4 years ago
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India's COVID-19 tally mounted to 2,49,65,463 on Monday with 2,81,386 fresh cases, the lowest in 27 days, while the death count climbed to 2,74,390 as 4,106 more people succumbed to the disease, according to Union health ministry data.

The number of active cases stands at 35,16,997, accounting for 14.09 per cent of the total infections. The national recovery rate has improved to 84.81 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,11,74,076, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.10 per cent, it stated.

India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 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, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India''s caseload crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.

Meanwhile, the number of bleeding and clotting events following a Covid vaccine injection in India are "miniscule" and "in line with the expected number of diagnoses of these conditions", a panel on AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) told the Union Health Ministry Monday afternoon.

The panel said it had studied 498 (of 700) "serious and severe events" and found that only 26 had been reported as "potential thromboembolic events", referring to the potentially fatal formation of a blood clot that could break loose and be carried by the blood stream to block another vessel.

Here are the Highlights on India Coronavirus (Covid-19 Cases) Cases:

May 18, 2021 05:23 (IST)
Maharashtra Covid Cases Drop Below 30,000 For First Time Since March-End
The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra plunged below the 30,000-mark on Monday with the state reporting 26,616 new infections, taking the count to 54,05,068, the health department said.

This was the lowest single-day count since March 30 when the state had reported 27,918 infections.

According to a health department statement, 516 COVID-19 deaths were also reported, which took the number of fatalities due to the respiratory disease to 82,486.

Of the total deaths, 289 occurred over the past 48 hours, while 227 fatalities took place last week, but were added to the count on Monday, it said.

The statement said 48,211 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the number of recovered cases to 48,74,582.
May 18, 2021 02:39 (IST)
J&K High Court Decides To Release Jail Inmates Amid Covid Second Wave
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Monday decided to release jail inmates in the union territory on 90 days interim bail in view of the Supreme Court directions.

A high-powered committee, headed by High Court Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, took the decision to release all the jail inmates as per the directions of the Supreme Court in March 2020, an official spokesman said.

Mr Magrey directed the J&K Legal Services Authority (JKLSA) to coordinate with the other two members of the Committee to know about the category of convicts and under trials, who can also be released, pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court.

After the completion of this exercise, a report will be placed before the Committee, the spokesman said.
May 18, 2021 00:00 (IST)
Keep buffer stock of medical oxygen: Rajasthan chief secretary to officials
Rajasthan Chief Secretary Niranjan Arya instructed officials to keep a buffer stock of medical oxygen and ensure uninterrupted supply of the life-saving gas in view of the possibility of bad weather conditions due to the impact of the Tauktae cyclone. Since transportation may get affected due to heavy rainfall in parts of the state in the next couple of days, the chief secretary has asked the officials to keep the buffer stock ready, according to a release.
May 17, 2021 23:33 (IST)
May 17, 2021 23:07 (IST)
Pfizer, Moderna vaccines effective against variants first identified in India: Study
The Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines should remain highly effective against two coronavirus variants first identified in India, according to new research carried out by US scientists. The lab-based study was carried out by the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Center and is considered preliminary because it has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"What we found is that the vaccine's antibodies are a little bit weaker against the variants, but not enough that we think it would have much of an effect on the protective ability of the vaccines," senior author Nathaniel "Ned" Landau told AFP on Monday.
May 17, 2021 22:44 (IST)
Assam Reports Record 92 Covid Deaths, Locks Down Travel Within State
Assam on Monday registered 92 COVID-19 fatalities, its highest so far in a single-day. The state also reported 6,394 new Covid cases, which is also its biggest in a 24-hour period. Of the new cases, 1,100 were from Guwahati.
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May 17, 2021 22:19 (IST)
US to send extra 20 million Covid vaccine doses abroad: White House
The United States will release an additional 20 million doses of Covid vaccine to other countries, bringing the total being shipped out to 80 million, the White House said Monday. "The United States will send 20 million doses authorized for use in the United States to help countries battling the pandemic by the end of June," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Jen Psaki said US President Joe Biden would formally announce the move in a televised address later Monday.
May 17, 2021 21:51 (IST)
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May 17, 2021 21:27 (IST)
Germany to offer Covid vaccines to all adults from June 7
Germany will ditch its Covid vaccine priority list and start offering jabs to all adults from June 7, Health Minister Jens Spahn said Monday, as the inoculation drive in Europe's top economy gathers pace. "We have agreed to lift the priority system on June 7... in doctor's practices, among company doctors and in vaccination centres," Spahn said after talks with Germany's 16 reginal health ministers.
May 17, 2021 20:37 (IST)
Mumbai records 1,240 new COVID-19 cases, lowest since March 9
Mumbai reported 1,240 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day count since March 9, and 48 more deaths today, the city civic body said. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation updated data, with the addition of 1,240 cases, the tally of coronavirus infection rose to 6,89,936, while the death count increased to 14,308.

The financial capital has reported around 300 fewer cases and 12 less fatalities as compared to Sunday, when the city had witnessed 1,544 new cases and 60 deaths.
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May 17, 2021 20:05 (IST)
May 17, 2021 19:32 (IST)
3 Arrested In Indore For Black-Marketing Remdesivir Vials
Police have arrested three people in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly black-marketing Remdesivir injections, which are currently in high demand for the treatment of COVID-19, an official said. Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap and nabbed Abhishek Kaithwas (21), Gaurav Patidar (21) and Ravi Vaishnav (24) on Sunday night, Additional Superintendent of Police Guruprasad Parashar said.

The police seized one Remdesivir vial each from the possession of Kaithwas and Patidar. When asked about the source of the anti-viral drug, they were unable to give a satisfactory reply, he said.
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May 17, 2021 18:50 (IST)
Delhi has less than a day's stock of Covaxin for 45-plus age group: AAP MLA Atishi
AAP MLA Atishi said that Delhi has less than a day's stock of Covaxin left for the 45 plus age group and they will have to temporarily shut down centres administering it. The centres administering Covaxin to the 18-44 age group have been closed.

While issuing the vaccination bulletin, Atishi said that Delhi also started walk-in vaccinations for 45-plus, healthcare workers and frontline workers from Monday.
May 17, 2021 18:25 (IST)
Delhi Covid-19 Vaccine: Manish Sisodia Says 3 Days' Vaccines Left For 18+, Centre Refused More Stocks For May
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said there is only three days' worth of vaccine left for the 18-44-year-olds in Delhi and the central government has refused to give any more vaccines this month.
May 17, 2021 17:57 (IST)
Oxygen Express service reaches milestone of carrying 10,000 tonnes of Oxygen: Railways
The railways reached the milestone of transporting 10,000 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen on its Oxygen Express trains this morning, and the service now covers 13 states, Railway Board Chairman Suneet Sharma said. Launched in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 infections, the service started on April 19 when seven empty trucks left Mumbai to be loaded with liquid medical oxygen (LMO).

"We reached the milestone of carrying 10,000 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen on Monday morning on Oxygen Express... Oxygen Express delivered oxygen to 13 states," Mr Sharma said.
May 17, 2021 17:33 (IST)
May 17, 2021 17:04 (IST)
Delhi records 4,524 new COVID-19 cases, positivity rate falls to 8.4%
Delhi recorded 4,524 fresh COVID-19 cases today, lowest since April 5, while the positivity rate fell to 8.4 per cent. However, the city continued to record a rise in number in deaths due to coronavirus as 340 people died in the last 24 hours.

Total cases: 13,98,391
Total recoveries: 13,20,496
Active cases: 56,049
Death Count: 21,846
May 17, 2021 16:49 (IST)
Puducherry records 1,446 new Covid cases, 28 deaths
Puducherry added 1,446 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours pushing the overall tally in the union territory to 85,952, a senior official of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services said.

Twenty-eight more people died due to the virus during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM this morning, raising the count to 1,179, Director of Health and Family Welfare Services S Mohan Kumar said.
May 17, 2021 16:25 (IST)
May 17, 2021 15:59 (IST)
92 prisoners test positive for COVID-19 in two J&K jails
Ninety-two inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in two prisons of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said, and asserted that all the positive cases are asymptomatic and have been isolated in separate barracks. The latest detection in Udhampur and Kupwara district jails through special Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) screening pushed the active cases among inmates to 115 out of a total of over 4,570 prisoners in all the jails, officials said.
May 17, 2021 15:28 (IST)
Bleeding, Clotting Cases After Vaccination "Minuscule": Government Panel

The number of bleeding and clotting events following a Covid vaccine injection in India are "miniscule" and "in line with the expected number of diagnoses of these conditions", a panel on AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) told the Union Health Ministry Monday afternoon. Read Here
May 17, 2021 15:20 (IST)
Coronavirus: Delhi Reports Over 91,000 Recoveries Against 70,000 Cases Last Week

Around 91,500 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Delhi in the last one week as compared to 70,000 infections detected during the period, according to government data. The number of cumulative cases increased from 13.23 lakh on May 9 to 13.93 lakh on May 16. Recoveries rose from 12.17 lakh to 13.09 lakh during the period.
May 17, 2021 15:01 (IST)
COVID-19: WHO Donates 100 Oxygen Concentrators To Rajasthan Government

The Jaipur unit of the World Health Organisation (WHO) donated 100 oxygen concentrators to the Rajasthan government on Monday. The concentrators were handed over to state Health Minister Raghu Sharma thanked the WHO for its cooperation in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 17, 2021 14:56 (IST)
May 17, 2021 14:16 (IST)
COVID-19: Rajinikanth Donates Rs 50 Lakh To Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Relief Fund

Actor Rajinikanth on Monday met Chief Minister MK Stalin at the secretariat and donated Rs 50 lakhs to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Relief Fund as the state battles the second wave of coronavirus. He also appealed to the people to follow the guidelines issued by the government in the view of COVID-19.
May 17, 2021 14:12 (IST)
Curfew imposed in Andhra Pradesh extended till the end of May, says Chief Minister's Office, reports news agency ANI.
May 17, 2021 13:59 (IST)
Over 2 Crore COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Available With States: Centre

More than two crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and Union territories, while nearly three lakh doses are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next three days, the Union health ministry said on Monday. The Centre has so far provided over 20 crore (20,76,10,230) vaccine doses to the states and Union territories for free. Of this, the total consumption, calculated on the basis of average figures, up to May 16, including wastage, is 18,71,13,705 doses (according to data available at 8 am on Monday), it added.
May 17, 2021 13:52 (IST)
Coronavirus: Maharashtra's Thane District's Covid Tally Crosses 5 Lakh-Mark

With the addition of 1,314 new cases of COVID-19, the tally in Maharashtra's Thane district has crossed the five lakh-mark, an official said on Monday. These new cases were reported on Sunday and the infection count has now reached 5,00,825, he said.
May 17, 2021 13:41 (IST)
May 17, 2021 13:05 (IST)
Coronavirus: 3 Black Fungus Cases Reported In Karnataka

Karnataka's Bagalkot administration on Monday informed that three black fungus cases have been found in patients recovering from COVID-19. According to the Bagalkot Health officer Dr Ananth Desai, out of three patients one patient is being treated in Bagalkot government hospital while the other two at the private hospital.
May 17, 2021 12:06 (IST)
Rajnath Singh, Harsh Vardhan Release First Batch Of DRDO's Anti-COVID-19 Drug

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday released the first batch of Anti-COVID drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The drug has been developed by DRDO''s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
May 17, 2021 10:32 (IST)
Jammu and Kashmir Provides Free Covid Care Kits To Patients In Home Isolation

Jammu and Kashmir government is reaching out to COVID-19 patients in home isolation at their doorsteps and providing them special Covid care kits free of cost. The medical health and revenue team have been delivering the special COVID-19 Care kits contain an Oximeter, medicine kit, vitamins, cough syrup, and also pamphlets of dos and don'ts during the isolation period to COVID-19 positive patients at their places of residence.
May 17, 2021 09:59 (IST)
Coronavirus: Uttarakhand Government Directs Hospitals To Provide Data Of COVID-19 Deaths

The Uttarakhand health department has given strict instructions to hospitals to provide data of COVID-19 deaths to the State Control Room on the same day. State Health Secretary Amit Negi said that the case will be registered against the hospital superintendent if death figures of COVID-19 infected people who were treated at the COVID hospital are not provided on the same day.
May 17, 2021 09:59 (IST)
Coronavirus: Uttarakhand Government Directs Hospitals To Provide Data Of COVID-19 Deaths

The Uttarakhand health department has given strict instructions to hospitals to provide data of COVID-19 deaths to the State Control Room on the same day. State Health Secretary Amit Negi said that the case will be registered against the hospital superintendent if death figures of COVID-19 infected people who were treated at the COVID hospital are not provided on the same day.
May 17, 2021 09:37 (IST)
Coronavirus: India Records 2,81,386 New Infections, 4,106 Deaths In 24 Hours

India's total tally of COVID-19 cases surged to 2,49,65,463 with 2,81,386 new infections, while the recoveries have surged to 2,11,74,076, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death count increased to 2,74,390 with 4,106 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. 

May 17, 2021 09:10 (IST)
31,64,23,658 samples tested for #COVID19 up to 16th May 2021. Of these, 15,73,515 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

May 17, 2021 08:51 (IST)
May 17, 2021 08:27 (IST)
Coronavirus: Top Virologist Shahid Jameel Quits Covid Panel After Criticising Centre

Senior virologist Shahid Jameel has resigned from a forum of scientific advisers set up by the government to detect variants of the coronavirus, he told NDTV on Sunday, days after questioning the authorities' handling of the pandemic. "It's correct and I shall have nothing more to say," Dr Jameel, chair of the scientific advisory group of the forum known as INSACOG, said.
May 17, 2021 07:12 (IST)
Already Booked For 2nd Dose? Covishield Schedule Tweak Won't Affect You

The Centre today clarified that bookings already done online or onsite for the second dose of Covishield vaccine won't be cancelled despite the gap after the first recently being extended by the government. While beneficiaries are advised to reschedule the appointments for their next round to some date beyond the 84-day gap now required, they will not be turned back if they choose to go by the slots already allotted to them. Read Here
May 17, 2021 06:57 (IST)
Coronavirus News: Meghalaya reports 569 new COVID-19 cases, 19 more fatalities

Meghalaya on Sunday reported 569 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally in the state to
23,332, a health department official said. The death toll count to 320 as 19 more people died due
to the disease, PTI reported. 
May 17, 2021 06:20 (IST)
Coronavirus News: Approval given for 9 medical oxygen plants in Ghaziabad, 3 in Noida, says Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday announced that nine medical oxygen plants have been approved for Ghaziabad and three for adjoining Gautam Buddh Nagar district.

The chief minister said this while on a one-day tour of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad and Meerut to review the pandemic situation in these three districts of western UP, PTI reported.