Coronavirus Daily Cases and Deaths in India, Covid Vaccine India Highlights: Even as the rage of the second Covid-19 wave continues, data suggests declining of Coronavirus infections in the country. However, the worry is: It has spread to rural areas now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday held a high-meeting yesterday regarding the Covid-19 situation and vaccination in the country. He stressed on local containment measures and urged people not to lower guard even as Covid-19 cases have started falling.
India has been reporting over 3 lakh Covid-19 cases per day for more than a month now. During this period, the country witnessed as high as over 4 lakh cases in a single day (for more than a week). India reported 3,11,170 new Coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 2,46,84,077, according to data from the Union Health Ministry on Sunday. As many as 4,077 patients died due to complications linked to Coronavirus infections.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also interacted with health ministers and principal secretaries/ additional chief secretaries of Covid-19 hotspot states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat. He reviewed the progress of vaccination in these states and asked them to focus on the expansion and improvement of clinical management.
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Yesterday West Bengal government imposed a strict lockdown in the state for 15 days starting Sunday (May 16). The Chhattisgarh government also asked authorities in all the 28 districts to extend the lockdown till May 31 though it announced some relaxations in economic and other activities.
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The National Capital Delhi is under lockdown for the past three weeks. Uttar Pradesh too has increased Corona restrictions. In South, Kerala has extended a total lockdown from May 8 to May 23. Tamil Nadu is under lockdown from May 10 to May 24. Puducherry has extended lockdown from May 10 to May 24. Telangana has imposed a 10-day lockdown from May 12. Andhra Pradesh has imposed curfew from 12 noon to 6 am till May 18.
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Anti-viral drug Remdesivir would be made available directly to private hospitals to avoid overcrowding in places designated for its prescription based sale by state authorities to the kin of COVID-19 patients, the Tamil Nadu government said here on Sunday. Effective May 18, a facility would be made available to private hospitals to register their drug requirement in a portal and only their representatives should collect the medicine from sale depots. While information on the portal would soon be released, the hospitals must furnish information related to intended recipients, the oxygen dependent patients, the government said in an official release. | Read More
Vaccination against COVID-19 will remain suspended across Gujarat on May 17 and May 18 in view of #CycloneTauktae: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani (ANI)
Tamil Nadu reports 33,181 new COVID-19 cases, 21,317 discharges, and 311 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 2,19,342
Total discharges: 13,61,204
Death toll: 17,670 (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh government allows all district collectors to sanction Rs 15,000 each for the funeral of people who died of COVID-19 (ANI)
The Tripura government on Sunday, announced a nine-day “corona curfew from May 17 within the jurisdiction of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) area in view of the COVID-19 surge, state Law minister Ratan Lal Nath said. Nath, who is also the cabinet spokesperson said, the decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma on Saturday. “All the healthcare experts and ministers who had attended the meeting on Saturday unanimously resolved that strict COVID-19 protocol should be enforced to contain the surge,” he said. West Tripura is the worst-hit district in the state, the minister said. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir reports 4,141 new COVID-19 cases, 59 deaths (PTI)
Delhi has only one day of Covaxin stock left for those aged above 45, healthcare and frontline workers, while Covishield doses for this category can last up to five days, AAP MLA Atishi said on Sunday. She said 1.18 lakh beneficiaries received the jabs on May 15. Around 10.50 lakh people have got both the doses since the inoculation drive began on January 16. Delhi has so far received 44.94 lakh vaccine doses for this age group, of which 41.68 lakh have been administered, Atishi said. | Read More
Reports of sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 samples of COVID-19 from PGIMER, Chandigarh confirm the presence of the double mutant B.1.617 variant: PGIMER Director Prof. Jagat Ram (ANI)
Maharashtra reports 34,389 new COVID19 cases, 59,318 discharges and 974 deaths in the last 24 hours
Total discharges 48,26,371
Death toll 81,486
Total cases 53,78,452
Active cases 4,68,109 (ANI)
Mumbai records 1544 fresh COVID19 cases, 2438 recoveries and 60 fatalities today
Active cases 35,702
Total cases 6,88,696
Total recoveries 6,36,753
Death toll 14,260 (ANI)
677 fresh COVID19 cases, 16 fatalities and 399 recoveries reported in Manipur today; active cases at 6,477 (ANI)
West Bengal reports 19,117 new COVID19 cases, 19,113 discharges and 147 deaths in the last 24 hours
Case tally 11,33,430
Total discharges 9,88,341
Death toll 13,284
Active cases 1,31,805 (ANI)
Gujarat reports 8,210 new COVID19 cases, 14,483 recoveries and 82 deaths in the last 24 hours
Total cases: 7,52,619
Total recoveries: 6,38,590
Active cases: 1,04,908
Death toll: 9,121 (ANI)
Karnataka registers 31,531 new COVID19 cases, 36,475 discharges and 403 deaths in the last 24 hours
Total cases 22,03,462
Total discharges 15,81,457
Death toll 21,837
Active cases 6,00,147 (ANI)
Telangana registers 3816 new COVID19 cases, 5892 recoveries and 27 fatalities today, up till 5:30 pm
Total cases 5,28,823
Total recoveries 4,74,899
Death toll 2,955 (ANI)
Punjab govt extends all existing COVID restrictions till May 31 amid high positivity and fatality rates: Official (PTI)
1.18 lakh people in Delhi vaccinated on May 15. Around 10.5 lakh people have taken both doses so far. Delhi has only 1 day of Covaxin stock left for those aged above 45 after Sunday evening, Covishield stock to last for 5 days: AAP MLA Atishi (PTI)
Over 4.5 crore COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Uttar Pradesh so far, while 1.5 crore people have been vaccinated for coronavirus, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday. The chief minister said the state did not have “much capacity” for COVID testing till March last year but is now conducting 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh tests every day. | Read More
Puducherry records 1961 fresh COVID19 cases, 1491 discharges and 32 fatalities today; active cases at 17,666 (ANI)
In the wake of extension of curfew in Delhi, Delhi Metro services on all its lines shall remain suspended till further notice: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (ANI)
Kerala reports 29,704 new COVID19 cases, 89 deaths and 34,296 recoveries today
Total recovered cases 17,00,528
Death toll 6,428 (ANI)
The coronavirus-induced curfew in Bhopal and Berasia town in Madhya Pradesh was on Sunday extended till May 24 by Collector Avinash Lavaniya, an official said. The corona curfew, which was supposed to end at 6am on May 17, has earlier been given multiple week-long extensions since April 12. Essential services and emergency travel are exempted from the ambit of the curfew, he added. The COVID-19 caseload in Bhopal, as on Saturday, was 1,12,226, including 838 deaths, the official said. (PTI)
24,171 new COVID19 cases, 101 deaths recorded in Andhra Pradesh in past 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state rises to 14,35,491. Active cases 2,10,436 (ANI)
Amid business uncertainty due to the second wave of the pandemic, the majority of Covid-hit MSMEs don’t expect any improvement in their business activities over the next six months. According to a survey by credit rating agency Care Ratings, involving 305 respondents including small and medium enterprises between April 27 and May 11 to gauge the impact of ongoing lockdowns on economic prospects, 54 per cent expected the business conditions to worsen over the next six months. 34 per cent respondents expected no change in the business conditions while only 12 per cent anticipated an improvement in business activities. | Read More
Bangladesh on Sunday extended ongoing nationwide lockdown till May 23 to contain the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bangladesh clamped a week-long nationwide lockdown on April 5, suspending public transport and shutting markets to combat the surge in coronavirus cases in the country. The restrictions were later extended till April 28, then till May 5 and then till May 16. | Read More
Jharkhand has started witnessing a declining trend in daily COVID-19 fatalities as the state on Sunday recorded 65 deaths due to the infection, the lowest in May so far, a health department bulletin said. This is the fourth time in the month when fresh COVID-19 deaths plunged below 100 in the state. The state had recorded 76 fatalities on May 15 and 97 COVID-19 deaths each on May 13 and May 10. It had recorded the highest number of 159 deaths this month on May 2. (PTI)
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot speaks to PM Modi and requests him to increase state’s quota of oxygen in view of rising number of COVID-19 cases | Read More
Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh orders extension of all existing restrictions up to May 31, with directions for strict enforcement of all the curbs: State government; “DCs will continue to determine the opening of shops in a staggered manner,” he says. (ANI)
The Mumbai civic body on Sunday decided to keep its COVID-19 vaccination drive suspended for the third day on May 17 in view of the warning about cyclone Tauktae, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had on Friday announced that there would be no inoculation on May 15 and 16 considering the India Meteorological Department’s cyclone warning. The vaccination programme will now be implemented on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Chahal said. READ MORE
Jharkhand has started witnessing a declining trend in daily COVID-19 fatalities as the state on Sunday recorded 65 deaths due to the infection, the lowest in May so far, a health department bulletin said. This is the fourth time in the month when fresh COVID-19 deaths plunged below 100 in the state. The state had recorded 76 fatalities on May 15 and 97 COVID-19 deaths each on May 13 and May 10. It had recorded the highest number of 159 deaths this month on May 2. There has also been an improvement in the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state now stands at 85.37 per cent, better than the national average of 83.80 per cent, the bulletin said. With the 65 fresh fatalities, the COVID-19 death toll in the state is now 4,431. State capital Ranchi, which has been severely impacted by the virus, recorded 19 deaths during the day, as compared to 28 on Saturday and 40 fatalities on Friday. (PTI)
The curfew imposed in Ladakh to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended by another week till May 24, officials said on Sunday. The extension of the curfew, which was scheduled to end on May 17, was ordered by the district magistrates of Leh and Kargil in separate orders, they said. As of Sunday, Ladakh’s COVID-19 tally stands at 16,333 and the death toll at 165, according to officials. In his order, Leh District Magistrate Shrikant Balasaheb Suse said the extension of restrictions that are already in place is meant to avoid the further spread of the infection. “Restrictions imposed on all kind of movements/activities across Leh district shall be extended from 17.05.2021 (5 AM); and shall remain in force till 24.05.2021 (7 AM),” he said. All shops selling groceries, vegetable and fruit, chicken, milk, dairy products, automobile spare parts, confectionery items and tyre repairs shops would be allowed to open from 7 am to 2 pm. The supply and distribution of essential commodities by wholesale distributors would be allowed between 5 am to 9 am and their movement would be allowed on the production of a valid trade license or registration certificate, the order stated. (PTI)
The national capital recorded 6,456 fresh COVID-19 cases and 262 fatalities on Sunday while the positivity rate dropped to 10.40 per cent, the lowest since April 11, according to a Delhi government health bulletin. This is the third consecutive day when Delhi has recorded less than 10,000 cases. However, the smaller number of new cases was due to relatively fewer tests, 62,059, conducted on Saturday. Delhi had reported 6,430 cases on Saturday, the lowest since April 7, with medical experts attributing the lockdown as the main factor behind the dip. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal district administration extends ‘Corona Curfew’ till 6 am on May 24 (ANI)
Hester Biosciences on Sunday said it has tied up with the Gujarat government to explore production of COVID-19 vaccine through technology transfer from Bharat Biotech. The Ahmedabad-based firm said it has already initiated the discussions with Bharat Biotech in this regard. “A triparty consortium has been formed with the Government of Gujarat as the lead partner, to explore the prospects of manufacturing the Covid vaccine through technology from Bharat Biotech,” Hester Biosciences CEO and MD Rajiv Gandhi said in a statement. The discussions are currently ongoing with Bharat Biotech towards reviewing the infrastructure at Hester, the technology adaption process and the regulatory compliances, he added. Based on the outcome of the review, the next course of action will be determined, Gandhi noted. Hester Biosciences is a leading player in the animal healthcare segment. It is the second largest poultry vaccine manufacturer in the country. Only three vaccines have so far been approved to be sold in India — Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V. Sputnik V has been approved to be imported from Russia by Dr Reddy’s, but is yet to be widely available in the country. Last week the Delhi government urged the Centre to use its special power to allow more firms to manufacture vaccines. (PTI)
Bharat Biotech on Sunday said its COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ has been found to be effective against coronavirus strains found in India and the UK. Citing a study published in peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the Hyderabad-based vaccine major noted that vaccination with Covaxin produced neutralising titres against all key emerging variants tested, including B.1.617 and B.1.1.7, first identified in India and the UK, respectively. The study was conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology and Indian Council of Medical Research, it added. “Covaxin gets international recognition yet again, by scientific research data published demonstrating protection against the new variants. Yet another feather in its cap,” Bharat Biotech co-founder and Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella said in a tweet. She also tagged PMO India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, among others, in the tweet. (PTI)
To augment medical care services to fight the brutal second COVID-19 wave, doctors and other staff from the Remount Veterinary Corps have been roped in by the armed forces, essentially to help run patient facilitation centres, officials said on Sunday. Around 18 officers, over 120 junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks have been deployed in specially created COVID-19 facilities in the national capital, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Varanasi and Patna under operation ‘CO-JEET’, which was started by the combined armed forces in view of the pandemic. ‘CO-JEET’ stands for co-workers of all three services who will finally have ‘Jeet’ (victory) over COVID-19. Operation ‘Co-JEET’ has engaged personnel of the three wings of the armed forces — the Army, the Air Force and the Navy — into services like helping restore oxygen supply chains, setting up COVID beds and providing help to the civilian administration in their fight to prevent the spread of the infection. The Department of Defence has also created a COVID Crisis Management Committee. The staff of the Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) will be used to help facilitation centres to provide information to the kins of patients admitted to the make-shift (COVID) hospitals, the officials said. (PTI)
India’s COVID-19 active cases count has decreased to 36,18,458 with a net decline of 55,344 cases being recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours, while the daily positivity rate dropped to 16.98 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Sunday. The total active caseload now comprises 14.66 per cent of the country’s total infections, it said. Ten states–Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh–cumulatively account for 74.69 per cent of the country’s total active cases, the ministry said. “A declining trend in the positivity rate is also observed which has dropped to 16.98 per cent (May 16) from 24.47 per cent recorded on May 3,” it said. India’s cumulative recoveries have reached 2,07,95,335 with 3,62,437 patients recuperating in a span of 24 hours. It outnumbers the country’s daily COVID-19 cases for the fifth time in the last six days, the ministry said. Ten states account for 70.94 per cent of the new recoveries. The ministry noted that Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Haryana reported 74.7 per cent of the 3,11,170 new cases registered in a span of 24 hours. Karnataka has reported the highest daily new cases at 41,664 followed by Maharashtra with 34,848 cases and Tamil Nadu with 33,658 new cases. The national mortality rate currently stands at 1.09 per cent. A total of 4,077 deaths were reported in a day in the country, the ministry said. (PTI)
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a behavioural change in usage of cash with people withdrawing larger amounts from ATMs but preferring to make digital modes to make payments, said experts. The ferocity of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has scared people, forcing them to withdraw larger amounts from the ATMs with a view to avoid frequent visits. The money thus withdrawn is mostly held for emergency use and often payments are being made through UPI and other digital modes. Talking about the behavioural change in currency usage, Sarvatra Technologies founder and MD Mandar Agashe said that in view of the lockdown and social distancing norms, people are not venturing out to banks and ATMs as frequently. “The average ticket size of withdrawals at any given time has gone up by almost 20 per cent, as people withdraw in larger quantities and prefer to hoard, pre-empting medical or any other form of emergencies, which ultimately is not consumed as much. “The average ticket size of withdrawals which earlier ranged between 2,000-3,000 now has invariably gone up by 20 per cent to Rs 3,000-4,000 across both rural and urban India,” Adashe said. (PTI)