PM Narendra Modi (File)Coronavirus News Highlights: Interacting with the chief ministers of several states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday warned that the “Covid challenge” has not yet been surpassed. “Despite managing the Covid crisis well as compared to other countries, we can see an uptick in cases in states now. We have to stay alert,” Modi said. He added that administering vaccine to every eligible child at the earliest is our priority, while stressing the need to ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour in public places.
The review meeting was attended by several chief ministers including West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann.
India reported 2,927 new coronavirus cases — up from the previous day’s 2,483 — as of 8 am Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry. The active cases in India climbed to 16,279 from 15,636. The country also reported 32 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Healthcare workers conduct Covid-19 test at the Girls College after two cases were reported, in Lucknow, Monday, April 25, 2022. (PTI Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (April 27) held a review meeting with chief ministers amid rising cases of the coronavirus infection in the country. Here are the five things the PM told the states during the meeting chaired by him.
‘Children are returning to school, need to vaccinate all of them on priority’
During the interaction, Prime Narendra Modi emphasised that priority in the new phase of pandemic should be to vaccinate all the eligible children population — directing the states to run special vaccination campaigns needs to be implemented, especially in the backdrop of children returning to the schools after a long break. Read full Explainer here
Dr. Anthony Fauci has given an upbeat assessment of the current state of the coronavirus in the United States, saying the country is “out of the pandemic phase” when it comes to new infections, hospitalizations and deaths, but that it appears to be making a transition to COVID-19 becoming an endemic disease — occurring regularly in certain areas.
Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said on the PBS “NewsHour” on Tuesday that the coronavirus remains a pandemic for much of the world, but the threat is not over for the United States, adding that he was speaking about the worst phase of the pandemic.
"Namely, we don't have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now,” he said. (AP)
Telangana on Wednesday recorded 49 new COVID-19 cases taking the total number of cases in the state to 7,91,906, a health department bulletin said.
No fresh fatalities due to the virus was reported on Wednesday and the death toll stood unchanged at 4,111, it said. Hyderabad accounted for the highest number of 29 cases in the state.
A total of 11 people recovered from the infection on Wednesday taking the cumulative number of recoveries till date to 7,87,519. The active cases stood at 276, the bulletin said. (PTI)
After lifting all COVID-19-related restrictions less than a month ago, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday appealed to people to use face masks when outdoors and take necessary precautions to restrict a possible fourth wave of the pandemic at the doorstep and prevent it from entering the state.
The CM's appeal came in the backdrop of an uptick in coronavirus cases in the state, especially in Mumbai where more than 100 new cases were reported for the second straight day on Wednesday.
Thackeray's call came after he held a review meeting with divisional commissioners, municipal commissioners, Zilla Parishad CEOs and top police officials in view of the rise in coronavirus cases. (PTI)
Chhattisgarh on Wednesday reported five fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 11,52,253, while no new death linked to the infection was reported in the state, an official said. The death toll remained unchanged at 14,034.
The positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, stood at 0.11 per cent, he said. The recovery count in Chhattisgarh rose at 11,38,191 after four people completed their home isolation period during the day, leaving the state with 28 active cases, he said.
"Raipur and Durg recorded two cases each followed by one in Rajnandgaon district. No new coronavirus cases were reported in 25 districts. As on Wednesday, no active cases existed in 14 districts in the state," the official said. (PTI)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said a high number of cases in the state are mainly from Gurugram and Faridabad bordering Delhi.
Khattar said Haryana is fully prepared to tackle any surge in Covid cases and added that enhanced health infrastructure has been set up in the state. Along with enhanced health facilities, the state government has also started the recruitment process of new medical staff, he said.
Khattar was speaking during the virtual meeting of chief ministers convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the emerging COVID-19 situation in the country Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and Health Minister Anil Vij were also present, an official statement said here. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Wednesday recorded 77 new COVID-19 infections, which includes a returnee from Meghalaya, pushing the total caseload to 34,53,756. Among those tested positive include 52 men and 25 women.
The death toll remained unchanged at 38,025 with nil fatalities being recorded in the last 24 hours, the health department said. The recoveries reached 34,15,284 with 34 more people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, leaving 447 active infections, a medical bulletin said.
Chennai accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections with 59, Chengalpet seven, Tiruvallur three, Coimbatore two, while Dindigul, Kancheepuram, Tuticorin, Vellore and Virudhunagar recorded one case each. (PTI)
DMRC Managing Director Vikas Kumar on Wednesday travelled by metro in the Blue Line to take stock of overall compliance of Covid-appropriate behaviour by passengers, officials said.
He travelled from Barakhamba to R K Ashram and got down at all stations, including the busy Rajiv Chowk, and then travelled back on it, a senior official said. Blue Line connects Dwarka Sector 21 in Delhi and Electronic City in Noida.
"Shri Vikas Kumar, MD/DMRC today travelled on the Blue Line to take stock of the overall compliance to Covid appropriate behaviour by passengers while travelling. He also inspected stations including Rajiv Chowk interchange. Covid protocols were being followed by the passengers," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation tweeted. (PTI)
Members of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) staged a protest over the alleged illegal termination of 'Covid Warriors', the healthcare workers, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Wednesday.
(PTI photos)
Based on genome-sequencing analysis, the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (INSACOG) has said very few recombinant variants of the coronavirus have been found in the country and none of those has shown either increased transmission, locally or otherwise, nor were they associated with severe disease or hospitalisation.
INSACOG, in its weekly bulletin of April 11 that was released on Wednesday, said the incidences of suspected recombinants and the possible public health relevance are being closely monitored. It said a total of 2,40,570 samples have been sequenced till now.
"Based on genome sequencing analysis, very few recombinant variants have been discovered in India. So far, none showed either increased transmission (locally or otherwise) or was associated with severe disease or hospitalisation," it said. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the infection tally to 4,54,021, officials said. Of the new cases, three were from Jammu district and two each from Srinagar and Budgam, they said.
There are 58 active cases of COVID-19 in the Union Territory, while the number of recoveries has reached 4,49,212, officials said.
The COVID-19 death toll stands at 4,751 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours. There are 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis (black fungus) in Jammu and Kashmir, they said. (PTI)
Mumbai reported over 100 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, but no fresh death linked to the infection was recorded in the financial capital, the city civic body said.
The metropolis registered 112 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily count since February 25, taking the overall tally to 10,59,545, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a bulletin.
On February 25, the city had witnessed 128 COVID-19 cases. Thereafter only twice before March 2, the financial capital had seen 100 or more COVID-19 cases. (PTI)
Delhi reported 1,367 fresh COVID-19 cases and one fatality, while the positivity rate stood at 4.50 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here on Wednesday.
It was the sixth consecutive day that the capital recorded over 1,000 new cases in a day. The infection tally in the national capital stands at 18,78,458 and the death toll has reached 26,170, the bulletin stated.
A total of 30,346 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the city on Tuesday, it said. Delhi had reported 1,204 fresh COVID-19 cases and one fatality on Tuesday, while the positivity rate stood at 4.64 per cent. A day before, it saw 1,011 cases with a positivity rate of 6.42 percent and one death. (PTI)
Mizoram on Wednesday reported 164 fresh COVID-19 cases, 62 more than the previous day, taking the tally to 2,27,152, a health official said. The coronavirus death toll rose to 696 as a 36-year-old man from Aizawl succumbed to the infection.
The single-day positivity increased to 18 per cent from 13.72 per cent on the previous day as the fresh cases were detected from the clinical examination of 907 samples.
Mizoram now has 645 active cases, while 2,25,811 people have recovered from the infection thus far. The COVID-19 recovery rate now is 99.41 per cent and the death rate is 0.30 per cent, the health official said. (PTI)
Andhra Pradesh recorded four fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total caseload to 23,19,670. Visakhapatnam and adjoining Anakapalli districts reported two fresh coronavirus cases each, a health bulletin said.
With no new deaths reported, the overall fatality toll remained at 14,730. According to the latest bulletin, eight infected persons got cured in the state in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday.
The total recoveries increased to 23,04,926 and the state now has 14 active coronavirus cases. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 186 new coronavirus infections including 112 in state capital Mumbai and zero pandemic-related deaths, the state health department said.
The day before, the state had recorded 153 new cases including 102 in Mumbai, and four fatalities. On Wednesday, the state's COVID-19 caseload rose to 78,77,264 and death toll remained unchanged at 1,47,838.
Mumbai recorded 112 fresh cases. Maharashtra now has 955 active cases. (PTI)
Amid apprehensions regarding a possible COVID-19 fourth wave, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said the situation in the state is under control and his government has decided to focus on enhancing vaccination drive, increase testing, and enforce appropriate behaviour at public places.
He said this while briefing reporters on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with Chief Ministers of various states, on the emerging COVID-19 situation in the country, via video conferencing.
"We will be holding a large-scale vaccination drive for those between the age group of 6-12 years, those up to 18 years, and those above 60 years of age (precautionary dose). Patients at the hospitals including ILI and SARI cases will be tested and if anyone reports positive their samples will be sent for genomic sequencing," Bommai said. (PTI)
Amid rising coronavirus cases in the country, wearing of masks in crowded places could be made mandatory again in Maharashtra, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to hold a meeting with the district collectors in the state to discuss the issue with them, he said. "I feel this decision (about making wearing of masks compulsory in public places) could be taken after the meeting," Tope told reporters.
He said Delhi has made masks mandatory and is even imposing a fine of Rs 500. Even masks restrictions are back in district of Uttar Pradesh adjoining Delhi, he said. (PTI)
Odisha has reported no Covid deaths in the last one week, as per the state health department. The state registered 10 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, it said on Wednesday.
There are 80 active cases in the state at present, it added. Seventeen districts of the state have no Covid patients. The new cases were detected after testing 20,274 samples.
So far, 9,124 people have died in the state and 12,88,017 cases have been reported. Ten more patients recovered in the last 24 hours, the health department said. (PTI)
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday said the time limit for filing claims for compensation for deaths that occurred prior to March 20 due to Covid will be two months, while for future deaths, it will be three months.
The NDMA announced this in the wake of a Supreme Court order issued on March 24 to this effect. Sixty days will be the outer time limit to file claims for compensation if the death occurred due to the viral disease prior to March 20, 2022.
For future deaths, 90 days' time shall be provided from the date of death to file the claim for compensation, the NDMA said in a public notice. The earlier order to process the claims and make the actual payment of compensation within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the claim shall continue to be enforced. (PTI)
The Kerala government on Wednesday brought back the face masks mandate in the state, in the wake of surge in Covid cases reported in many other parts of the country.
It also announced that any violation would be punishable under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act and other relevant laws.
Chief Secretary V P Joy in his latest order said the government had rescinded all the restrictions imposed under the Disaster Management Act-2005, in connection with the Covid containment activities in the state. (PTI)
Shanghai city authorities said Wednesday they will start rounds of Covid testing over the next few days to determine which neighborhoods can safely be allowed a limited amount of freedom of movement, as residents in Beijing watch carefully on word for whether the capital city will lock down.
On Wednesday, China reported 14,222 new cases, the vast majority of which were asymptomatic. Shanghai's vice head of its health committee, Zhao Dandan, announced Wednesday that the city would begin another round of testing for city residents over the next few days to determine which districts were lower risk.
Areas that have been declared to have achieved “societal zero Covid” could see some measure of limited freedom. The phrase, used by Chinese health authorities, refers to when new positive cases are only discovered in people who are already under surveillance, such as in centralized quarantine or those considered to be close contacts. At this point, they are considered to have broken off chains of transmission at the community level. (AP)
Malaysia will ease more Covid curbs from the start of next month, including lifting restrictions on those who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus and scrapping the need to wear masks outdoors, its health minister said.
The Southeast Asian nation has seen some of the worst Covid outbreaks in the region, but infection surges have since subsided amid a ramped up vaccination programme.
Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Wednesday people will now be able to enter public premises regardless of their vaccination status, except those who have tested positive for Covid or unvaccinated travellers undergoing quarantine. Malaysia will also remove pre-flight and on-arrival testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers and those who have just recovered from Covid, Khairy said. (Reuters)
At the Covid-19 review meeting with Chief Ministers, PM Modi called for cooperation between the Centre and states. Saying that the war in Ukraine has impacted the supply chains, which has posed several challenges, PM Modi asserted, “Cooperative Federalism is important.” Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a review meeting with cheif ministers urged all states to “get safety audits of all hospitals done on a priority basis to prevent fire incidents which have been increasing amid heatwave”. “Our response time should also be minimal,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He also called for scaling up infrastructure and manpower at medical colleges as well as district hospitals.
Speaking to Chief Ministers, PM Modi said that administering vaccine to every eligible child at the earliest is our priority, while stressing the need to ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour in public places.
As cases see a spike in several states, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai attended the Covid-19 review meeting chaired by PM Modi, who advised everyone to stay alert.
Interacting with the chief ministers of several states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday warned that the “Covid challenge” has not yet been surpassed. “Despite managing the Covid crisis well as compared to other countries, we can see an uptick in cases in states now. We have to stay alert,” Modi said.
The review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as well as chief ministers of Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Tripura and others, ANI reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be chairing a review meet with the chief ministers Wednesday in view of the spike in Covid cases in the country.
The meeting is set to be held at 12 noon. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates!
The Distrtict Magistrate of Dehradun, Uttarakhand has directed authorities to fine Rs 500 to those who come without face masks in the city. The decision was taken in view of the increasing rate of Covid-19 infection in the capital as well as the district, news agency ANI reported.
As 2,252 patients recovered from the infection, the number of active cases in India is not at 16,279. The country also reported 32 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of covid-related fatalities to 5,23,654.
India reported 2,927 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours as of 8 am Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.
Amid fresh Covid-19 concerns in different parts of the country and apprehensions of a possible fourth wave of the pandemic, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday indicated that precautionary and surveillance measures may be reintroduces at airports and border districts of the state, depending on the Centre’s advisory. He appealed to people to follow precautionary measures like wearing masks and maintaining social distance to control the spread of virus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers on the emerging Covid situation in the country on Wednesday through video conferencing, an official said. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan will make a presentation at the conference. “PM Modi will interact with CMs on the Covid-related situation in the country through video conferencing tomorrow at 12 noon,” the official said.
With several festivals coming up, Modi had on Sunday urged people to stay alert to the threat from the coronavirus and continue to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks and frequently washing hands.
Hello and welcome to today's live blog. We bring to you the latest updates related to the Covid-19 cases across the country. Stay tuned!
Following the record surge in Covid cases during the Omicron-driven wave, some 58% of the U.S. population overall and more than 75% of younger children have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to a US nationwide blood survey released on Tuesday.
The study of blood samples sent to laboratories between December and February - when Omicron cases were raging - showed children, many of whom remain unvaccinated, had the highest rates of infection during that surge, while people 65 and older - a heavily vaccinated population - had the lowest.
Scientists looked for specific antibodies produced in response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that are only present after an infection and are not generated by Covid vaccines. In children aged 11 and younger, 75.2% were positive for infection-related antibodies from December to February, up from 44.2% in the prior three month period. (Reuters)
Telangana on Tuesday recorded 30 new Covid cases taking the tally to 7,91,857. Hyderabad reported the highest number of cases with 17.
A Health department bulletin said 24 people recuperated from the infection raising the cumulative number of recoveries till date to 7,87,508. The recovery rate stood at 99.45 per cent.
No fresh fatality occurred due to the infectious disease and the death toll continued to be 4,111. The bulletin said 15,633 samples were tested on Tuesday. The number of active cases was 238, it said. (PTI)
US Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the US eases restrictions in a bid to revert to pre-pandemic normalcy.
The White House said Tuesday that Harris tested positive on both rapid and a PCR tests, and said she "has exhibited no symptoms." Harris will isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely, and would only return to the White House once she tests negative for the virus. The White House said neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden were considered a “close contact" of Harris in recent days.
Harris, 57, received her first dose of the Moderna Covid vaccine weeks before taking office and a second dose just days after Inauguration Day in 2021. She received a booster shot in late October and an additional booster on April 1. (AP)
The Covid tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 10,41,336 on Tuesday after detection of 13 new cases, while no fresh death linked to the infection was reported in the state, a health department official said.
The death toll remained unchanged at 10,735 as no casualty was reported in the last 24 hours, the official said. The positivity rate, or coronavirus cases detected per 100 tests, was 0.2 per cent, he said.
The recovery count increased by eight to touch 10,30,526, leaving the state with 75 active cases, the official informed. With 5,633 swab samples examined during the day, the cumulative number of tests in MP went up to 2,90,51,828, he added. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Tuesday added 72 new Covid infections, pushing the caseload to 34,53,679 while the death toll remained unchanged at 38,025 with nil fatalities being recorded in the last 24 hours, the Health department said. Recoveries reached 34,15,250 with 30 more people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, leaving 404 active infections, a medical bulletin said.
Meanwhile, following the cluster of Covid positive cases detected at the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras here last week, 31 more people have tested positive totalling to 111 confirmed cases at the campus, the government said.
Chennai accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections with 52, Chengalpet 9, Tiruvallur 3, while Coimbatore, Kancheepuram recorded two cases, respectively. (PTI)
As schools around the country return to full in-person classes, and amid reports of some small children testing positive for Covid-19, the national drugs controller on Tuesday (April 26) cleared children as young as 5 years old to receive vaccination against the coronavirus.
Once the modalities for the rollout are finalised by the government, kids in the age group of 5-12 can be vaccinated with Biological E’s Corbevax.
The United States and United Kingdom have allowed vaccination of children age 5 with Pfizer/BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine. Corbevax, which is being used at present to vaccinate pre- and young teens in the 12-14 years age group, is built on a different technological platform. Read full Explainer
Yang Wenhui should be a proud example of China’s rise from economic rubble to global powerhouse.
Growing up poor, he ate so much cabbage that he did not touch it again for many years. He worked as a farmer and a construction worker before joining the country’s nascent logistics industry. In 2003, he started his own freight logistics company, striking gold as online shopping took off in the 2010s and products moved swiftly between provinces.
Then the omicron variant started spreading in China. In the government’s zealous pursuit of its “zero-COVID” policy, dozens of cities along the 1,300 miles of highway between the capital, Beijing, and the southern province of Guangdong, his main freight route, imposed travel restrictions and lockdowns. Many truckers were grounded. Cargo prices rose 20% in a matter of weeks. Read full NYT story written by Li Yuan
New Delhi is again experiencing an uptick in cases of COVID-19 . The third biggest city in the world – Shanghai – has been going through a protracted lockdown for weeks and sub-variants of Omicron are popping up around the world.
This week, I will be in joining leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Raisina Dialogues in India to discuss the challenges of our time and how inequity is a root and exacerbating force.
From the ongoing pandemic, to the climate catastrophe, to rising conflict that is transforming geopolitics, humanity is currently locked in a downward spiral that needs intentionality from leaders to break out of. And if we don’t tackle inequity and the danger of greedy nationalism, we’ll be missing the true lesson of the last few years. Read full opinion piece by Ayoade Alakija
The Chandigarh Administration on Monday made use of face masks mandatory. Its violation will invite a fine of Rs 500.
An order issued by the Chandigarh Adviser stated that use of face masks would be mandatory in closed environments.
The order issued by the Adviser said, “The undersigned in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 22 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in my capacity as Chairperson, State Executive Committee, State Disaster Management authority hereby orders that wearing of face mask shall be compulsory in the closed environment like public transport like buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws etc, cinema halls, shopping malls, departmental stores, shops.” Read more
The head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday urged countries to maintain surveillance of coronavirus infections, saying we are "blind" to how the virus is spreading because of falling testing rates.
"As many countries reduce testing, WHO is receiving less & less information about transmission and sequencing," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference at the U.N. agency's headquarters in Geneva. "This makes us increasingly blind to patterns of transmission and evolution," he added. (Reuters)
Italy reported 29,575 Covid related cases on Tuesday, against 24,878 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily number of deaths rose to 146 from 93.
Italy has registered 162,927 deaths linked to Covid since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 16.2 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with Covid - not including those in intensive care - stood at 10,328 on Tuesday, up from 10,050 a day earlier.
There were 23 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 26 on Monday. The total number of intensive care patients stood at 409, decreasing from 416 on Monday. Some 182,675 tests for Covid were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 138,803, the health ministry said. (Reuters)
Over 86 per cent of India's adult population is now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus infection, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said as the number of cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 188 crore on Tuesday.
More than 19 lakh (19,67,717) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm on Tuesday. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night.
Over 46,044 precaution doses of Covid vaccine were administered in those aged 18-59 years till 7 pm on Tuesday, taking the total number of precaution doses given in this age-group to 5,15,290 so far, according to the health ministry data. (PTI)
Authorities in the Chinese capital have rolled out mass Covid testing for nearly 21 million residents in most of the city, as they race to contain a fresh outbreak of the Omicron variant in Beijing that has sparked panic buying amid fears of a Shanghai-style lockdown.
After testing over 3.5 million on Monday, Beijing reported 21 positive cases Monday, taking the total number of cases during the last few days to 155.
Gene sequencing of 38 infected samples conducted by the Beijing municipal disease prevention and control centre found that the virus is a Covid Omicron variant, Pang Xinghuo, deputy head of the centre, said. (PTI)
Gujarat on Tuesday reported 19 new cases of coronavirus that raised the tally of infections to 12,24,276, an official from the state health department said.
As many as 13 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 12,13,234, while the toll stood at 10,943 as no casualties were reported during the day, he said.
The state is now left with 99 active cases, the official said. (PTI)
Amid a rise in Covid cases, resident welfare associations in Delhi are keeping a "watchful eye" on the evolving situation and also issuing advisories for residents through the social media.
Representatives of various RWAs here said they are also ensuring that residents and staff are doubly vaccinated and have taken the booster shot.
The national capital has been witnessing an uptick in coronavirus infections over the past few days. The number of active cases has now increased to 4,168 from 601 on April 11, according to health department data.
However, the hospitalisation rate so far has been low, accounting for less than three per cent of the total active cases, it stated. Many RWA representatives said with a majority of COVID-19 restrictions gone, they can only advise people to take precautions and use masks properly. (PTI)
Delhi recorded 1,204 fresh Covid-19 cases and one virus-related fatality on Tuesday. The posititivy rate is now at 4.64 per cent.
Meanwhile, 863 persons recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours. Delhi had on Monday reported 1,011 Covid cases and one death with a positivity rate of 6.42 per cent.
Nineteen of the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir did not report any new Covid cases on Tuesday while Jammu saw nine, taking the infection tally in the Union Territory to 4,54,013, officials said here.
There are 55 active Covid cases in Jammu and Kashmir, while the number of recoveries has reached 4,49,207, they said.
The Covid death toll stands at 4,751 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours. Officials said there are 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis (black fungus) in the Union Territory. (PTI)
Mumbai witnessed a sharp rise in the number of fresh Covid-19 cases on Tuesday by recording 102 new ones, as against Monday’s 45 cases. This is the highest one-day rise after February 27 this year, taking the tally of infections to 10,59,433, the city civic body said.
The positivity rate is now at 1.4 per cent. However, the death toll remained unchanged at 19,562 with no fresh fatality reported.
The last time Mumbai recorded over 100 cases was on March 2.
Amid fresh COVID-19 concerns in different parts of the country and apprehensions of a possible fourth wave of the pandemic, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday indicated that precautionary and surveillance measures may be reintroduces at airports and border districts of the state, depending on the Centre's advisory.
He appealed to people to follow precautionary measures like wearing masks and maintaining social distance to control the spread of virus. "Everyone has to follow the precautionary measures, there is no need for worry as hospitalisations have not increased, but still we have taken certain precautionary measures," Bommai told reporters here.
In response to a question, he said during the previous three waves movement of people from neighbouring Maharashtra and Kerala was a cause of concern. (PTI)
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey is ready to lift all measures against the coronavirus, adding that mask wearing will no longer be obligatory indoors.
Speaking after the final meeting of the advisory science council, Erdogan said masks will still be mandated on public transport and in medical institutions until daily new cases drop below 1,000. Turkey had previously lifted the requirement to wear masks outdoors and in indoor areas with good ventilation.
Daily COVID-19 cases in Turkey have dropped to below 3,000 in recent days, from around 15,000 at the end of March. Tests have more than halved in the same period to around 130,000 daily. (Reuters)
On April 22, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Pfizer’s oral antiviral drug Paxlovid was “strongly recommended” for patients with non-severe Covid-19 who are at highest risk of developing severe disease and hospitalisation, such as unvaccinated, older, or immunosuppressed patients.
The recommendation was based on new data from two randomised controlled trials involving 3,078 patients. The data show that the risk of hospitalisation was reduced by 85% following this treatment, the WHO said in a statement. In a high-risk group (over 10% risk of hospitalisation), that meant 84 fewer hospitalisations per 1,000 patients. Read full Explainer here
Cambodia is lifting its mask mandate for open public places, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Tuesday. He cited a large decline in coronavirus cases and a high level of vaccinations in dropping the requirement nationwide.
He said in an audio message on his Facebook page that it is still mandatory to wear masks in indoor public areas, especially air-conditioned buildings and crowded places such as theatres.
He said it was up to individuals to decide whether they want to wear masks outdoors. (AP)