Coronavirus Cases in India: The recovery rate is 89.66 per cent.
India has crossed 20 crore cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage, making it only the second country to achieve the feat after the US, news agency PTI quoted the Union health ministry as saying on Wednesday. India achieved this in 130 days as against the US' feat in 124 days, said the ministry.
According to the ministry's morning data, new cases of coronavirus infection in India were recorded over 2.08 lakh, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,71,57,795.
The COVID-19 active caseload is 24,95,591 which now comprises 9.19 per cent of the total infections.
The recovery rate is 89.66 per cent, the data stated.
A total of 2,40,842 new infections were registered in a day, while the death count increased to 3,11,388 with 4,157 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Meanwhile, Moderna is expecting to launch a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in India next year and is in talks with Cipla among other Indian firms, while another US giant Pfizer is ready to offer 5 crore shots in 2021 itself but it wants significant regulatory relaxations including indemnification, sources said on Tuesday.
While Moderna has conveyed to Indian authorities that it does not have surplus vaccines to share in 2021, there are limited prospects of Johnson & Johnson exporting its jabs from the US to other countries in the near future, the sources privy to discussions added.
Here are the Highlights on India Coronavirus (Covid-19 Cases) Cases:
Assam Reports 5,699 Fresh COVID-19 Cases, 90 DeathsAssam reported 90 COVID-19 fatalities and 5,699 fresh infections on Wednesday, raising the death count and the caseload to 3,005 and 3,86,870, respectively, a health bulletin said.
The northeastern state now has 52,884 active cases, while 3,29,634 people have so far recovered from the disease, including 6,266 since Tuesday, it said.
The recovery rate stood at 85.21 per cent.
Bengal Reports Lower Fresh COVID-19 Cases At 16,225West Bengal continued to record a decline in single-day spike of COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, reporting 16,225 fresh infections, raising the tally to 13,18,203, a health department bulletin said.
The death count mounted to 14,827 after 153 more fatalities were reported from different parts of the state, it said.
One New Case Takes Black Fungus Count In Bengal To 13One more case of mucormycosis was detected in West Bengal, taking the total number of people diagnosed with the fungal infection in the state to 13, a health department official said on Wednesday.
Two more persons, suspectedly died of the fungal infection while undergoing treatment in medical facilities, he said.
All Eligible Persons In State Will Be Vaccinated: Yogi AdityanathUttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday asserted that all eligible persons in the state will be vaccinated against Covid and said a vaccine for those in the 12-18 age group is coming soon.
Currently, those above 18 years of age are being inoculated against the infection.
"Vaccine for people in the age group of 12-18 years is coming soon. We will vaccinate everyone," Yogi Adityanath said in Deoria.
60 Crore Indians Should Get Both Covid Jabs By December: Dr TrehanMedanta Hospitals chairman Dr Naresh Trehan has said the shortage of coronavirus vaccine doses in India is likely to be over by July-August as many new vaccines are coming to the country, reported news agency ANI. He said that the country should be able to vaccinate 60 crore people with both doses of the vaccine by December. "We're the manufacturing hub of vaccines. Already seven-eight crore of doses are available per month but it needs to be ramped up. Because our population is too large, it needs 60-70 crore people to be vaccinated before we can say we have reached herd immunity," he told ANI.
60-Bed Child-Dedicated Hospital In Ghaziabad To Start From JuneThe Ghaziabad administration has identified Ram Saran Sarg Indo German hospital, located at NH-24 near Dasna, for designating it for the treatment of children, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying on Wednesday. The move comes ahead of a possible third wave of COVID-19 in the country.
It will be the first hospital dedicated for the treatment of children in the district, said District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey in an official statement. He said the hospital will become operational by mid-June.
Besides 60 beds, the hospital will have a ventilator and an ICU ward, the statement said, adding that an oxygen manufacturing plant will also be set up inside the facility. The administration has also issued directions to all private hospitals to reserve 10 beds for Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and 10 beds for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
2,182 New Covid Cases, 72 Deaths in Madhya Pradesh2,182 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 72 more fatalities were recorded in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, news agency PTI quoted the state health department as saying. It also recorded 7,479 discharges during the day, it said. The new additions increased the state's cumulative figures to 7,71,878 cases, 7,758 deaths and 7,20,855 recoveries, according to the department. Madhya Pradesh now has 43,265 active cases.
Indore's caseload went up to 1,47,345 with 623 new cases and Bhopal's tally increased to 1,19,241 with the addition of 433 fresh infections. With five fatalities each, the death toll in Indore and Bhopal rose to 1,323 and 921, respectively, officials said. Indore is now left with 8,484 active cases while Bhopal has 8,244 such cases.
"Prohibitory Orders Remain Despite Gradual Unlocking": Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said the prohibitory orders in place under section 144 of the CrPC will continue to remain in force in the state despite the gradual unlocking of "Corona Curfew" from June 1, reported news agency PTI.
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure bans assembly of five or more persons at one place. In a bid to control the spread of the virus, the state government had imposed "Corona Curfew" in several districts of the state, including Bhopal and Indore, till May 31.
Karnataka Formulates New Discharge Policy For Recovered Covid Patients
Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Wednesday said using steroids in the first week of COVID treatment is one of the causes of Black Fungus infection, according to news agency ANI. Steroids must be used only from the second week, he said.
Dr Sudhakar said a new discharge policy and post-COVID precautions have been formulated for recovered patients. "During discharge, Covid patients will be tested for any fungal infection and will also be subjected to MRI scan if necessary. All district hospitals have been instructed to have a dedicated post-Covid ward," he was quoted as saying.
After the first week of discharge, Covid-recovered persons should get themselves tested at post-Covid ward or can get a tele-consultation, he said, adding that the recovered persons will be contacted to check for symptoms of fungal infection. "If symptoms are found, they'll be called to hospitals," he said.
Haryana Floats Global Tenders For Procuring Covid Vaccines, Black Fungus DrugHaryana has floated two global tenders for the procurement of one crore doses of anti-Covid vaccines and 15,000 vials of Amphotericin-B injection, which is used in the treatment of Black Fungus, said state Health Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday, according to news agency PTI. Mr Vij said that the Centre is providing vaccines to all the states but if more vaccines can be procured globally, then the state will soon be able to inoculate all eligible people. The state government has decided to set up vaccination camps in all government and private colleges so that students and staff there can be inoculated, according to an official statement.
Maharashtra Records 24,752 New Covid Cases, 453 More Deaths
Maharashtra recorded 24,752 new cases of COVID-19 and 453 more deaths, according to a health department bulletin on Wednesday. The state also saw 23,065 patients being discharged today, which pushed the total recovery to 52,41,833 so far. Recovery rate in the state is now 92.76 per cent and case fatality rate is 1.62 per cent. Out of 3,38,24,959 laboratory samples, 56,50,907 have been tested positive (16.71 per cent) for COVID-19 until today, according to the bulletin. Currently, 23,70,326 people are in home quarantine and 19,943 people are in institutional quarantine.
"Vaccination To Be Held As Per Schedule On May 27, 28": Bhubaneswar Civic Body
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has said that the vaccination programme under its jurisdiction will be held as per schedule on May 27 and 28, according to news agency ANI.
Himachal Pradesh Records 1,365 New Covid Cases, 44 More Deaths
Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday reported 44 more fatalities due to COVID-19 infection, which raised the death count to 2,917, news agency PTI reported quoting an official. Besides, 1,365 fresh cases increased the infection count to 1,84,347, they said. According to the state health department, there are 22,181 active COVID-19 cases in the state. The recovery count rose to 1,59,227 with 2,192 patients recuperating from the disease in the past 24 hours, the official said.
Chhattisgarh Minister Blames Data Delay By Vaccination Centres For Wastage Claims"The central government has created a new portal and they are collecting data directly from vaccination centres and not from state government. There is delay by some vaccination centres in providing data, which the Centre is calling vaccine wastage," Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Mumbai Reports 1,362 Fresh Covid Cases, 34 Related DeathsMumbai reported 1,362 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 34 related deaths on Wednesday. The city tested 29,589 samples in this 24-hour period, which leads to an infection positivity rate of 4.60 per cent. 1,021 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, the Mumbai civic body said in a tweet. The total recoveries stand at 6,56,446 and the recovery rate is 94 per cent. The doubling rate is 348 days. There are a total 27,943 active cases in the city.
Andhra Pradesh Records 18,285 New Covid Cases, 24,105 Recoveries, 99 Deaths
As against 18,285 fresh infections of COVID-19, Andhra Pradesh saw a record 24,105 persons recovering from the infection on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported. The state also recorded 99 new fatalities in the 24 hours ending 9 am today, according to the latest bulletin. Cumulatively, the state has reported so far 16,27,390 infections, 14,24,859 recoveries and 10,427 deaths, according to the COVID-19 chart. Active cases in the state has dropped further to 1,92,104. The infection positivity rate, which has been showing a declining trend for over a week now, now stands at 20 per cent.
Gujarat Changes Night Curfew Timing To 9 PM-6 AM In 36 CitiesThe nigh curfew timing has been changed in 36 cities of Gujarat, from the earlier 8 PM-6 AM to 9 PM-6AM, news agency ANI quoted Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as saying today.
"Vague And Defective": Court On Gujarat's Notification On Black Fungus Drug DistributionThe Gujarat High Court has termed the state government's notification on the distribution of Amphotericin-B injections to hospitals for the treatment of Mucormycosis (or Black Fungus) "quite vague and defective", stating that all districts should have their own expert committees to decide on the requirement of the medicine, according to news agency PTI.
Cases of Mucormycosis, a serious infection, have been found in COVID-19 patients in various states. According to data shared by Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday, Gujarat has the maximum number of the fungal infection patients in India.
Additional 29,250 Vials Of Black Fungus Drug Allocated To States: MinistryThe Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said an additional 29,250 vials of Amphotericin-B, which is used in the treatment of Mucormycosis or the Black Fungus infection, have been allocated to all states and Union territories today, according to news agency ANI.
India Becomes Second Country To Cross 20 Crore Vaccine Coverage: Health Ministry
The Union health ministry said today that India has become the second country after the US to cross 20 crore cumulative COVID-19 vaccine coverage with over 42 per cent of the population above 60 years age having received their first doses of the jab, according to news agency ANI.
The ministry said India is the second country after the US to achieve this coverage in just 130 days. The US had take 124 days to reach the 20 crore mark, the agency quoted the ministry as saying.
It said that cumulatively, 17,831 oxygen concentrators, 18,111 oxygen cylinders, 19 oxygen generation plants, 13,489 ventilators/BiPAP, 6.9 lakh Remdesivir vials and 12 lakh Favipiravir tablets have so far been delivered or dispatched to the states and Union Territories.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Odisha reports 11,623 new COVID-19 cases, record 35 fresh deaths
Odisha's COVID-19 tally surged to 7,26,003 on Wednesday as 11,623 more people tested positive for the infection, while record 35 fresh fatalities pushed the coastal state's coronavirus death toll to 2,584, a health official said.
As many as 6,509 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 5,114 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing.
Khurda district, under which Bhubaneswar falls, reported the highest number of new cases at 2,021, followed by Cuttack (998) and Angul (823).
Angul and Khurda reported five fresh fatalities each, while four deaths each were recorded in Nabarangpur and Sundergarh and three in Kendrapara.
Just In| Delhi positivity rate dips below 2 per cent, lowest since March 27; 1,491 new Covid cases in 24 hours
Tripura government extends corona curfew till June 5
The Tripura government has announced extension of the corona curfew in Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas and all urban local bodies (ULB) till June 5 to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Earlier, a corona curfew was imposed in AMC areas and ULBs across the state on May 17, and a night curfew in other parts of Tripura till May 26.
State Education Minister and government spokesperson Ratan Lal Nath said the council of ministers on Tuesday resolved to extend the corona curfew given the COVID-19 surge in the state.
"Strict measures will be taken to implement the restrictions imposed by the administration," Mr Nath said.
In addition, the corona night curfew will continue from 4 pm to 5 am in all areas till June 6.
Coronavirus News Updates: Maharashtra's Raigad records 956 new COVID-19 cases; 27 fatalitiesMaharashtra's Raigad district has recorded 956 new cases of coronavirus that raised the tally of infections in the region to 1,26,606, an official said on Wednesday.
Apart from the new infections recorded on Tuesday, 27 patients died and 612 were discharged from various treatment facilities, mounting the toll to 2,968 and the count of recoveries to 1,16,552, the official said.
The district is now left with 7,124 active cases, of which Panvel has 2,421 patients, the highest in the district, followed by Alibaug with 1,137, while at 33, Tala has the least number of infections, he said.
With this, the recovery rate in the district stands at 92 per cent and the death rate is 2 per cent, he said.
Currently, 191 patients require oxygen support, 399 are admitted in ICU, 187 are on ventilators and 5,000 have been placed under home quarantine, the official said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 25 new COVID-19 cases, 2 fresh fatalities in Andamans
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 6,878 on Wednesday as 25 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.
Two fresh fatalities pushed the Union territory's coronavirus death toll to 106, he said.
Forty-nine more people have been cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 6,544, the official said.
The archipelago now has 228 active cases, he said.
The administration has so far tested over 3.83 lakh samples for COVID-19, in which the positivity rate was 1.79 per cent, the official said.
Coronavirus India Updates: 1.77 crore vaccine doses still available with states, Union Territories; 1 lakh more in pipeline
More than 1.77 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories, and they will receive one lakh more within the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Centre has so far provided, both under the free of cost category and through the direct state procurement category, more than 22 crore vaccine doses (22,00,59,880) to states and UTs, it said.
Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 20,13,74,636 doses, the ministry said, citing data available at 8 am Wednesday.
"More than 1.77 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses (1,77,52,594) are still available with the states and UTs to be administered. Furthermore, 1,00,000 doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the states and UTs within the next three days," the ministry said.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Centre has been supporting states and UTs by providing COVID-19 vaccines free of cost, and by also facilitating direct procurement by them, the ministry said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated a drive-in COVID-19 vaccination centre at Vegas Mall in Sector 12 of Dwarka today.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Puducherry COVID-19 count inches closer to one lakh
The cumulative COVID-19 case burden of Puducherry neared one lakh with the addition of 1,321 fresh infections in the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Wednesday.
Twenty-seven more succumbed to the deadly disease, raising the toll to 1,435.
Fifteen of the deceased had no co-morbidities.
The age groups of the deceased were in the range of 29 and 85 years.
Puducherry region of the Union Territory accounted for 1,030 of the new cases while Karaikal reported 220 followed by Yanam 53 and Mahe 18.
Director of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services S Mohan Kumar said the fresh cases were identified at the end of examination of 9,032 samples projecting a 14.62 percent test positivity rate.
Arunachal reports 429 new COVID-19 cases, 2 fresh fatalities
Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 25,002 on Wednesday as 429 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 104, a senior health official said.
The deaths were reported in the Capital Complex region and Upper Subansiri district, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
The Capital Complex region registered the highest number of new cases at 103, followed by Tawang (49) and Lower Subansiri (42).
As many as 230 more people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 21,575. The recovery rate among the patients stands at 86.29 per cent.
Over 7,000 cases on average daily for lockdown violations in Hyderabad, says Police Commissioner
Nearly 8,000 cases are being registered against lockdown violators on average in a day in Telangana's capital city for violating Covid-19 lockdown curbs according to Anjani Kumar, Hyderabad Police Commissioner.
"Nearly about 7,000 to 8,000 cases are being registered against lockdown violators and roughly about 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles are being seized on a daily basis here in Hyderabad," the police commissioner said.
Police have been patrolling the streets to enforce lockdown in Telangana and ensure that curbs are not violated or lockdowm exemptions misued by people and further to take strict action against violators.
COVID-19: Over 17,239 MT oxygen delivered by Oxygen Express trains so far Over 17,239 metric tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) in over 1,042 tankers has been delivered across the country by the Indian Railways' Oxygen Express during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Tuesday.
As many as 263 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey so far, including those carrying 680 MT from Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand in the last 12 hours ahead of Cyclone Yaas. Eight Oxygen Expresses have moved from the region.
Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka have been delivered over 1,000 MT each. 614 MT of Oxygen has been offloaded in Maharashtra, nearly 3649 MT in Uttar Pradesh, 633 MT in Madhya Pradesh, 4820 MT in Delhi, 1911 MT in Haryana, 98 MT in Rajasthan, 1421 MT in Karnataka, 320 MT in Uttarakhand, 1099 MT in Tamil Nadu, 886 MT in Andhra Pradesh, 225 MT in Punjab, 246 MT in Kerala, 1029 MT in Telangana and 80 MT in Assam.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Telangana allows private hospitals, workplaces to administer COVID-19 vaccination
The Telangana Government has granted permission to private COVID-19 vaccination centres and hospitals to administer vaccinations to people above the age of 18.
As per an order on Tuesday, workplaces have also been given permission to carry out Covid vaccinations by registering on the Centre''s CoWin Portal and following guidelines.
"All designated private hospitals as PCVCs in the state are hereby permitted to carry out covid vaccination in the hospitals, as well as workplaces (on requests made by Institutions/companies/gated communities, etc) by registering on the CoWin portal and by following covid vaccination guideline," the order said.
Telangana on Tuesday reported 3,821 new COVID-19 cases, 4,298 recoveries and 23 deaths.
Just In| 2.08 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 4,157 deaths; highest testing in 24 hours (22,17,320)
Update| 33,48,11,496 samples tested for COVID-19 up to 25th May 2021. Of these, 22,17,320 samples tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Coronavirus Updates: Thane sees 656 new COVID-19 cases, 40 more deaths
With the addition of 656 cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 5,11,665, an official said on Wednesday.
Besides these new cases reported on Tuesday, 40 more people also succumbed to the viral infection, pushing the death toll in the district to 8,963, he said.
The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane is 1.75 per cent, he added.
Details of recovered and under-treatment patients were not provided by the district administration.
India-Dominant Covid Variant Found In At Least 53 Territories: WHOThe coronavirus variant first detected in India has now been officially recorded in 53 territories, a World Health Organization report showed Wednesday.
Additionally, the WHO has received information from unofficial sources that the B.1.617 variant has been found in seven other territories, figures in the UN health agency's weekly epidemiological update showed, taking the total to 60.
The report said B.1.617 had shown increased transmissibility, while disease severity and risk of infection were under investigation.
Globally over the past week, the number of new cases and deaths continued to decrease, with around 4.1 million new cases and 84,000 new deaths reported -- a 14 percent and two percent decrease respectively compared to the previous week.
Humanitarian situation, impact of pandemic remain concerns in Somalia: India at UN
India at the UN on Tuesday (local time) raised several concerns pertaining to Somalia, including the humanitarian situation and the impact of the Covid pandemic.
"The aggravating humanitarian situation, impact of Covid pandemic and desert locust, remains a cause for concern. We reiterate the call of the Secretary-General for donor support to the UN Humanitarian Response Plan, which has realized only 1/5th of its requirements so far," said R. Ravindra, the Deputy Permanent Representative and Political Coordinator, on the UNSC briefing on UN Mission in Somalia.
The diplomat said that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) AMISOM has been playing an important role in stabilizing the security situation and fighting Al-Shabab. "The worsening security situation and strengthening of Al-Shabab will impact not just Somalia but its neighbours as well," the deputy representative said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: South Korea reports 707 more COVID-19 cases, 137,682 in total
South Korea reported 707 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 137,682.
The daily caseload was sharply up from 516 in the prior day, rising above 700 in 12 days. The daily average caseload for the past week was 603.
The daily number of infections hovered in triple figures since November 8 last year due to cluster infections in the capital Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.
Of the new cases, 260 were Seoul residents and 184 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.
AAP Launches ''Doctor Helpline'' For Information On COVID-19, Black Fungus In PunjabPunjab unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday launched ''Doctor Helpline'' campaign to deal with COVID-19 and Black Fungus (Mucormycosis) infections in the state, news agency ANI reported.
Under this campaign, a helpline number 782-727-5743 has been launched through which one can get information about prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection.
West Bengal Declares Black Fungus As Notifiable DiseaseThe West Bengal government has declared mucormycosis or black fungus as a ''notifiable disease'' considering the gravity of the situation and following the advice of the union health ministry, an official said on Tuesday.
Citing an order issued by the health department, the official said that it has been made mandatory for a doctor to notify the authority on diagnosing a case of a confirmed or suspected mucormycosis.
Moderna, Pfizer Covid Vaccines Likely In India Next YearModerna is expecting to launch a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in India next year and is in talks with Cipla among other Indian firms, while another US giant Pfizer is ready to offer 5 crore shots in 2021 itself but it wants significant regulatory relaxations including indemnification, sources said on Tuesday.
While Moderna has conveyed to Indian authorities that it does not have surplus vaccines to share in 2021, there are limited prospects of Johnson & Johnson exporting its jabs from the US to other countries in the near future, the sources privy to discussions added.