A BMC health worker collects swab sample of a construction worker for the COVID-19 test at the Siddhivinayak Metro site in Mumbai. (PTI photo)Coronavirus LIVE Updates Covid19 February 26 Highlights: The Union government called for an urgent meeting on Friday to brief states regarding phase 3 of the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive in the country.
The meeting was attended by state health secretaries and directors of the National Health Mission (NHM). The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination will start from March 1 for people aged above 60 and those over 45 years with comorbidities.
Several states have raised concerns regarding the lack of clarity on how to start the vaccination drive. While the Covid-19 vaccine will be provided free of cost at government hospitals, those going to private hospitals will need to pay for vaccination.
The government has roped private hospitals for this phase. While announcing the third phase of the vaccination drive, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar informed Covid jabs will be given at 10,000 government and over 20,000 private vaccination centres across the country. He further said that the government is in discussion with vaccine manufacturers and private hospitals regarding the pricing and it (price) will be decided within three-four days.
Highlights
With 279 COVID-19 cases and seven deaths reported on Friday, Chhattisgarh's caseload rose to 3,12,179 and toll to 3,828, a health official said. The number of recoveries reached 3,05,524 after 19 people were discharged from hospitals and 173 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 2,827 active cases, he said. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 332 COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 2,61,013, while three deaths pushed the toll to 3,862, an official said. No fresh COVID-19 case was reported in 12 of the 52 districts in the state on Friday, he added.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers has crossed 1.37 crore in the country, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. (PTI)
Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Friday recorded 1,074 new cases of coronavirus and six casualties due to the infection, a district official said. With this, the tally of infections in the district has reached 1,47,905, while the toll rose to 4,320, the official said.
Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 11 new COVID-19 cases on Friday that pushed the district's infection tally to 25,515, official data showed. The active cases in the district rose to 69 from 65 the previous day, according to the data released by the UP Health Department for a 24-hour period. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Mumbai rose by 1,034 on Friday to reach 3,23,877, while three deaths took the toll to 11,461, an official said. The metropolis has recorded over 1,000 COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day, with Wednesday and Thursday seeing 1,145 and 1,167 cases respectively, he pointed out. With 712 people getting discharged, the recovery count increased to 3,02,232, or 93 per cent of the caseload. (PTI)
Haryana recorded 148 fresh coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the infection tally in the state to 2,70,411, a health department bulletin said.
Over 13,000 beneficiaries received anti-COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, a significant fall from the number of people who had got the shots a day before, according to data shared by officials. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Friday logged 481 new COVID-19 cases, including one who returned from the United Arab Emirates and five more fatalities, taking the overall caseload to 8,50,577 and the toll to 12,488, the health department said.
One more person died from coronavirus in Rajasthan on Friday as 149 fresh infections surfaced, taking the number of cases to 3,20,078, according to an official report. (PTI)
The slum-dominated Dharavi area in Mumbai recorded 16 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest daily rise since October, a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
Karnataka logged 571 new COVID-19 cases and four related fatalities, taking the caseload to just over 9.50 lakh and the toll to 12,320, the Health department said on Friday.
The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra's Nashik district reached 1,21,802, after 324 people tested positive for the infection on Friday, a health official said. (PTI)
In view of rise in fresh COVID-19 cases, the Kerala government will conduct RT-PCR tests free of cost for expatriates returning to the state, the government said on Friday as 3,671 more peopled tested positive, taking the infection count to 10.52 lakh. (PIT)
Just as the Delhi government had asserted that the coronavirus pandemic had been "defeated" in the national capital, cases are on the rise again dramatically, as doctors on Friday warned that the numbers could go up in the coming months and urged people to continue to wear masks and follow COVID-19 safety norms. (PTI)
Nagaland did not report any new COVID-19 case on Friday, while four more people recovered from the disease, Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in the union territory of Puducherry rose to 39,697 on Monday with the addition of 20 new cases, the Health Department said. (PTI)
The COVID-19 vaccination sessions will not be held this Saturday and Sunday in view of the Co-Win digital platform transitioning from Co-Win 1.0 to Co-Win 2.0. (PTI)
Kerala reports 3,671 new COVID-19 cases, 4,142 recoveries today. Total number of active cases 51,390 and recovered cases 9,96,514. (ANI)
Delhi reports 256 new COVID-19 cases, 193 recoveries and one death in the last 24 hours. (ANI)
Maharashtra | Curfew imposed in Yavatmal district from 5 pm on Saturday to 9 am on Monday, essential services will continue during this curfew: M Devender Singh, Collector, Yavatmal (ANI)
As India gears up to vaccinate people above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities against COVID-19 from March 1, the Union Health Ministry on Friday said the facility of on-site registrations will be available so that eligible beneficiaries can walk into identified vaccination centres, get themselves registered and get inoculated. The beneficiaries will be able to self-register in advance by downloading the Co-WIN 2.0 portal and through other IT applications such as Arogya Setu etc which will list the government and private hospitals serving as COVID-19 vaccination centres (CVCs) with the date and time of the available schedules. The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for immunization, the ministry said. (PTI)
Everyone on election duty for the upcoming polls for five assemblies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before polling day, the Election Commission said on Friday. Voting will take place for 126 seats in Assam, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 294 in West Bengal, 140 in Kerala and 30 in Puducherry. Nearly 18.68 crore electors will be eligible to vote at 2.7 lakh polling stations for 824 seats in five assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said at a press conference here. Arrangements will be put in place for candidates to file their nominations online for the five assembly polls. Voting will be allowed for an additional hour, keeping in mind COVID-19 safety guidelines, he said. Also, webcasting arrangements will be in place at polling stations in critical and vulnerable areas, while adequate CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) deployment will be ensured for the assembly polls, Arora said. All critical and vulnerable areas have been identified and advance teams have been already deployed across all four states and one union territory Puducherry going to the polls, he added. He said door-to-door campaigning will be restricted to five persons, including the candidate, while roadshows will be allowed with a maximum of five vehicles. Arora said the nationwide vaccination drive has made the situation more conducive for conducting elections and the Health Ministry has declared everyone on poll duty as frontline workers for the vaccine purpose. All poll officials will be vaccinated before the elections, Arora said. (PTI)
Scientists have developed a new method to predict the course of evolution of the novel coronavirus and determine which lineages currently in circulation could spread widely in future, an advance that may help vaccine manufacturers stay one-step ahead of worrisome antibody-escaping variants. The study posted in the platform bioRxiv, and yet-to-be peer-reviewed, assessed 3,11,795 genome sequences of the coronavirus spike protein and found mutations altering the amino acid building blocks that make up the protein. (PTI)
Everyone on election duty for the upcoming polls for five assemblies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before polling day, the Election Commission said on Friday. Voting will take place for 126 seats in Assam, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 294 in West Bengal, 140 in Kerala and 30 in Puducherry. (PTI)
Indian Drug Regulator Committee says Bharat Biotech should submit efficacy, safety data of ongoing phase III clinical trial in adults: Reuters
Vaccination drive has made situation more conducive for elections, everyone on poll duty declared frontline worker for vaccine purpose: EC
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A single dose of Pfizer-BioNtech’s COVID-19 vaccine cuts the number of asymptomatic infections and could significantly reduce the risk of transmission of the virus, results of a UK study found on Friday. (Reuters)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has said that receiving her vaccine to protect against COVID-19 'didn't hurt at all' and encouraged those hesitant about getting jabbed to think about how it would help others in preventing the spread of the deadly virus. READ MORE
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For the second phase of vaccination starting March 1 for people aged over 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities, people need to register on the CO-WIN platform to get the Covid-19 vaccine. 'Both online and on-the-spot registration are available. Vaccination will be free at govt facility, & paid at private facility,' RS Sharma, Chairman of Empowered Group, said as reported by ANI. "For people above 60 years, no extra document required, they'll have to validate their identity through Aadhaar card. For those between 45-60 years, co-morbidity certificate is required. For those without internet, on-the-spot registration is the option, he added.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday extended the existing Covid-19 guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution till March 31. The ministry has also asked states and UTs to strictly enforce SOPs on various activities and to exercise caution and strict surveillance.
During the meeting, advance self-registration, on-site registration and facilitated cohort registration of potential beneficiaries explained to states & UTs. Beneficiaries to be captured on CoWIN2.0 platform, issued QR Code based provisional (on receiving the first does)&final certificates, says the Modi govt
During the meeting on Covid-19 vaccination, the government explained the basic features of version 2.0 of the digital platform CO-Win to states and UTs. In a statement, the government said, "Private sector hospitals will be involved as COVID Vaccination centres to harness their potential to expand the vaccination capacities."
Union Health Secretary, Chairman of Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration (Co-WIN) and member, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID chaired a high-level meeting today with Health Secretaries & MDs of states/UTs on vaccination of age-appropriate groups today, the government said on Friday as reported by ANI.
With coronavirus well under control in China and cinemas running at half capacity, moviegoers are smashing China's box office records, setting a new high mark for ticket sales in February, with domestic productions far outpacing their Hollywood competitors, an AP report said.
A year ago this week, Romania reported its first case of COVID-19, prompting the country's strapped medical system to turn its focus to treating COVID-19 patients. As a result, many patients with other conditions - including cancer - have either been denied critical care or have stopped going to their regular appointments, fearful of becoming infected, an AP report said.
Maharashtra minister Nitin Raut on Friday said coronavirus testing in Nagpur has tripled to over 10,000 tests per day, amid rise in infections. According to a PTI report, Raut said there are 1,769 oxygen beds, 684 ICU and 263 ventilator beds available for COVID-19 patients in the district.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has made it clear that there will not be any immediate lockdown in the region. The clarification came after a sharp spike of coronavirus cases were witnessed in the area in the last two days. There was a buzz that Pimpri-Chinchwad will also see a corona lockdown. But an Indian Express report has said that the local administration has categorically denied any such updates. They say that things might be difficult but they have not deteriorated to a level that a lockdown would be required.