Coronavirus News Highlights: A single-day rise of 48,698 COVID-19 infections took India's case tally to 3,01,83,143 while the weekly positivity rate declined to 2.97 percent, according to Union Health Ministry data on Saturday. The death toll climbed to 3,94,493 with 1,183 more people succumbing to the viral disease in a day. The number of active cases has further declined to 5,95,565 and now accounts for 1.97 percent of the total infections, the data updated at 8 am showed. Recoveries outnumbered daily new cases of COVID-19 for the 44th consecutive day with the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surging to 2,91,93,085. The case fatality rate stood at 1.31 percent. While the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.72 percent, the weekly case positivity rate has come down to 2.97 percent. According to the Health Ministry data, the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.79 percent. It has been less than 5 percent for 19 consecutive days. Also, 17,35,781 tests were conducted on Friday for the detection of COVID-19, taking the total number of tests conducted so far in the country to 39,95,68,448. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 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. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore total COVID-19 cases on May 4 this year and three crore on June 23.
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Coronavirus LIVE Updates | UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock resigns amid row over breach of Covid norms
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock submitted his resignation amid the row over kissing his aide in breach of Covid norms.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Delhi Unlock | Gyms, yoga centres to reopen at 50% capacity, wedding ceremonies permitted with 50 guests
Delhi District Management Authority issued new guidelines to be effective from June 28; gyms and yoga institutes to open with 50% capacity, marriages shall be permitted at banquet halls/marriage halls/hotels with a ceiling of 50 persons.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Efforts on to vaccinate all by Dec 31, digital divide won't affect drive, Centre tells SC
Efforts are underway to vaccinate the entire population by December 31, the Centre said in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court. The digital divide in the nation, between urban and rural India, would not affect the immunisation drive, it reportedly said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Maharashtra reports 9,812 new cases, Mumbai records 648
Maharashtra on Saturday reported 9,812 fresh coronavirus positive cases and 179 fatalities, taking the tally to 60,26,847 and the toll to 1,20,881, the state Health department said. Of the 179 fatalities, 106 had occurred in the last 48 hours and 73 in the last week. The state also added 332 deaths which had occurred in the past to its overall tally, it said.
Mumbai city reported 648 cases, taking its cumulative tally of infections to 7,19,610 and 15 fatalities, which raised the toll to 15,383. The Mumbai division reported 1,964 new cases and 46 deaths taking the caseload to 15,87,681 and the toll to 31,771, the department said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Over 7.25 lakh vaccine jabs given in Maharashtra in one day
Maharashtra on Saturday set a new record for itself with the administration of more than 7.25 lakh does of COVID-19 vaccines, just three days after giving a record six lakh doses in a day, a senior official said.
With this, the overall number of inoculations reached 3,09,79,460. On Friday, Maharashtra became the first state in the country to cross the three crore-mark. The updated information about today's vaccination has been finalised now. The state has administered 7,26,588 doses. It includes the first dose as well as the second dose in all the categories, the official said. (PTI)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Tamil Nadu reports 5,415 new cases, 148 deaths
TamilNadureported5,415 newCOVID-19cases, 7,661 recoveries, and 148 deaths today.
Active cases: 44,924
Total recoveries: 23,83,624
Death toll: 32,199
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Madhya Pradesh withdraws order to impose corona curfew on Sundays
"Corona is under control in MP. Not even one positive case reported in 35 districts andactive cases stand below 1,000. Positivity rate has dropped to 0.06 percent. In this situation, it is not justified to impose a corona curfew on Sunday. So we are withdrawing it immediately,"Chief MinisterShivrajSinghChouhansaid.
oronavirus LIVE Updates | Goa extends state-level curfew till July 5
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"Government of Goa hasdecidedto extend the state-level curfew till 7 am, July 05," Chief MinisterPramodSawantsaid. The state currently has over 2,500 active cases of coronavirus.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Karnataka records 4,272 new cases, 115 deaths
Karnatakareports 4,272 new cases, 6,126 discharges and 115 deaths today.
Active cases: 1,05,226
Total recoveries: 26,91,123
Death toll: 34,654
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Kerala reports 12,118 new cases, 118 deaths
Kerala reports 12,118 new COVID-19 positive cases, 11,124 recoveries and 118 deaths today. The active casecount stood at 1,01,102, whereas, the death toll climbed to12,817.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Pune issues fresh guidelines; essential, non-essential shops to remain open till 4 pm
Pune Municipal Corporation issues fresh guidelines to be effective from Monday, 28 June — Essential shops to remain open only till 4pm every day while non-essential shops to remain open till 4pm between Monday to Friday, reported news agency ANI.
Restaurants, food courts to remain open with 50% seating capacity between Monday to Friday. Only parcel and home delivery allowed on Saturday and Sunday. Social, religious and entertainment events allowed with 50 people between Monday to Friday.
Gym, Salon, Spa to remain open till 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Wine shops to remain open from Monday to Friday till 4 pm. Malls and theatres/multiplex, religious places to remain closed.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | COVID-19 third wave not to be as severe as second: ICMR official
"Third wave ofCOVIDwon't be as severe as second wave. More vaccination andCOVIDappropriatebehaviourcould play an important role in mitigating these waves. Study on vaccine effect on Delta plus variant ofCOVIDis underway,"ANIreportedDrSamiranPanda, Head of Epidemiology,ICMR, as saying.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 1 Delta Plus variant case found in Punjab's Ludhiana
A case of Delta plus variant found in Punjab's Ludhiana, news agency ANI reported."The 62-year-old patient, a resident of Jand village in Pakhowal block has no travel history. He is in better condition. So far, no other villager found Delta plus positive,"Deputy Commissioner VK Sharma was reported as saying.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Eight cases of COVID-19 Delta Plus variant found in Madhya Pradesh: Minister
At least eight persons have been found infected with the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh so far, state Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said on Saturday, adding none of the contacts of these patients was found to be infected with this strain. According to officials, two persons who died in May this year were found to be infected with the Delta Plus variant. Speaking to reporters, Sarang said the patients infected with the Delta Plus variant are being tested as per protocol and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been regularly sharing information with the state in this regard.
''At least eight cases of the Delta Plus variant of coronavirus have been brought to our notice so far. Our constant focus is to ramp up testing,'' Sarang said. The authorities had carried out contact tracing of these patients and none of the contacts was found to be infected with this variant, he said.
The minister further said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has decided to set up a laboratory in Bhopal for genome sequencing so that people infected with different mutations of coronavirus can be detected at the earliest. Once a genome sequencing machine is installed in Bhopal, the test reports for various mutations of coronavirus can be received within five days, he said. Meanwhile, officials said two persons who died in May this year were found to be infected with the Delta Plus variant. They were residents of Ashoknagar and Ujjain. While the deaths had occurred in May, their reports of being infected with Delta Plus variant were received later, it was stated.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Tokyo 2020 Olympic organisers to offer volunteers COVID-19 vaccine
Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games organisers will give all 70,000 volunteers working for the Games an opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday, citing organisers. Nikkei said some of the volunteers have already been vaccinated. The Tokyo 2020 organisers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Public broadcaster NHK reported earlier this month around 10,000 of the 80,000 volunteers who signed up to help at the Games had quit. Multiple opinion polls have shown that a majority of respondents are opposed to holding the Games this summer during the pandemic.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Nurse injects empty syringe during COVID-19 vaccination drive in Bihar; video goes viral
In a bizarre vaccination mishap, a nurse in Bihar injected an empty syringe into a man during the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Chapra town. The incident came to light after a video of the act went viral on social media. The nurse was removed from the COVID-19 centre and has been served with a show-cause notice by the Health Department.
"She has been removed from vaccination duty. An explanation has been sought from her. Based on it, further action will be taken," District Immunization Officer of Saran, Dr Ajay Kumar, said, as quoted by ANI. Azher Hussain went to the COVID-19 vaccination centre at Behrampur Imambara Madarsa, along with his friend Aman Khan, to take the first dose.
During vaccination, the nurse, without filling the vaccine into the syringe, had injected it into Hussin's arm, and the entire process was captured into the mobile phone by Aman Khan. However, at the moment, neither noticed that the syringe was empty and returned home. After seeing the video later in the day, Hussain realised that an empty syringe was injected into his arm. In the video, the woman nurse was found interacting with others, as she took the syringe from a wrapper and injected it into his arm without filling it with the vaccine.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Sydney, Australia's largest city, in two-week hard Covid-19 lockdown
Sydney and some surrounding areas will enter a hard two-week COVID-19 lockdown on Saturday as authorities struggle to control a fast-spreading outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant that has grown to 80 cases. Parts of Sydney, Australia's biggest city, were already under lockdown due to the outbreak, but health authorities said cases and exposure sites were increasing too rapidly.
"Even though we don't want to impose burdens unless we absolutely have to, unfortunately this is a situation where we have to," said New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Australia has been more successful in managing the pandemic than many other advanced economies through swift border closures, social distancing rules and high compliance, reporting just over 30,400 cases and 910 COVID-19 deaths.
But the country has confronted small outbreaks in recent months. These have been contained through speedy contact tracing, isolation of thousands of people at a time or snap hard lockdowns. Rugby Australia was searching for alternatives sites for Australia's series-opening test against France, which was to have been played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on July 7.
Saturday's lockdown in New South Wales will also include the regions of Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong, which surround Sydney, a city of 5 million people. Under the rules in place through July 9, people can leave home for essential work, medical care, education or shopping. The rest of the state will have limits on public gatherings and masks will be obligatory indoors.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Kerala women agency's loan scheme to help kin of COVID victims
The Kerala State Women Development Corporation (KSWDC) has come out with a self- employment loan scheme to support families that lost their sole bread winners to COVID-19. The scheme titled ''SMILE,'' targeting women dependents of those who died due to the deadly disease, would be implemented with the support of the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation and the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation.
Applications have been invited to the self-employment loan scheme which is expected to benefit a large number of women, an official statement said here. The women dependents of those persons, who died due to COVID-19 and belonged to the age group of 18- 60 years, were eligible for the loan, it said. A total of Rs five lakh would be received as maximum loan amount at an interest of six per cent, the statement said adding that of this up to Rs one lakh can be subsidised. Those who are availing the loan should be a permanent resident of Kerala and their annual income should not exceed Rs three lakh. The applicants should register on the website www.kswdc.org before July 15, the statement added.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Navi Mumbai civic body to give financial aid to kids orphaned by COVID-19
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) in Maharashtra announced on Saturday that it will provide financial assistance to the local children, who were orphaned due to the coronavirus pandemic. Besides this, monetary assistance will also be provided to those women, who lost their husband due to the health crisis.
The assistance to orphans will be in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000 based on the age of the child. Women who have lost their husband due to COVID-19 will get Rs 1.5 lakh and they will be provided equipment worth Rs 1 lakh for self-employment, the NMMC said in a statement.
Talking to reporters, Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said, 'The future of many children may become bleak if they don't get support immediately after they lose their parents. However, it is also true that it is impossible to compensate for the loss the children suffer due to the death of their parents and women who lose their husband.' 'It is a social commitment of the corporation to provide welfare schemes to such children and women for their education, employment and financial independence so that they live with dignity' he added.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | COVID-19 will win if stakeholders fight with each other: Arvind Kejriwal after oxygen controversy
Seeking to move on from the controversy over a Supreme Court appointed panel report on Delhi's oxygen demand, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called for everyone to work together to ensure there is no shortage of oxygen in the next Covid wave. The virus will win if there is a fight among stakeholders, Kejriwal tweeted, a day after his Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP hit out at each each other over the report that said Delhi's oxygen needs were “exaggerated” four times over during the second Covid wave.
"May we work now if your fight over oxygen is finished? Let us together make a system so no one faces shortage of oxygen in third wave,” Kejriwal said in his tweet in Hindi. “There was an acute shortage of oxygen in the second wave. It should not be so in the third wave. Corona will win if we fight with each other. The nation will win if we fight together," he added.
While AAP leaders accused the BJP of "cooking up" the report from the Supreme Court appointed committee, the saffron party charged the Delhi government with "criminal negligence". Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the "bogus" and "misleading" report was "cooked up" at BJP's office and submitted by the Centre in the apex court.
The sub-group constituted by the Supreme Court to audit oxygen consumption in hospitals in the national capital during the second wave said the Delhi government "exaggerated" the consumption of oxygen and made a claim of 1,140 MT, four times higher than the formula for bed capacity requirement of 289 MT. The five-member panel, headed by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, said the Delhi government had made the claims for allocation of 700 MT oxygen on April 30 of medical grade oxygen using a "wrong formula".
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty falls sick days after taking 'fake' COVID-19 vaccine
Trinamool Congress (TMC) member of Parliament Mimi Chakraborty has fallen sick, just four days after taking a COVID-19 vaccine dose that is reportedly fake. Hindustan Times Bangla reported that Chakraborty's medical complications include acute stomach ache and profuse sweating. A physician was called to her residence this morning. Chakraborty has been advised to get admitted to a hospital, but she has decided to get treated at home.
The actor-turned-politician said she became suspicious about the vaccination drive in Kolkata as she did not receive the SMS people receive after taking a shot and informed the police. PTI reported that the Kolkata police arrested three more associates of fake IAS officer Debanjan Deb on June 26, in connection with three dubious COVID-19 vaccination drives in Kolkata.
Deb was arrested on June 23 for posing as an IAS officer and organising a COVID-19 vaccination camp in the Kasba area. In a video posted on her Instagram account, Chakraborty said that while the vaccines administered were fake, they were not harmful. "Samples have been sent to the lab and we will know what was in the vaccines in the next 4-5 days. I've talked to officials and from what I gathered it can be said that there was nothing harmful in the vials but we all know they weren't vaccines. We can say this conclusively once the lab results come back," The TMC MP said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | When will Indians see lifting of the US travel ban? US Embassy official has an answer
Travel restrictions imposed by the United States on Indians to check the spread of novel coronavirus will remain in effect for now. However, Indians could keep track of the European countries that were placed under the travel curbs before India for an indication of when the restrictions will be relaxed, suggested minister-counsellor for consular affairs in US Embassy New Delhi, Don Heflin.
"It is hard to predict when the travel restrictions will be lifted. But one signal for India will be to look for the lifting of the restriction from Europe's Schengen area, which was placed under travel curbs before India. Once those countries come out of restrictions, India can expect to see the lifting of the US travel ban," Heflin said in an interaction with the Hindustan Times.
Schengen area in Europe refers to a group of 26 countries that have abolished all types of border control and operates under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. This region includes France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, etc. Currently, the US has prohibited travel from India for people who have lived in the country for last 14 days. The only exceptions to this restriction are American citizens, students, and those who can prove their travel to the US is in national interest.
Heflin mentioned that the US Embassy is trying to increase visa appointments and more will be opened in July. The minister-counsellor stated that despite second Covid-19 wave in India derailing visa appointment process in India, 45,000 visa appointments have been opened. The Embassy is trying to reach pre-Covid level in visa appointments, he said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Tamil Nadu reports first 'Delta Plus' variant fatality
Tamil Nadu recorded 6,162 fresh coronavirus cases, including three returnees from Andhra Pradesh, pushing the overall caseload to 24.49 lakh while the toll mounted to 31,901 with 155 additional deaths. As many as 9,046 people got discharged today, taking the total recoveries to 23,67,831 leaving 49,845 active infections, a medical bulletin said on Thursday. Coimbatore and Erode reported an excess of 500 cases each while 18 districts reported new infections in double digits. Chennai registered 372 cases aggregating to 5,30,789 till date.
The number of COVID-19 related fatalities in the State capital also reached 8,131. The testing of RT-PCR samples stood at 1,70,283 in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 3.18 crore. As many as 28 victims were patients without any co- morbidity or pre-existing illness including a 26 year old girl from Krishnagiri who succumbed due to COVID-19 pneumonia.
Meanwhile, Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian said a 32-year-old nurse who tested positive for the new Delta Plus variant, the first such case in Tamil Nadu, has recovered. "The symptoms were mild and she recovered after completing home quarantine for 14 days. She is hale and healthy now and has joined duty..," he told reporters. The family members and her colleagues also tested ''negative'' for the virus.
In another related development, Kattur village in Tiruvarur district has become the first in the state to vaccinate all its residents. The population in the village was 3,332 people of which 998 were above the age of 18 years. Awareness among the people on vaccination is increasing and till date 1.28 crore people have received the jabs. "On an average three lakh people a day get the shots," he noted. Subramanian said those affected by the ''Black Fungus'' disease have been included under the Chief Minister''s Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme apart from the COVID-19 patients and till date 423 people were covered under the scheme.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | As Delta variant cases rise, WHO asks fully vaccinated to keep masks on
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said people who are fully vaccinated will have to continue wearing masks, follow social distancing and other safety measures to contain the spread of the more deadly and contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly across the globe. Mariangela Simao, WHO's assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said people cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses and that they still need to protect themselves.
“Vaccine alone won’t stop community transmission. People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, hand hygiene ... the physical distance, avoid crowding,” Simao said during a news briefing from the agency’s Geneva headquarters, according to CNBC. "This still continues to be extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated when you have a community transmission ongoing," she added.
According to CNBC, WHO officials said they are urging fully vaccinated people to continue to “play it safe” because highly contagious variants, like Delta, are spreading in many countries, triggering outbreaks and a large portion of the world are yet to be given the shots against the coronavirus disease or Covid-19. “Yes, you can reduce some measures and different countries have different recommendations in that regard. But there’s still the need for caution. As we are seeing, there are new variants emerging,” Dr Bruce Aylward, a senior advisor to the WHO’s director-general, was quoted as saying by CNBC.
WHO's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the Delta variant, first seen in India, is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far,” and warned it is now spreading in at least 85 countries. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the lack of vaccines in poor countries was exacerbating the delta variant's transmission. In India, Delta Plus, the more virulent version of the virus, has been reported from 12 states and there have been 51 cases and the maximum from Maharashtra.
The government, however, has said their numbers are "very localised" and it cannot be said that it is showing an upward trend. Officials have said that the Delta variant has nearly 15-17 mutations and was first reported in October last year, and it was responsible for more than 60 per cent of cases in Maharashtra in February.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Unemployment during COVID-19: Federal Bank gives 400-odd part-time jobs in Kerala
Federal Bank on Saturday said it has provided 400-odd part-time jobs with a monthly salary of Rs 18,000 at its branches in Kerala so far, in a bid to help those who lost their employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Designated as "Covid Wardens", these people were hired to manage crowds, provide masks and sanitiser to the public visiting the branches in the state, it said.
The livelihood enhancement project was started as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative in August 2020 and is continuing even now. Speaking to PTI, Federal Bank Chief Human Resource Officer Ajith Kumar K K said: "This is a part-time job given to tide over the situation, not a full-time employment."
The bank hired these people at a monthly salary of Rs 18,000 per month. About Rs 6 crore has been spent towards salary in the last 10 months, he said. Since many had lost jobs due to the pandemic in the state there were requests for creating part-time jobs from several agencies and organisations. "We thought of finding a way to provide livelihood to people who lost jobs due to the pandemic and help them tide over the economic hardship. That's why we decided to hire such people," he added.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | India achieves milestone of conducting 40 crore COVID-19 tests: ICMR
India has achieved the milestone of conducting 40 crore COVID-19 tests, with the average of more than 18 lakh tests per day in the month of June, the ICMR said on Saturday. India has tested 40,18,11,892 samples across the country till Friday, it said. The country tested 35 crore COVID-19 samples till June 1, 2021. "This has been enabled by rapidly increasing testing infrastructure and capacity across the country. ICMR has been enhancing COVID-19 testing capability across the country by expanding and diversifying testing capacity by leveraging technology and facilitating innovation in affordable diagnostic kits," the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a statement.
Prof Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR said exponential increase in testing has led to early identification, prompt isolation and effective treatment of COVID-19 cases. These have eventually resulted in a sustained low fatality rate. "This testing milestone is testimony to the fact that India has been successful in implementing the strategy of 5T approach "Test, Track, Trace, Treat and use of Technology" efficiently, which will enable us to contain the spread of the pandemic," the statement quoted Bhargava as saying.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | My crime, I fought for breath of 2 crore people, says Arvind Kejriwal over report on 'inflated' oxygen need
In face of the BJP's accusation of "criminal negligence" citing a report that the Delhi government "exaggerated" oxygen requirement during COVID-19 second wave, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said his only "crime" was that he "fought for the breath of two crore people". He also said that those who lost their loved ones due to the shortage of oxygen should not be called "liars".
A sub-group constituted by the Supreme Court to audit oxygen consumption in the national capital's hospitals has said that the Delhi government "exaggerated" consumption of the life-saving gas. The five-member panel, headed by AIIMS director Randeep Guleria, said that during the second wave of COVID-19infections, the Delhi government had made claims for allocation of 700 MT of oxygen on April 30 using a "wrong formula".
After the report came to light, the BJP accused Kejriwal of "heinous crime" and "criminal negligence". In reply to the allegation, Kejriwal took to Twitter to say, "My crime -- I fought for the breath of my two crore people. When you were doing an election rally, I was awake all night arranging for oxygen. I fought, pleaded to get oxygen for people." "People have lost their loved ones due to lack of oxygen. Don't call them liars, they are feeling so bad," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
BJP leaders, including East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir and former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra have slammed the Delhi government over the issue and demanded an apology over what they call is "criminal negligence". BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra termed it a "heinous crime".
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Over 1.45 crore vaccine doses available with states, says centre
More than 1.45 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories and over 19,10,650 jabs are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. The states and union territories have so far got over 31.17 crore vaccine doses through the free-of-cost channel of the central government and direct procurement.
Of these, the total consumption, including wastage, has been 29,71,80,733 doses, the ministry said. "More than 1.45 crore (1,45,21,067) balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states/UTs to be administered," the ministry said. "Furthermore, more than 19,10,650 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the states/UTs within the next 3 days," the ministry said. The new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on June 21.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Fearing COVID-19, Indian woman kills minor daughter in UK
A 36-year-old Indian woman in the UK has pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility after she admitted killing her five-year-old daughter at their home because she was terrified of dying from Covid-19 and thought the little girl could not live without her, according to a media report. Sutha Sivanantham stabbed her daughter Sayagi in the bedroom of their south London flat 15 times before severely injuring herself on June 30 last year, the Metro.co.uk reported. Her husband said she had been 'petrified' about catching the virus and the lockdown restrictions may have 'pushed her over the edge,' the report added.
Appearing at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Sivanantham denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and will be kept in hospital indefinitely. Sivanantham, who had been living in the UK since 2006 after an arranged marriage, complained of mystery ailments for almost a year before the tragedy. She developed a 'morbid concern' she was seriously ill and had become convinced she was going to die, prosecutors said.
On the day of the attack, she begged her husband not to go to work and called friends to tell them she was unwell. At around 4 pm neighbours went to the flat in Monarch Parade, Mitcham, and found Sivanantham with stab wounds to her abdomen. Sayagi, who was lying on the bed, had been stabbed several times in the neck, chest and abdomen.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Level-3 curbs to continue in Mumbai: Take a look at what's allowed, what isn't
In view of surging cases of highly transmissible Delta and Delta Plus variant, the Maharashtra government revised its 5-level unlock plan and announced a 'state-level trigger' for imposing restrictions irrespective of weekly positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy percentage. State-level trigger means that level 3 restrictions will continue in administrative units till the district disaster management authority takes a call to withdraw them, as per a state government notification.
Restrictions across the state will remain at a level not below 3, according to new guidelines issued. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also on June 25 announced that COVID-19 curbs will continue in Mumbai as per category 3 of the unlock plan. The state's move was driven by the detection of cases of the Delta plus variant of COVID-19, considered highly infectious, in Maharashtra. Delta plus cases have been found in Ratnagiri, Jalgaon and some other districts of the state, requiring stricter curbs, the notification said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | India vaccination drive hits record high with around 4 crore jabs this week
India achieved its highest weekly vaccination figure so far as nearly four crore jabs were administered this week, the latest data on the government’s COWIN platform shows. About 3.98 crore jabs were given during the week ended June 25, a significant jump from the previous weekly record of 2.47 crore jabs administered between April 3-9.
The record jump in doses administered last week is nearly double of 2.12 crore jabs given the week earlier between June 12-18. The weekly vaccination mark had in fact hit a low of merely 92 lakh jabs in the week between May 15-21, before the Centre took back the job from states of procuring vaccines for the 18-44 group.
“Nearly four crore jabs achieved in a week in June shows a consistent increase in the jabs being given daily. The government is looking at nearly 20 crore vaccinations happening in the month of July and 30 crore vaccinations in a month from August,” a senior government official told News18, expressing confidence that all 94 crore adults in the country can be fully vaccinated by December this year.
Also, nearly 89 percent of all these vaccinations were first doses. The government has been stressing on vaccination of the priority category of 45+ age group as well as second doses but the demand is clearly coming from the 18-44 age group and for the first dose.
The vaccination numbers are expected to go up further from July and could hit the 5 crore per week mark with states like Uttar Pradesh aiming at doing 10 lakh jabs daily. Rajasthan has also told the Centre that it has the capacity to vaccinate 15 lakh people daily if the supplies are adequate. Rajasthan accounted for the maximum 9 lakh-plus jabs administered on June 25, as per COWIN.
Among the states which gave the highest jabs over this week were Uttar Pradesh at 45 lakh jabs, Madhya Pradesh at 37 lakh, Karnataka at 31 lakh, Maharashtra at 30 lakh, Rajasthan at 28 lakh and Gujarat at 26 lakh jabs. Uttar Pradesh is also closing in on Maharashtra to be the state which has administered the maximum total number of jabs so far and could overtake Maharashtra next week. Uttar Pradesh has so far given nearly 2.99 crore jabs while Maharashtra is slightly ahead at 3.03 crore jabs. While Uttar Pradesh is giving 7-8 lakh jabs daily, Maharashtra is behind at about 5 lakh daily jabs.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | FDA adds warning about rare heart inflammation to Pfizer, Moderna COVID shots
The US drug regulator on Friday added a warning to the literature that accompanies Pfizer Inc BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccine shots to indicate the rare risk of heart inflammation after its use. For each vaccine, the fact sheets for healthcare providers have been revised to include a warning that reports of adverse events suggest increased risks of myocarditis and pericarditis, particularly after the second dose and with onset of symptoms within a few days after vaccination, the FDA said.
As of June 11, more than 1,200 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have been reported to the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), out of about 300 million mRNA vaccine doses administered. The cases appear to be notably higher in males and in the week after the second vaccine dose. The CDC identified 309 hospitalizations from heart inflammation in persons under the age of 30, of which 295 have been discharged.
Health regulators in several countries have been investigating cases of myocarditis and pericarditis, more frequently found in young men, after a shot of Pfizer or Moderna, vaccines that are based on the mRNA technology. The latest update from FDA follows an extensive review of information and the discussion by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on Wednesday.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | SC report claiming Delhi inflated oxygen requirement does not exist: Manish Sisodia
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has hit back at the BJP, saying the Supreme Court-appointed oxygen audit committee has not submitted any report. His comments came after BJP leaders slammed the AAP government, citing the report which allegedly said that Delhi inflated its oxygen requirement by four times during the second COVID-19 wave. Sisodia accused the BJP of lying. "There is no such report. We have spoken to the members of the oxygen audit committee formed by the Supreme Court. They said they have not signed or approved any such report," the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.
He further said that the BJP is presenting a false report that it prepared at its party headquarters. "I challenge them to present such a report which has signatures of the members of the oxygen audit committee," Sisodia said. "By doing this, the BJP is not abusing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, but those who lost their family members due to oxygen shortage when coronavirus cases were at its peak," he said, adding that the Union government's mismanagement "led to the oxygen crisis".
Several senior BJP leaders took to Twitter to slam the government for allegedly exaggerating oxygen needs. Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Hope accountability is fixed for disrupting oxygen supply across India." Addressing a press briefing, BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra said that because of "Arvind Kejriwal's lies, 12 states were affected due to the oxygen supply as the quantity of oxygen had to be cut off from everywhere and sent to Delhi".
As per the report attributed to the SC panel, there was a gross discrepancy (about four times) in oxygen consumption in Delhi. "The actual oxygen consumption claimed by the Delhi government (1,140MT) was about four times higher than the calculated consumption as per the formula based on bed capacity (289 MT),” the report allegedly said. At the peak of the second wave, patients in Delhi struggled for hospital beds and life-saving oxygen. Social media was swamped with desperate requests for hospital beds and oxygen.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Philippines approves emergency use of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin
The Philippines' food and drug agency said on Friday it has approved the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Indian company Bharat Biotech.
Bharat Biotech has received "full emergency use authorisation" for its Covaxin brand after the company completed documentary requirements," Food and Drug Administration chief Rolando Enrique Domingo told a news briefing.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Serum Institute of India begun manufacturing of Novavax vaccine early this week
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII) on June 25 said the vaccine maker has begun the manufacturing of Novavax vaccine in Pune. "Excited to witness the first batch of Covovax (developed by @Novavax) being manufactured this week at our facility in Pune. The vaccine has great potential to protect our future generations below the age of 18. Trials are ongoing," Poonawalla said it a tweet.
SII has partnered with US biotech company Novavax to conduct bridge trials on the jab and manufacture the vaccine not only for India, but for other lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC) through COVAX, the global alliance aimed at accelerating the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. SII will be distributing the vaccine under the brand name Covavax.
The Indian government has indicated that it expects 200 million doses of the Novavax vaccine to be available from August to December. The government is yet to sign any firm order with SII for supply of the vaccine. Novovax has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine had passed the efficacy test with a score of 90.4 percent, meeting the primary target of its pivotal Phase 3 trial, offering another antidote to the coronavirus and its variants.
The protein-based vaccine, called NVX-CoV2373, demonstrated 100 percent protection against moderate and severe forms of viral disease, the US-based biotechnology firm said on June 14. More importantly, the vaccine scored 93.2 percent in efficacy trials on variants of the virus.
NVX-CoV2373 has a good safety profile and requires to be stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius, meaning it can be preserved in household refrigerators as well.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 3 more arrested by Kolkata Police in dubious COVID vaccine camps case
Three more associates of fake IAS officer Debanjan Deb were arrested on Saturday morning in connection with the dubious COVID vaccination camps in Kolkata, a senior police officer said. Two of the associates were signatories of the bank account that was created in the name of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) by the accused, the officer said.
The third person, who was on the payroll of Deb, had actively taken part in the camps where several people were 'inoculated' by spurious vaccines, he said. 'One of them is a resident of Salt Lake, while another is from Barasat. Both were called for questioning before they were arrested,' the officer said. The third person, a resident of Taltala, was arrested after police found him to be 'very active' in helping organising the camps, he said.
Meanwhile, three more cases were registered against Deb at the Kasba police station, the police officer said. 'A private firm which claimed to have given him about Rs 1.2 lakh to get around 172 employees inoculated lodged a complaint at the Kasba police station. Another complaint was lodged by a contractor who claimed to have paid him Rs 90 lakh to get the tender for the construction of a stadium,' he said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | My crime, I fought for breath of 2 crore people, says Arvind Kejriwal over report on 'inflated' oxygen need
In face of the BJP's accusation of "criminal negligence" citing a report that the Delhi government "exaggerated" oxygen requirement during COVID-19 second wave, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said his only "crime" was that he "fought for the breath of two crore people". He also said that those who lost their loved ones due to the shortage of oxygen should not be called "liars".
A sub-group constituted by the Supreme Court to audit oxygen consumption in the national capital's hospitals has said that the Delhi government "exaggerated" consumption of the life-saving gas. The five-member panel, headed by AIIMS director Randeep Guleria, said that during the second wave of COVID-19infections, the Delhi government had made claims for allocation of 700 MT of oxygen on April 30 using a "wrong formula".
After the report came to light, the BJP accused Kejriwal of "heinous crime" and "criminal negligence". In reply to the allegation, Kejriwal took to Twitter to say, "My crime -- I fought for the breath of my two crore people. When you were doing an election rally, I was awake all night arranging for oxygen. I fought, pleaded to get oxygen for people." "People have lost their loved ones due to lack of oxygen. Don't call them liars, they are feeling so bad," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
BJP leaders, including East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir and former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra have slammed the Delhi government over the issue and demanded an apology over what they call is "criminal negligence". BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra termed it a "heinous crime".
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Scientist finds early virus sequences that had been mysteriously deleted
About a year ago, more than 200 data entries from the genetic sequencing of early cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, disappeared from an online scientific database. Now, by rooting through files stored on Google Cloud, a researcher in Seattle reports that he has recovered 13 of those original sequences — intriguing new information for discerning when and how the virus may have spilled over from a bat or another animal into humans.
The new analysis, released Tuesday, bolsters earlier suggestions that a variety of coronaviruses may have been circulating in Wuhan before the initial outbreaks linked to animal and seafood markets in December 2019. As the Biden administration investigates the contested origins of the virus, known as SARS-CoV-2, the study neither strengthens nor discounts the hypothesis that the pathogen leaked out of a famous Wuhan lab. But it does raise questions about why original sequences were deleted, and suggests that there may be more revelations to recover from the far corners of the internet.
“This is a great piece of sleuth work for sure, and it significantly advances efforts to understand the origin of SARS-CoV-2,” said Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the study. Jesse Bloom, a virus expert at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who wrote the new report, called the deletion of these sequences suspicious. It “seems likely that the sequences were deleted to obscure their existence,” he wrote in the paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal.
Bloom and Worobey belong to an outspoken group of scientists who have called for more research into how the pandemic began. In a letter published in May, they complained that there was not enough information to determine whether it was more likely that a lab leak spread the coronavirus, or that it leapt to humans from contact with an infected animal outside of a lab.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | India records 48,698 COVID-19 cases, 1,183 deaths in a day
A single-day rise of 48,698 COVID-19 infections took India's case tally to 3,01,83,143 while the weekly positivity rate declined to 2.97 percent, according to Union Health Ministry data on Saturday. The death toll climbed to 3,94,493 with 1,183 more people succumbing to the viral disease in a day. The number of active cases has further declined to 5,95,565 and now accounts for 1.97 percent of the total infections, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Recoveries outnumbered daily new cases of COVID-19 for the 44th consecutive day with the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surging to 2,91,93,085. The case fatality rate stood at 1.31 percent. While the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.72 percent, the weekly case positivity rate has come down to 2.97 percent.
According to the Health Ministry data, the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.79 percent. It has been less than 5 percent for 19 consecutive days. India administered 61.19 lakh vaccine doses in a day taking the cumulative number of jabs given so far under the nationwide inoculation drive to 31.50 crore, according to immunisation data published at 7 am.
Also, 17,35,781 tests were conducted on Friday for the detection of COVID-19, taking the total number of tests conducted so far in the country to 39,95,68,448. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 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. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore total COVID-19 cases on May 4 this year and three crore on June 23.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | UK reports 35,204 more Delta variant cases, investigates new Lambda variant
The number of Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in the UK have risen by 35,204 since last week to a total of 111,157, representing a 46 per cent increase, health officials said in the weekly report released on Friday. Public Health England (PHE) said of the total Delta variant of concern (VOC) first identified in India 42 belong to the Delta AY.1 sub lineage, dubbed as Delta plus in some quarters over fears of its even greater transmissibility. While the Delta variant now accounts for approximately 95 per cent of cases that are sequenced across the UK, PHE said both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine continue to provide good protection against hospitalisations.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Bangladesh records 2nd highest single-day COVID-19 death toll
Bangladesh is considering imposing a strict nationwide shutdown for 14 days as it reported 108 deaths from coronavirus on Friday, the second highest single-day toll since the pandemic's outbreak in the country, according to health authorities. Health officials said the deadly Delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, has spread to Dhaka, mounting pressure on health facilities in the country's capital. The death toll due to COVID-19 reached 13,976 while the total number of positive cases touched 8,78,804 with 5,869 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to the latest data by the Health Ministry.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 76% people aged 45 years and above received one dose of COVID- 19 vaccine in Mizoram: Official
Seventy-six per cent of people in the age group of 45 years and above have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Mizoram, an official said on Friday. The inoculation drive has been accelerated across the state, amid the second wave of the coronavirus infection, National Health Mission (NHM) Director Dr Eric Zomawia said.
"As many as 76 per cent of people in the age group of 45 years and above have been administered the first dose of Covishield vaccine till Thursday as against the national average of 43 per cent," Zomawia told PTI. The national average for vaccination in the 18-44 years group is 11 per cent, while Mizoram has already immunised 41 per cent of people in this age bracket, he said.
The population size of the 45 years and above category is estimated at around 2.64 lakh in the state and the same in the 18-44 age group is about 5.10 lakh, Zomawia said. The state now has "enough stock of vaccine", and 82,220 more doses are expected to arrive here by next week, he said. "With the arrival of 82,220 vials, we will have a stock of over 1.6 lakh doses by next week," the official said. State Immunisation Officer Dr Lalzawmi said 4.59 lakh people have been inoculated with 53,960 of them having received both doses of the vaccine.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Mumbai to remain in level 3 of COVID-19 curbs
Mumbai will continue to be in category 3 of the Maharashtra government's five-level unlock plan that seeks to ease coronavirus-induced curbs as per infection positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy numbers, the BMC said. While announcing the decision, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also said the metropolis has had an average positivity rate of 3.96 per cent and oxygen bed occupancy of 23.04 per cent over the last two weeks.
The decision came hours after the state government amended its five-level unlock plan implemented earlier this month and announced state-level trigger for imposing restrictions in administrative units irrespective of weekly positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy percentage. State-level trigger means that irrespective of the weekly positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy, level 3 restrictions will continue in administrative units till the district disaster management authority takes a call to withdraw them, according to a state government notification.
The state's move was driven by detection of cases of the Delta plus variant of COVID-19, considered highly infectious, in Maharashtra. Delta plus cases have been found in Ratnagiri, Jalgaon and some other districts of the state, requiring stricter curbs, the notification said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | EU okays new J&J COVID vaccine production site
The European Medicines Agency has approved a new manufacturing site for Johnson & Johnson''s COVID-19 vaccine, in a move that should boost production of the one-dose vaccine across the 27-nation EU. In a statement Friday, the EU drug regulator said the new site in Anagni, Italy, will finish manufacturing of the J&J vaccine, which was licensed for use in adults across Europe in March.
Production problems have stalled J&J''s roll-out across the European Union in recent months and millions of doses made at a U.S. factory had to be thrown out after contamination issues. The EU has ordered 200 million doses of the J&J vaccine and was expecting 55 million by the end of June; to date, fewer than 14 million doses have been distributed.
J&J''s vaccine roll-out was also stalled after the EMA concluded there was a “possible link” between the coronavirus shot and very rare blood clots and recommended that a warning should be added to the label. Health officials say the vaccine''s benefits still far outweigh the risks.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | US to provide 3 million doses of J&J COVID vaccine to Afghanistan
The White House says it will provide Afghanistan with 3 million doses of Johnson & Johnson''s COVID-19 vaccine to help with a coronavirus outbreak fuelled by the delta variant. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre made the announcement aboard Air Force One on Thursday as President Joe Biden flew to Raleigh, North Carolina, to encourage Americans to get vaccinated. The announcement also came a day before Biden meets with Afghanistan''s leaders at the White House on Friday.
Jean-Pierre says the Johnson & Johnson vaccines — only one shot is required — could be shipped as soon as next week. The U.S. is also providing oxygen and other supplies to Afghanistan. The 3 million doses are part of an overall donation of 55 million doses to the world that the White House announced earlier this week.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Delta variant is "most transmissible" identified so far: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization said the COVID-19 delta variant, first seen in India, is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far,” and warned it is now spreading in at least 85 countries. At a press briefing on Friday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the lack of vaccines in poor countries was exacerbating the delta variant's transmission.
He described a recent meeting he attended of an advisory group established to allocate vaccines. “They were disappointed because there is no vaccine to allocate,” he said, criticizing rich countries for declining to immediately share shots with the developing world. “If there is no vaccine, what do you share?” Tedros said the global community was failing and risked repeating the mistakes made during the AIDS crisis decades ago and during the 2009 swine flu pandemic — when vaccines only arrived in poor countries after the outbreak ended.
“It took 10 years (for antiretrovirals) to reach the low income countries after (HIV) was already rampant in high income countries,” he said. “Do we want to repeat the same thing?” COVAX, the U.N.-backed effort aiming to distribute vaccines to poor countries, has missed several targets to share COVID-19 shots, and its biggest supplier is not expected to export any vaccines until the end of the year.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crosses 31 crore
India's cumulative Covid Vaccination Coverage has crossed 31 crore, according to a provisional report, the Union health ministry said on Friday. The new phase of universalisation of vaccination started from June 21, and over 60 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Friday, the report stated. On Friday, over 35.9 lakh people received their first dose and 77,664 their second dose in the age group of 18-44 years, the ministry said.
Cumulatively, over 7.87 crore people in this age-group across the country have received their first dose and more than 17.09 lakh their second dose since the start of Phase-3 of the vaccination drive, it said. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have administered to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries in the 18-44 years group their first dose of Covid vaccine, the ministry said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Gujarat sees 123 COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths; 431 recover
Gujarat on Friday reported 123 COVID-19 cases and three deaths, taking the tally to 8,23,010 and the toll to 10,045, while 431 people recovered during the day, an official said. The state's recovery count stands at 8,08,849, which is 98.28 per cent of the overall caseload, leaving it with 4,116 active cases, including 38 patients on ventilator support, he said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Just give us the vaccines, WHO pleads, as poor countries go wanting
Rich countries are opening up societies and vaccinating young people who are not at great risk from COVID-19, while the poorest countries cruelly lack doses, the World Health Organization said on Friday, condemning a global failure. The situation in Africa, where new infections and deaths jumped by nearly 40% last week compared to the previous week, is "so dangerous" as the Delta variant spreads globally, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
"Our world is failing, as the global community we are failing," he told a news conference. Tedros, who is Ethiopian, chastised unnamed countries for reluctance to share doses with low-income countries. He compared it to the HIV/AIDS crisis, when some argued that African nations were unable to use complicated treatments.
"I mean that attitude has to be a thing of the past," Tedros said. "The problem now is a supply problem, just give us the vaccines." "The difference is between the haves and the have nots which is now completely exposing the unfairness of our world - the injustice, the inequality, let's face it," he said. Many developing countries are much better than industrialised countries in carrying out mass vaccination of their populations against infectious diseases from cholera to polio, WHO's top emergency expert Mike Ryan said.
