3 years ago
New Delhi:
India recorded 31,382 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,35,94,803, while the active cases declined to 3,00,162, the lowest in 188 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The number of deaths climbed to 4,46,368 with 318 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The active cases comprise 0.89 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.78 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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 two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.
Here are the LIVE updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
Over 1.87 lakh vaccinated against Covid in Delhi: Report
Over 1.87 lakh people were vaccinated against coronavirus in Delhi on Friday, and over 1.02 lakh of them got the second dose, according to official data.
According to the CoWIN portal, over 1.69 crore doses have been administered in the city since the inoculation exercise started on January 16. A total of 52.81 lakh people have received both the doses.
According to the Delhi government's data, the city had over 10 lakh vaccine doses -- 2.78 lakh Covaxin and 7.39 lakh Covishield -- left on Friday.
The bulletin said the stock can last up to five days.
There are 1,029 vaccination centres operational in the city which can administer around 2.75 lakh doses daily.
23 new Covid cases in Punjab
Punjab recorded 23 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday that took the infection tally to 6,01,444, according to a medical bulletin.
No Covid-related death was reported in the last twenty-hours. The deaths stand at 16,504. One death case was added to the toll after reconciliation of data, it said.
Among the new cases, Pathankot reported eight, followed by four in Mohali and three in Gurdaspur.
The number of active cases dropped to 287 from 300 on Thursday, it said.
Thirty-four people recovered from the infection, taking the number of those who have been cured to 5,84,653, according to the bulletin.
Chandigarh reported three new cases, taking the total Covid count to 65,205, it said.
Karnataka allows 100% occupancy in theatres, pubs in districts with less than 1% Covid positivity rate from October 1
Hundred per cent occupancy will be allowed in theatres and pubs in districts having less than one per cent positivity rate, announced the Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday.
The Chief Minister along with Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar and Revenue Minister R Ashok held a review meeting with the Health department officials on the relaxation which will be given to the pubs and theatres.
"Only the districts having positivity rate less than one per cent are allowed to have 100 per cent seating in theatres and pubs from October 1. If it increases more than two per cent, then both will be closed," said Mr Bommai.
"People with at least first dose of COVID vaccination will be allowed in theatres and pubs. Night curfew will be imposed from 10 pm to 5 am and pregnant women and children will not be allowed for now," he added.
The Chief Minister further stated that all the schools in the state will start for Classes 6 to 12 with five working days.
Covid-19: 1,733 new cases, recoveries breach 26 lakh in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu reported 1,733 new Covid-19 infections, pushing the caseload to 26,53,848, while 27 people died due to the virus in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 35,454, the health department said on Friday.
According to a medical bulletin, 1,631 people were discharged, aggregating to 26,01,198 till date, leaving 17,196 active cases.
A total of 1,58,075 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 4,60,74,497.
Four districts accounted for the majority of new infections with Coimbatore adding 210 cases, Chennai 205, Chengalpet 122 and Erode 119, while the remaining was scattered across other districts.
Five districts reported new cases below 10, while there were no fresh deaths in 20 districts.
Two women -- aged 56 years and 37 years -- hailing from Chennai and Theni, respectively, were the only victims to succumb without any pre-existing illness or comorbidities, the bulletin said.
Andhra Pradesh adds 83 new black fungus cases, 5 deaths in 10 days
The total number of Mucormycosis or black fungus cases increased to 5,046 in Andhra Pradesh as on September 23, while 455 persons died due to the infection in the state, according to the Medical and Health Department data.
In the last 10 days, 83 new black fungus cases were added to the state tally.
The state now has 272 active cases after 4,319 total recoveries.
So far, surgeries have been performed on 2,756 infected persons.
In the last 10 days, Chittoor district added the highest number of 29 new black fungus cases, Prakasam 18, Krishna eight, Visakhapatnam seven, Kadapa six, Kurnool and Anantapuramu five each, Guntur three, East Godavari and Srikakulam one each.
SPS Nellore, Vizianagaram and West Godavari districts reported zero new cases in more than two weeks now.
Chittoor district also reported three fresh Mucormycosis deaths and East Godavari two while the remaining 11 did not report any fresh fatality, the data said.
India's COVID-19 vaccination figure crosses 84.42 crore doses
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 84.82 crore on Friday, the Union health ministry said. More than 64 lakh (64,58,806) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm, it said.
The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.
The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, it said.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination started from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.
Goa records 84 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths, 93 recoveries
Goa's coronavirus caseload increased by 84 and reached 1,75,956 on Friday, while two more patients died to the infection, pushing the number to 3,299, a health department official said.
The number of recovered cases in the state rose to 1,71,692 after 93 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, he said.
Goa now has 965 active coronavirus cases.
"With 4,102 new coronavirus tests, the number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 13,24,081," he added.
Mumbai reports 446 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths, 430 recoveries
Mumbai reported 446 new coronavirus cases on Friday, down 51 from a day ago, and six fresh deaths, while 430 more patients recovered from the infection, a civic official said.
With these additions, the tally of COVID-19 cases in the city rose to 7,40,307, while the deaths increased to 16,074, he said.
Mumbai witnessed more than 400 cases for the third straight day, though the number of fatalities did not change much. On Thursday, the financial capital had registered 497 COVID-19 cases and five fatalities.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official, with 36,536 COVID-19 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, their cumulative number climbed to 1,01,36,863.
As many as 430 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the number of recovered cases to 7,16,941, he said.
Mumbai now has 4,809 active COVID-19 cases.
Districts with reduced COVID-19 tests to conduct 100 per cent testing: Uttarakhand Health Minister
Stating that the system of COVID-19 testing being conducted by the Health Department in Uttarakhand has faltered in several districts, the state's Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat on Friday issued orders to conduct 100 per cent testing in those districts.
Speaking to reporters here today, Mr Rawat said, "A review meeting was held today to review the decline in coronavirus testing in the state. In the districts where testing has been reduced, orders have been given to the District Magistrates and CMOs of those districts that 100 per cent testing should be done according to the standard of the Government of India so that there is no danger of infection spread."
"On the Interstate Borders where testing used to be in thousands every day, it has been reduced to testing 200-300 people these days. When the cases of coronavirus increased, the state government and health department had set a target of conducting 40 thousand tests per day i.e. 2,80,000 tests every week. But in about 4 months from June 2021 till now, there has been a huge decline in corona testing in the state of Uttarakhand, where less than half of the Covid tests are being done compared to 2 lakh 80 thousand tests every week," said the state health minister.
Mexico to use only Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on at-risk kids
The COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech will be the only one used in Mexico for at-risk children aged 12-17, Mexico's deputy health minister said on Friday
Mexico is expanding its vaccine campaign to children with health issues like cancer, diabetes or cardiovascular disease that make them vulnerable to the virus
"We can only use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because it is the only one that has already been scientifically proven to be safe and effective in girls, boys and adolescents from 12 to 17 years old," Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said at a regular news conference
"It is not ruled out that other pharmaceutical companies in due course also present their analysis and demonstrate the vaccines can also be used in children and adolescents," he added
The government estimates it will give vaccines to between 750,000 and 1.5 million at-risk children initially
Delhi records zero COVID-19 fatality, 24 fresh cases in a day; positivity rate 0.03 pc
The national capital recorded zero death due to COVID-19 and 24 fresh cases of viral infection in a day with the positivity rate dropping to 0.03 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Friday.
Three fatalities due to the coronavirus infection have been reported this month, one each on September 7, September 16 and September 17. The deaths due to COVID-19 in Delhi stands at 25,085.
On Friday, 24 Covid infections were recorded with the case positivity rate dipping 0.03 per cent, according to the latest health bulletin. A total of 69,465 tests -- 46,555 RT-PCR and 22,910 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago, it said.
The cumulative COVID cases reported in Delhi so far stood at 14,38,658. Over 14.13 lakh patients have recovered from the disease.
On Thursday, 48 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 0.07 per cent, while on the day before, 30 cases were logged with a positivity rate of 0.04 per cent. On Tuesday, 39 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 0.06 per cent.
The Daily Covid case count had dropped to 17 on September 13, with no death being recorded, while the positivity rate was 0.04 per cent.
Andhra Pradesh reports 1,246 new COVID-19 cases
Andhra Pradesh reported 1,246 new COVID-19 cases and 10 fatalities in the last 24 hours, said the state health bulletin on Friday.
As per the health bulletin, the cumulative positive cases in the state stand at 20,44,490 including 13,535 active cases.
With 1,450 new recoveries, the total number of recoveries in Andhra Pradesh has gone up to 20,16,837. The total fatalities rose to 14,118.
A total of 55,323 COVID-19 tests were done in the last 24 hours. Out of this, 1,246 were tested positive.
Mizoram reports 1,257 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more fatalities
Mizoram on Friday reported 1,257 new COVID-19 cases, 37 less than the previous day, which pushed the tally to 85,366, an official said.
The COVID-19 deaths rose to 281 as three more persons succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, he said.
At least 252 children were among the newly infected people, he said.
The fresh cases were reported from various districts with Aizawl district reporting the highest at 897, followed by Lunglei (100) and Lawngtlai (67), he said.
Of the 1,257 new cases, at least 639 patients have developed symptoms of COVID-19, he said.
Mizoram now has 15,752 active COVID-19 cases, while 69,333 people have recovered from the infection.
The COVID-19 recovery rate now is is 81.21 per cent and the death rate is 0.32 per cent.
The state has conducted more than 10.51 lakh sample tests for COVID-19 till date.
According to state Immunisation officer Dr Lalzawmi, over 6.76 lakh people have been vaccinated till Thursday, of which 4 lakh people have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
30 new COVID-19 cases detected in Madhya Pradesh's Mhow cantonment in 24 hours
At least 30 persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Mhow cantonment area in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district in the last 24 hours, a health official said on Friday.
While the infected persons are asymptomatic, they have been isolated and are being treated at the Mhow military hospital, nodal officer for the prevention of COVID-19, Dr Amit Malakar said.
The health authorities were alerted after as many as 30 cases emerged from the area in 24 hours, the official said.
Without revealing much about the patients, Malakar said the infected persons have taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and had travelled to Mhow from different parts of the country.
A total of 32 fresh cases of COVID-19 were detected in Indore district in the last 24 hours, of which 30 were from Mhow cantonment area alone.
Indore was once the worst affected district in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shilpa Medicare Will Produce Pharma Firm Cadila's 3-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine ZyCov-DUpdate| Anganwadis and primary schools to be reopened in Bihar from November 15, tweets Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
All eligible persons will be vaccinated, he added in the series of tweets.
Indian Council Of Medical Research Drops Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine Drugs From COVID-19 Treatment
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-COVID-19 National Task Force Joint Monitoring Group dropped the usage of Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) drugs from revised clinical guidelines for the management of adult COVID-19 patients.
However, the new guidelines mention the use of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab in specific circumstances.
Among the key guidelines which are routinely stressed include--wearing masks, physical distancing and hand hygiene.
Suggesting a moderate use of other drugs like Remedesivir, the guideline advises the former to be used only in select moderate or severe Covid-19 patients on supplemental oxygen within 10 days of onset of symptom.
For the use of Tocilizumab, the guideline said that to use the medicine only for severe Covid-19 patients, preferably within 24 to 48 hours of the onset of severe disease or ICU admission.
It suggested that those with mild infection must maintain physical distancing, indoor mask use, strict hand hygiene.
COVID-19: Andaman administration exempts fully vaccinated tourists from carrying negative RT-PCR report
The Andaman and Nicobar administration has decided to exempt fully vaccinated people from mandatory carrying a negative RT-PCR report to travel to Port Blair, an official said on Friday.
The official told PTI that the union territory administration's Health department has decided to implement fresh Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with effect from September 25.
As per the new SOPs all asymptomatic passengers who have been vaccinated with both doses of COVID-19 vaccine and more than 15-days has passed since the administration of the second dose of the vaccine will be exempted from the mandatory requirement of carrying a negative RT-PCR report to travel to Port Blair from the mainland.
It further said that all such passengers will be also be exempted from undergoing additional RT-PCR test on arrival at Port Blair airport. All such passengers will be required to produce the ID document mentioned in the vaccination certificate for verification.
But passengers who are found symptomatic on arrival at Port Blair, irrespective of their vaccination status shall be subjected to RT-PCR test at the airport terminal to aid identification.
Coronavirus Updates: India administers over 84 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses so far
India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 84 crore mark, the Union Health Ministry informed on Friday.
"With the administration of 72,20,642 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed the landmark of 84 crores (84,15,18,026) as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 82,33,242 sessions," the ministry said in a press release.
As per the data from the ministry, Uttar Pradesh is leading in the vaccination coverage with 9,88,83,207 doses administered in the state. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have administered 7,69,21,190 and 5,98,81,731 vaccine doses respectively so far.
Further, it has been informed that 32,542 patients have recovered from COVID-19 infection in the last 24 hours, increasing the cumulative tally of recovered patients to 3,28,48,273. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 97.78 per cent, the highest since March 2020.
Update| More than 81.39 crore COVID vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt of India channel & direct state procurement. Nearly 86 lakh doses are in the pipeline. Over 4.23 crore balance doses are still available with the States/UTs: Union Health Ministry
Just In| 31,382 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, marginally lower than yesterday
Coronavirus Live Updates: 1 new COVID-19 case in Andamans, tally rises to 7,616
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 7,616 on Friday as one more person tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said.
The Union territory now has 17 active cases, while 7,470 people have recovered from the disease so far, including four in the last 24 hours, it said.
The coronavirus death toll remained unchanged at 129 as no fresh fatality was recorded.
The administration has tested over 5.39 lakh samples for COVID-19 to date, it said, adding that the positivity rate stood at 1.41 per cent.
More than 2.87 lakh people have received the first dose, while 1.44 lakh have been fully vaccinated.
Australia hits vaccine milestone as Melbourne cases hover near record levels
More than half of Australia's adult population were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, authorities said, as they step up inoculations in hopes of easing restrictions while cases linger near daily record levels in Victoria.
Australia is grappling with a third wave of infections from the highly infectious Delta variant that has led to lockdowns in its two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and the capital, Canberra, affecting nearly half the country's 25 million people.
These tough curbs and a decision to shut construction sites for two weeks over the rapid spread of the virus among workers triggered anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, for three straight days.
Police made some arrests in Melbourne on Friday, local media reported, as they look to prevent more protests.
As most of Australia's southeast remains under strict stay-at-home restrictions, virus-free Western Australia is gearing up to host the Australian Rules Football Grand Final for the first time, in front of 60,000 fans at Perth Stadium on Saturday.
COVID-19 Vaccine Doses To Be Given At Home For Differently-Abled: Centre
The government today announced that "differently-abled" people and those with "restricted mobility" will be given Covid vaccine doses at their homes, reported news agency Press Trust of India.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Union Health Ministry officials also said the country is still in the midst of the second wave of COVID-19 even though the number of daily new cases are declining.
However, they added, 62.73% of total infections reported last week were from Kerala alone, which is also the only state with over 1 lakh active Covid cases.
Thirty-three districts in the country are now reporting over 10 per cent weekly positivity rate, while 23 are recording between 5-10 per cent, the officials said.
World Health Organisation Backs Antibody Treatment For High-Risk Covid PatientsThe World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday recommended the synthetic antibody treatment Regeneron for Covid-19, but only in patients with specific health profiles. Read more
"No Country Managed To Do What India Did": Supreme Court On Covid Steps
No other country managed to do what India did in terms of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court said on Thursday, in rich praise for the government, as it reserved the order on a case involving the ₹ 50,000 compensation proposed for COVID-19 deaths.
"Today we are very happy. There will be some solace to the persons who have suffered... Everything the government is performing. We're happy that something is being done to wipe out tears of the person who suffered," Justice MR Shah said.
Justices Shah and AS Bopanna also appreciated India's response to the coronavirus pandemic that drew intense scrutiny over thousands of deaths due to the lack of preparedness for the second wave and shortages of essentials like medical oxygen.
"Given the size of our population, vaccine expenses, economic situation and the adverse circumstances that we faced... we took exemplary steps... No other country managed to do what India did," the judges said.
"Not Many Places Left For Covid To Evade Immunity": UK Vaccine Creator
There aren't many places left for the COVID-19 virus to mutate and evade immunity as it will only get weaker with time, said the creator of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the most widely distributed jab in the world.
"The virus cannot completely mutate because its spike protein has to interact with the ACE2 receptor on the surface of the human cell, in order to get inside it," Dame Sarah Gilbert, the lead scientist from Oxford University, and the brain behind the vaccine manufactured in India as Covishield, said during a webinar titled: 'Vaccines, variants, and infection: The position this winter'' for the Royal Society of Medicine on Wednesday.
"If it changes its spike protein so much that it can't interact with that receptor, then it's not going to be able to get inside the cell. So, there aren't many places for the virus to go to have something that will evade immunity but still remain infectious," she explained.
Congress Demands Rs 5 Lakh Aid For Every Covid Death, Fresh Survey
The Congress on Thursday demanded a financial aid of ₹ 5 lakh for every coronavirus victim after a fresh survey and said the amount of ₹ 50,000 promised by the Centre is a "cruel joke" as the crisis in the country is clearly "man-made".
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that the Centre has been dragging its feet on compensation from day one and said her party leadership has stated that there needs to be proper and adequate compensation for coronavirus deaths.
"We demand a compensation of ₹ 5 lakh for every life lost during Covid because coronavirus in India is a man-made crisis," she told reporters.
"The doublespeak and hypocrisy of the Modi government are out for everyone to see," Ms Shrinate said, asserting that the Centre cannot get away with this "cruel joke" of ₹ 50,000.
The Congress on Thursday demanded a financial aid of ₹ 5 lakh for every coronavirus victim after a fresh survey and said the amount of ₹ 50,000 promised by the Centre is a "cruel joke" as the crisis in the country is clearly "man-made".
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that the Centre has been dragging its feet on compensation from day one and said her party leadership has stated that there needs to be proper and adequate compensation for coronavirus deaths.
"We demand a compensation of ₹ 5 lakh for every life lost during Covid because coronavirus in India is a man-made crisis," she told reporters.
"The doublespeak and hypocrisy of the Modi government are out for everyone to see," Ms Shrinate said, asserting that the Centre cannot get away with this "cruel joke" of ₹ 50,000.
