A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Covid-19 preventive vaccine to a man at a vaccination centre, in New Delhi. (PTI)Covid-19 India News Highlights: India’s daily positivity rate was at 1.07 per cent on Monday, up from 0.71 per cent. The weekly positivity rate, too, saw a marginal increase from 0.68 per cent to 0.70 per cent.
Active Covid-19 cases in the country climbed to 19,500 in the 24 hours ending 8 am Monday, despite a dip in the daily infections. On Sunday, the country had 19,092 active cases. India recorded 3,157 new Covid-19 infections, down from the previous day’s 3,324. As many as five Covid-related deaths occurred in the last 24 hours, while 21 others were reported to reconcile figures, data shared by the Union Ministry of Health showed.
The Supreme Court Monday stated that the Centre’s Covid-19 vaccination policy “cannot be said to be unreasonable or manifestly arbitrary” after reviewing the material filed before it. The apex court, however, disapproved of vaccine mandates for now. Observing that no data was placed by the Union government to counter the petitioner’s data showing that the “risk of transmission of the virus from unvaccinated individuals is almost at par with the vaccinated persons”, the Court said, “restrictions on unvaccinated individuals imposed through various vaccine mandates by the states governments/union territories cannot be said to be proportionate.”
A healthworker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a student in the age group 12-14 years, as coronavirus cases rise, in Guwahati, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (PTI)
Moderna Inc's chief medical officer said on Sunday the company's vaccine for children under 6 years old will be ready for review by a Food and Drug Administration panel when it meets in June.
Moderna sought emergency use authorization from the FDA on Thursday.
An advisory panel of experts to the US drug regulator will meet in June to review the request.
"I think the FDA now have all of the core fundamental data they need to be able to begin an application review. So yes, we're very confident," Dr. Paul Burton, the company's chief medical officer, said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation."
Moderna's vaccine could be the first to win US approval for children under the age of 5. Pfizer Inc also expects to have its vaccine data for children under 6 ready by the June review.
Moderna Inc's chief medical officer said on Sunday the company's vaccine for children under 6 years old will be ready for review by a Food and Drug Administration panel when it meets in June.
Moderna sought emergency use authorization from the FDA on Thursday.
An advisory panel of experts to the US drug regulator will meet in June to review the request.
"I think the FDA now have all of the core fundamental data they need to be able to begin an application review. So yes, we're very confident," Dr. Paul Burton, the company's chief medical officer, said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation."
Moderna's vaccine could be the first to win US approval for children under the age of 5. Pfizer Inc also expects to have its vaccine data for children under 6 ready by the June review. (Reuters)
The Supreme Court on Monday held that no individual can be forced to be vaccinated against Covid-19, observing that bodily integrity is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Asking the Centre to make public data on the Covid immunisation's adverse events, the top court, however, said that in the interest of protection of communitarian health, the government is entitled to regulate issues of public health concern by imposing certain limitations on individual rights, which are open to scrutiny by constitutional courts.
Upholding the government's current Covid vaccination policy, the court said on the basis of available material and considering expert views the policy "cannot be said to be manifestly arbitrary and unreasonable".
Noting that the Covid infection rate in the country remains low, the court also suggested a review of the existing orders and that no restriction be imposed on unvaccinated individuals on access to public areas or recall the same if already not done. The number of active Covid cases rose by 408 in a 24-hour span to reach 19,500 on Monday, according to the latest Union Health ministry data. (PTI)
Children aged 12 to 17 can now opt for Serum Institute's Covid jab Covovax at private centres; provision enabled on CoWIN portal: Sources (PTI)
Maharashtra reported 92 new COVID-19 cases, a majority of them in the Mumbai Circle, and one more death on Monday, taking the overall tally in the state to 78,77,993 and the toll to 1,47,844, a health department official said.
The active caseload of the state was 1,016, with Mumbai accounting for 639 and Pune 215, while 12 districts have no coronavirus patient under treatment, the official pointed out.
So far, 77,29,133 persons have been discharged post recovery, including 79 in the last 24 hours, he said, adding that the recovery rate stood at 98.11 per cent, the fatality rate at 1.87 per cent and positivity rate, or cases per 100 tests, at 0.006 per cent.
Of the 92 new cases, 65 were from the Mumbai administrative circle, which covers the entire metropolitan region, including 56 from the country's financial capital. This was followed by 21 cases in the Pune Circle, two each in Kolhapur and Nashik, and one each in Nagpur and Akola Circles. (PTI)
The US Food & Drug Administration declined to approve two China-tested cancer treatments on Monday, saying one of the companies - Hutchmed Ltd - needs to test its drug for the US population in a diverse multi-regional trial.
This is the second time the US regulator has declined to approve a drug that was tested mainly in China. In March, it declined to approve Eli Lilly and partner Innovent Biologics Inc's lung cancer drug that had been studied only in China.
Coherus BioSciences Inc and Chinese partner Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co Ltd said the FDA indicated their China-only trial may be sufficient for its cancer drug, toripalimab, but declined to approve it over quality processes.
Coherus said the FDA indicated the target disease, a type of nasopharyngeal carcinoma that currently has no approved treatment options in the US, warrants flexibility with respect to the sufficiency of single-country clinical data on the drug. (Reuters)
Delhi on Monday reported 1,076 Covid-19 cases, around 27 per cent less than a day ago, though the positivity rate rose to 6.42 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
No fresh death occurred due to the disease.
With these new cases, the national capital's overall Covid-19 tally has increased to 18,85,636, while the death toll stands at 26,175. (PTI)
The Supreme Court Monday asked a petitioner, seeking a modification of the Covid-19 vaccination policy to allow voluntary revaccination of persons who have received the Sputnik-V vaccine, to move a representation before the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant said the plea has been filed under Article 32 without a demand for justice being made before the competent authority.
"The safety and efficacy of the measure require a careful and calibrated scientific assessment. Hence, the petitioner is permitted to highlight the hardship which is being faced by him and perhaps, by similarly placed other individuals, by moving a representation before the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (PTI)
The Philippines is considering donating to Myanmar five million doses of Sputnik V Covid vaccine that are close to expiry, a senior health official said on Monday.
The donation would be the first by the Philippines to another nation, after it scrambled for much of last year to procure vaccines for its 110 million population.
Health officials have said the Philippines now has ample supplies.
Authorities are seeking clearance to donate the Russian vaccines through the Myanmar Red Cross Society, health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a regular news conference.
According its health ministry, less than half of the 53 million population have received two doses of a Covid vaccine in Myanmar, a country in turmoil since the military seized power 15 months ago.
That compares to nearly 67.9 million people vaccinated in the Philippines, which has battled one of the worst Covid crises in Asia. (Reuters)
Researchers have discovered the pathways that are activated in severe cases of Covid-19 in children, an advance that can lead to earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatments for the disease.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, identified disease mechanisms in children with Covid-19 who present with multisystem inflammatory syndrome, where different body parts can become inflamed including the heart, lungs, and brain and acute respiratory distress syndrome, a type of lung disease.
The main triggers for severe Covid-19 in children were blood clotting and how proteins in the immune system reacted to the virus, the researchers said.
"Children are in general less susceptible to COVID-19 and present with milder symptoms, but it remained unclear what caused some to develop very severe disease,” said Conor McCafferty, PhD student at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
“Our research was the first to uncover the specific blood clotting and immune protein pathways impacted in children with COVID-19 who developed serious symptoms," McCafferty said in a statement. For the study, blood samples from 20 healthy children were collected and samples from 33 SARS-CoV-2 infected children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome or acute respiratory distress syndrome were collected. (PTI)
China's commercial capital of Shanghai was dealt a blow on Monday as authorities reported 58 new Covid-19 cases outside areas under strict lockdown, while Beijing pressed on with testing millions of people on a May Day holiday few were celebrating.
Tough coronavirus curbs in Shanghai have stirred rare public anger, with millions of the city's 25 million people stuck indoors for more than a month, some sealed inside fenced-off residential compounds and many struggling for daily necessities.
While Shanghai officials said the situation is improving, images on social media have unnerved the public at a time when hospitals and mortuaries in the city are overwhelmed.
On Monday, authorities said they were investigating five officials after videos showed a local care home transferring an elderly person in a body bag to a mortuary. The person was later found to be still alive. (Reuters)
Puducherry did not report any fresh case of coronavirus in the last twenty-four hours ending 10 a.m on Monday.
The department of health tested 14 samples today and no new infection surfaced.
While one patient recovered during last twenty-four hours, the overall active cases were eight and they were all in home quarantine.
The cumulative figure of Covid-19 cases in the union territory was 1,65,790 and the total recoveries were 1,63,820, Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release.
There was no fresh fatalities and the toll remained 1,962.
The Department of Health has examined so far 22,34,625 samples and found 18,79,458 out of them to be negative. (PTI)
Poland has no "coherent rationale" to invoke force majeure in an existing contract in order to stop paying for more Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer , a European Commission official told Reuters.
In April Poland's health minister Adam Niedzielski said Warsaw had informed the European Commission and Pfizer that it would no longer take or pay for Covid-19 vaccines under a supply contract co-negotiated by the EU, acknowledging this would trigger a legal conflict.
Poland invoked the force majeaure clause in the contract with Pfizer in the wake of the war in Ukraine which saw an influx of about 3 million Ukrainian refugees into the country.
"There is no coherent rationale to claim force majeure," the European Commission official said, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
"The war in Ukraine did nothing to change Poland's vaccination needs, if anything it now needs to vaccinate refugees."
The European Commission declined to comment. (Reuters)
Amid a rise in coronavirus cases, the Delhi government has increased the number of beds dedicated for Covid patients at two of its facilities, including an 80 per cent escalation in its count at the LNJP Hospital, according to an official order.
LNJP Hospital has 2,000 beds and is the mainstay of the government's fight against the coronavirus pandemic. It was the first hospital to be declared a Covid-19 facility soon after its outbreak here in early 2020.
Delhi reported 1,485 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero fatality on Sunday, while the positivity rate was recorded at 4.89 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
The new cases pushed the coronavirus infection tally in Delhi to 18,84,560, while the death toll stood at 26,175.
In a recent order, dated April 25, issued by the city health department, the number of Covid beds at LNJP Hospital has been stepped up to 450 from 250 earlier, while the number of ICU Covid beds has been increased to 178 from 100 previously. (PTI)
New Zealand welcomed tourists from the US, Canada, Britain, Japan and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years Monday after dropping most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions.
The country has long been renowned for its breathtaking scenery and adventure tourism offerings such as bungy jumping and skiing. Before the spread of Covid-19, more than 3 million tourists visited each year, accounting for 20 per cent of New Zealand's foreign income and more than 5% of the overall economy.
But international tourism stopped altogether in early 2020 after New Zealand imposed some of the world's toughest border restrictions.
The border rules remained in place as the government at first pursued an elimination strategy and then tried to tightly control the spread of the virus. The spread of omicron and vaccinations of more than 80% of New Zealand's 5 million population prompted the gradual easing of restrictions. (AP)
The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed certain portions of Nizamuddin Markaz, where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic and which has remained shut since then, to stay open till October 14.
Justice Jasmeet Singh, while dealing with a plea by the Delhi Waqf Board, extended the interim order passed last month on re-opening certain portions of the Markaz premises in view of Ramzan and the festival of Eid.
The Board had moved the court in 2021 seeking directions to reopen the premises on grounds that even after unlock-1 guidelines permitted religious places outside containment zones to be opened, the Markaz comprising the Masjid Bangle Wali (mosque), Madarsa Kashif-ul-Uloom, and attached hostel continues to be locked up.
On April 1, the court had allowed the mosque to be opened for the month of Ramzan while clarifying that no "Tablighi activities" and lectures can be take place in the premises and only prayers can be offered. (PTI)
China's commercial capital of Shanghai was dealt a blow on Monday as authorities reported 58 new Covid-19 cases outside areas under lockdown, while Beijing pressed on with testing millions of people on a May Day holiday few were celebrating.
Tough coronavirus measures in Shanghai have stirred rare public anger, with millions of the city's 25 million people stuck indoors for more than a month, some sealed inside fenced off residential compounds, and many struggling to secure daily necessities.
Shanghai residents breathed a sigh of relief at the weekend on news that no cases had been confirmed outside areas under lockdown for two days, but disappointment came on Monday with the report of the 58 new infections.
Beijing, with dozens of daily infections in an outbreak in its second week, has not locked down, instead relying, at least for now, on mass testing to locate and isolate infections.
Beijing's restaurants are closed for dining in and some apartment blocks are sealed shut. The streets are quiet and the residents who do venture out have to show negative coronavirus tests to enter most public venues. (Reuters)
After remaining over 5 per cent for two consecutive days, the Covid-19 test positivity rate – the proportion of samples tested that returns positive — in Delhi dropped to 4.89 per cent Sunday when 1,485 cases were recorded against 30,398 tests as per the daily health bulletin.
The test positivity rate is an indicator of the spread of the infection in a geographical location; the infection is said to be under control when a positivity rate of 5 per cent or less is maintained for over two weeks. As Covid-19 cases started rising after the mask mandates were withdrawn in April, the positivity rate started inching up along with the number of tests, which had dropped to a low level after the surge in January. A positivity rate of 5 per cent was recorded for two consecutive previous days and four single instances before that in April. Read more
The daily positivity rate was at 1.07 per cent on Monday, up from 0.71 per cent. The weekly positivity rate, too, saw a marginal increase from 0.68 per cent to 0.70 per cent.
Active Covid-19 cases in the country climber to 19,500 in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Monday, despite a dip in the daily infections. On Sunday, the country had 19,092 active cases. India recorded 3,157 new Covid-19 infections, down from the previous day’s 3,324. As many as five Covid-related deaths occurred in the last 24 hours, while 21 others were reported to reconcile figures, data shared by the Union Ministry of Health showed.
Delhi reported 1,485 fresh Covid-19 infections, 1,204 recoveries, & zero deaths, in the last 24 hours. Active cases rise to 5,997; positivity rate at 4.89%
Two new sub-lineages of the Omicron variant can dodge antibodies from earlier infection, as per a new study.
This may trigger a new wave, but the sub-lineages are far less able to thrive in the blood of vaccinated people.
The scientists from multiple institutions were examining Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages. Read more
Many Chinese are marking a quiet May Day holiday this year as the government's zero-COVID approach restricts travel and enforces lockdowns in multiple cities.
All restaurants in Beijing are closed to dine-in customers from Sunday through the end of the holiday on Wednesday, open only for takeout and delivery. Parks and tourist attractions in the Chinese capital are limited to 50% of their capacity. The Universal Studios theme park in Beijing, which opened last year, said it had shut down temporarily.
A total of 5,23,843 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,47,843 from Maharashtra, 69,047 from Kerala, 40,101 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,175 from Delhi, 23,507 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,201 from West Bengal. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5; and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11; 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20; and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore cases on May 4 and three crore on June 23, 2021.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands became Covid-19 again as the lone patient was cured of the disease, a health bulletin said on Sunday. One fresh infection was reported on April 23 and the patient was discharged on April 30.
There are now no active cases in the Union territory. (PTI)
"If Covid-19 cases continue to rise, then we will have to make the wearing of masks compulsory. Our aim is to speed up vaccination and will take all possible steps to ensure the vaccination of children," Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope was quoted as saying by ANI.
India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 189.17 crore (1,89,17,69,346) as per provisional reports till 7 am Sunday, data from the Union Ministry of Health showed.
Of these, 2,82,86,872 (2.8 crore) are precaution doses.
Though India recorded slightly fewer daily Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Sunday, the active cases in the country climbed up to 19,092 from the previous day’s 18,684. As many as 3,324 infections were recorded, according to the data provided by the Union Ministry of Health. On Saturday, the country recorded 3,688 cases.
Despite a decline in daily new Covid cases, active infections rose to 513 in Tamil Nadu with 49 more people testing positive, the health department said on Saturday.
Chennai accounted for the majority of new cases with 36. Chengalpet recorded six new Covid cases, while Coimbatore, Erode, Kanyakumari, Namakkal, Salem, Tiruvallur and Vellore reported one case each.
The death toll in the state stood at 38,025 as no fatality was recorded in the last 24 hours, it said.
India’s active cases on Saturday climbed up to 19,092 from the previous day’s 18,684.
Meanwhile, the country reported 40 Covid-related deaths, of which 36 were declared in Kerala retrospectively, in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Saturday. Data from the Union Ministry of Health showed that Karnatka reported two deaths while Delhi and Maharasthra reported one each.
The cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India crossed 189 crore on Saturday, the Union Health Ministry said.
Over 23 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Saturday till 7 pm. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late at the night.
A total of 78,565 precaution doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered to those aged 18-59 years on Saturday till 7 pm.
The total number of precaution doses given in this age group has reached 7,47,648, according to Health Ministry data.
India began administering precaution doses of Covid-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 years at private vaccination centres on April 10. Those in this age group who have completed nine months after the second dose are eligible for the precaution dose.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year. (PTI)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday provided financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to the family of Dr Aabha Bhandari, who lost her life while serving Covid-19 patients.
Sisodia visited Dr Bhandari's residence and handed over the cheque under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's scheme of honouring the sacrifice of Covid warriors, an official statement said here.
He said the Delhi government would never forget the sacrifices made by Covid warriors and would always stand by their families.
"No amount can ever make up for someone's loss but we hope that this assistance helps her family gain strength to deal with their grief. It can not make up for the void they leave behind. The Kejriwal government salutes the spirit of the Covid warriors," Sisodia said in the statement. (PTI)
Amid fresh Covid-19 concerns, the Karnataka government on Saturday instructed officials to initiate surveillance measures for those arriving from Japan and Thailand, including RT-PCR tests for symptomatic cases at the airport testing laboratory.
Screening, surveillance and tele-monitoring for certain international arrivals have been instructed as per the recommendations of the State Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).
At Bengaluru International Airport and Mangaluru International Airport, the arrivals from the above-mentioned countries should undergo thermal screening upon arrival, a government circular said.
Testing through RT-PCR should be done for the symptomatic persons at the airport testing laboratory and for those found positive, the samples shall be sent for genome sequencing. (PTI)
With coronavirus cases rising steadily, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to provide one month's advance medicines to non-Covid patients visiting its health facilities with chronic diseases, officials said Saturday. "If they get medicines in advance, they will not have to go to hospitals owing to which there will be less chances of Covid infection in them," a senior official said.
The officials also said the civic agency has made elaborate arrangements at its hospitals and health centres for Covid patients including setting up separate registration counters, waiting rooms, queues, dedicated lab testing facilities.
The officials said an order in this regard has also been issued by the civic body. "Senior citizens visiting our health units should be attended on priority as they are most vulnerable group of people. Non-Covid patients especially suffering from chronic ailments, visiting SDMC hospitals and dispensaries, should be issued at least one month medicines," the SDMC said. (PTI)
The first dose of Sputnik V vaccine can be administered as the precaution dose to all those vaccinated with the Russian Covid-19 jab, an NTAGI panel has recommended, official sources told PTI on Saturday.
The two doses of the Sputnik V vaccine have separate compositions.
Currently, there is no policy decision on providing a precaution dose to those inoculated with the Russian vaccine. (Read More)
Police wearing helmets and shields made several arrests Friday night in Canada's capital after facing off against protesters opposed to Covid-19 mandates.
Big-rig trucks attempted to make their way to Parliament Hill as part of the “Rolling Thunder” rally, organised by Freedom Fighters Canada, a group dedicated to speaking out against Covid-19 mandates.
Many of the protesters were also part of the three-week Freedom Convoy demonstration that gridlocked Ottawa's downtown earlier this year with big rigs, prompting Canada's federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time.
That protest ended after hundreds of police officers moved in to disperse the crowds, making dozens of arrests.
Ottawa police promised earlier Friday that protesters would not be allowed to get a foothold for a prolonged occupation. (AP)
Carrying a negative Covid report or vaccination certificate is not mandatory for pilgrims coming to Uttarakhand for this year's Char Dham Yatra, a senior government official said on Saturday.
However, it will be compulsory for them to register on the tourism department's portal before setting out on the pilgrimage, Chief Secretary S S Sandhu said after holding a meeting with officials Friday night to discuss the yatra and how to conduct it successfully.
Checking pilgrims coming from outside the state for a negative Covid report or vaccination certificate will not be mandatory till further orders, Sandhu said.
It is being done so that devotees do not face any inconvenience on arrival and there is no crowding on the state's borders, he said.
However, he asked officials to constantly monitor the situation.
The meeting was attended by the state's police chief, secretaries of health and tourism departments, officials of the Mandir Samiti and the district magistrates concerned. The Char Dham Yatra begins on May 3 with the opening of the Gangotri and Yamunotri temples. Kedarnath will open on May 6 and Badrinath on May 8. (PTI)
Shanghai said on Saturday it had detected no new daily Covid-19 cases outside quarantine areas, marking a milestone in its battle to contain the virus, which has paralysed the city of 25 million and put residents in the capital Beijing on edge.
Streets in Beijing were eerily quiet at the start of a five-day Labour Day break, with residents anxious that authorities would impose further restrictions during a holiday when many typically travel or socialise.
"You look at a city that used to be crowded and now is void. You wonder how these people manage to survive," said Li, 35, who works in the finance sector in Beijing, breaking into tears.
In the eastern commercial capital of Shanghai, scenes of houses and buildings ringed with fences to prevent residents from leaving have grabbed headlines at a time when most other countries in the world are learning to live with Covid. (Reuters)
China's manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low in April as lockdowns continued in Shanghai and other manufacturing hubs in an attempt to stem Covid-19 outbreaks, according to a survey released Saturday.
The monthly purchasing managers' index, released by China's National Bureau of Statistics, fell to 47.4 in April, down from 49.5 in March on a 100-point scale. Numbers below 50 show activity contracting.
The domestic Covid-19 outbreaks have impacted China's factory activities and market demand, said the bureau's statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Some enterprises have reduced or stopped production, with disruptions in logistics as well as the supply or raw materials and components.
Shanghai, China's most populous city, spent weeks in April under lockdown. The capital, Beijing, began mass testing millions of residents this week.
In the northeast, authorities in Changchun and Jilin also spent most of April in lockdown, forcing automakers and other factories to shut down. Other smaller Chinese cities have also faced citywide or district lockdowns.
According to the statistics bureau, non-manufacturing business activity also fell 6.5 percentage points to 41.9. (AP)
A probe has been ordered after several vials of Covishield vaccine were found in a garbage dump at a community health centre here, officials said on Saturday.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the district, Dr Vinod Kumar termed the "wastage of vaccine' a 'serious matter'.
"An investigation will be ordered and action will be taken against those found guilty," said Kumar.
CHC superintendent Dr. Mahendra Bhan Singh said a single vial of Covishied contains 10 doses.
According to the rule, a vial of Covishield is opened only when 10 patients are available to take the dose.
"Sometimes if the vial has been opened, and fewer people are present as others didn't turn up within a few hours, that vial is kept aside." Meanwhile some local residents alleged that despite not taking the second dose of the vaccine, they have been receiving messages on their mobile phone that the second jab has been administered to them. (PTI)
Indian students enrolled in Chinese universities heaved a sigh of relief with China announcing plans to allow the return of "some" of them who have been stranded in India for over two years following the visa and flight restrictions imposed by Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rohit Kumar Yadav, an MBBS student at Shihezi University, said he is relieved that he will be able to return to campus and appear in offline exams.
"Medicine is a practical-oriented course and despite all the efforts by university to make online classes more interactive, it is not the same kind of exposure... I am glad this difficult phase will end and I will be able to return to campus and also appear in offline exams," he said.
A student of the University of South China in Hengyang, who did not wish to be identified, said, "The past two years have been very difficult not only personally but also academically. I hope it's all over now and we can get back to normal campus life." "We have been asked to submit required information by filling up a Google Form on the Indian Embassy's website. Even if our return is in phases, it's a welcome move," said a student of Harbin Medical University. (PTI)
The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT Madras) reported 13 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday taking the total number of confirmed cases since April 19 to 196, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said.
With the addition of 12 coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra rose to 7,09,035, an official said on Saturday. These cases were reported on Friday. As the virus claimed the life of one person during the day, the death toll in the district stood at 11,893, he said, adding that Thane's mortality rate is 1.67 per cent. (PTI)
Singapore has confirmed two Covid-19 cases with the new Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 through active monitoring of the disease and genetic sequencing for surveillance, the Channel News Asia reported. The two community cases were detected as part of the authorities' "active monitoring of the Covid-19 situation and genetic sequencing for surveillance", said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update on Thursday (April 28) night.
"All cases self-isolated after testing positive for Covid-19," it said.
The ministry noted that BA.2.12.1 is not currently on the World Health Organization's list of variants of concern of interest, or variants under monitoring. Not much is known about BA.2.12.1 - a subvariant of the highly contagious BA.2 Omicron variant - and there is currently no evidence that it causes more severe disease. (PTI)
Delhi has recorded 1,607 fresh Covid-19 cases with two people succumbing to the virus in the last 24 hours, while the positivity rate stood at 5.28 per cent, the city health department said on Saturday. These figures refer to Friday's heath bulletin which was issued by authorities this morning.
With these new cases, the national capital's overall Covid tally has increased to 18,81,555 while the death toll has risen to 26,174. Delhi on Thursday had recorded 1,490 Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of 4.62 per cent, and two deaths.
A total of 30,459 tests were conducted on Thursday, according to the Friday's health bulletin. The number of daily Covid-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13 this year during the third wave of the pandemic. (PTI)
The Standing Technical Sub-Committee of the NTAGI has recommended inclusion of the Serum Institute’s Covovax in the national COVID-19 vaccination programme for children aged 12 to 17 years, sources said on Friday. India’s drug regulator had approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28 last year and in the 12-17 age group, subject to certain conditions, on March 9. Read more
There are 18,684 active cases in India, which comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There has been an increase of 883 active cases in the last 24 hours, while 2,755 patients were discharged on Friday.
The active Covid-19 cases in West Bengal on Friday jumped by 34 to 335, the Health Department said. The state reported 52 new cases, taking the tally to 20,18,205. The toll remained at 21,201 with no fresh deaths registered, it said. At present, there are 309 patients in home isolation and 26 undergoing treatment at different hospitals, it added.
In the last 24 hours, 18 patients recovered. The new cases were detected after testing 12,174 samples. The Covid-19 situation in the state was normal with a very small number of people testing positive daily, a Health official said. "The situation in the state is absolutely fine at the moment. There has been almost no death in the last few weeks. Also, the number of new cases is very paltry," he said. (PTI)
India Saturday recorded 50 deaths in the last 24 hours taking the total death toll to 5,23,803, according to the latest data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
India recorded a slight uptick in its coronavirus caseload, recording 3,688 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Saturday, according to the latest data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
A month after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised the issue, China on Friday announced plans to permit the return of “some” Indian students stranded here for over two years following visa and flight restrictions imposed by Beijing after the pandemic.
“China attaches high importance to Indian students’ concerns about returning to China for studies. We have shared with the Indian side the procedures and experience of other countries’ students returning to China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing. Read more
Delhi Friday reported 1,607 fresh Covid-19 infections and a positivity rate of 5.28%. The active cases in the national capital stands at 5,609.
The Delhi government has provided Covid relief assistance of Rs 1 crore to families of 30 ‘Covid warriors’ who lost their lives during the pandemic, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia after handing over the ‘Samman Rashi’ to the family of a staffer. Sisodia visited the family of Kamlesh, a sanitation worker at Lok Nayak hospital, who died of Covid while serving patients.
Hello and welcome to today's live blog. We bring to you the latest updates on Covid-19 status across India. Stay tuned