Coronavirus Third Wave India Highlights, Coronavirus Statistics India Highlights: Amid renewed concerns over the third wave of Covid-19 infections, India reported a slightly higher number of new coronavirus cases on Friday. The health ministry bulletin released today morning says that 44, 230 fresh Covid cases have been detected in India in the last 24 hours. The number of corona deaths has gone down below 600 with 555 new fatalities registered in the last 24 hours, the health bulletin says. Today’s number of infections is the highest figure that India has seen in this month since July 7. A very minute uptick in the number of active cases has been observed with 4,05,155 infections in the country. The recovery rate remains static at 97.38 per cent.
While the Covid vitals seem to be ok and well under control, the situation is a way bit alarming in Southern states. Not only Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have also reported a sharp surge. Amid all this, the national vaccination drive has seen a lukewarm response. The Centre says that around 52 lakh Covid vaccine doses have been administered in the last 24 hours.
Now let’s talk about Kerala. Kerala – God’s own country – has become the epicentre of India’s fresh Covid surge. More than half of the total number of new coronavirus cases are being reported from Kerala. After getting a rebuke from the Supreme Court for its Bakrid relaxations, Kerala has decided to enforce total lockdown this weekend. The increase in the ‘R’ factor also meant that the rate of infection is reaching the red zone. While the first two waves saw the worst impact in Maharashtra, is Kerala going to face a similar situation during the probable third wave of Covid infections?
Well, if one looks at the current Covid tally, one may think like that. But one look at the latest national serosurvey shows that the picture is quite different. After last weeks main findings, the Narendra Modi government has released the stat-wise breakup of the national serosurvey. The findings show that Kerala, which reports half of the total new caseload, has just 44 per cent population exposed to coronavirus. Whereas Madhya Pradesh’s stat stands at 79 per cent. This essentially means things – a: Since the lesser number of people have been infected, this would mean that a larger group is vulnerable to the infection. Hence surge in new cases. b: Kerala is detecting and reporting coronavirus cases at a much faster pace than other states. An Indian Express report says that previous serosurveys had shown that nationally, one in 26 cases were detected. This figure was one in five in Kerala.
Stay with us as we bring the latest updates related to coronavirus pandemic from India and around the world:
Gujarat added 21 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the tally to 8,24,850, while no fresh death due to the infection was reported in the state, said the Health Department. This was the 12th straight day when no death due to coronavirus was reported in the state and the toll remained unchanged at 10,076.
A release by the Health Department said 29 patients were discharged from hospitals during the last 24 hours, pushing the tally of recoveries to 8,14,514. Gujarat’s COVID-19 recovery rate is 98.75 per cent, the release said, adding the state now has 260 active cases, of which five patients are on ventilators. According to the state government, 3.29 crore doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered to the eligible population till now, of which 3.43 lakh jabs were given on Friday.
Only one new coronavirus case was reported in the adjoining Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 10,615, said an official release. Also, eight patients recovered from the infection during the day in the UT, it said.
With the recovery of one patient during the day, Diu district has no active cases now, said the release. Out of 10,615 people found positive for coronavirus in the Union Territory since the outbreak, four have died, 10,582 have recovered while 29 patients are under treatment, said the release.
Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 8,24,850, new cases 21, deaths 10,076, discharged 8,14,514, active cases 260, people tested so far (figures not released). (PTI)
Sikkim reported 179 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the caseload to 26,311, a health department bulletin said on Friday. The state reported five more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 342, it said.
Sikkim now has 3,302 active cases, while 269 others have migrated to other states, and 22,398 people have recovered from the infection. South Sikkim district registered 79 new cases, followed by East Sikkim (65), West Sikkim (34) and North Sikkim (1).
The state has tested 1,487 samples for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of samples tested thus far to 1,98,882. The state’s positivity rate has come down to 12 per cent from 16 per cent on Thursday. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state has marginally improved to 86 per cent from 85.9 per cent on Thursday. (PTI)
Punjab on Friday reported 49 new Covid cases, taking the total count to 5,99,053, officials said. No Covid-related death was reported on Friday, they said. The toll, which stands at 16,292, includes two deaths which were not reported earlier, according to the bulletin. There are 544 active cases in the state, it said.
Of the new cases, eight were reported from Jalandhar, six from Ferozepur, and four from Ludhiana among other places. With 55 recoveries, the number of cured people reached 5,82,217, according to the bulletin. A total of 1,20,94,239 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state, it said.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported four new Covid cases as the infection tally rose to 61,952, according to the medical bulletin. The death of a 36-year-old man took the toll to 810. The number of active cases is 36, while 61,106 people have so far recovered from the infection, the bulletin said. (PTI)
Mumbai reported 326 new coronavirus cases and seven fresh deaths on Friday, taking the tally of infections to 7,35,505 and the toll to 15,808, a civic official said. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said as part of the ongoing data reconciliation exercise with the Maharashtra government figures, 1,393 COVID-19 infections were removed from the cumulative tally of positive cases and the discharge count, while 65 deaths were added to the toll.
Significantly, for the 15th day in a row, the daily COVID-19 cases in the city remained below the 500-mark, a period during which fatalities were in the range of five to 14. Mumbai has witnessed a drop in the new COVID-19 cases and fatalities as compared to Thursday, when it had reported 340 infections and 13 deaths. The civic official said 32,285 coronavirus tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.
With the discharge of 366 patients, the number of recovered cases jumped to 7,11,073, leaving the financial capital with 5,082 active cases, he said. The official said the city’s average growth rate of COVID-19 cases is 97 per cent.
Mumbai’s case doubling rate has climbed to 1,434 days, while the average growth rate of COVID-19 cases for the period between July 23 and July 29 was 0.05 per cent, he said. According to the BMC official, Mumbai has only three containment zones in ‘chawls’ (old row tenements) and slums, whereas the number of sealed buildings (where certain number of residents have tested positive) is 55. This year, Mumbai reported the highest daily cases at 11,163 on April 4, while most deaths in a day at 90 were registered on May 1. (PTI)
No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Rajasthan on Friday, while 28 new cases were reported, the health department said. According to officials, 26 of the 33 districts in the state did not record a single positive case on Friday.
There are a total of 9,53,650 Covid cases in the state while the death toll stands at 8,953, they said. Of the new cases, eight were reported from Jaipur and six each from Udaipur and Sriganganagar besides other cities. A total of 9,44,443 people have recovered from the infection so far and the number of active cases is 254, they said. (PTI)
Kerala: A central team arrives in Thiruvananthapuram amid rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. (ANI)
Jammu and Kashmir reports 137 new COVID-19 cases, one fatality (ANI)
Tamil Nadu reports 1,947 new COVID-19 cases, 2193 recoveries and 27 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Active cases: 20,934
Total recoveries: 25,02,627
Death toll: 34,050 (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh reports 146 new COVID-19 cases, 100 recoveries & no deaths in the last 24 hours; active cases at 1137
Total positive cases: 2,05,874
Death toll: 3504 (ANI)
Offline classes in Jharkhand for students from std 9-12 permitted till 12pm only, they’ll be allowed only after permission from parents. Hotels & restaurants will open till 10 p.m. on Sunday; other essentials like grocery shops, fruit shops, dairies will be allowed till 8 pm only (ANI)
COVID-19: Haryana records 3 deaths, 26 fresh cases (PTI)
COVID-19: Kerala reports 20,772 new cases, 116 more fatalities; test positivity rate (TPR) rises to 13.61 per cent (PTI)
After showing a resurgence from mid-February and peaking in May, the trajectory of COVID-19 cases in the country is now registering a sustained and considerable decline, the government said Friday.
However, Kerala and Maharashtra are still recording high number of cases while certain northeastern states are also showing an upward trend, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar informed the Lok Sabha Friday. | Read More
Manipur reports 874 new COVID-19 cases, 1,014 recoveries and 20 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Active cases: 10,735
Total recoveries: 85,422
Death toll: 1,541 (ANI)
Over 2.27 lakh pregnant women have received first dose of COVID vaccine. Tamil Nadu is leading by vaccinating over 78,838 pregnant women, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 34,228, Odisha with 29,821, MP with 21,842, Kerala with 18,423 & Karnataka with 16,673 pregnant women: GoI (ANI)
Goa’s coronavirus caseload rose to 1,71,052, after 152 persons tested positive for the infection on Friday, an official from the state health department said. At least 134 patients were discharged from hospitals, while two died of the infection during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 1,66,813 and toll to 3,146, the official said. With this, the coastal state is left with 1,093 active cases, he said.
Cyprus will start the voluntary COVID-19 vaccination of children over age 12 next week using mRNA shots produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, authorities said Friday. Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said that Cyprus is following other European Union countries including France, Germany, Italy and Greece, which began vaccinating children between 12 and 15.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation will apply anti-microbial coating from next month to the 10,000 buses it has deployed currently at a cost of Rs 9,500 per vehicle, a senior official said on Friday. It is a process in which chemical agents are sprayed on surfaces to prevent the growth of microbes like viruses, bacteria and fungus, with many offices and airlines deploying the technique routinely, he said. “After the coronavirus outbreak, people are reluctant to use public transport. This anti microbial coating will help remove this fear from the minds of our passengers,” MSRTC vice chairperson Shekhar Channe told PTI.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation will apply anti-microbial coating from next month to the 10,000 buses it has deployed currently at a cost of Rs 9,500 per vehicle, a senior official said on Friday. It is a process in which chemical agents are sprayed on surfaces to prevent the growth of microbes like viruses, bacteria and fungus, with many offices and airlines deploying the technique routinely, he said. “After the coronavirus outbreak, people are reluctant to use public transport. This anti microbial coating will help remove this fear from the minds of our passengers,” MSRTC vice chairperson Shekhar Channe told PTI.
Kerala for the fourth day running recorded more than 20,000 fresh cases in the state with the test positivity rate (TPR) rising to 13.61 per cent and 116 more people succumbing to COVID-19. With 20,772 fresh cases, the infection caseload in the state reached 33,70,137 and the 116 deaths pushed the total casualties to 16,701, a state government release said. (PTI)
The cumulative COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh climbed to 19,64,117 as 2,068 were added afresh in 24 hours ending 9 am on Friday. A health department bulletin said 2,127 patients got cured while 22 others succumbed in 24 hours. The recoveries now totalled 19,29,565 and deaths 13,354. The number of active cases stood at 21,198, the bulletin added. (PTI)
The administration in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district has completed a study of COVID-19 deaths in the region and has decided to formulate an SOP for referring patients from one facility to another to bring down the mortality rate, a senior official said on Friday. Speaking to reporters, district collector Sunil Chavan said the administration will undertake a massive testing programme to track down suspected super spreaders of the COVID-19 infection. (PTI)
The national capital recorded 63 fresh COVID-19 cases and three deaths due to the disease on Friday, while the positivity rate stood at 0.09 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here. The three new fatalities has pushed the death toll to 25,052, according to the latest bulletin. No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi on Thursday, while 51 fresh cases were reported with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent, according to official data. This was the third time, since the starting of the second wave of the pandemic in the national capital that zero fatality had been logged in a day. (PTI)
Certain myths and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines, including the jabs causing infertility in men and women, have been promptly addressed by the Union government, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said the National Covid Vaccination Drive is progressing at a steady pace and the rate of vaccination has improved significantly from 2.35 lakh doses per day in January to 39.89 lakh doses per day in June. (PTI)
Israeli health authorities began administering coronavirus booster shots Friday to people over 60 who’ve already received both does of a vaccine, in a bid to combat a recent spike in cases. The decision was announced Thursday by the Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennet, making Israel the first country to offer a third dose of a Western vaccine to its citizens on a wide scale. “Israel is a pioneer in going ahead with the third dose for older people of the age of 60 and above,” Bennet said during Friday’s launch. (PTI)
A Jharkhand village – Haradag Khurd in Garhwa district- has been put on high alert post detection of as many as 21 COVID-19 positive villagers in a short span of two days after return of migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh, officials said. All 21 including eight children in the age group of 2 and 12 years have been admitted to Sadar Hospital, Garhwa and their all contacts have been isolated. Among the returnees from a Madhya Pradesh colliery area where delta variant of the contagion has been detected one worker was found positive initially and its suspected villagers might have caught infection from him. (PTI)
The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in Maharashtra has sent notices to several city-based hospitals, asking them to refund the excessive amounts charged by them from COVID-19 patients for their treatment. The civic body said that the collective excess amount charged by such facilities stood at more than Rs 1.14 crore. If the hospitals fail to return the amount, they may lose their registration, the TMC warned them. (PTI)
The Serum Institute of India (SII) said on Friday it had partnered with an industry body to expand the reach of COVID-19 shots in India’s countryside as it had “plenty of supply” of the AstraZeneca drug.India has reported more than 31.5 million coronavirus infections in the world, the most after the United States, with 423,217 deaths.While some 452 million vaccine doses have been administered, the pace of inoculations in rural areas, where two-thirds of India’s 1.35 billion people live, has lagged that of urban centres.SII, the world’s largest vaccine maker, will be working with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has set up vaccination camps in smaller towns and rural areas.”While SII has manufactured the vaccine at scale within a short period of time, it is essential that all stakeholders work together towards carrying out the inoculations,” CEO Adar Poonawalla said about its version of the AstraZeneca drug known as Covishield. – Reuters
Health Department has made arrangements in villages as well as in cities but we need cooperation from people. COVID (cases) has just reduced, it hasn’t ended. People need to continue following COVID protocols to prevent the third wave of COVID: Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij – ANI
Amid a possible third wave of COVID-19, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Health Department has asked Noida and Greater Noida residents to alert it about people coming from nine high-risk states, including Kerala and Maharashtra. A communication in this regard was issued by district’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sunil Sharma to all resident welfare associations (RWAs) and housing societies on Thursday. The communique stated that Uttar Pradesh has been able to keep the rate of COVID-19 transmission lower than many states due to a lot of efforts and there is a need to keep the rate low as precaution against rise in cases of the virus. – PTI
Seventy cases of coronavirus Delta Plus variant were found in genome sequencing by INSACOG, a grouping of 28 laboratories involved in the task, Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday. In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, he said so far, 58,240 samples of SARS-CoV2 have been sequenced in the country and of these, 46,124 were analysed. A majority of these samples — 17,169 — were of Delta variant, Singh said. The Delta variant of SARS-CoV2 was behind the deadly second wave in the country that killed thousands and infected lakhs from March to May. It is also driving the pandemic in different parts of the world. This variant of coronavirus was first detected in India. There were 4,172 cases of the Alpha variant, followed by 217 of Beta and just one of Gamma. – PTI
The Delhi High Court Friday sought Yoga guru Ramdev’s stand on a lawsuit against him by several doctors’ associations for allegedly spreading misinformation by his statements against allopathy amid the COVID-19 pandemic which purportedly amounts to public nuisance. Justice Hari Shankar granted a week’s time to Ramdev to file his response and said that he would not grant leave for institution of the proceedings in the absence of a reply. ‘Public nuisance has some consequences on the defendant. It is open to the defendant (Ramdev) to say that there is no case. Can’t say that I won’t give him an opportunity,’ the judge said. – PTI
The coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till August 31, aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday. “However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation added. Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020 and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July 2020. (PTI)
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need of creating vigilance and awareness on zoonotic diseases, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said. He made the remarks while virtually inaugurating the Whole Genome Sequencing National Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and BSL 3 Laboratory on the 112th Annual Day of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Congratulating NCDC for its contributions, Mandaviya said that India has performed better than many other countries in fighting the pandemic, a Health ministry statement stated. He said new dimensions have been added today in the legacy of 112 years of achievements of NCDC and encouraged it to strive for further innovations so that not only India but the whole world can benefit from its work. Scientists, doctors, officers and staff of NCDC should collectively chart out goals they want to achieve in the coming years, he said. – PTI
Nepalese citizens entering India through the three main border bridges in the district will now have to undergo a rapid antigen test on arrival before they are allowed to proceed further, a senior official said on Friday. “We took the decision after the corona negative reports carried by some of the Nepalese migrants from their country were found to be fake,” Pithoragarh’s Chief Medical Officer HC Pant said. Nepalese citizens were allowed to enter India through the border bridges at Jhoolaghat, Dharchula and Jauljibi last month if they carried along with them a negative corona test report issued by medical authorities in Nepal. However, when some of the corona test reports shown by the Nepalese citizens at the border were found to be fake, we decided to conduct our own rapid antigen tests on every incoming Nepalese migrant, before permitting them on Indian soil.” Pant said. – PTI
Puducherry logged 90 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours pushing the overall tally to 1,20,815, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Friday. A 65-year old woman succumbed to the virus as the death toll in the union territory rose to 1,793, Director of Health Department S Mohan Kumar said here. The Puducherry region accounted for 53 new cases followed by Karaikal (18), Mahe (14) and Yanam (5). The 90 fresh cases were identified at the end of the examination of 5,317 samples, he said. The number of active cases stood at 979 with 189 patients in hospitals and the remaining 790 in home isolation. The Health department Director said while 82 patients recovered and were discharged in the last 24 hours, the overall recoveries stood at 1,28,043. – PTI
Amid rising Covid cases in Karnataka, new state chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said there is a need to tighten the borders and take measures to put in place compulsory testing to stop the spread of the virus. Bommai, who is on his first visit to Delhi as CM, also said the state government will further strengthen the state health infrastructure to combat the current wave. Speaking to reporters before meeting Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Karnataka CM said he was here to meet the PM, the party chief and other Union ministers to thank and seek their blessings. On rising Covid cases in Karnataka, Bommai said he has spoken to district collectors of Dakshin Kannada, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, and Kodagu in this regard. “We have to tighten our borders. We have to make compulsory testing and vaccination,” he said. After the Delhi visit, Bommai said will hold a video conference with district collectors and health officials of Dakshin Kannada, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, and Kodagu as well as Chikkamangaluru and Udupi. – PTI
Hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been saved from the trash after U.S. regulators extended their expiration date for a second time, part of a nationwide effort to salvage expiring shots to battle the nation’s summer surge in infections. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday sent a letter to shot maker Johnson & Johnson declaring that the doses remain safe and effective for at least six months when properly stored. The FDA’s move gives the shots an extra six weeks as public officials press more Americans to get inoculated. Similar efforts are happening in multiple states as public health officials try to ensure that soon-to-expire shots are put into arms before they must be discarded. The surge in infections is largely due to the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which has spread rapidly, particularly among unvaccinated people. Inoculation rates have climbed only slightly after a steep fall from their April peak. – AP
With coronavirus deaths rising in Myanmar, allegations are growing from residents and human rights activists that the military government, which seized control in February, is using the pandemic to consolidate power and crush opposition. In the last week, the per capita death rate in Myanmar surpassed those of Indonesia and Malaysia to become the worst in Southeast Asia. The country’s crippled health care system has rapidly become overwhelmed with new patients sick with COVID-19. Supplies of medical oxygen are running low, and the government has restricted its private sale in many places, saying it is trying to prevent hoarding. But that has led to widespread allegations that the stocks are being directed to government supporters and military-run hospitals. At the same time, medical workers have been targeted after spearheading a civil disobedience movement that urged professionals and civil servants not to cooperate with the government, known as the State Administrative Council. – AP
The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Union government to approve the proposed plan of action of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to re-vaccinate those citizens, who had fallen victim to several fake anti-coronavirus vaccination camps in different parts of the city a few months ago. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni directed the Centre to approve the Mumbai civic body’s plan of action, “with or without modifications, within seven days” from now. The directions came after senior counsel Anil Sakhre, who appeared for the BMC, told the HC that it had re-vaccinated 161 of the 2,053 people, who had fallen victim to such fake camps. – PTI