Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in India Today Highlights: As the Covid-19 situation in India improves some states/UTs have announced relaxations. Delhi and Uttar Pradesh government will begin the process of gradual Covid-19 unlocking from Monday (May 31), while Madhya Pradesh will open up from June 1, though in a phased manner. However, states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Haryana, and Odisha have extended lockdown in their states. Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have announced relaxations. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Sikkim governments are likely to take a decision on opening up today as lockdown will end today in these states.
India has been reporting below 2 lakh new Covid-19 cases for the past four days. India reported 11,52,734 new Coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the lowest single-day spike in 50 days — an indication that the Covid-19 second wave may be shrinking. The Covid-19 recovery rate in the country also improved to 91.60%. The daily fatalities due to Coronavirus complications have also fallen. India reported 3,128 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the overall toll to 3,29,100, according to Union Health Ministry data on Monday. Recoveries continued to outnumber the daily new cases for the 18th day in a row as a result the active caseload in the country further declined to 20,26,092, the Health Ministry said.
In another positive development, Serum Institute of India (SII) on Sunday said it will be able to manufacture and supply 9-10 crore doses of Covishield in June, which will provide a big boost to the ongoing vaccination drive in India when several states are complaining of a vaccine shortage. The government is also planning to review its decision of extending the interval between two Covishield doses after collecting data.
As India looks to reopens, with the Covid-19 situation improving, here’s Financial Express’s live blog on the latest and verified Coronavirus news/updates from India and the world:
Seeking fast-track approvals to bring Moderna’s single-dose COVID-19 booster vaccine in India expeditiously, Cipla has requested the government for indemnification and exemptions from price capping, bridging trials and basic customs duty, while stating that it is close to committing over USD 1-billion as advance to the US major, sources said on Monday.
Commending the government for its efforts to increase the vaccine availability in the country for achieving effective protection against COVID-19, the Indian pharma giant has said its discussions with Moderna on the COVID-19 booster vaccine are nearing finalisation and for that, they are seeking the “partnership and support of the government to make this programme successful”. | Read More
Close to committing $1-billion advance to Moderna for bringing COVID-19 booster vaccine to India: Cipla tells Govt (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh reports 1497 new COVID-19 cases, 5491 recoveries, and 151 deaths in the last 24 hours; active cases at 37,044 (ANI)
With daily-reported COVID-19 cases going down in Mumbai, the state govt has announced that all non-essential shops can operate for 5 days (Monday to Friday), from 7 am to 2 pm while adhering to the odd-even rule, and shall remain closed on weekends (ANI)
Cumulative vaccine coverage exceeds 21.58 crore with over 2.02 crore beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group. More than 25 lakh vaccine doses administered till 7 pm today: Ministry of Health (ANI)
CoWIN has been built as a platform to manage vaccination in the country. It does not collect any information about COVID-19 infection history of any person. CoWIN enforces only those rules (relating to gaps between two shots) as announced by the Govt from time to time: Ministry of Health (ANI)
Mumbai records 676 new COVID-19 cases, 5570 recoveries, and 29 deaths in the last 24 hours; active cases at 22,390 (ANI)
Smokers face 40-50 per cent higher risk of severe diseases and death from COVID-19: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. #NoTobaccoDay (ANI)
India reported more than 88.82 lakh coronavirus infections in May alone during the raging second wave of COVID-19, accounting for 31.67 percent of the over 2.8 crore cases reported in the country so far and making it the worst month of the pandemic. The month of May also saw 1,17,247 fatalities due to the disease, which is around 35.63 percent of the total 3,29,100 deaths recorded so far.
The daily cases peaked on May 7 when the country registered 4,14,188 infections in a span of 24 hours, while daily deaths were the highest on May 19 with India reporting 4,529 fatalities due to COVID-19. The daily new cases remained below three lakh since May 17 and the country has recorded less than two lakh daily new cases for four consecutive days. The active cases had peaked on May 10 at 37,45,237. | Read More
27,936 fresh COVID-19 cases, 31,223 recoveries, and 478 deaths reported in Tamil Nadu today; active cases at 3,01,781 (ANI)
Maharashtra reports 15,077 new COVID-19 cases, 184 deaths, and 33,000 discharges in the last 24 hours
Case tally 57,46,892
Active cases 2,53,367 (ANI)
Telangana records 2524 new COVID-19 cases, 3464 recoveries, and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours; case tally at 5,78,351 (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh reports 865 new COVID-19 cases, 2167 recoveries, and 19 deaths in the past 24 hours; active cases at 13,621 (ANI)
Rajasthan registers 1498 fresh COVID-19 cases, 68 fatalities, and 8000 recoveries/discharges today; active cases at 42,654 (ANI)
Karnataka records 16,604 new COVID19 cases, 44,473 discharges, and 411 deaths in the last 24 hours; active cases at 3,13,730 (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh | A National Institute of Fashion Technology student from Bhopal designs movable toilet for COVID patients
I’ve developed this for patients who are on oxygen support as it can be kept in the ward. It’s easy to use & of same size as wheelchair. My uncle contracted COVID & was on oxygen support. He was facing difficulty in using toilet in hospital. I discussed with my father & developed this. Its tank needs to be cleaned after 5-6 times of usage. It cost around Rs 25,000. I’ll donate this to hospital: Pratyaksha Majhe (ANI)
To accelerate the pace of vaccination even further, total availability of vaccines will increase further in June 2021; nearly 12 crore doses will be available to States and UTs in June 2021, enabling them to ramp up vaccination numbers. The Centre will provide the states and UTs with the available buffer stock to urgently replenish their depleting stocks so that the vaccination drive carries on at a steady pace: Ministry of Health (ANI)
Goa reports 602 fresh coronavirus cases and 24 fatalities, taking infection tally to 1,55,666 and death toll to 2,649; active case count 12,763: Health department official (PTI)
Restrictions imposed dated May 5 will continue till 6 am on June 9. All shops will be allowed to remain open from 9 am to 4 pm: Chandigarh Administration (ANI)
Varanasi | Banaras Hindu University researchers claim single dose of vaccine enough for COVID recovered patients
We studied effect of vaccine on COVID recovered & non-infected people. Antibodies in recovered people developed in 1st week. While only 90% of non-infected people developed antibodies after 3-4 weeks. Recovered people developed antibodies after 1st dose. By giving single-dose to recovered people we can overcome vaccine shortage. We’ve also written a letter to PM in this regard: Prof Zoology Dept BHU Gyaneshwer Chaubey (ANI)
Kerala has reported 12,300 new COVID-19 positive cases, 28,867 recoveries, and 174 deaths today
Active cases: 2,06,982
Death toll: 8,815 (ANI)
As the Covid lockdown restrictions were eased in Delhi, factory owners on Monday opened their establishments after six weeks with many grappling with shortage of labourers and raw materials, and fearing losses due to slump in production. After a strict lockdown for six weeks since April 19, the Delhi government allowed industrial manufacturing and construction work in the city from Monday as part of its phased unlock process. | Read More
Delhi reports 648 new COVID19 cases (positivity rate 0.99%), 1622 recoveries, and 86 deaths in the last 24 hours
Case tally 14,26,240
Active cases 11,040 – ANI
Delhi High Court asks Delhi govt to come up with policy on distribution of Amphotericin B drug, used for treatment of black fungus (mucormycosis) “Whom do you choose if you have to choose b/w two people when one is senior citizen & another is of a young age,” HC asks Delhi govt –ANI
Chennai | Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian inaugurated a new hall with 504 additional beds at Covid care centre, set up at Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam, taking the bed count to 864 with prior 360 beds here, for COVID19 patients – ANI
State govt has decided to purchase vaccines directly from manufacturing companies as 2 companies which had submitted bids in response to global tender haven’t submitted the requisite documents: Karnataka Deputy CM & COVID task force head, CN Ashwathnarayan – ANI
COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to students wanting to go abroad to pursue education, and to those who want to go abroad for jobs. Vaccination certificate to be issued to the aforementioned: Andhra Pradesh CMO – ANI
The Delhi Police fined 1,080 people on Sunday for not wearing face masks, officials said on Monday. According to police data, on March 30, 920 people were fined for not wearing masks and 19 for not maintaining social distancing. On March 31, 1,091 were fined for not wearing masks and 16 others for violating social distancing norms. On Sunday, 108 people were also fined for not maintaining social distancing, the officials said. “The Delhi Police has issued over one lakh challans to people during lockdown for not wearing masks and violating social distancing etc. We urge people not to come out of their homes unnecessarily and follow Covid appropriate behaviour despite the fact that the cases are declining and the process of unlocking has started,” Delhi Police Additional Public Relations Officer (PRO) Anil Mittal. (PTI)
Cochin Port, in collaboration with Kochi Municipal Corporation, sets up COVID hospital with 102 oxygen beds as part of CSR initiative (ANI)
India may soon start in few weeks testing feasibility of a regimen that mixes 2 different doses of Covid vaccines to see if it helps boost immune response to virus: Dr N K Arora, chairman of Covid-19 working group under National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) (ANI)
Thailand reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Monday as the governor of Bangkok announced an easing of some restrictions in effect for more than a month, including people visiting parks for exercise. Thailand has been fighting to deal with a virus surge that began in early April in a group of nightclubs in Bangkok and has since spread around the country. The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration reported a record 5,485 new cases, of which 1,953 were in prisons. Confirmed deaths increased by 19 to bring the total to 1,031 since the pandemic began last year. The total number of confirmed cases has now risen to 159,792, of which 82% occurred during the latest surge. Many of the cases are concentrated in prisons, housing for construction workers, factories, slums and low-income housing areas. Officials have in some cases been criticized for allowing companies to isolate and quarantine workers inside factories. (PTI)
Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar on Monday accused his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal of playing politics over anti-Covid vaccines, saying the national capital is exhausting its supply too soon while his own state is stretching it over a longer period. His comment on vaccine rationing invited a sharp reaction from the Congress, which said Haryana has vaccine doses but is administering them to people in small numbers over several days. “Deliberate delay in administering vaccines is also being termed as a strategy. He (CM) says the government has vaccines, but these will be administered to people in small numbers over several days. This is the reason why the people of Haryana are not able to get the vaccines..,” Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet. Claiming that Kejriwal always has a critical tone, Khattar said Delhi is getting more vaccine doses considering the size of its population. (PTI)
Retirement fund body EPFO has allowed its over five crore subscribers to avail the second COVID-19 advance in view of the second wave of the coronavirus infections in the country. Earlier last year, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had allowed its members to withdraw COVID-19 advance to meet exigencies due to the pandemic. The members were allowed to withdraw three months basic wages (basic pay + dearness allowance) or up to 75 per cent of amount standing to their credit in their provident fund account, whichever is less. “To support its subscribers during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the EPFO has now allowed its members to avail second non-refundable COVID-19 advance,” a labour ministry statement said. The provision for special withdrawal to meet the financial need of members during the pandemic was introduced in March 2020, under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), it said. (PTI)
Raigad district in Maharashtra has a COVID-19 caseload of 1,28,552, including 3,040 deaths, while the discharge of 1,18,655 people had left it with 6,857 patients under treatment at present, officials said on Monday. Panvel, enjoying proximity to Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai due to a suburban train network run by Central Railway, leads with 1,426 active cases, followed by 974 in Alibag, and Poladpur at the bottom with 44 cases, they said. The district has seen 7,07,989 coronavirus tests so far, of which 4,08,847 were done prior to March 31 this year, and the rest between April 1 and May 29. (PTI)
A new mobile phone application to easily connect people, especially from rural areas, with doctors for medical consultation amid the COVID-19 outbreak was launched in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Monday. The app ‘Upchaar’, an initiative of Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh with support from the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), was launched by District Magistrate Suhas L Y, Police Commissioner Alok Singh and Yamuna Authority CEO Arun Vir Singh. According to officials, the bilingual Android app, which has been developed by Nashik-based Gunvant Battase, will be available on Google Play Store in a day or two while work is underway for its iOS version also. “During the peak of the second wave of the pandemic, we could not get locals admitted to hospitals. There were many people who could have got treated at their homes only but could not because of lack of consultation from doctors,” MLA Singh said. While explaining the features of the app, Battase said anybody in Gautam Buddh Nagar can register themselves on the app using their mobile number followed by a one-time password (OTP). “The OTP is sought to ensure that the person has not given a fake mobile number,” he added. (PTI)
India may soon start in few weeks testing feasibility of a regimen that mixes 2 different doses of Covid vaccines to see if it helps boost immune response to virus: Dr N K Arora, chairman of Covid-19 working group under National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) – ANI
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers D.V Sadananda Gowda announces that additional 30100 vials of Amphotericin-B have been allocated to all the States/UTs and Central Institutions today: Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers – ANI
The Karnataka government is contemplating to unlock the lockdown in a phased manner by easing restrictions provided COVID-19 infections in Bengaluru come down to less than 1,000 a day, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka said. “I have given my opinion to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa about unlocking the lockdown in a phased manner by opening one after another sector,” Ashoka told reporters in Chikkaballapura. Replying to a query on lifting the restrictions on June 7 when the current lockdown which is in effect since May 10 comes to an end, Ashoka said there is a request from some sectors to lift curbs stage by stage. He, however, warned that the lockdown will continue if the number of infections do not come down. (PTI)