Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS: Maharashtra, Delhi Brace For Third Wave As New Variants Remain A Concern

Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS, Tuesday, June 15, 2021: Even though India reported 62,224 new coronavirus infections in last 24 hours, taking country's total tally to 2,96,33,105, recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for the 34th consecutive day. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,83,88,100, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.28 per cent.

Background

Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS, Tuesday, June 16, 2021: The second wave of coronavirus in the country has now become mild i.e. the infection rate has come down considerably as compared to earlier.  However, daily deaths due to Covid still remain a matter of concern. At the same time, due to the low infection rate, many states including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh have started easing the Covid-19 restrictions.In the last 24 hours, more than 60 thousand Covid-19 cases were registered in the country, while 2726 patients have succumbed to the deadly infection.  At the same time, the Haj Committee of India has canceled all the applications for the Haj pilgrimage of 2021 in view of the situation of Coronavirus epidemic.The Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 26 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far. The ministry said that on Tuesday, 13 lakh 13 thousand 438 people in the age group of 18-44 years were given the first dose of the vaccine while 54,375 people were given the second dose. Four crore 49 lakh 87 thousand four people in the age group of 18-44 years have taken the first dose of vaccine and eight lakh 95 thousand 517 people have taken the second dose since the beginning of the third phase of Covid vaccination in the country.The highly transmissible Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has mutated further to form the Delta plus’ or AY.1′ variant but there is no immediate cause for concern in India as its incidence in the country is still low, scientists here said. 

16/06/2021 23:07:46

"Delta Plus' Variant May Trigger Third Covid Wave In Maharashtra

The highly virulent "Delta plus" variant of the novel coronavirus could stoke a third wave in Maharashtra, according to a presentation made at a meeting attended by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday.

The number of active patients could reach up to eight lakh, while 10 per cent out of them could be children, said the presentation made by the state health department, as per an official release.

16/06/2021 22:03:23

Uttarakhand Govt Orders FIR In Covid Testing Scam In Mahakumbh

Uttarakhand government orders Haridwar dist administration to register FIR in COVID testing scam during Mahakumbh. Order issued to file case against labs from Delhi and Haryana, which conducted testing at 5 places in Haridwar during Kumbh Mela: State govt's spox Subodh Uniyal, to ANI

16/06/2021 21:39:21

Maharashtra Reports 10,107 New Covid Cases, 237 Deaths

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported as many as 10,107 fresh Covid-19 cases, 10,567 discharges and 237 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, state's active cases stands at 1,36,661 while overall tally moves to 59,34,880.

16/06/2021 21:06:07

Delhi Braces For Possible Third Wave

16/06/2021 21:04:29

Mumbai Sees 830 New Covid-19 Cases, 11 Deaths, 1,300 Recoveries

Mumbai on Wednesday reported more than 800 fresh coronavirus positive cases after a gap of ten days and 11 fatalities, taking the tally to 7,18,513 and the toll to 15,227 while 1,300 patients recovered in the day, as per the civic data.

At 830, the fresh cases surged by 255 compared to 575 cases recorded on Tuesday while the number of new fatalities fell by three compared to the previous day.

16/06/2021 21:02:13

Tamil Nadu Roll Out Scheme To Help Children Who Lost Parents To COVID-19

Rolling out a welfare scheme to help fulfill the future needs of children who lost both their parents to COVID-19, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday handed over certificates of Rs five lakh fixed deposit in favour of each of five such children.

The deposits made in the state-run Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation was given by the Chief Minister to their guardians at the Secretariat.

16/06/2021 20:16:44

Tamil Nadu Reports 10,448 New Cases, Karnataka Tally Up By 7,345

Tamil Nadu reports 10,448 new COVID19 cases, 21,058 recoveries, and 270 deaths today; active cases at 1,14,335. 

Karnataka registers 7345 new COVID19 cases, 148 deaths, and 17913 discharges today; active cases at 1,51,566.

16/06/2021 20:14:02

Soft Launch Of Sputnik V In India Scaled To Metro Cities, Registration On CoWIN Not Open Yet

Soft launch of Sputnik V vaccine in India, which was initiated in Hyderabad, has been scaled up to many cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai among others. Registration on CoWIN not open to public yet, will be open at the time of commercial launch: Dr Reddy's

16/06/2021 19:22:55

West Bengal Report 3,187 New Covid Cases, 69 Deaths

16/06/2021 18:47:01

Symptomatic Cases Were Higher In Pregnant Women: ICMR

As per comparative analysis of data from pregnant women & postpartum women during 1st & 2nd wave of COVID, symptomatic cases were significantly higher at 28.7% in 2nd wave compared to 1st wave (14.2%). Case fatality rate (CFR) was 5.7% during 2nd wave than 0.7% in 1st wave: ICMR

16/06/2021 18:15:53

Kerala Reports 13,270 New Covid Cases, 147 Deaths

16/06/2021 18:01:42

Normalcy Returning In Madhya Pradesh As Covid Wave Recedes

After the coronavirus situation in Madhya Pradesh improved in the last few weeks and cases started declining, normalcy is returning to the state with markets, malls open and people thronging to make purchases.

The day curfew has been completely lifted and now corona curfew remains in force only at night. While restaurants, clubs, gyms are open, footfalls in shopping malls, the markets have increased. The maximum number of people coming to religious places has been increased to six.

16/06/2021 17:55:39

UK PM Says It Doesn't Look Like Covid Leaked From Chinese Lab

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that it doesn't look like that Covid-19 originated from a lab in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

"At the moment the advice we've had is that it doesn't look like this particular disease of a zoonotic origin came from a lab," Johnson said in his closing press conference at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Britain's southwestern resort of Carbis Bay, a seaside resort and village in Cornwall.

16/06/2021 17:36:14

Another Lion Dies Of Covid-19 In Tamil Nadu Zoo

Another lion at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP) in Vandalur near here, succumbed to SARS-CoV-2 on Wednesday morning. Confirming the death of the Asiatic male lion named Pathbanathan, aged 12 years,Deputy Director of AAZP said the lion was housed in the safari area of the park.

"Samples of the said lion had tested positive for SARS- CoV-2 as per the report ofNational Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, communicated on June 3.

16/06/2021 17:09:57

Andhra Pradesh Records 6,617 New Cases, 57 Deaths

Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday reported 6,617 new cases of Coronavirus with 57 deaths and 10,228 recoveries in the last 24 hours. With this, state's active case tally stands at 71,466 and overall count moves to 18,26,751.

16/06/2021 17:02:25

Private Sector Played Key Role During Pandemic: PM Modi

When the pandemic hit India, we had inadequate testing capacities and shortage of masks, PPEs and other such equipment. Our private sector played a key role in addressing this shortage. Our doctors adopted telemedicine in a big way so that some COVID and non-COVID issues could be addressed virtually: PM Modi during Viva Tech summit

16/06/2021 16:50:12

No Controversy On Vaccine Duration: NTAGI Member

There is no controversy. All of us agreed on increasing duration between 1st & 2nd dose: Epidemiologist Dr Jayaprakash Muliyil, a core member of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), speaks to ANI, regarding doubling gap b/w two doses of Covishield vaccine

16/06/2021 16:24:44

Most Drugs For Treating Adult Patients Not Recommended For Kids: Govt

Drugs such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir and antibiotics like doxycycline and azithromycin prescribed for adult COVID-19 patients have not been recommended for treating children, according to a government guideline issued on Wednesday.

In anticipation of likely intermittent surges in the number of COVID-19 cases, the government has come out with guidelines for operationalising Covid-care services for children including augmenting existing Covid care facilities to provide care to children with acute coronavirus infection.

16/06/2021 16:12:13

PM Hails Mother Of 6-Yr-Old For Isolating From Child To Protect Him From Coronavirus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed a mother of a six-year-old boy for her courage and positive thinking as she isolated herself from her son after contracting COVID-19.

Verma, her husband and their six-year-old son live in a three-bedroom apartment and after contracting COVID-19 in April, the couple made a tough decision and decided that all three would be isolated in separate rooms.

16/06/2021 15:59:30

PM Modi To Launch Crash Course Programme For Frontline Workers On June 18

PM Modi will launch ‘Customized Crash Course' programme for Covid 19 Frontline workers’ on June 18 at 11 am via video conferencing. With 111 training centres across 26 states, the programme aims to skill and upskill over one lakh Covid warriors across the country: PMO

16/06/2021 15:54:36

Nagaland Extends Lockdown Till June 30

The Nagaland government on Wednesday further extended the ongoing state-wide lockdown till June 30, a senior official said. The restrictions were scheduled to end on June 18.

As per the announcement, district task forces on COVID-19 will work out relaxations or stricter restrictions as per the local situation.

16/06/2021 15:30:43

PM Modi To Launch ‘Customized Crash Course' For Covid-19 Frontline Workers’ On June 18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch ‘Customized Crash Course programme for Covid 19 Frontline workers’ on 18th June 2021 at 11 AM via video conferencing. The launch will commence the programme in 111 training centres spread over 26 states. The launch will be followed by the Prime Minister’s address. Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will also be present on the occasion.

The programme aims to skill and upskill over one lakh Covid warriors across the country. The training will be imparted to Covid warriors in six customised job roles namely Home Care Support, Basic Care Support, Advanced Care Support, Emergency Care Support, Sample Collection Support, and Medical Equipment Support.

The programme has been designed as a special programme under the Central Component of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0, with total financial outlay of Rs. 276 crore. The programme will create skilled non-medical healthcare workers to fill the present and future needs of manpower in the health sector.

16/06/2021 14:41:24

PM CARES Fund Trust Allocates Rs 41.62 Cr For Two Makeshift COVID Hospitals In West Bengal

PM CARES Fund Trust has decided to allocate Rs 41.62 crores for establishment of two 250 bedded makeshift COVID Hospitals by DRDO at Murshidabad and Kalyani, West Bengal. For this, certain infrastructural support would also be provided by State Govt and Union Health Ministry: PMO

16/06/2021 13:14:32

Facts regarding composition of the COVAXIN twisted and misrepresented: Health Ministry

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in an official statement clarified that facts regarding composition of the COVAXIN have been twisted and misrepresented. "There have been some social media posts regarding composition of the COVAXIN where it has been suggested that COVAXIN contains the newborn calf serum. Facts have been twisted and misrepresented in these posts. Newborn Calf Serum is used only for preparation of vero cells...The vero cells are completely destroyed in process of viral growth. The grown virus is also killed & purified. This is then used to make final vaccine &in final vaccine formulation no calf serum used." 

16/06/2021 10:57:53

Arunachal reports 366 new COVID-19 cases, 6 fresh fatalities

Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,648 on Wednesday as 366 more people tested positive for the infection, while six fresh fatalities pushed the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 151, a senior health official said.

The Capital Complex region registered the highest number of new cases at 93, followed by West Kameng (48) and Namsai (34), State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Three fresh fatalities were recorded in the Capital Complex region, and one each in Lower Siang, Lohit and Lower Subansiri districts, he said.

As many as 356 more people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 28,608, Jampa said, adding the state now has 2,889 active cases. The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stands at 90.39 per cent.

The Capital Complex region, comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas, has the highest number of active cases at 501, followed by Changlang (282) and West Kameng (248).

16/06/2021 10:08:55

Uttarakhand govt directs Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board to complete preparations by July 1

In view of the reduction in COVID cases, Uttarakhand govt has directed Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board to complete yatra preparations by July 1. Steps regarding yatra will be taken as per Nainital High Court's directions: Uttarakhand Minister Subodh Uniyal

16/06/2021 07:41:55

Over 26 Crore Covid-19 Vaccine Doses Administered In India: Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 26 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far. The ministry said that on Tuesday, 13 lakh 13 thousand 438 people in the age group of 18-44 years were given the first dose of the vaccine while 54,375 people were given the second dose.