A total of 10.8 lakh samples were tested across the government and private testing facilities in the country. (Photo Source: PTI)Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in India Today Highlights: On the eve of his government’s second anniversary in its second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced a number of welfare measures for children who lost their parents to COVID-19, including ensuring a corpus of Rs 10 lakh when they turn 18 and providing for their education. Chairing a meeting to deliberate on steps which can be taken to support such children, he said they will be supported under the “PM-CARES for Children” scheme. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement that fixed deposits will be opened in the names of such children, and the PM-CARES fund will contribute through a specially designed scheme to create a corpus of Rs 10 lakh for each of them when he or she reaches 18 years of age. This corpus will be used to give a monthly financial support or stipend from 18 years of age for the next five years to take care of his or her personal requirements during the period of higher education. On reaching the age of 23 years, they will get the corpus amount as one lump-sum for personal and professional use.
Coronavirus in India News Live: India records 1.65 lakh news Covid cases, lowest in 46 days
The number of daily coronavirus cases has been consistently declining in the country with a total of 1.73 lakh new cases reported in the last 24 hours. While releasing the daily Covid-19 data, the Union Health Ministry said that the declining trend in the Covid-19 trajectory is maintained. Mirroring the fall in the daily tally of Coronavirus, the active caseload of coronavirus patients also fell to 22.28 lakh as per the data provided by the Ministry. There was a fall in the number of active cases by 1.14 lakh on Friday alone along with 2.84 lakh Covid-19 patients recovering from the disease in the last 24 hours.
Highlighting the fact that the daily positivity rate of Coronavirus pan India has remained below 10 percent in the last five days, the Health Ministry said that the decline in the Covid-19 cases across the country was consistent. The positivity rate of Coronavirus cases was found to be about 8.36 percent in the last 24 hours which translates to every 8 people testing positive out of the 100 samples tested. A total of 10.8 lakh samples were tested across the government and private testing facilities in the country. The government also said that the positivity rate has remained below the 10 percent mark continuously for the last 5 days.
The Health Ministry also provided a weekly positivity rate figure of 9.84 percent at the present juncture. The weekly positivity rate is a better indicator to analyse the spread of the infection among the population as it obliterates the impact of daily fluctuations in the Covid-19 tally and provides a better picture of the spread of the disease.
Even as the number of coronavirus cases registers a consistent decline and clamour for opening up the economy increases, state governments are treading a cautious path so as to not lose the gains reaped by strict Covid-19 restrictions in the last 2 months.
Here are the latest news, views, updates on Covid-19 from India and around the world:
Highlights
Haryana reports 1,868 new COVID-19 cases, 3752 recoveries, and 97 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases: 7,53,937Total recoveries: 7,22,711Death toll: 8132Active cases 23,094 (ANI)
Maharashtra reports 20,295 new COVID cases, 31,964 discharges, and 443 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 2,76,573Total cases: 57,13, 215Total discharges: 53,39,838 (ANI)
Punjab reports 3,102 new COVID-19 positive cases, 5,698 recoveries, and 125 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total positive cases: 5,62,831Active cases: 42,177 (ANI)
A 59-year-old COVID-19 patient, who was also diagnosed with black, white and yellow fungal infections, has passed away here, the doctor treating him said on Saturday. “Kunwar Singh was under treatment but passed away due to toxemia (blood poisoning by toxins) at 7.30 pm on Friday,” Dr. B P Tyagi, an ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist at Harsh Hospital in the city’s Raj Nagar area, told PTI. | Read More
DDMA extended the curfew on the movement of individuals except for essential activities in Delhi till 5 am on June 7 (Monday) or further orders whichever is earlier. (ANI)
There've been some unfounded media reports of the CoWIN platform creating a digital divide & allowing unscrupulous elements to hack the system to benefit few sections of population. Reports are incorrect & not supported by full information on the matter. The lack of basic comprehension about the complexity of a vaccination exercise has led to the false labelling of citizens not finding slots on the platform to problems of the platform itself: Union Health Ministry (ANI)
There's no truth in an MLA procuring any vaccine. Both Tejasvi Surya & Ravi Subramanya had requested for capping vaccine price. If there's any truth, we'll take action: Karnataka Dy CM on allegations that BJP MLA Ravi Subramanya is selling COVID vaccine to private hospitals for Rs 700 (ANI)
Mumbai reports 1048 new COVID cases,1,359 discharges, and 25 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 27,617Total discharges: 6,59,899Death toll: 14, 833 (ANI)
Under the Mukhyamantri Bal Seva Yojana, financial help will be ensured to children who lost their parents/caretakers (due to COVID-19). We will provide 2,500 per month to orphans till the age of 18 years: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar (ANI)
Under the Mukhyamantri Bal Seva Yojana, financial help will be ensured to children who lost their parents/caretakers (due to COVID-19). We will provide 2,500 per month to orphans till the age of 18 years: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar (ANI)
Gujarat reports 2,230 new COVID cases, 7,109 discharges, and 29 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department
Active cases: 38,703Total discharges: 7,57,124Death toll: 9,790 (ANI)
West Bengal reports 11,514 new COVID cases, 18,774 discharges, and 148 deaths in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 1,02,398Total discharges: 12,37,290Death toll: 15,268 (ANI)
Amount of maximum insurance benefit (under EDLI) has been increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. The provision of minimum insurance benefit of Rs 2.5 lakh has been restored and will apply retrospectively from 15th February 2020 for the next three years: PMO (ANI)
Insurance benefits under the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) scheme enhanced and liberalized. These schemes will help mitigate financial difficulties faced by the families: PMO (ANI)
Government announces further measures to help families who lost the earning member due to COVID-19. Family Pension to be given to dependents of those who lost their lives due to Covid under Employees State Insurance Corporation: PMO (ANI)
Delhi received over 48,000 doses of Covaxin for the 45 plus age group on Saturday, and it will mostly be used for administering second doses since the quantity is less, AAP MLA Atishi said. Delhi also received over 83,000 doses of Covishield on Friday, she said. Till May 28, there were no Covaxin doses available for any age group in Delhi. | Read More
Children orphaned due to COVID-19 with no extended family will be sent to residential institutions, govt to bear all expenses: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma (PTI)
Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Satej Patil on Saturday said an awareness program for children and parents about a possible third wave of COVID-19 pandemic should be organised in the state. Patil, who is guardian minister of Kolhapur, said `Corona: Children Awareness Program' will be rolled out in the western Maharashtra district from Sunday. It will encourage children and their parents to take precautions to avoid coronavirus infection, he said. "I have requested Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad to implement this drive across the state," the Congress leader said in a statement. (PTI)
Delhi received over 48,000 doses of Covaxin for the 45 plus age group on Saturday, and it will mostly be used for administering second doses since the quantity is less, AAP MLA Atishi said. Delhi also received over 83,000 doses of Covishield on Friday, she said. Till May 28, there were no Covaxin doses available for any age group in Delhi. Issuing the vaccination bulletin, she said,"We received over 48,000 doses of Covaxin on Friday from the Centre for the 45 plus people, healthcare and frontline workers. "Since the quantity is less, they will mostly be used to inoculate those who have received the first dose of the vaccine." (PTI)
Himachal Pradesh reports 1,262 new Covid-19 positive cases, 2,738 recoveries, and 30 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Active cases: 16,989Total positive cases: 19,02,322 (ANI)
Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, have developed an oral solution to treat Black Fungus (Mucormycosis) and other fungus and are ready to transfer the technology to take it forward, the premier institute said. A 60-mg tablet, which can be priced at about Rs 200, is patient-friendly as its slow and sustained release in the body reduces nephrotoxicity (adverse impact of medicines and chemicals on the kidney, IIT said in a release on Saturday. Prof. Saptarshi Majumdar and Dr.Chandra Shekhar Sharma from the Department of Chemical Engineering have made a proven study about oral nanofibrous AMB to be effective for Kala Azar (visceral leishmaniasis). (PTI)
The Pune Municipal Corporation will start a special COVID-19 vaccination drive for students who have to travel abroad for educational purposes, Mayor Murlidhar Mohol said on Saturday. In a tweet, he said such students can walk into vaccination centres with supporting documents and get inoculated on two days of the week, though this can be extended to all days if the need arises. Incidentally, on Friday, the Mumbai civic body had announced that students in the 18 to 44 years age group in the metropolis heading to foreign universities can walk in at three dedicated centres on May 31, June 1 and 2 to get vaccinated. Earlier, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray had tweeted that he had requested civic chiefs of Pune, Nagpur and Thane to "make vaccination arrangements for students due tofly abroad for studies". (PTI)
COVID19 | Tamil Nadu reports 30,016 new positive cases, 486 deaths, and 31,759 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
Active cases: 3,10,157Total positive cases: 20,39,716 (ANI)
Uttarakhand reports 1,687 new COVID-19 positive cases, 58 deaths, and 4,446 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
Active cases: 31,110Total positive cases: 3,27,112 (ANI)
COVID19 | Manipur reports 1,007 new positive cases, 564 recoveries, and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Active cases: 8,030Total positive cases: 48,850
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday accused the Centre of dragging its feet on granting US pharma giants Pfizer and Moderna necessary permissions to export their COVID-19 vaccines to India and said the process should be expedited. He also asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to directly place orders with companies that are supplying vaccines instead of waiting to get doses from the Centre. Badal was speaking at the inauguration of a free vaccination 'seva', an initiative by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), at the Golden Temple. The 'seva' will be extended to Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib in the coming days, he said. The SAD chief accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Singh of having failed to fulfil their duty to provide vaccines to people. Badal expressed surprise over the alleged delay by the Centre in granting permission to companies like Pfizer and Moderna to export their vaccines to India and said all necessary approvals should be fast-tracked. (PTI)
Assam govt to provide Rs 3,500 per month to guardian of each child orphaned due to COVID-19 for their education: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. (PTI)
The Indian Railways has delivered over 20,770 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen to 15 states over the last month to augment the government's efforts in the fight against coronavirus, the national transporter said on Saturday. While 305 'Oxygen Express' trains have completed their journey so far, six loaded trains are on the run with more than 420 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen in 26 tankers. Assam received its third Oxygen Express on Saturday with 80 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen in four tankers. Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana have received over 1,600 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen each. Over 20,770 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen was delivered to 39 cities in 15 states in more than 1,237 tankers over the last month, according to the national transporter. 'Oxygen Express' trains started their deliveries 35 days back on April 24 in Maharashtra with a load of 126 tonnes. (PTI)
996 new positive cases, 1,718 recoveries, and 21 deaths have been reported in Puducherry today.
Active cases: 13,153Total positive cases: 1,02,896 (ANI)
COVID19 | 13,756 new positive cases, 104 deaths, and 20,392 recoveries have been reported in Andhra Pradesh today.
Active cases: 1,73,622Total positive cases: 16,71,742 (ANI)
COVID19 | 2,314 new positive cases, 70 deaths, and 8,108 recoveries have been reported in Rajasthan today
Active cases: 56,628Total positive cases: 9,36,162 (ANI)
The Kerala government on Saturday announced one more week extension of the statewide lockdown till June 9, to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced the extension of the shutdown at a press conference. The state has been under lockdown since May 8 following the sharp rise in coronavirus cases. The chief minister also announced withdrawal of "triple lockdown" in Malappuram district, where the number of cases was high. However, the general lockdown will continue in the district along with other districts in the state. The government had earlier extended statewide lockdown twice--on May 16 and May 23--after reviewing the situation. (PTI)
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has said it is the need of the hour to save humanity by way of universal vaccination against the coronavirus because no one would be safe if some people are left out. Krishnamoorthi, who recently introduced a legislation in the US House of Representatives seeking to expand American aid to the coronavirus-hit countries like India, was speaking at a webinar organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Friday. "It's the need of the hour to save humanity by way of universal vaccination, which means vaccination to all people in the globe because if some people are left, no one would be safe," the SJM quoted Krishnamoorthi as saying at the webinar. (PTI)
The Health Department in Agra is gearing up to deal with COVID-19 infection among children by setting up pediatric and neonatal Intensive Care Units and wards at government hospitals and health centers, officials said Saturday. These centers will be equipped with medical oxygen, medicines, child-friendly health staff, help desk and other mandatory arrangements including CCTV cameras, they said. They said about 100 beds have been reserved at Sarojani Naidu Medical College and Hospital including 25 ICU beds, whereas 20 beds, including five ICU ones, have been reserved at the District Hospital. At each Community Health Centre such as the ones at Baroli Ahir, Bah, Khandoli and Saiyan 10 beds, including 2 ICU ones, have been reserved for such cases. (PTI)
The daily Covid test positivity rate is under one per cent and there has been a continuous decline in fresh cases in Uttar Pradesh, the government said on Saturday, attributing the decreases to aggressive testing, tracing and treatment, and restrictions imposed in the state. Uttar Pradesh recorded 2,287 new cases on Saturday, while it was 2,402 on Friday, 3,278 on Thursday, 3,371 on Wednesday and 3,957 on Tuesday. The recovery rate in the state stands at 96.10 per cent, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement. The state's COVID-19 graph continues to show a declining trend with 2,287 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours, the lowest daily spike from the peak (38,055 on April 24) last month, it said. The fresh cases have pushed Uttar Pradesh's active COVID-19 cases to 46,201, the statement said. It said that 7,902 Covid patients have recovered and have been discharged from health facilities in the last 24 hours, and the total recoveries now stand at 16,21,743. Recoveries outnumbering daily cases have ensured a high recovery rate, and the state has recorded a recovery rate at a significant 96.10 per cent, the statement said. (PTI)
The number of COVID-19 cases in Goa reached 1,54,419 on Saturday after 963 people were detected with the infection, while the day also saw 27 people succumbing and 1,206 getting discharged, an official said. The state's toll stands at 2,597 and the recovery count is 1,36,766, leaving it with an active caseload of 15,056, he said. With 4,296 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in Goa went up to 8,16,691, the official said. (PTI)
The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) would be paying a fixed sum towards the educational expenses of children who lost their parents to COVID-19. An annual grant of Rs 24,000 each will be paid to such children, the corporation said in a release here on Saturday. (PTI)