Covid-19 Cases and Deaths Count in India, Lockdown and Unlocking June 2 Hinghlights: The Coronavirus spread in India has started shrinking. The country has been witnessing a sharp fall in daily Covid-19 cases. The weekly positivity rate has dropped below five per cent in 344 districts – nearly half of India’s 718 districts. The active caseload has been witnessing a fall of almost a lakh daily for the past few days. Deaths due to Covid-19 complications as dropped below 3,000 for the past two days – all these indicate that the Covid-19 second wave has started waning. So the big question: Is it the right time for unlocking?
States like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir have already started gradual (partial) unlocking in their respective states with virus infections under control. While Delhi has extended the curfew on the movement of individuals in the city till 5 am on 7 June, it allowed factory and construction activities. Haryana will be under lockdown for one more week but the state has relaxed the restrictions on shop timings and malls. Uttar Pradesh has lifted curfew from 64 districts. But states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Goa have extended lockdown/restrictions in their respective states in order to limit the spread of virus infections.
With an aim to avoid a possible third wave, the Centre on Tuesday laid down criteria for Covid unlocking for districts – positivity rate of below 5 per cent for a week, vaccination of 70 per cent of the vulnerable population, and community ownership of Covid-appropriate behaviour and care. According to Dr. Balram Bhargava, ICMR Director General and a member of India’s Covid-19 task force, “Gradual lifting of restrictions will not witness a massive surge”. He, however, said districts have to “ensure that vaccination has to be prioritized”.
As several states in India weighing options for Covid unlocking, catch all the live updates on Coronavirus from India and the world here:
Karnataka records 16,387 new positive cases, 21,199 recoveries, and 463 deaths in the last 24 hours; Active cases: 2,93,024; Total positive cases: 26,35,122 – ANI
News Agency AFP reports that President Emmanuel Macron has said that France will offer Covid Vaccines to 12 to 18-year-olds from June 15.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former chief minister of West Bengal discharged from Woodlands Hospital after recovery from COVID19. He will be in isolation: Woodlands Hospital, Kolkata. He had tested positive for COVID19 on May 18 – ANI
Punjab records 2,281 new cases, 99 deaths and 4,426 recoveries today; active cases 31,133 – ANI
Due to lack of adequate vaccine stock, vaccination will be stopped tomorrow (June 3) at Government and Municipal Centers in Mumbai: Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Department of Public Relations – ANI
Haryana reports 1171 fresh COVID19 cases, 2705 recoveries, and 78 deaths today
Active cases 14,668
Case tally 7,59,039
Russian Sputnik Light COVID vaccine (the first component of Sputnik V vaccine) demonstrates 78.6-83.7% efficacy among the elderly as per real-world data collected by the Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina): Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) – ANI
891 new COVID19 cases, 29 deaths and 1,292 recoveries reported in Himachal Pradesh in the last 24 hours; active cases at 11,975 – ANI
All shops in 36 cities of the State to open from 4th June (9 am to 6 pm). Home delivery by restaurants can now be done till 10 pm. Night curfew (9 pm to 6 am) will be imposed in these cities from 4th June to 11th June: Gujarat CMO – ANI
Maharashtra reports 15,169 new cases, 285 deaths and 29,270 recoveries in the last 24 hours; Recovery rate in the state is 94.54%
Rajasthan records 1,276 new cases, 65 deaths and 6,038 recoveries today; active case tally at 32,650 – ANI
Jammu & Kashmir reports 1,718 new positive cases, 3,391 recoveries, and 24 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total positive cases: 2,94,078
Total active cases: 31,579 – ANI
Manipur reports 729 fresh infections, 14 deaths and 622 recoveries today; recovery rate at 81.11% – ANI
AstraZeneca’s partner in Thailand on Wednesday began its first deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines after concerns they were behind on their production schedules for the country and parts of Southeast Asia. Siam Bioscience said the first locally produced AstraZeneca doses were delivered to Thailand’s Ministry of Health ahead of the June 7 start of the country’s official mass vaccination program. It did not say how many were delivered. (AP)
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday demanded from the government to publicly share data on the safety and efficacy of various anti-Covid vaccines. “Why is the government not publicly sharing data on effectiveness and safety of various vaccines? Transparent disclosure will help health care workers optimise uptake of vaccines and provide greater comfort to Indian citizens when it comes to infections and mortality,” Akhilesh said in a Tweet. (PTI)
Goa on Wednesday reported 706 new coronavirus positive cases and 22 fatalities, taking the tally to 1,57,275 and the toll to 2,693, a health official said. A total of 1,711 patients were discharged during the day, taking the count of recoveries in Goa so far to 1,43,742, he said. Goa is now left with 10,840 active cases, the official said. (PTI)
Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday dedicated to the nation a 100-bed COVID care facility at SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) in Odisha. The capacity of the facility will be scaled up to 500 beds, the Ministry of Steel said in a statement. “Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan today dedicated to the nation, Ispat Nidaan Kendra, a 100-bedded jumbo COVID care facility at Rourkela Steel Plant,” it added. (PTI)
As many as 594 doctors have died due to COVID-19 in the ongoing second wave with Delhi recording the maximum 107 fatalities, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has said. According to the IMA, 748 doctors died of the infection across the country in the first wave of the pandemic. Delhi recorded 107 deaths in the second wave, followed by Bihar 96, Uttar Pradesh 67, Rajasthan 43, Jhakhand 39 and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana 32 each, according to data compiled at the IMA’s COVID-19 registry. (PTI)
Over 22 crore vaccine doses administered in the country: Ministry of Health
A plea was Wednesday filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s May 31 verdict which dismissed a petition seeking to suspend all construction activity of the Central Vista Avenue redevelopment during the COVID-19 pandemic while describing it as a “vital” and “essential” project of national importance. The project entails construction activities on Rajpath and the surrounding lawns from the India Gate to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. (PTI)
The European Union unveiled plans Wednesday to revamp Europe’s ID check-free travel area after national coronavirus restrictions placed new strains on tourism, travel and business throughout the bloc over the last year. The travel zone, known as the ‘Schengen area,’ is made up of 26 countries: 22 EU nations plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Normally, people and goods move freely between these countries without border checks. (PTI)
Andhra Pradesh recorded 12,768 fresh cases of coronavirus, 15,612 recoveries and 98 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday. The number of active COVID-19 cases dropped to 1,43,795, the latest bulletin said. The cumulative positive cases now increased to 17,17,156, recoveries to 15,62,229 and deaths 11,132, it said. (PTI)
Amid a controversy over Yoga guru Ramdev’s remarks on allopathy and doctors, the head of the government-run All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has said the facility has successfully treated at least 600 Covid patients by implementing both the systems of medicine. Prof Tanuja Nesari said a holistic approach and the integration of ayurveda, allopathy and modern diagnostic technology made it possible. (PTI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday dubbed as “hoax” the Centre’s claim of vaccinating the entire population above the age of 18 years by 2021, and asserted that the union government must provide jabs free of cost to states. “That claim is just a hoax. The Centre says things like these. Before the Bihar elections, they had promised to inoculate its population after the elections, but nothing happened,” she told reporters at the state secretariat. Banerjee said considering the gap between doses, the process to vaccinate the entire eligible age group should take six months to a year to complete. (PTI)
The BJP on Wednesday accused the Delhi government of trying to paralyse the party-led municipal corporations in the city by using means such as stopping release of funds, reducing financial allocation or shutting Covid vaccination centres run by them. In a joint press conference Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi also alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi was crippling the civic bodies financially. (PTI)
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to place on record all relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking culminating in the COVID-19 vaccination policy, and the purchase history till date of all jabs including Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V. (PTI)
Industry chamber Assocham on Wednesday recommended the government to extend relief measures such as regulatory easing, wage support, and interest subsidy for the MSMEs which are reeling under the severe impact of COVID 19. As the states are in the process of easing lockdowns, the trade and industry would need all-around support to pick up their business thread again, it said. It has suggested that the surplus funds of ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) should be used for providing wage support measures/stimulus packages for the employees. (PTI)
Airbus on Wednesday airlifted oxygen concentrators and ventilators from Toulouse in France to Delhi amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, its statement said. The items brought from France on Wednesday were part of the consignment that was delivered to the NGO Indian Red Cross Society, the aerospace major’s statement noted. (PTI)
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced a ‘corona free village’ contest with an aim to encourage steps to curb the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas of the state. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray recently lauded efforts made by some villages to stem the spread of the viral infection and announced the ‘My Village Corona Free’ initiative. (PTI)
With the number of coronavirus infections declining in the country, industry chamber FICCI has suggested the government to follow a graded approach in unlocking economic activities. It said any unit that is able to create an isolation bubble should be allowed to operate at all times even if it does not qualify as essential. The chamber said the ferocity of the second wave highlighted that waiting too long to impose restrictions can result in a surge of cases thus putting immense strain on medical infrastructure. (PTI)
TVS Srichakra, TVS Supply Chain Solutions and TVS Mobility on Wednesday said they have jointly contributed about Rs six crore worth of medical equipment and facilities to produce oxygen to fight against COVID-19. In a statement, the three companies said they would provide 400 oxygen concentrators, two oxygen-producing facilities at the Rajaji Government Hospital, Madurai, and at the Government Medical College, Tirunelveli. (PTI)
The Tamil Nadu government will make known its decision on holding the plus two board exam in the state in two days’ time, after conferring with experts, state School Education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said. Chief Minister M K Stalin will take the final call on the issue after the views of education and medical experts and teachers among others were elicited, besides considering the stand of other states in this pandemic times, he said. (PTI)
Taking a cue from the Centre’s decision to scrap the CBSE class 12 board exams amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the Gujarat government on Wednesday decided to cancel the upcoming state board exams for class 12 students. The state government had recently announced that the class 12 board exams for students of general and science streams will be conducted from July 1 by adhering to the COVID-19 protocol. (PTI)
That (vaccinating all citizens before Dec 2021) is just a hoax. They just say baseless things. The Centre is not sending vaccines to State govts. Centre should procure vaccines for States & give it free of cost to all: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. (ANJ)
Police on Wednesday booked two health workers after a video surfaced on social media showing them packing and sending a Covid test stick for analysis without actually taking the sample. Basti District Magistrate Saumya Agarwal also ordered a probe into Monday’s incident which took place at Manjharia Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Mahripur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district. (PTI)
As many as 32 patients have died of mucormycosis in the last 20 days at a government-run hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city, an official said on Wednesday. Of late, several cases of mucormycosis, also known as the black fungus, a serious infection, have been found in people who have recovered from COVID-19. (PTI)
Meghalaya’s COVID-19 tally rose to 36,597 on Wednesday as 532 more people tested positive for the infection while 24 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 616, a senior health department official said. Of the 24 deaths, 13 were reported from East Khasi Hills district, six from West Jaintia Hills, two each from East Jaintia Hills and West Garo Hills and one from Ri Bhoi district, Health Services Director, Aman War said. (PTI)
Delhi reports 576 new cases (positivity rate 0.78%), 103 deaths, and 1,287 recoveries in the last 24 hours Active cases: 9,364 Case tally: 14,27,439
Odisha on Wednesday registered 40 more deaths due to COVID-19, the highest so far in a single day, pushing the toll to 2,831, a health department official said. At least 8,399 new coronavirus-positive cases raised the caseload in the coastal state to 7,82,131, he said. Taking to Twitter, the Health and Family Welfare Department said, “Regret to inform the demise of forty COVID positive patients, while under treatment in hospitals.”