Coronavirus Highlights : India Logs 796 Cases, 19 Covid Deaths In 24 Hours

Bengal logs 20 new COVID-19 cases
West Bengal in the last 24 hours reported 20 fresh cases of COVID-19, pushing the tally to 20,17,715, the health department said in a bulletin on Tuesday.

The coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 21,200 as no fresh fatality was recorded.

The state now has 421 active cases, while 19,96,094 have recovered from the disease so far, including 36 in the last 24 hours.

West Bengal has thus far tested 24,889,160 samples for COVID-19.

No more fine for not wearing masks in public places in Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh government on Tuesday lifted the fine for not wearing masks in public places.

Chhattisgarh reported three new COVID cases on Tuesday. Further, five patients recovered from the disease today, said the state health department.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are currently 41 active COVID cases in Chhattisgarh.

India is now better prepared to fight any Covid-19 variant, says Serum Institute's Adar Poonawalla
As some countries are presently reporting higher COVID-19 cases, Chief Executive Officer of Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday said that India is better prepared to face it now than it was in 2020.

In an exclusive interview, Poonawalla said, "We are definitely far better prepared than we were in 2020. In 2020, we did not have the testing capabilities, the genomic sequencing. We didn't have any of that. We didn't have the hospital infrastructure that we have here today."

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership during the COVID pandemic, the SII CEO said that India now has strengthened healthcare.

"When you look at the position the country is in under PM Modi's leadership, we have strengthened all these areas, vaccines treatments etc. In 2020, the pandemic caught everyone off guard globally," he said.

Over 186.05 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India: Centre
Over 16,709 precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered to beneficiaries in the 18-59 years age group on the third day of the drive on Tuesday, taking the total number of such doses given in this age group to 44,439, according to the Union health ministry.

India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 186.05 crore (1,86,05,24,339) on Tuesday with more than 13 lakh (13,28,485) vaccine doses administered till 7 pm, the ministry said, adding that the daily vaccination tally is expected to go up with the compilation of the final reports by late night.

India began administering the precaution doses of the vaccines to all aged above 18 years at private vaccination centres from Sunday.

India provides Made in India Covishield vaccines to Cambodia
India on Tuesday handed over to Cambodia 325,000 doses of Made in India Covishield vaccines under the Quad Vaccine Partnership scheme.

Indian Ambassador to Cambodia Devyani Khobragade, along with representatives from the embassies of Australia, Japan and US to Cambodia, jointly handed over a consignment of 325,000 doses of Made in India Covishield vaccines to the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The vaccines have been gifted by India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to donate 500,000 doses of Covid vaccines to the Indo-Pacific under the Quad vaccine initiative.

Mumbai sees 52 new COVID-19 cases
Mumbai on Tuesday recorded 52 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections to 10,58,494, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

The city has recorded double the number of infections it had on Monday, when it saw 26 cases, the official said.

This is the fourth time this month that the city had reported over 50 new COVID-19 cases. As per a health bulletin, 56 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recoveries to 10,38,625, while the toll stood at 19,560, as no casualties were reported during the day.

Slashed COVID-19 vaccine Covishield's prices to ensure more accessibility, reach, says Serum Institute's Adar Poonawalla
The decision to slash the prices of the precautionary dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, which is now available for all adults, was taken to make it more affordable, accessible and within reach of the masses, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawalla said on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Poonawalla said, "After a discussion with government officials, we all concluded that we need to give boosters and make them affordable and accessible to as many people as possible. And for protection and travel purposes, we said let's reduce the price."

Sharing his vision of wanting everyone in the country to be able to receive a booster dose of the vaccine, the CEO of SII said that the price slash will "certainly make it more accessible to every person who wants to take it."

Should Continue Precautions, Covid Not Over Yet, Says Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday played down apprehensions about XE variant of the coronavirus saying it is just another form of Omicron, and asked people to maintain precautions as the pandemic is not over yet. Read here.

Reduce time gap for COVID vaccine booster dose to six months: Serum Institute tells government
Vaccine major Serum Institute of India (SII) has appealed to the government to reduce the gap between the second and booster dose to six months from nine months at present to safeguard people against emerging COVID variants, according to its CEO Adar Poonawalla.

Recalling that they could not meet the commitment of exporting vaccines in the first quarter of 2021 due to "so much noise from public and the opposition", Poonawalla on Tuesday also pitched for a global pact for vaccine utilization.

He noted that India and SII faced severe reputation damage when export of COVID vaccine was banned for nearly two months during the second COVID wave.

64 students test positive for Covid in 6 days at Gujarat National Law University
The number of students who have been detected with coronavirus in the Gandhinagar-based Gujarat National Law University over the last six days has touched 64 after nine more students tested positive, a health department official said on Tuesday.

All those infected are university students who met physically for the first time after offline classes resumed on April 4, Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation Medical Officer of Health Dr Kalpesh Goswami said.

None of them require hospitalisation and all have been kept in isolation in the institute's hostel, with three teams monitoring their health round the clock, Goswami said.

"So far, some 700 students and staff of the university have been screened for the virus, and 64 students have tested positive. After offline classes resumed, students arrived at the campus from their home states and the virus may have spread as they interacted with each other," the official explained.

2 New Omicron Sub-Variants BA.4 And BA.5 On WHO Radar: All You Need To Know
The two new sub-variants - BA.4 and BA.5 - were discovered in South Africa. The WHO has added these strains to its list for monitoring. Learn more about them here.

Puducherry remains COVID-free, records zero fatalities
Puducherry continued to maintain its COVID-free status for the 13th day in a row on Tuesday with no fresh cases, fatalities or active cases reported anywhere in the Union Territory, a senior health official said.

In a release, Director of Health G Sriramulu said 237 samples were tested during the last 24-hours ending 10 am and no fresh case of viral infection surfaced across all four regions of the UT -- Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.

The overall caseload remained at 1,65,774 and recoveries also stood at 1,63,812. No fresh fatality was reported and the overall death toll continued to be 1,962.

Not a panic situation but need to follow Covid norms, be vigilant: Doctors on rise in positivity rate
With the Covid positivity rate in Delhi jumping from 0.5 per cent to 2.70 per cent in a span of the last one week, doctors on Tuesday said it was "not a panic situation" as the daily cases count was still lower, but cautioned there was a need to be "vigilant" and that people should follow all safety norms and not let a sense of complacency set in.

The sudden rise in the positivity rate, the Monday's figure being the highest in the last two months, has triggered a concern about a possible new wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the city.

The test positivity rate had stood at 2.87 per cent on February 5.

Delhi Reports 141 New Covid Cases, 1 Death; Positivity At 1.29%
Delhi reported 141 fresh Covid cases and one more death on Sunday, while the positivity rate stood at 1.29 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.