Covid-19 Cases in India Today, Coronavirus Statistics India Highlights May 6: India, the epicentre of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak, will witness the third wave of Covid-19 infections, the Centre has said. This warning comes at a time when states have seen some noticeable dip in the daily caseload of fresh Covid-19 infections. So, has India has already seen the peak of the second wave of the coronavirus? Experts have still not arrived at any conclusion despite the latest drop in the daily cases.
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While there is a debate over the official data provided by the Union Health Ministry with many alleging India of massive underreporting, the WHO says that even the official data shows how grim the situation is. The World Health Organization says that every fourth person dying due to Covid is from India.
With an average caseload of more than 3.5 lakh cases for more than 10 days in running, India accounts for nearly 50% of the global caseload. On numerous occasions, the health ministry has reiterated that there is no shortage of the vaccine. However, the daily inoculation data shows that there has been a massive decline in jabs administered per day since April 1st last month.
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During the daily briefing, the top health ministry official said that the dip in cases show that the coronavirus curve is plateauing in some states. While Mumbai’s promising improvement may be the glimmer of hope but the nearly thousand deaths in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours show that the virus is killing more people this time. The situation is worsening in states such as West Bengal, Karnataka and Kerala. Bengaluru and Tamil Nadu capital Chennai are areas of concern, the Centre says. On the reason behind the devastating second wave, the Centre says that as the majority of the population dropping caution, along with less immunity due to 1st wave worsened the impact of the second wave.
As the Centre finally talking about the national lockdown and the link between double mutant and present surge, here are the latest updates from India and around the globe:
Heavy duty transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 Globemaster airlifted cryo-containers from Bangkok on Thursday as part of a coordinated operation of the home ministry to tackle the oxygen scarcity in hospitals across the country during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. Cryogenic containers are used to transport liquid oxygen. The country is trying to procure as many cryo-containers as possible from across the globe to reduce bottlenecks in the transportation of oxygen to the states. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is coordinating the procurement and transportation of cryogenic and other types of cylinders from various countries using the IAF transport aircraft to meet the demand. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Thursday reported 62,194 new COVID-19 cases, taking its cumulative tally to 49,42,736, while 853 more deaths pushed the toll to 73,515, an official from the state health department said. Compared to Wednesday, Maharashtras COVID-19 caseload increased by 4,554 in the last 24 hours, but the fatality count dropped by 67. Out of the 853 deaths, 331 occurred in the last 48 hours, 247 in the past one week and the remaining 275 in period before last week, but were added to the toll now as part of data reconciliation exercise, the official said. Fresh recoveries were slightly more than the new infections. (PTI)
Jammu and Kashmir recorded the biggest daily rise of 4,926 coronavirus and 52 deaths on Thursday, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 1,685 were from the Jammu division and 3,241 from Kashmir division, according to officials. The number of coronavirus cases rose to 2.02 lakh, while the toll climbed to 2,562. Out of the 52 more deaths, 34 were in Jammu region and 18 in Kashmir Valley, the officials said. Srinagar district recorded the highest number of 1,070 new cases, followed by 617 in Jammu district and 605 in Budgam. The active cases rose to 31,666 and 1.57 lakh patients have recovered so far, the officials said. (PTI)
Haryana on Thursday reported 177 coronavirus-related deaths taking the cumulative toll to 5,137 while 14,840 fresh infections pushed the tally to 5,73,815, according to the health department’s daily bulletin. The fresh deaths include 23 from Rohtak, 22 from Hisar, 19 from Fatehabad, 13 from Gurgaon, 11 each from Bhiwani and Jind, 10 from Sirsa and 9 each from Faridabad, Karnal and Kaithal districts, the bulletin said. The districts that reported a big spike in new cases were Gurgaon (3,737), Faridabad (1,537), Sonipat (1,046), Hisar (1,193), Karnal (621), Sirsa (607), Panipat (792) and Mahendragarh (1,083). (PTI)
Continuing a downward trend, Gujarat on Thursday reported 12,545 COVID-19 cases, the Health Department said. With 13,021 persons getting discharged during the day, recoveries surpassed the daily increase in cases. On Wednesday the state had reported 12,955 new cases. As many as 123 coronavirus patients succumbed to the infection on Thursday, including 17 in Ahmedabad district, 15 in Rajkot and 13 each in Surat and Vadodara districts, said the release. (PTI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said her government has decided to grant special permission to all medical establishments to increase the number of beds by at least 40 per cent to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic situation. She said that private hospitals in the state have been allowed to increase the number of beds, which will enhance the total number of beds in the hospitals in West Bengal to around 30,000. “Today we have decided to give special permission to all the hospitals to increase their bed strength by 40 per cent. The decision was taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic here,” she told reporters at the state secretariat. (PTI)
The Narendra Modi government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that people of the country has given their mandate to it twice and it understands people suffering due to COVID-19 and making every possible effort to augment the supply of Oxygen at the highest political level. It rebutted the Delhi government’s accusation that oxygen allocation is being done arbitrarily and favoured creation of an effective mechanism to deal with allocation and distribution of Oxygen to the states. The apex court was told that the Delhi government has made it a “Centre versus Delhi fight”. (PTI)
West Bengal’s COVID-19 fatalities rose to 11,964 on Thursday after 117 deaths, the highest so far in a single day, were reported, the health department said in a bulletin. The caseload also mounted to 9,35,066 after the state registered a record one-day spike of 18,431 fresh infections. In the last 24 hours, 17,412 recoveries were reported while the number of active cases increased to 1,22,774, the bulletin said. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response of the Centre and Delhi government on a plea alleging that the number of ICU and non-ICU beds in two dedicated COVID hospitals were slashed by more than half due to oxygen shortage and seeking directions to restore the bed capacity in them. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the Union Health Ministry, Delhi government and the two dedicated COVID hospitals — Guru Teg Bahadur and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality — seeking their stand on the petition by an NGO. (PTI)
Goa on Thursday reported its highest daily tally so far with 3,869 COVID-19 cases that took the count of infections to 1,08,267, an official from the health department said. Apart from this, the toll mounted to 1,501, after 58 patients died of the infection during the day, the official said. As many as 2,023 patients were discharged from hospitals, raising the number of recoveries to 77,014, leaving the state with 29,752 active cases, he said. (PTI)
PM Narendra Modi speaks to CMs of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand about COVID-19 situation in their states. He also speaks to LGs of Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir about COVID-19 situation in two union territories: Govt sources
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and zero strategy of the Centre is pushing the country towards a complete lockdown. Gandhi said he was against a total lockdown and urged the government to provide a financial package for the poor. “Last year’s unplanned lockdown was a fatal attack on the people and that is why I am against a complete lockdown. “But the prime minister’s failure and zero strategy on part of the central government are pushing the country towards a complete lockdown,” he said in a tweet in Hindi. (PTI)
Gurugram district administration on Thursday announced the launch of a dedicated WhatsApp COVID-19 helpline to provide residents access to critical information and a central repository of all COVID-19-related resources. The helpline has been developed by a group of volunteers, private sector organisations and with the support of various departments within the Gurugram District Administration, a statement said. The helpline is free to use and is available in Hindi and English, it added. The service is an integrated offering built on the WhatsApp Business API and will directly connect citizens to official and verified sources of information and medical services, thus enabling quick access and helping the administration streamline its relief efforts. (PTI)
Seeking the Centres active cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, Odisha Thursday demanded exemption of GST on purchase of vaccines and financial assistance to states from the cess and surcharge collected by the Union government from various products. Noting that states have been asked to purchase vaccines from their resources for inoculating people between the ages of 18 and 45, Patnaik said, these purchases attract the Goods and Service Taxes (GST), making the vaccines costly for the states. In a letter to Union Finance Minister NIrmala Sitharaman, Patnaik wrote, “I hope the above suggestions will be examined and urgent necessary action is taken in view of the emergency health situation in the country and to strengthen our unified fight against Covid.” (PTI)
The Railways has delivered 161 tankers with around 2,511 tonne of liquid medical oxygen to various states across the country so far, the national transporter said Thursday. As many as 40 Oxygen Express trains have already completed their journey so far, it said, adding 22 tankers are on the move with more than 400 tonnes of LMO for Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi. Trains on the run include the first Oxygen Express for Rajasthan where three tankers have been dispatched carrying 40.64 tonnes of LMO from Hapa in Gujarat to Kota. (PTI)
The Northern Railways on Thursday cancelled a slew of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express’, stating low patronisation and rising coronavirus cases as the reason behind the decision. The to-and-fro services of eight Shatabdi Express, two Rajdhani Express, two Duronto Express and one Vande Bharat Express are among around 28 trains that have been cancelled “till further advice” by the Northern Railways. Among these are Shatabdis originating from Delhi to places like Kalka, Habibganj, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Rajdhani trains from Delhi to Chennai, Bilaspur, Duronto trains to Jammu Tawi and Pune. Poor patronisation of once popular trains also indicates that a lesser number of people are travelling amidst the surge in coronavirus cases, officials said. (PTI)
Rajasthan reported 161 coronavirus-related deaths and 17,532 fresh cases on Thursday, pushing the toll to 5,182 and the infection count to 7,02,568, according to an official report. Jaipur recorded a maximum of 46 new fatalities, followed by Jodhpur where 27 patients succumbed to the infection. The remaining deaths were reported from other districts barring Jaisalmer, Pratapgarh, Dausa, Bundi, Hanumangarh and Dholpur. Of the fresh COVID-19 cases, a maximum of 3,440 were reported from Jaipur while 2,301 more people tested positive for the infection in Jodhpur. (PTI)
The Delhi Jal Board ordered officials on Thursday to ensure that there was no shortage of drinking water in hospitals treating coronavirus patients. The directive comes a day after the DJB had said drinking water supply would remain affected in parts of central, north, south and west Delhi and cantonment areas for three days as a result of Haryana releasing less raw water into the Yamuna. Water supply should be rationalised across Delhi, “but special attention shall be paid to ensure that there is no shortage of drinking water at hospitals treating COVID-19 patients”, read an order from Member (Water Supply) V K Gupta. “Delay in supply of drinking water to COVID-19 hospitals will be viewed seriously,” the order stated. (PTI)
49,058 new COVID19 cases, 328 deaths and 18,943 discharges reported in Karnataka in the last 24 hours
Total cases: 17,90,104
Death toll: 17212
Active cases: 517075
Total recoveries: 12,55,797 (ANI)
For the third day in a row, Andhra Pradesh reported more than 20,000 cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, pushing the gross to 12,28,186. As many as 1,10,147 tests turned out 21,954 fresh positives in 24 hours, the latest bulletin said. Also, 10,141 patients had recovered while 72 more succumbed in a day, it said. The total recoveries now stood at 10,37,411 and toll 8,446. The active caseload was 1,82,329. (PTI)
Uttarakhand reports 8517 new COVID-19 cases and 151 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 2,20,351
Total recoveries 1,49,489
Death toll 3293
Active cases 62,911. (ANI)
Both Medical Oxygen Plants at AIIMS and RML Hospital (in Delhi) set up by DRDO with help of PM CARES Fund are fully operational: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRCO) officials. (ANI)
The Centre has reduced the supply of liquid medical oxygen to Maharashtra from Karnataka by 50 metric tonnes (MT), a move which will have severe impact on treatment of COVID-19 patients in the state, health minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday. He said the issue of reduction in liquid medical oxygen supply to Maharashtra, which has the maximum number of active cases in the country, should be raised with the Union health ministry. Speaking to reporters here, Tope said, The Union government today reduced the allocation of liquid medical oxygen from Karnataka by 50 metric tonnes. (PTI)
Bangladesh on Thursday handed over 10,000 vials of antiviral injection Remdesivir to India as part of its medical assistance amid deteriorating Covid-19 situation in the neighbouring country. India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds. Bangladesh’s Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Toufique Hasan handed over 10,000 vials of Remdesivir to the representative of the Indian government at the Indian border port of Petrapole. (PTI)
The Delhi Police has arrested three persons, including a woman, for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of selling oxygen cylinder, officials said on Thursday. The accused have been identified as Priyesh (27) and Yashika (26), both residents of Indirapuram (Ghaziabad), and Phagun (29), a resident of Dilshad Garden, they said. The matter came to light Monday after a person named Tushar Gupta reported that one of his Covid-19 positive relatives was duped when he called a mobile number circulating on WhatsApp for oxygen cylinders. The person asked him to pay Rs 45,000 for one cylinder, a senior police officer said. (PTI)
Andhra Pradesh reports 21,954 new COVID-19 cases, 10,141 recoveries and 72 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 12,28,186
Total recoveries 10,37,411
Death toll 8446
Active cases 1,82,329 (ANI)
After Delhi, it’s now Karnataka’s turn to fight the Oxygen battle out in the country’s highest court. The Centre today moved the Supreme Court against an order of the Karnataka High Court asking the Centre to increase the state’s daily quota of Oxygen. The Karnataka High Court has asked the Centre to increase daily liquid medical oxygen (LMO) allocation for the state to 1200 MT from the present 965 MT for treating COVID-19 patients. The bench, however, said that it will pass an order only after looking at the papers. READ FULL STORY
Rajasthan reports 17,532 new cases, 16,044 recoveries and 161 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 7,02,568
Total recoveries 4,99,376
Death toll 5182
Active cases 1,98,010 (ANI)
A health expert on Thursday suggested extension of lockdown by two more weeks in Karnataka, saying the state is yet to reach peak though it has been reporting over 50,000 cases. “At least in two weeks we will see a peak in Karnataka,” Dr Giridhara R Babu, who is a professor and head of Life Course Epidemiology at the Public Health Foundation of India, told PTI. Babu, who is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee on COVID, said the case detection is presently erratic because the testing numbers have reduced, especially in Bengaluru. READ MORE
Madhya Pradesh reports 12,421 new #COVID19 cases, 12,965 recoveries and 86 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Total cases 6,37,406
Total recoveries 5,42,632
Death toll 6160
Active cases 88,614 (ANI)
Nepal has reported 8,970, cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally of infections to 368,580, the health ministry said on Thursday. The health ministry said that the nation also reported the deaths of 54 new patients suffering from COVID-19. “The new cases of coronavirus in the country has touched 368,580 with 8,970 fresh infections. The nation also reported 54 new deaths in the last 24 hours,” the Ministry of Health and Population said in a statement. Similarly, 2,707 COVID-19 patients who earlier infected have recovered in a single day, the statement said. (PTI)
A large study in Denmark and Norway has found slightly increased rates of vein blood clots, including in the brain, among adults who had received their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, compared with expected rates in the general population. However, the study published in The BMJ on Wednesday, stresses that the risk of such adverse events is considered low. The researchers from University of Southern Denmark, and Norwegian Institute of Public Health, set out to compare rates of blood clots and related conditions after vaccination with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine with those in the general populations of the two countries. The findings are based on 280,000 people aged 18-65 who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, known as Covishield in India, from February 2021 through to 11 March 2021 in Denmark and Norway. Using national health records, they identified rates of events, such as heart attacks, strokes, deep vein blood clots and bleeding events within 28 days of receiving a first vaccine dose and compared these with expected rates in the general populations. (PTI)
France joined the United States on Thursday in supporting an easing of patent and other protections on COVID-19 vaccines that could help poorer countries get more doses and speed the end of the pandemic. While the backing from two countries with major drug makers is important, many obstacles remain. The move to support waiving intellectual property protections on vaccines under World Trade Organisation rules marked a dramatic shift for the United States and drew cheers from activists, complaints from Big Pharma, and a lot of questions about what comes next. Washington had previously lined up with many other developed nations opposed to the idea floated by India and South Africa in October. Attention is now turning to those richer nations, notably in the European Union and France was the first to voice its support. “I completely favour this opening up of the intellectual property,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday on a visit to a vaccine center. But he also expressed doubt as the pharmaceutical companies have that the measure would be the panacea some hope. Even if patents are waived, he said, drug makers in places like Africa currently are not equipped to make COVID-19 vaccines so donations of doses should be prioritized instead. Another key hurdle remains: Any any single country could block a decision at the WTO, a Geneva-based trade body of 164 member states, to agree to a waiver. The EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the 27-nation bloc was ready to talk about the US proposal but cagily remained noncommittal for now. (AP)
Kerala reports 42,464 new COVID-19 cases, 27,152 recoveries and 63 fatalities in the last 24 hours
Active cases: 3,90,906
Death toll: 5,628
Total recoveries: 13,89,515 (ANI)
Congress leader and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday once again questioned the determination of the rates of COVID-19 vaccines in the country. During his visit to his assembly constituency Tonk, Pilot told reporters that there should be no different rates of the same vaccine and Government of India should control it. “When the prices of cement, steel or air fares can be controlled, why the rates of the life-saving vaccine cannot be controlled?” he asked. “Everyone should be vaccinated for free,” Pilot said. (PTI)
Russia has authorised the one-shot Sputnik Light version of its COVID-19 vaccine for use, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Thursday, a move that could help vaccine supplies go further in countries with high infection rates. Developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, the slimmed-down vaccine, which the RDIF said is 79.4% effective against COVID-19 and costs under $10 a dose, has been earmarked for export and could increase the number of people with partial immunity.One of its main potential uses is as a vaccine that can be shipped to a country in the grip of an acute outbreak which needs to be subdued quickly.”The single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine demonstrated 79.4% efficacy according to analysed data taken from 28 days after the injection was administered as part of Russia’s mass vaccination programme between 5 December 2020 and 15 April 2021,” the RDIF said in a statement. (Reuters)
Digital payment application Paytm in a crucial development has decided to help its users find Covid-19 vaccination centres available near their home. The company has launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Slot Finder function on the application for both its Android as well as iPhone users. During the third phase of Covid-19 vaccination, many people are finding it difficult to trace the available vaccine slots at nearest vaccination centres and the Paytm app feature is aimed at solving the very same problem. The announcement was made by Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma on twitter today. Being widely used by the users for their digital payments, the feature on the application can significantly boost the vaccination drive in the country. READ FULL STORY
The Goa government on Thursday brought COVID-19 treatment under its flagship medical insurance scheme, which covers the entire population of the state. The move will allow patients to avail benefits under the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY) while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in private hospitals, according to a notification issued by Additional Secretary (Health) Vikas Gaunekar. Treatment for COVID-19 in government hospitals is free in the state. Patients can avail benefits for a maximum 10 days from the date of admission and they will be applicable only to DDSSY-empanelled hospitals with ICU facility, said the order. The notification said all charges, including admission, those related to medical consultancy, nursing, beds, diet, PPE kits, X-Ray, ECG and cardiac monitor, among others, will be covered under the scheme’s package. (PTI)