The daily count of coronavirus cases in the country fell below the 2-lakh mark after over a month taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,69,48,874, while the death count rose to 3,07,231, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
A total of 1,96,427 new coronavirus infections were reported in a day. The country also reported the lowest death count in 21 days with 3,511 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
India had registered 1,84,372 new coronavirus infections on April 14.
The active cases have further reduced to 25,86,782 comprising 9.60 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 89.26 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,40,54,861, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.14 per cent, the data stated.
Here are the Highlights on India Coronavirus (Covid-19 Cases) Cases:
India has cumulatively administered more than 20 crore vaccine doses up till 7 pm on May 25, reported news agency ANI.
As many as 20,04,94,991 vaccine jabs have been administered as of May 25.
"India has crossed a significant landmark in its fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The country has administered more than 20 crore (20,04,94,991) vaccine doses as per the 7 pm provisional report. Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with Test, Track, Treat and COVID Appropriate Behaviour," read an official statement by the centre.
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.
The 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.
Assam on Tuesday reported 92 COVID-19 deaths and detected 5,767 new cases, pushing the
coronavirus caseload to 3,81,171, the National Health Mission bulletin said.
This is the second time that the state recorded 92 fatalities on a single day.
The same number of COVID-19 deaths had been registered in the northeastern state on May 17.
Haryana had recorded 454 Black Fungus or mucormycosis cases till May 24 with Gurgaon district reporting the maximum of 156 cases, health department data showed on Tuesday.
Hisar has reported 95 cases, Faridabad 55, Rohtak and Sirsa 27 each, Panipat 19 and Ambala 14, the data stated.
Pointing out that not all those in whom black fungus has been detected are Covid patients or diabetics, Health Minister Anil Vij said, "Cause of mucormycosis disease needs more research."
The Union health ministry said Tuesday the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 20 crore, according to news agency PTI. In the age group of 18-44 years, the ministry said, 9,42,796 people received their first vaccine dose on Tuesday, and cumulatively, 1,28,74,546 have received vaccine doses across India since the start of the phase-3 of the vaccination drive.
Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have administered to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group their first dose of Covid vaccine, it said. The country has administered 20,04,94,991 vaccine doses so far, as per the 7 pm provisional report, the ministry said.
Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi on Tuesday reviewed the prevailing COVID situation in the state and called for widespread RAT and RT-PCR testings along with adherence to strict quarantine mechanism to arrest the surging coronavirus cases, according to news agency PTI. In a video conference with Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Principal Secretary (Health) along with other officials, he directed that testing and quarantine mechanism should be made more strict and intensive as there has been an increase in positive cases.
The Nashik district of Maharashtra reported 765 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, which pushed the state's total count to 3,81,120, said officials, according to news agency PTI. Besides, 65 patients lost their lives, which increased the death count to 4,479, they said. Of the deaths, 38 were reported from the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) area, 24 from other parts of the district and three from Malegaon. So far 303 people have died due to the viral infection in Malegaon, 1,908 in NMC limits and 2,169 in other parts of the district. Some patients who died in hospitals in Nashik hailed from outside the district but received treatment here. So far, 3,62,241 patients have recovered including 1,544 on Tuesday.
Himachal Pradesh reported 1,999 new COVID-19 cases and 60 more deaths on Tuesday, which pushed the state's infection tally to 1,82,982 and the death count to 2,873, an official said, according to news agency PTI. According to the state health department, there are 23,053 active coronavirus cases in the state. As many as 3,067 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,57,031, the official said.
Uttar Pradesh reported 163 fresh COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, which pushed its death count to 19,510, said an official statement. Besides, 3,957 new cases have increased the state's tally to 16,77,508, said news agency PTI quoting the statement. The fresh fatalities included nine deaths being reported from Lucknow and eight each from Jhansi and Saharanpur districts, the statement said. In the past 24 hours, 10,441 Covid patients recovered from the disease and were discharged. The total recoveries in the state stand at 15,88,161, according to the statement. Uttar Pradesh, at present, has 69,828 active cases, it said.
Delhi Police personnel are being provided barracks and retiring rooms facilities in the police stations so they do not carrying the COVID-19 infection to their homes and infect their family members, the Delhi High Court was informed on Tuesday, according to news agency PTI. The high court said the police force knows how to maintain social distancing and follow COVID-19 protocols and added that unless there is medical data to show the outbreak of the infection in the barracks, it is not required to direct the police to provide for alternate accommodations to its staff.
The Assam government on Tuesday revised the night curfew in rural areas, advancing it to 2 pm to contain the surge of COVID-19 cases, reported news agency PTI. Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah, who is also the Chairperson of the State Disaster Management Authority, issued the order which will come into effect immediately and will remain in force in rural areas till June 5. All shops and commercial establishments will shut down at 2 pm on all days while all offices, both private and government, will do the same at 1 pm. Cold storages and warehouses may continue after 1 pm though sale counters and showrooms attached to these shall not operate beyond 1 pm.
Mumbai recorded 1,037 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, pushing its total count to 6,99,904, while 37 patients died of the infection and 1,427 recovered from it, said an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, according to news agency PTI. With the latest casualties, the financial capital's death count has risen to 14,708 and the count of recoveries has reached 6,55,425, added the official. The recovery rate in the city stands at 94 per cent, he said, adding that the doubling rate has improved to 345 days. The city's largest slum area, Dharavi, reported only seven fresh cases, according to a BMC report.
The Uttarakhand administration on Tuesday authorised 12 Covid hospitals in the state to treat patients of Mucormycosis or Black Fungus, reported news agency PTI. The Chief Secretary, Om Prakash, asked the medical superintendents concerned to make arrangements in this regard. Black Fungus cases have been on the rise in the state with 114 reported so far, officials said. Nine people have died from the disease, they added.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said Tuesday the government has decided to stop home quarantining of COVID-19 patients in 18 districts of the state where the positivity rate is high. All active patients in these regions will be shifted to COVID Care Centres, news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Health department data showed that of the 36 districts in the state, Satara, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Osmanabad, Beed, Raigad, Pune, Hingoli, Akola, Amravati, Kolhapur, Thane, Sangli, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Latur have above-average positivity rates.
Delhi's COVID-19 positivity rate came down marginally to 2.14 per cent with the national capital recording 1,568 fresh cases on Tuesday, according to the daily health bulletin. This is the third day in a row when the daily cases in Delhi have remained below 2,000, reported news agency PTI. Delhi on Monday recorded 1,550 fresh cases and the positivity rate was 2.52 per cent. On Sunday, 1,649 cases were recorded, while positivity rate had dipped to 2.42 per cent.
AIIMS Forensic chief Dr Sudhir Gupta said that coronavirus doesn't remain active in nasal and oral cavities 12 to 24 hours after the death of an infected person, as a result of which the risk of transmission from the deceased is highly unlikely, news agency PTI reported. A pilot study was conducted over the last one year in the Department of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS on COVID-19 positive medico-legal cases which were subjected to post-mortem. The official said around 100 bodies were re-tested for coronavirus infection in an interval of 12 to 24 hours after death and the result was negative. "The virus does not remain active at all in nasal and oral cavities 24 hours after death," Dr Gupta told the news agency.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), taking cognisance of a complaint, has issued notices to the chief secretaries of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, directing them to submit a report within four weeks regarding the steps they've taken to control the spread of the COVID-19 infection at the protest sites of farmers, reports news agency ANI.