A commentary on the website of the medical journal The Lancet authored by 21 people including Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and top surgeon Dr Devi Shetty has recommended eight actions to prepare for a possible resurgence of COVID-19 cases in India.
The experts have said that organisation of essential health services must be decentralised. A one-size-fits-all approach is untenable since the number of COVID-19 cases and health services differ substantially from district to district.
A single day rise of 67,208 new coronavirus infections were recorded taking India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,97,00,313, while the active cases declined to 8,26,740, the lowest after 71 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
Here are the Live Updates on India Coronavirus (Covid-19 Cases) Cases:
A commentary on the website of the medical journal The Lancet authored by 21 people including Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and top surgeon Dr Devi Shetty has recommended eight actions to prepare for a possible resurgence of COVID-19 cases in India. Read
Former US president Donald Trump on Thursday said that "India has been devastated" by the coronavirus pandemic, insisting that China should pay $10 trillion to the US for allegedly being responsible for the spread of COVID-19 globally.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that in fact, China should pay more as compensation to the world, but this is what they have the capacity to pay.
"The number (compensation) is much higher than that. But there's only so much they can pay. And that's to us (United States). The number is bigger throughout the world. Look, countries have been destroyed over what they did, and whether by accident or not. And I would hope that it was an accident. I hope that it was through incompetence or an accident," Trump said in response to a question.
"But, when you look, whether it was by an accident, whether it was -- whatever it is, this -- you look at these countries. They will never, ever be the same. Our country was hit so hard. But other countries were hit much harder," he said as he went on to cite India, which is currently experiencing the worst ever public health crisis.
"Look at what's going on in India now. You know, they used to say, look how well India was doing, because they were always looking for an excuse -- look how well India is doing. The fact that India has just been devastated now, and virtually, every country has been devastated," Trump said.
Japan said on Thursday it will make a vaccine passport available from next month for Japanese travellers, as governments around the world experiment with ways to relaunch tourism and business trips.
"We are preparing to issue a certificate of vaccination for those who need one... when they visit foreign countries," top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters.
The certificate will be paper-based rather than digital and will be issued by local governments from sometime next month, he said.
The European Union is working on a digital vaccine passport for this summer so it can welcome back badly needed tourists, and some EU countries plan to introduce certificates at the national level.
A housing society in Mumbai's Kandivali area has complained to police that it was apparently cheated by some persons who organized a COVID-19 vaccination camp for its members by claiming to represent a private hospital, and the vaccine that was administered could be spurious.
The society, Hiranandani Heritage Residents Welfare Association (HHRWA), has sought an investigation into the matter.
A vaccination camp was arranged by the residential complex on May 30. But later it found that the Co-WIN portal did not have any record of the people who participated and they received certificates in the name of different hospitals, it said.
The national capital recorded 158 new COVID-19 cases and 10 fatalities on Thursday while the positivity rate dropped to 0.2 per cent, the lowest since February 16, according to a health department bulletin.
The positivity rate in Delhi was 0.17 per cent on February 16.
With 10 deaths in the last 24 hours, the death count in the region stood at 24,886. Delhi last witnessed 10 Covid deaths on April 3.
There are 2,554 active COVID-19 cases in the city, the lowest since March 16. As many as 733 patients are in home isolation. There were 2,488 active cases on March 16.
Three children infected with Black Fungus had to go through surgery to remove an eye each in Mumbai. Mucormycosis or Black Fungus cases in children are a worrying sign, say doctors. The infection targets COVID-19 patients with comorbidities like diabetes and is dangerous, even after one recovers from Covid.
The three children, 4, 6 and 14 years old, were operated upon at two hospitals in Mumbai. The first two children are not diabetic, but the 14-year-old child is. A fourth child, a 16-year-old, became diabetic after recovering from Covid and a part of her stomach was found infected with Black Fungus, doctors have said.
"We saw two girls infected with Black Fungus in the second wave (of Covid). Both were diabetic. After she came to us (the 14 years old), one of her eyes turned black within 48 hours. The fungus was spreading to the nose too. Luckily, it did not reach the brain. We treated her for six weeks; unfortunately, she lost her eye," said Dr Jesal Sheth, Senior Consultant Paediatrician at Fortis Hospital.
The Serum Institute of India, which is preparing to produce Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine in the country under the name Covovax, plans to start trials of the vaccine on children next month, sources in the company told NDTV on Thursday.
US-based Novovax on Monday had said its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective in a large, late-stage clinical trial in America and Mexico. Trials on adults in India had started in March.
The government has been counting on the vaccine, expected to be among the cheaper options in the market, to make up for the shortfall that exacerbated India's devastating second wave and forced it to stop exports.
The panchayat of Mehgavan Pariyat village has managed to administer the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all its eligible residents, including two centenarians, making it the first village in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district to be completely covered in the inoculation drive, a senior official said today.
The first dose has been administered to all of them, while many of them have received the second jab during the ongoing vaccination drive, he said.
What's more, 102-year-old Tijjo Bai and 100-year-old Triveni Bai took personal interest in getting vaccinated and gave a befitting reply to those spreading rumours against the vaccine, the official said.
At least six teams of the health department have been formed to carry out the drive, and one of the teams is dedicated to inoculate the elderly, physically challenged and sick persons at their homes, he added.
Chandigarh Boy Garv Singh, 16, Raises Rs. 7 Lakh For COVID-19 PatientsAs second wave of COVID-19 hit our country, it certainly has highlighted the much-needed reform in the healthcare sector.
Madhya Pradesh Village Achieves Target Of Giving 1st Vaccine Dose To All Eligible ResidentsThe panchayat of Mehgavan Pariyat village has managed to administer the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all its eligible residents, including two above the age of 100, making it the first village in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district to do so."
COVID-19: Partial Lockdown To Continue In Odisha Till July 1Owing to the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Odisha government has decided to continue partial lockdown in the state till 5 AM of July 1.
The #SputnikV vaccine will be available in 9 more cities across India, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Baddi, Kolhapur and Miryalaguda.👇https://t.co/fIuXV2XDJP
- Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) June 17, 2021
Jharkhand is on top of the list in benefitting #COVID19 patients under Ayushman Bharat Scheme. Total 1419 patients have been benefitted. Whereas, only 19 people in Bihar, country's biggest state UP has benefited 875 people: Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta pic.twitter.com/bIuP1wTpv9
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2021
#COVID19 | Kerala unlocks in graded manner from today after decline in daily-reported cases, however, complete lockdown will continue on weekends
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2021
Public transport to operate partially, shops selling essential goods to remain open from 7am-7pm from today
Visuals from Trivandrum pic.twitter.com/8DhbHBnHU4
Delhi: Fruits sellers at Okhla Mandi say that the sale of mangoes has dropped this year as fewer customers are coming in at the market.
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2021
A trader, Mohd Yameen says, "Our fruits are rotting away, we have fewer customers. There is no shortage of fruits but the buyers are fewer." pic.twitter.com/9pDA1xYNfK
infection, taking the death count to 285, PTI reported.
The number of recoveries reached 9,64,265 after 227 people were discharged from various hospitals, while 925 others completed their home isolation during the day, PTI reported.
