Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in India Today, Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker Highlights: Prime Minister Modi announced on Monday that the Central government will provide free coronavirus vaccine to states for inoculation of all above the age of 18 from June 21, and asserted that vaccine supply would be increased significantly in the country in coming days. The Centre has decided to buy 75 per cent of jabs from vaccine makers, including 25 per cent of the state quota, and give it for free to state governments, the prime minister said in an address to the nation. He also announced the government will distribute free foodgrains to around 80 crore people till Diwali under the PMGKAY.
National Capital Delhi and states such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are seeing gradual reopening of the markets, malls, gyms, etc. While resuming the economic activities will help the nation, the problem lies in the intertwined cycle of relaxing the corona lockdowns and rise in the Covid cases. We saw a similar surge right after restrictions were eased in October last year. Same was the case in January and February. In early March, the Centre was so confident about beating the coronavirus that the Union Health Minister had said that India was in Covid endgame. Then came the brutal second wave.
PM Modi’s address to the nation — WATCH HERE
The experts have sounded cautious as India still has not vaccinated enough people. As of today, less than 4% of the total population has got both doses of the Covid vaccine. While the corona tally shows that the worst is over, but the past track record show otherwise. So has India finally learnt the lesson from the horrors of the second wave of coronavirus and ready for a calibrated unlock? The jury is out.
Here are the latest updates from India and around the world:
Rajasthan govt eases COVID restrictions. Under modified guidelines, curfew will remain in force between 5 pm on Friday & 5 am on Monday and between 5 pm & 5 am (night curfew) on weekdays. (ANI)
West Bengal reports 5,887 new COVID cases, 14,352 patient discharges, and 103 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 26,886
Total discharges: 13,88,771
Death toll: 16,362 (ANI)
Chhattisgarh reports 1,285 new COVID cases, 3,119 discharges, and 26 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 21,090
Total discharges: 9,47,527
Death toll: 13,243 (ANI)
Cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in country exceed 23.59 crore, with over 31 lakh doses given today: Union Health Ministry (PTI)
Cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in country exceed 23.59 crore, with over 31 lakh doses given today: Union Health Ministry (PTI)
This is a path-breaking announcement, it will give a big boost. More vaccines will come. Vaccines will prevent from severity: Dr. Naveet Wig, chairman of AIIMS COVID task force on PM Modi’s announcement of centralized vaccination drive for those above 18 years. (ANI)
Noida-Greater Noida Metro will resume services for passengers from June 9 after hiatus of over a month due to COVID-19 lockdown: Officials (PTI)
I welcome PM Modi’s statement indicating that Union Government will procure 75% of the vaccines produced in the country & provide them to the states free of cost. I also appreciate the PM for reversing his government’s previous position. As PM Modi stressed multiple times in his remarks that Health is a state subject, it would be appropriate for each state to be given complete control of registration, validation & administration procedures of the vaccination: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin (ANI)
Kerala reports 9,313 new COVID-19 cases, 221 more deaths, raising infection count to 26,12,370 and toll 10,157; lockdown, which was scheduled to end on June 9, extended till June 16 (PTI)
COVID19 | Mumbai has reported 728 new positive cases, 980 recoveries, and 28 deaths today.
Himachal Pradesh reports 656 new COVID-19 cases, 1,444 recoveries, and 18 deaths in the past 24 hours; active cases at 7,555 (ANI)
I express my gratitude to PM Modi for the decision of free vaccine to States, it will not put an additional burden on the States. Free vaccination for all above 18 will go a long way in defeating a possible third wave of COVID19: Haryana CM ML Khattar (ANI)
Students who want to go abroad for studies from Punjab will now be prioritised in Covid vaccination process in 18-44 age group: CM Amarinder Singh (PTI)
Free vaccines (centralized vaccination drive) for all those above the age of 18, is a great relief for the public. I congratulate the Prime Minister for this public welfare decision: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (ANI)
I thank PM Modi for announcing free vaccines for people above 18 years and for extending Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till Diwali. It will be helpful in battling COVID-19: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (ANI)
Tamil Nadu records 19,448 new COVID cases, 31,360 patient discharges, and 351 deaths in the past 24 hours
Active cases: 2,32,026
Total discharges: 19,97,299
Death toll: 27,356 (ANI)
Lockdown extended till 16 June in Kerala; Complete lockdown on 12 & 13 June
Stores selling essential commodities, raw materials for industries (including packaging), construction materials and banks will continue to function as they do now: Kerala CMO (ANI)
PM has ensured that States will get vaccines & youngsters will get vaccinated at a fast pace. There’s now no point in floating global tenders for procurement of vaccines as our requirements to be met by the Government of India: Karnataka Dy CM Dr. Ashwathnarayan (ANI)
Prime Minister’s declaration that COVID19 vaccine will be supplied free of cost to the States from 21 June, is the most appropriate response at this hour. I am happy that our request has been positively responded to by the Prime Minister: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan (ANI)
A post-Covid facility at an Ayurvedic hospital in north Delhi was inaugurated on Monday, the area’s mayor said. There are six Ayurvedic panchakarma hospitals under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), which are located at Prashant Vihar, Padma Nagar, Karmapura, Begumpur, Rajendra Nagar and Haiderpur and post-Covid care facilities will be available for the patients at these facilities, North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash said. On Monday, Prakash inaugurated the post-Covid facility at the hospital in Prashant Vihar, the NDMC said. He said the NDMC has started the facilities for those who have been cured of coronavirus infection to ensure their “speedy normalisation”. Dental, skin, hair, eye, and nail-related complications among other health issues are being seen in many patients who have recovered from COVID-19, according to medical experts. (PTI)
Free vaccination for all should have been implemented 6 months ago but ‘Dair aaye durust aaye’. Central govt should not have made any changes in the vaccine policy earlier. 25% of vaccine doses allotted to private hospitals are a lot: Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo (ANI)
The gap between two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for Olympic-bound athletes and officials has been set to four weeks by the Ministry of Health, informed Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra on Monday. Batra has communicated the same to national sports federations. “All NSFs whose Athletes have Qualified for Tokyo Olympics. Letter has been issued by Ministry of Health Government of India, that in the case of Tokyo Bound Athletes and officals, the 2nd dose of vaccination will be done after 4 weeks of 1st dose of Vaccination,” Batra said in a statement. Last month, a government panel had recommended that the dosage interval of Serum Insititute of India’s Covishield vaccine be increased to 12-16 weeks. (PTI)
Sarpanchs of Binjharpur block in Odisha’s Jajpur district have decided to impose a shutdown in their panchayat areas amid rising COVID-19 cases. The announcement was made after all 29 panchayats of the block passed a resolution to this effect. A copy of the resolution was also sent to the district collector, seeking cooperation to impose the shutdown. The shutdown will be imposed in two phases — from June 8 to June 10, and June 14 to June 17, the resolution said. There will be no shutdown on June 11, and June 12 and 13 will be covered by the weekend shutdown imposed by the state government. Sarpanch of Mansada panchayat Rama Chandra Behera said the decision was taken following discussions with residents, local market committees and traders. Binjharpur block reported 1,664 COVID-19 cases till Sunday. (PTI)
I express my gratitude towards the PM for announcing universal vaccination for all to be carried out by the Government of India and also for extending Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan (ANI)
We thank PM Modi for this important announcement of universal vaccination for all to be carried out by the Government of India. IMA is constantly and proactively supporting the vaccination drive initiated by the Prime Minister: Dr JA Jayalal, President, IMA (ANI)
To further facilitate access to vaccination for persons with disability, the government has decided to include the UDID card in the list of prescribed photo ID documents for Covid vaccination and the necessary provisions for the same are being made and would be available in Co-WIN shortly, the health ministry said on Monday. The ministry has advised the states and Union territories to widely publicise the use of the UDID card as a permissible photo ID for accessing COVID vaccination. The Centre has been supporting the efforts of the states under the “whole of government” approach for ensuring a smooth and effective vaccination drive since January 16. It has developed the CoWIN digital platform to streamline the process of vaccination for various categories of beneficiaries across the country. CoWIN provides the technological backbone to effectively roll out and scale up the mechanism for the Covid vaccine distribution system, the ministry said in a statement. (ANI)
Varanasi airport has handled transportation of 1,800 kgs of COVID-19 vaccine till date, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Monday. “Movement of more than 128 oxygen concentrators from various cities e.g. Delhi and Mumbai and movement of COVID patients through charter and medical flights to major cities (was also handled at Varanasi airport) till date,” the AAI’s statement said. India has been badly hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic during the last couple of weeks and several states across the country have been facing shortage of COVID-19 vaccine and oxygen. (PTI)
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said 28,252 cases of mucormycosis have so far been reported from 28 states/UTs in the country, of which 86 per cent cases have a history of COVID-19 and 62.3 per cent with a history of diabetes. Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of mucormycosis cases (6,339) followed by Gujarat (5,486), he said after chairing the 28th meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 via video conferencing, a health ministry statement said. (PTI)
Andhra Pradesh reports 4,872 new COVID cases, 13,702 recoveries, and 86 deaths in the past 24 hours
Active cases: 1,14,510
Total recoveries: 16,37,149
Death toll: 11,552 (ANI)
From reactivation of herpes infection to loss of hair, several Covid patients in recovery phase are facing one dermatological complication or another due to lowered immunity, say doctors. Skin care experts at leading facilities in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities concurred that coronavirus patients even after being discharged from hospitals or having finished their home quarantine period should watch out for any skin inflammation or consult a doctor immediately if “it grows uncontrollably”. Dr D M Mahajan, senior consultant, dermatology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in Delhi, says many post-Covid patients with skin complications are rushing to OPDs, fearing they have contracted mucormycosis or black fungus but people should be cautious not paranoid. “Several Covid patients in recovery phase are facing skin complications and the most common one being reported to us are cases of herpes. In many patients with a history of herpes it is get retriggered and in others they are just contracting it afresh, both due to lowered immunity,” he said. (PTI)
Punjab govt has extended COVID-induced restrictions till June 15 with certain relaxations including opening of shops till 6pm & private offices to function at 50% strength. Night curfew will remain in force from 7pm-6am on weekdays but regular curfew will continue on Sundays: CMO
China on Monday rejected former US president Donald Trump’s demand to pay USD 10 trillion as reparations to America and the world for the death and destruction caused by the COVID-19, saying the accountability lies with politicians who ignored people’s lives and health. Speaking at a Republican Party convention in North Carolina on Saturday, Trump, who termed the COVID-19 as “China virus” and “Wuhan virus”, said China should pay hefty compensation. “China should pay USD 10 trillion to America, and the world, for the death and destruction they have caused!” said Trump. When he was in power, Trump had called for a probe alleging that the virus had leaked from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and even pulled out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) accusing the UN health agency of supporting Beijing. Commenting on Trump’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that during Trump’s tenure there were more than 24 million (2.4 crore) COVID-19 cases and the death toll exceeded more than 410 ,000. “Trump repeatedly ignored the facts and tried to shirk his responsibilities of failing to respond to the epidemic and tried to divert people’s attention,” Wang said. (PTI)
Nightlife in Goa should not be allowed to resume till the COVID-19 situation in India comes under control, state Ports Minister and BJP leader Michael Lobo said on Monday as he stressed the need to protect the lives of people. Lobo represents the Calangute Assembly segment which has many nightclubs and bars. Speaking to reporters, Lobo said it will take another year for the pandemic-hit economy to return to normalcy. “Goa is a world-famous destination for its nightlife. The nightlife has been shut down (due to COVID-19 curbs) and I feel that it should continue to remain closed till the COVID-19 situation in the country comes under control,” he said. The minister said the lives of people are more important than the economy of Goa. “We have seen our close friends dying due to COVID-19. We have to be very careful. The economic activity can resume after we see that COVID-19 cases across India are coming under control,” he said. Lobo suggested tourism be opened in a phased manner prioritising those activities which won’t trigger transmission of coronavirus. (PTI)
The Covishield vaccine produces more antibodies than Covaxin though both generate a “good immune response”, says a pan-India study of healthcare workers who had received both doses of the preventives. The yet-to-be-published study, posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on June 4, covered 515 healthcare workers (HCW) — 305 men and 210 women — from 22 cities in 13 states. Covishield, from the Oxford-AstraZeneca stable, is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune. Covaxin is the indigenously manufactured vaccine by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and National Institute of Virology (NIV). The blood samples of those participating in the study were tested for the quantity of antibodies produced and levels of specific antibodies that are directed to the spike protein of the virus, which is regarded as a proxy for protection. “Both vaccines elicited good immune response after two doses, although seropositivity rates and antibody levels were significantly higher in Covishield compared to Covaxin,” Awadhesh Kumar Singh, lead author of the study and consultant endocrinologist, G D Hospital and Diabetes Institute, Kolkata, said in a tweet. (PTI)