Coronavirus Live Updates: A total of 3,874 fatalities due to Covid were registered in a span of 24 hours.
Amid the COVID-19 vaccine shortage being reported from various parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised the states to prevent vaccine wastage.
"There is an issue of vaccine wastage. Wasting even a single dose means not being able to give a shield to a life. It is important to stop vaccine wastage. Health Ministry is providing information to the states regarding vaccines for 15 days. Vaccine supply will help you in managing vaccination timelines," he said.
Interacting with the district magistrates (DMs) and field officials of 10 States regarding the COVID-19 situation on the ground, PM Modi informed that Health Ministry is providing information to the states regarding vaccines for 15 days which will help the officials to manage the vaccination timeline.
Earlier this month, PM Modi had praised the Kerala government's efforts in reducing vaccine wastage and said that it is important in strengthening the fight against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, with 2,76,110 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,57,72,440 while the daily deaths were recorded below 4,000 after four days, taking the count to 2,87,122, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
A total of 3,874 fatalities due to COVID-19 were registered in a span of 24 hours.
The active cases have further reduced to 31,29,878, comprising 12.14 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 86.74 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,23,55,440, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.11 per cent, the data stated.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.
It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.
Here are the Live Updates on India Coronavirus (Covid-19 Cases) Cases:
Covaxin Production To Be Scaled Up By Additional 200 Million Doses
Bharat Biotech on Thursday said it's planning to ramp up the manufacturing capacity of its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, by an additional 200 million doses per year. The announcement, which comes amid several states complaining of vaccine shortage, effectively takes the total volume of doses to nearly a billion per year, the vaccine maker said in a statement.
The vaccine maker has ramped up the manufacturing capacity at its subsidiary's Ankleshwar-based facility in Gujarat.
"The company plans to produce 200 million doses of Covaxin per year in its GMP facilities that are already operational for the production of vaccines based on Inactivated Vero Cell Platform Technology, under stringent levels of GMP and biosafety," Bharat Biotech said.
RT-PCR Share Cut, "Gold Standard" Becomes "Standard" In Centre's U-Turn
RT-PCR tests - widely believed to be the most accurate method to detect COVID-19 - will be cut to 40 per cent of total tests by the end of next month, far from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to raise it to 70 per cent, the government announced on Thursday.
Instead, the government will depend up to 60 per cent on the less reliable antigen tests - in a significant departure from its earlier target - as it aims to double its testing capacity to 45 lakh per day by June end.
The announcement comes just two months after PM Modi advised states that RT-PCR should be 70 per cent of all tests and said there was "no pressure" if positive numbers were high.
Inexplicably, the government also pared down its stated RT-PCR testing capacity to 12-13 lakh-a-day - from around 16 lakh last week.
Delhi, Mumbai Covid Cases Falling, But Deaths Still A Concern: DoctorsWhile COVID-19 cases have started seeing a decline, in India's worst affected cities the deaths are still high because many of those who are in intensive care units or ICUs are still succumbing to the disease.
In Delhi, Covid cases have come down by 75 per cent in the last 10 days but deaths have reduced by only 27 per cent. On May 10, there were 12,651 cases and 319 deaths. Today, 10 days later, 3,231 cases and 233 deaths have been reported.
At Delhi's biggest private hospital chain, Max Hospitals, more than 30,000 patients have been admitted in the second wave since April first week.
RT-PCR Share Cut, "Gold Standard" Becomes "Standard" In Centre's U-TurnRT-PCR tests - widely believed to be the most accurate method to detect COVID-19 - will be cut to 40 per cent of total tests by the end of next month, far from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to raise it to 70 per cent, the government announced on Thursday.
Instead, the government will depend up to 60 per cent on the less reliable antigen tests - in a significant departure from its earlier target - as it aims to double its testing capacity to 45 lakh per day by June end.
All adults in France eligible for Covid jabs from May 31:
All adults in France will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations starting May 31, two weeks earlier than initially planned, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Thursday.
Castex added that the shots would be made available a week earlier -- on May 24 -- to people in "priority professions", including teachers, police officers, bus drivers and supermarket checkout workers.
Vacation + Vaccination? Here's How To Give It A ShotIf you are sick of playing whack-a-mole with vaccination slots, of being confined indoors and have about ₹ 1.5 lakh cash or more to burn, there's a way out - literally.
Countries like Russia and Maldives are working on programmes to offer people abroad the chance to get vaccinated against COVID-19 during a visit. Reports say similar offerings are sprouting in the US as well.
The official Twitter account of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine announced the plans last month and the tiny European republic of San Marino welcomed its first vaccine tourists this week.
15,000-25,000 Covid Cases A Day By June-End: Government Panel MemberCovid cases are likely to drop to around 15,000 to 25,000 a day by the end of June but if vaccinations are not ramped up significantly and precautions not maintained, a third wave of the virus is likely in six to eight months, a panel of experts has predicted.
Dr M Vidyasagar of the IIT Hyderabad, a member of the three-member group under the Science and Technology ministry mapping the trajectory of Covid based on mathematical models, says vaccinations need to be faster to make up for the loss of immunity.
"To a fairly large extent, the second wave was triggered - of course by people not following Covid protocol -- but also by the fact that people who developed immunity in the first wave saw their immunity erode," Dr Vidyasagar told NDTV.
"2 Minutes For Test, 15 For Result": Pune Firm On CoviSelf Home Test Kit
CoviSelf - India's first self-use Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kit - will take two minutes to carry out the test and results will be available in 15 minutes, the Pune-based firm that produced the kit said. The test kit was approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - the nodal body in the fight against the virus - on Wednesday.
Read Here JUST IN: Delhi records 3,231 fresh COVID-19 cases, lowest since April 1, 233 deaths in 24 hours; positivity rate falls to 5.5%.
After the vaccine quantity, and safety data are available for children, vaccines will be administered. We can't be lagging behind for children's protection. We don't have to let the third wave come in: Dr Naveet Wig, HoD of Medicine and Chairperson COVID-19 task force AIIMS.
Coronavirus: Collect, Assess Data On Children Infected With Covid, PM Tells Officials
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged district officials collect data on children being infected with COVID-19 - a worrying possibility as the virus, which has so far not attacked the younger age groups, mutates and spreads across India and the world. He also warned officials to guard against wasting vaccine doses; he said it is "critical" to ensure maximum use of every vial and that wasting even one dose of the vaccine - of which there is a shortage amid the devastating second wave, meant depriving a person of a degree of protection.
Read Here Coronavirus: 134 Fresh COVID-19 Cases Reported In Ladakh
Ladakh recorded 134 fresh COVID-19 cases that took the total infection tally to 16,918 while one person died taking the number of fatalities to 171, officials said on Thursday. As many as 127 people were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the infection, pushing the total number of recoveries to 15,158 in the union territory, officials said. Of the 134 new cases, 124 were reported from Leh and 10 cases from Kargil, they said.
I had said in my previous meeting with officials too, that our aim is not just to prevent the loss of life, but also ensure an ease of living. People must get their basic needs, rations, etc.
Our scientists are working day and night to ensure that we keep a track on the virus and all its mutations. Scientists are also working round-the-clock to ensure vaccines are being manufactured at a brisk pace. There is however, an issue of vaccine wastage. When the vaccines are delivered to you all, we must ensure that there is no vaccine wastage. You all must monitor this in both urban and rural areas. Stopping vaccine wastage is critical and you all must ensure that we don't have any wastage.
The vaccination drive will get an impetus and we will keep you all informed at all times. We will also help the people know how we are going forward via the media.
It is only through the feedback that each one of you send, do we find practical solutions, and only on the basis of that effective policies can be made. So your feedback is extremely important. You all will see an increased supply in vaccines very soon and this will help you all greatly.
We have to ensure that each one of us must ensure that our district and each village in it is secure against Covid. We must prevent it from spreading. Measures like masks, distancing, washing hands with soap regularly must be followed and people must be reminded of it constantly.
While working on the ground to ensure an effective solution to handling the pandemic, many of you have come across unique problems which you might face only in your area. That is where your feedback becomes useful for others too.
It is our determination which will help us overcome the pandemic. We need to work tirelessly to ensure that we as a nation emerge from this, says PM Modi.
Coronavirus: Odisha Logs Record 25 New COVID-19 Fatalities, 11,498 More Cases
Odisha on Thursday registered 25 deaths due to COVID-19, the highest so far in a single day, pushing the count to 2,403, a health department official said. The state reported 11,498 fresh infections, which took the tally to 6,55,899, he said. Of the new fatalities, four each were recorded in Khurda and Kalahandi, three in Angul and two each in Ganjam, Rayagada and Sundargarh. One patient each in Balasore, Bargarh, Bolangir, Boudh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar and Puri succumbed to the disease, he said.
"Aerosols Can Travel 10 Metres": Government's New Pointers On Covid
Wearing face masks, social distancing, sanitation and adequate ventilation can prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Union government's principal scientific adviser K VijayRaghavan's office said in a set of "easy to follow" guidelines to combat the pandemic.
Read Here COVID-19: Railways Delivers Nearly 11,800 Tonnes Of Medical Oxygen Across India
Indian Railways has delivered nearly 11,800 metric tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) in more than 727 tankers to various states across the country as India battling the second wave of COVID-19, informed the Ministry of Railways on Wednesday. "Around 196 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey so far and brought relief to various states and 11 loaded Oxygen Expresses trains were on run with more than 717 MT of LMO in 43 tankers," it said.
Black Fungus: Andhra Government To Purchase 15,000 Vials Of Amphotericin B
Andhra Pradesh government has placed orders for purchasing 15,000 vials of Amphotericin B injection to treat persons infected with black fungus or Mucormycosis, said state Medical and Health Principal Secretary Anil Kumar Singhal on Wednesday. "The state government is taking precautionary measures to prevent black fungus. The Centre has allocated 1650 vials for Andhra Pradesh and the state government has already given orders for 15,000 vials from three companies, and the supply is likely to start on May 22 or 23. The government is ready to purchase any number of vials," Anil Kumar Singhal told reporters
Coronavirus: Telangana Teacher On Poll Duty Dies Of Covid, Husband Says "Lost My Life"
A primary school teacher in Telangana died of COVID-19 just days after she was summoned for election duty for the Nagarjunasagar assembly bypoll in Telangana on April 17, leaving behind her husband Kammampati Mohan Rao and their 8-year-old daughter. Their story is one among the tragic stories of 15 families whose lives have been ruined by politics and elections amid the raging pandemic.
Read Here Coronavirus: India Records 2,76,110 New Infections, 3,874 Deaths In 24 Hours
India's total tally of COVID-19 cases surged to 2,57,72,440 with 2,76,110 new infections, while the recoveries have surged to 2,23,55,440, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death count increased to 2,87,122 with 3,874 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Coronavirus: Vaccination 3 Months After Covid Recovery, Says Government
Vaccination for coronavirus can be taken three months after recovery, the Centre said today. The second dose of Covid vaccine should also be delayed by three months for anyone contracting the disease after the first dose. So far, there was no fixed gap for taking a vaccine in such situations. Individual physicians recommended a gap of two or four weeks depending on the condition of the patient.
Read Here COVID-19 News: Indian Navy Designs Oxygen Recycling System To Mitigate Current Oxygen Crisis
Amidst the second wave of COVID-19, the Diving School of the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy has conceptualised and designed an Oxygen Recycling System (ORS) to alleviate the existing Oxygen shortages. According to an official statement, the ORS has been designed by Lieutenant Commander Mayank Sharma of the Diving School. The system''s design has been patented, and an application to this effect has been filed by the Indian Navy on May 13.
Covid Home Test Kit Gets Approval, Guidelines Out On Who Should Use
Rapid Antigen Kits to conduct Covid test at home got a green signal on Wednesday and the Indian Council of Medical Research -- the nodal body in the fight against the virus -- issued detailed guidelines on who can use it and how. The ICMR has made it clear that only symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of people who tested positive in the laboratory should use the home test. "Indiscriminate testing is not advised," the top medical body said.
Read Here Maharashtra Records 34,031 Covid Cases, 594 Deaths In A Day
Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 34,031 new Covid cases and 594 deaths in a day. At 17.15 per cent, the positivity rate in the last 24 hours remained high but way lower than the April levels.
As many as 51, 457 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate stands at 91.06 per cent.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra had logged 28,438 Covid cases and 679 deaths.
Pune remains the worst-hit city in the state with 4,490 cases and 52 deaths, followed by Ahmednagar with 3,502 cases and 27 deaths.
Mumbai today reported 1,350 new coronavirus cases and 57 deaths, taking its overall infection tally to 6,92,239.