Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Balram Bhargava on Thursday hailed the 96 per cent nationwide COVID-19 vaccination coverage of the first dose and said that India is heading towards becoming a vaccine super-power.
India reported a total of 67,084 new coronavirus cases today. According to the Union Health Ministry, the active cases declined to 8,92,828.
While the daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.44 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 6.58 per cent, according to the ministry.
Here are the Highlights on coronavirus cases in India:
Following a steady decline in daily COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat government has lifted night curfew in 19 towns and curtailed the time of curfew in eight major cities. The decision was taken by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel after reviewing the situation at the meeting of the state's core committee in Gandhinagar, said an official release.
Starting February 11 (Friday), night curfew will remain in force in only eight major cities, that too between 12 midnight and 5 am which is a relaxation of three hours.
The Sikkim government has relaxed COVID-19 restrictions following a dip in fresh cases. Restrictions on interstate movement of people and vehicles and requirement of RT-PCR negative reports to enter the state were withdrawn, a notification said.
Odd-even restrictions, and curbs on movement of vehicles within the state, and that on pillion riding were also withdrawn, it said.
Markets, shops and other commercial establishments shall function normally with strict adherence to COVID-19 norms, the notification said.
Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Balram Bhargava on Thursday hailed the 96 per cent nationwide COVID-19 vaccination coverage of the first dose and said that India is heading towards becoming a vaccine super-power.
The Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine is under phase 3 of clinical trials in India. This vaccine is expected to be of use in future for the treatment of other diseases as well.
Jharkhand on Thursday logged 318 fresh COVID-19 cases, 54 more than the previous day, taking the state's caseload to 4,32,487, a health bulletin said. With no fresh mortality reported from any part of the state, the COVID-19 death count remained at 5,314, it said.
The state had recorded 264 COVID-19 cases and one death on Wednesday.
Jharkhand now has 2,227 active COVID-19 cases, while 4,24,946 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 363 on Wednesday, the bulletin said.
The recovery rate stood at 98.24 per cent, while the mortality rate was at 1.22 per cent.
The World Health Organization lamented Tuesday that half a million COVID-19 deaths had been recorded since the Omicron variant was discovered, calling the count"beyond tragic".
The WHO's incident manager Abdi Mahamud said that 130 million cases and 500,000 deaths had been recorded globally since Omicron was declared a variant of concern in late November.
It has since rapidly overtaken Delta as the world's dominant Covid variant because it is more transmissible, though it appears to cause less severe illness.
Puducherry reported 162 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday raising the overall tally to 1,64,922. There were 2,506 active cases of whom 58 patients were in hospitals undergoing treatment and the remaining 2,448 patients staying in home quarantine. 741 patients recovered and were discharged during the last 24 hours while the overall recoveries were 1,60,460.
The government on Thursday revised guidelines for international arrivals, removing the category of 'at risk' countries - introduced when the Omicron Covid variant emerged - and also recommending self-monitoring of 14 days for symptoms against the current seven days of home quarantine.
The new guidelines will come into effect from Monday, February 14, the Union Health Ministry said.
The ministry stressed the "need to monitor the continuously changing" COVID-19 virus but also acknowledged that "economic activities need to be taken up in an unhindered manner".
A nasal spray to treat adult COVID-19 patients has been launched in India after Mumbai-based developers Glenmark Pharmaceuticals received marketing clearances from the Drugs Controller General of India as part of an accelerated approval process.
Ninety more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the virus tally to 63,814 on Thursday. The COVID-19 death count in the northeastern state rose to 293 after a person succumbed to the infection. The state currently has 1,131 active COVID-19 cases
With the addition of 282 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 7,06,461, while eight more fatalities pushed the death count to 11,838 on Thursday. The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 1.67 per cent.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded a dip in new COVID-19 cases as eight people tested positive for the infection, 10 less than the previous day, pushing the total caseload to 9,951 on Thursday. The Covid-19 death count remained at 129 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours. The union territory now has 168 active COVID-19 cases, while 9,654 people have recovered from the disease so far.
COVID-19 UPDATE
171.28 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
India's Active caseload currently stands at 7,90,789
Active cases stand at 1.86%
Recovery Rate currently at 96.95%
1,67,882 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to
4,11,80,751
67,084 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
Daily positivity rate (4.44%)
Weekly Positivity Rate (6.58%)
74.61 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 15,11,321 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
White House Chief Medical advisor Antony Fauci hinted that there may be the need for the fourth-dose boost in the United States to battle with COVID-19 variant Omicron.
The Covid lockdown this week of a relatively unknown Chinese city sent global prices of aluminium rocketing to a 14-year high. Located near the border with Vietnam, Baise is nicknamed the "aluminium capital of southern China". Home to around 3.5 million people, Baise is a hub for aluminium mining and production. It produces about 2.2 million tonnes of the commodity per year -- more than 80 percent of the output in the resource-rich Guangxi region. Read More
Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 400 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious Omicron variant dominates the outbreak, pushing health systems in several countries to the brink of capacity.
The Omicron variant, which is dominating the surge around the world, accounts for almost all new cases reported daily. While cases have begun to level off in many countries, more than 2 million cases are still being reported on average each day, according to a Reuters analysis. Deaths, which tend to lag cases, have increased by 70% in the last five weeks based on the seven-day average.
Assam reported 315 new COVID-19 cases and six fatalities in the last 24 hours, as per the state health department on Wednesday. With the addition of new cases, the active caseload in the state reached 5,035. As many as COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state so far. The positivity rate in the state stands at 0.98 per cent. With 1,539 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries in the state mounted to 7,09,716.
New York on Wednesday became the latest Democrat-run state to announce it was lifting indoor mask mandates for businesses.
