to-decline COVID-19 cases, the Kerala government has launched a mass drive to make the tourism destinations in the state 'complete vaccinated zones' by giving jabs to everyone working in the sector.
The objective is to rejuvenate the shattered holiday industry which has suffered a severe blow due to the pandemic situation. Tourism and Public Works Minister P A Mohammed Riyas inaugurated via online the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the tourism sector at Vythiri in northern Wayanad district, a sought after holiday destination, on Tuesday. (PTI)
A single dose of the Sputnik V vaccine may be enough to elicit strong antibody response against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in already infected people, according to a study.
Previous studies have found that two doses of Sputnik V, a vector vaccine produced using a combination of two adenoviruses, results in 92 per cent efficacy against COVID-19 infection. Adenoviruses are common viruses that cause a range of illness with cold-like symptoms such as fever and sore throat.
The new study, published on Tuesday in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, examined whether a single dose would achieve greater public health benefit than two doses by allowing protection of a larger population more quickly. (PTI)
With vaccines running short, Delhi has been forced to stall its vaccination drive several times over the past week. According to health minister Satyendar Jain, the shortage has meant that several vaccination centres in the city will not function on Wednesday because of the shortage.
“There is a shortage of vaccines in Delhi. We received a small stock of 1.5 lakh Covishield vaccines on Monday night…We have at the most around 1.68 lakh vaccines which can’t last beyond Tuesday or half of Wednesday. We have to shut down vaccination centres. We have the capability to administer three to four lakh vaccine doses a day,” he said.
Data shows that while the city administered an average of 86,400 vaccines in the first week of July (this includes the days on which several government centres are shut owing to holidays or other regular vaccination drives), this fell to an average of 62,800 in the second week. Read the full report here.
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday dismissed as "conjectures" and "speculation" some media reports that claimed higher COVID-19 fatality figures based on data from the National Health Mission's Health Management Information System (HMIS). There have been some speculative media reports claiming higher fatality figures due to COVID-19 based on data from HMIS, the ministry said.
"The report compares data from the Civil Registration System (CRS) and HMIS to draw erroneous inferences. Such reports are conjectures and speculation without any substantial basis," the ministry said. Citing the death numbers reported in the HMIS, the ministry in a statement noted that the media report goes on to say that "In the absence of other information, these deaths should all be considered as COVID-19 deaths". (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh schools will reopen for students of classes 11 and 12 from July 25. Classes will be held four times in a week with two days for 2 batches. If the Covid situation in the state remains stable, classes for 9-10, 6-8 and 1-5 will also be resumed, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
Of the 39.59 crore vaccine doses given to states, UTs and private hospitals since the inoculation drive first began, more than 1.51 Crore balance and unutilized doses are still available, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The Supreme Court Wednesday took a suo motu cognizance of the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to allow ‘Kanwar Yatra’. A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman issued a notice to the state government and posted the matter for hearing on Friday.
While the Yogi Adityanath government has allowed the yatra from July 25 despite concerns raised in various quarters over the risk posed by such events in triggering a possible third wave of COVID-19, the neighbouring Uttarakhand has suspendedthe kanwar yatra.
UP Additional Director General (ADG) Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, said that this year, the yatra will be held from July 25 to August 6. Read the full report here.
Delhi recorded 76 coronavirus cases and two fatalities while the positivity rate stood at 0.11 per cent on Tuesday, according to a health bulletin. Eighty-four more patients have recovered from the disease in the last one day, it said. The Delhi government did not release the health bulletin on Tuesday.
On Monday, the city had recorded 45 COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in over a year, and three deaths while the positivity rate stood at 0.08 per cent. According to covid19India.org, a crowd-sourced initiative that collects data on COVID-19 and vaccination in India, Delhi had recorded 17 cases on April 15 last year.
The city has registered 14,35,204 coronavirus cases since the pandemic started last year. As many as 14,09,501 lakh patients have recovered so far. The death toll stands at 25,020, the bulletin stated. (PTI)
India records 38,792 new coronavirus cases and 624 deaths in the last 24 hours, ending 8 am on Wednesday. With this, the country’s overall caseload crossed 3.1 crore, while the death toll now exceeds 4.11 lakh. Kerala reported 14,539 new cases, the highest in the last six days. Maharashtra reported 7,243.
A 90-year-old Belgian woman has been revealed to be the first documented case of a person being infected with two different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the same time. The woman, who got infected in March this year, was found to be carrying both the Alpha and Beta variants (first detected in UK and South Africa respectively). She died five days after being hospitalised.
Her unique case was discussed at the annual European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, according to a Reuters report.
It’s not surprising…
Such cases of “double infection”, in which someone is found infected with two variants of the virus at the same time, might be rare but it is not at all surprising, said experts The Indian Express spoke to. Infections from multiple persons within a short period of time is neither impossible, nor unheard of. Read the full explainer here.
Amid fears of a possible third wave of Covid-19, the Uttarakhand government on Tuesday suspended the kanwar yatra even as neighbouring Uttar Pradesh is pressing ahead with the annual ritual that sees a heavy movement of pilgrims across states in the northern belt.
At a meeting on Tuesday with top officials of the administration and police, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami discussed apprehensions of a possible third wave of Covid-19, the recent detection of the Delta Plus variant in the state, and the experience of other countries that have witnessed a resurgence of Covid cases. Sources said the government also sought the view of experts before arriving at the decision to cancel the yatra. Read the full report here.
Taking serious note of the rampant violation of coronavirus norms reported from hill stations and markets over the last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Tuesday that a “third wave will not come on its own” and that the key to prevent another surge is not predicting when it will come but adhering strictly to safety protocols.
Modi’s remarks came during his interaction with Chief Ministers of Northeastern states. Read the full report here.
Kerala logged 14,539 fresh Covid-19 cases and 124 deaths on Tuesday, taking the total infection count to 30,87,673 and the toll to 14,810. Malappuram reported the highest number of cases--2,115, followed by Ernakulam with 1,624and Kollam, 1,404.
As images and videos of mask-less tourists inundate social media, the threat of a third wave of coronavirus infections looms large in the country. In view of the upcoming festivals like the Kanwar Yatra which sees a mass gathering and the rise in travelers to popular destinations, several experts have warned against the easing of restrictions.
“The third wave is inevitable and imminent,” the Indian Medical Association warned Monday, as global evidence and history of pandemics suggest. The top doctors’ body has expressed concern over the lax attitude of the people and the government allowing events that may turn into super-spreaders. More details here.
Andhra Pradesh reported 2,567 fresh cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday. The latest bulletin said 3,034 patients had recovered from the infection while 18 more succumbed in the state. The gross positives now rose to 19,26,988, recoveries to 18,87,236 and toll 13,042. The active caseload dropped to 26,710, news agency PTI reported.
The government on Tuesday expressed concern over the "gross violations" of Covid-appropriate behaviour in several parts of the country and said this can nullify the gains made so far.
Addressing a press conference on the pandemic situation in the country, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said people talk about the third wave as a "weather update" but fail to understand that adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour or the lack of it is what will prevent or cause any future waves. (PTI)
“The world is witnessing third wave (of COVID-19)… We’ve to join hands to ensure that the third wave doesn’t hit India. PM Modi today clearly said that we should focus on keeping the third wave at bay, instead of discussing when it would come in India,” Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog said during a briefing.
A medical student from Kerala’s Thrissur district, who was the first in India to test positive for coronavirus last year, has contracted the virus again, an official confirmed. The 20-year-old, a student at a medical university in Wuhan in China, was detected with the virus for the second time in a routine test conducted before a flight to Delhi. An official said that she has no symptoms and is in isolation at her home in Thrissur. She has not taken the vaccine yet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala on July 16 to discuss the Covid-19 situation.
Earlier today, Modi interacted with CMs of the North-Eastern states on the Covid-19 situation. The interaction was attended by CMs of Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) will begin production of Sputnik V in September, according to a statement released by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Tuesday.
The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII’s facilities in September, the statement said.
PM Modi said it is a matter of concern that people are travelling without face masks at hill stations and market places, news agency ANI reported.
'It's a matter of concern, that people are travelling without face masks at hill stations & market places,' he said.
At the meeting with chief ministers of the northeastern states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said there is a need to curb the Covid-19 situation at the micro level.
"The number of Covid-19 cases is rising. We need to take strict action to curb the situation at the micro level. We need to keep an eye on COVID variants, experts are studying them. We need to encourage people to follow COVID19 appropriate behaviour," Modi said, news agency ANI reported.
To combat the possible third wave of Covid-19, we need to continue to accelerate the vaccination process, PM Modi further said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday interacted with Chief Ministers of the northeastern states on the Covid-19 situation via video conferencing, news agency ANI reported.
Madhya Pradesh on Monday added 1,478 ‘backlog deaths’ from the second wave of the pandemic till June 30 to its existing record taking the Covid-19 death toll to 10,506 from 9,027 deaths reported in the state until Sunday.
The additional deaths came to the fore after the government on June 26 issued a letter to all district authorities urging them to report any deaths till June 30 which were not added so far on the government’s ‘Sarthak’ portal. The exercise was started after Chhavi Bharadwaj, Mission director of National Health Mission, issued an order.
Madhya Pradesh on Monday added 1,478 ‘backlog deaths’ from the second wave of the pandemic till June 30 to its existing record taking the Covid-19 death toll to 10,506 from 9,027 deaths reported in the state until Sunday.
The additional deaths came to the fore after the government on June 26 issued a letter to all district authorities urging them to report any deaths till June 30 which were not added so far on the government’s ‘Sarthak’ portal. The exercise was started after Chhavi Bharadwaj, Mission director of National Health Mission, issued an order.
Indian Medical Association (IMA), Uttarakhand Tuesday urged Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to disallow the proposed Kanwar Yatra (July – August) in order to control the occurrence of the 3rd wave of the coronavirus pandemic, news agency ANI reported.
As the Capital’s Covid count continues to dip — Delhi recorded 45 cases, the lowest in 15 months, on Monday — and with lockdown restrictions eased considerably, markets and public spaces across the city have drawn huge crowds, forcing authorities to crack down.
Over the past two weeks, at least nine markets, including Lajpat Nagar, Gaffar Market, Sadar Bazar and Laxmi Nagar, were forced to shut down for flouting social distancing and other Covid protocol, though they were subsequently reopened after assurances from market associations and other stakeholders.
While the government attempts to strike a balance between resuming economic activity and not risking another surge in cases, the caution is also linked to the fact that Delhi’s peaks have been far sharper than elsewhere — in April this year, the Capital recorded 28,395 cases in a single day, more than any other city.
With 45 cases, Delhi recorded the lowest number of Covid cases over 24 hours in nearly 15 months on Monday.
The city has been maintaining a positivity rate below 0.2% since June 23. While Monday saw the lowest number of positive cases in this stretch, the positivity rate on Sunday was actually lower at 0.07%. But because a lower number of tests were conducted in the last 24 hours since it was the weekend, Monday saw 45 cases with a positivity rate of 0.08%.
India reported 32,906 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest since March 16, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
The country's active caseload has declined to 4.32 lakh. The recovery rate has increased to 97.28 per cent, the ministry data stated.
The health ministry said 2020 deaths were reported on Monday. Madhya Pradesh added 1,478 previously uncounted deaths to its tally. Maharashtra reported 148 deaths while Kerala had 100.
After the photos of crowds at hill stations without masks or social distancing, which prompted the Centre to issue an alert, the numbers are out.
Official figures show 35,425 tourists reached the outskirts of Nainital and 32,000 more travelled to Mussoorie in Uttarakhand over the last weekend as Covid figures dipped across the country.
Of these, 32,900 tourists were allowed to enter Nainital and 20,000 to Mussoorie while the rest were turned back on various grounds, ranging from not carrying a Covid-negative report or proof of hotel booking to failure to register on the state government-mandated portal.