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Coronavirus LATEST News and Updates: Uttar Pradesh reported 196 more Covid-related fatalities as the death toll due to the viral disease rose to 19,712, while the infection tally reached 16,80,684 with 3,371 fresh cases, officials said on Wednesday. Maharashtra recorded 24,752 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the state’s infection tally to 56,50,907, while 453 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 91,341, the health department said. Mumbai reported 34 fresh fatalities due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, the lowest single-day death count after April 13, while the caseload crossed the 7-lakh mark with the addition of 1,362 new infections, the city civic body said. In a major goof-up, health workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district administered Covaxin to 20 villagers who had been given Covishield in the first dose. Kerala on Wednesday recorded 28,798 fresh COVID-19 cases, while 35,525 people were cured and 2,48,526 people are undergoing treatment for the infection, the government said. The toll mounted to 7,882 with the addition of 151 more deaths. Continuing to witness a decline in daily fresh infections, Telangana on Wednesday clocked 3,762 new COVID-19 cases taking the tally to over 5.63 lakh, while the toll stood at 3,189 with 20 more deaths. A Lancet panel of experts on India on Wednesday proposed central systems for the procurement and distribution of free Covid vaccines, part of an eight-point charter of recommendations to curtail the loss of life and suffering caused by the coronavirus resurgence in the country. Gujarat reported 3,255 new COVID-19 cases and 44 deaths on Tuesday taking the total toll to 9,665. As per the state government, movement will be restricted from 9 pm to 6 am in 36 cities from Friday Adding that state governments are unable to procure vaccine doses from international market, the Delhi CM said it was the job of the Centre “to procure the doses and it is our job to inoculate the people and we will do it.” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the manufacturers of Sputnik V have agreed to supply the Russian anti-Covid vaccine to Delhi but its quantity is yet to be decided. The goods and services tax (GST) fitment panel, comprising officers from the Centre and some states, has recommended a short-term rate cut on four COVID-19 related items, according to the detailed agenda note for the upcoming Council meeting. A PIL has urged the Delhi High Court to direct the Centre, Delhi government and municipal corporations to ensure that electric or CNG crematoriums are installed in different parts of the national capital in view of the large number of people succumbing to COVID-19 daily. A study involving 69 healthcare workers at Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, who tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated, found that the B.1.617.2 variant was detected in 48 percent of their samples, according to reports. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Delhi has reported around 620 cases of black fungus so far and further flagged a shortage of the Amphoterin-B injection to treat it. India reported 2,08,921 new COVID-19 cases and 4,157 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this the country’s overall caseload has risen to 2,71,57,795, while the death toll is presently at 3,11,388. According to latest data released by the Union Health Ministry, the country’s active caseload has declined to 24.95 lakh.India conducted 22.17 lakh tests on Monday, the highest number of tests conducted in a single day. Around 600 cases of black fungus have been reported in Delhi so far, with under 100 cases being recorded on 24 and 25 May each. Meanwhile, the Centre said over 1.77 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are available with states and union territories, and they will receive one lakh more within the next three days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the pandemic is the worst crisis that humanity has faced in decades, adding that vaccines are of utmost importance in the fight against the deadly virus. The coronavirus variant first detected in India has now been officially recorded in 53 territories, a World Health Organization report showed. On a day when India’s daily count of coronavirus cases in the country fell below the 2-lakh mark after over a month, a report by CRISIL suggested that India may be already past the peak of its second wave. India also crossed a major landmark with more than 20 crore cumulative vaccine doses administered so far, however, the overall rate of inoculation remained lower than the previous weeks. The active caseload has been trending downward for the second week in a row as daily cases declined 22 percent sequentially in the week ended 23 May, which is faster than the 15 percent fall the week before, CRISIL said in its report. This means that the infections may have crossed the peak on 6 May, when the country had reported 4.14 lakh cases. Daily new cases now average 2.5 lakh, down from 3.3 lakh in the week ended 16 May. Today the country reported 1,96,427 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,69,48,874, while the death toll rose to 3,07,231 with 3,511 fresh fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The daily COVID-19 positivity rate has reduced and now stands at 9.54 percent, while the single-day recoveries continue to outnumber the new cases for the 12th consecutive day, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The active COVID-19 caseload has also reduced to 25,86,782 with a net decline of 1,33,934 cases being witnessed in a span of 24 hours. It now accounts for 9.60 percent of the country’s total infections. The active cases have decreased since its last peak on 10 May. Taking together the decline in new infections, positivity rate and active cases, coupled with improving recovery rate, the country may have crossed the peak of the second wave on 6 May, the report said. However, states like Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Assam are still under a strong viral grip, on the other hand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan have seen the sharpest declines, it added. With 34,867 cases reported in the past 24 hours, Tamil Nadu is leading the state list. It is followed by Maharashtra with 22,122 new infections. Karnataka reported 25,311 cases, Kerala 17,821 and Andhra Pradesh 12,994 cases. The case count was 17,883 for West Bengal. The six most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (5,602,019), Karnataka (2,450,215), Kerala (2,365,787), Tamil Nadu (1,877,211), Uttar Pradesh (1,673,785), and Andhra Pradesh (1,593,821). The daily vaccination numbers, however, continue on a downward spiral as distribution bottlenecks and vaccine unavailability stop states from ramping up the inoculation drive. Daily jabs plunge over 35%: CRISIL report The daily vaccination has come down to 980 per million people as of May 23, down from 1,455 per million a week earlier and against the world average of 3,564 per million, according to a report by CRISIL. With the vaccine availability remaining a national bottleneck, the pace of vaccination has been steeply falling and as of 23 May, daily vaccinations have come down to a low of 980 per million people from 1,455 per million a week earlier, down over 35 percent. The world average is 3,564 per million, the report said. Though Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi have vaccinated the highest proportion of their population among the respective groups, the pace of vaccination has declined further in May in these states. Vaccination will further slow down as the availability of the vaccine is going to take time. The CRISIL reports comes on a day when India crossed a major landmark with more than 20 crore cumulative vaccine doses administered so far. A total of 20,04,94,991 vaccine doses have been administered through 28,41,151 sessions, according to a provisional report prepared at 7 pm on Tuesday. These include 1,28,74,546 beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years across 37 States/UTs since the start of Phase-3 of the vaccination drive. Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have administered more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years for their first dose of COVID vaccine. According to the ministry data, 12.82 Lakh vaccination doses were administered in the 18-44 age group in a span of 24 hours. Moderna unable to supply jabs before 2022; Pfizer wants further relaxation in govt rules At a time when the global tenders floated by most states to procure vaccine have failed to yield results, reports suggest that the government’s plans to procure Moderna and Pfizer shots may still be a distant shot and is unlikely to solve the immediate shortage of jabs. Moderna is expecting to launch a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in India only by next year and is in talks with Cipla among other Indian firms, while another US giant Pfizer is ready to offer 5 crore shots in 2021 itself but it wants significant regulatory relaxations including indemnification, sources told PTI on Tuesday. While Moderna has conveyed to Indian authorities that it does not have surplus vaccines to share in 2021, there are limited prospects of Johnson & Johnson exporting its jabs from the US to other countries in the near future, the sources privy to discussions added. Two rounds of high-level meetings chaired by the Cabinet Secretary were held last week on the availability of vaccines in the global as well as domestic markets as it was felt that there is an urgent need to procure the jabs at a time the country is reeling under an unprecedented second wave of COVID-19 and a widening gap between supply and requirement. Currently, the country is using two ‘made-in India’ jabs, Covishield and Covaxin, to inoculate its billion-plus population and has administered 20 crore doses since launching the world’s largest vaccination drive in mid-January. A third vaccine, Russian-made Sputnik V, has been approved by the government and is being used on a smaller scale at present. According to a source, for the supply of vaccines to India, Pfizer has asked for indemnification from the Government of India and a document in this regard has been received from Pfizer Inc. Further, Pfizer has also sought certain relaxations in the regulatory regime, including relaxation in the requirement of post-approval bridging trials and dispensing the requirement of testing their vaccines in CDL (Central Drugs Laboratory). As per the information furnished by Pfizer, around 116 countries in the world including the USA have signed the indemnification document. Further, considering that over 14.7 crore doses of Pfizer had been administered worldwide without any significant reports of adverse effects, a view needs to be taken to indemnify the company in order to supplement the availability of vaccines in India, officials discussed at one recent meeting. More children infected with COVID, no need for panic but important to vaccinate: experts More children are testing positive in the second COVID-19 wave but the infection is mostly mild and the mortality rate low, say experts, citing increased testing and enhanced understanding of symptoms as among the possible reasons for the rising graph. Though there is enough anecdotal evidence of COVID-19 catching children early teens and younger there is little reason to panic, said several doctors and scientists. They also stressed on the urgent need to vaccinate children to stem the spread of the infection. There is a general increase or shift in infection numbers towards children and younger groups as compared to older people, agreed virologist Upasana Ray. This could be because the virus had already infected more of the older age groups last year, leading to the development of immunity in those who recovered from various degrees of the infection. Eventually, this age group was prioritised for getting vaccinated as well which added to the pool of elderly individuals with immunity against this virus, Ray, from Kolkata’s CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, told PTI. In Ray’s view, in the present COVID-19 surge, the virus is infecting those to whom it has more access due to lack of immunity, that is, younger people. Children account for about 3-4 percent of hospital admissions, in both India and the rest of the world, Niti Aayog (health) member VK Paul said recently. ‘Maybe re-look advisory barring repeat of RTPCR on COVID positive patients’ The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suggested to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that it may need to re-look its recent advisory which said RTPCR must not be repeated on an individual who tested positive by either Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) or RTPCR. Justice Rekha Palli asked the counsel for ICMR to take instructions on the issue saying “maybe you need to re-look your advisory”. The suggestion by the court came while hearing a plea by a lawyer who has challenged the advisory as due to it, neither he nor his family members could get tested again after spending more than 17 days in quarantine from 28 April when they first tested positive. The lawyer told the court that without a COVID negative report the civil defense guards outside his residence were not permitting him to go out for even basic essential items and when he tried to get tested at a lab, they declined to test him due to the 4 May advisory of ICMR. The petitioner has contended that the May 4 advisory was “arbitrary, discriminatory and creates a paradoxical situation since a negative RTPCR report is compulsorily required by several other notifications issued by the respondents (Centre, ICMR and Delhi government)”. He has sought striking down of the clause in the advisory which bars repeating of an RTPCR test on someone who has already tested positive. The petition also seeks directions to the Delhi government to permit testing of the petitioner and his parents. No home isolation to be allowed in 18 Maharashtra districts with high positivity rate The Maharashtra government has decided to stop home quarantining of COVID-19 patients in 18 of the total 36 districts of the state which have reported high positivity rates, and all active patients in these areas would be admitted to COVID Care Centers, health minister Rajesh Tope said here on Tuesday. The districts of Satara, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Osmanabad, Beed, Raigad, Pune, Hingoli, Akola, Amravati, Kolhapur, Thane, Sangli, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Latur have above-average positivity rates, as per the health department data. Ordinarily, asymptomatic patients or those who have mild symptoms of coronavirus infection are advised home isolation. The state has 3,27,000 active COVID-19 cases and the recovery rate has improved to 93 percent. The case positivity rate – proportion of positive cases in tested samples – is around 12 percent while the case fatality rate is 1.5 percent, Tope told reporters here. But the positivity rate in 18 districts is higher than the state average, he said. Bharat Biotech expects EUL from WHO for Covaxin in July- September Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said it expects approval for its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin from the World Health Organisation for Emergency Use Listing between July and September. The company said regulatory approvals for Covaxin are in process in more than 60 countries, including the USA, Brazil and Hungary, among others. “Application for EUL has been submitted to WHO-Geneva. Regulatory approvals are expected July-September 2021,” it said in a release. Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a procedure to streamline the process by which new or unlicensed products can be used during public health emergencies, according to WHO guidelines. The latest ‘Status of COVID-19 Vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process guidance document dated May 18 on the WHO website said Bharat Biotech submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) on April 19 and that “more information required”. A pre-submission meeting is expected “to be planned May-June 2021,” the WHO website said. Sources had earlier indicated that Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) has conveyed to the Centre that it has already submitted 90 percent of documents to WHO for obtaining EUL for Covaxin. The remaining documents are expected to be submitted by June, the city-based vaccine maker reportedly had told the Central Government during a discussion on obtaining WHOs authorisation for EUL for Covaxin. The city-based vaccine maker said it has got EUA in 13 countries with more to follow. With inputs from PTI
Coronavirus Updates: Uttar Pradesh reports 196 deaths, 3,371 new cases; caseload now 16.8 lakh
Coronavirus LATEST News and Updates: Kushinagar reported the maximum deaths at 18, followed by Varanasi (14), Jhansi (12), Lucknow (11) and Kanpur and Meerut (10 each), the state government said in a statement
 "Coronavirus Updates: Uttar Pradesh reports 196 deaths, 3,371 new cases; caseload now 16.8 lakh")
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Five fresh COVID-19 deaths in Noida, 3 in Ghaziabad
Five more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar, pushing its death toll to 428, while another three fatalities raised neighbouring Ghaziabad’s count to 424 on Wednesday, official data showed.
Together, the two western UP districts adjoining Delhi have a death toll of 852, according to data released by the state’s Health Department for a 24-hour period.
In terms of new cases, Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 150 more infections during the period. The district now has an overall case tally of 62,001 and 2,398 active cases, it showed. Ghaziabad logged 228 new cases with its tally reaching 54,583 on Wedneday. The district has 2,043 active cases, the data showed.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
ICMR to examine effectiveness of Covishield and Covaxin
In the first of its kind study since the launch of the AstraZeneca’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will conduct a survey from next week to examine the effectiveness of these vaccines in preventing progression of COVID into a severe form.
Around 4,000 people above the age of 45 years who have taken either one or both doses of any of these two vaccines will be reviewed, according to Dr Tarun Bhatnagar, senior scientist at ICMR’s National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) in Chennai.
“As a part of the study we will take people who are COVID-19 positive and hospitalised and compare their vaccination status with those who have tested COVID negative,” Bhatnagar told PTI.
“The aim is to assess how effective vaccination is in preventing progression of the disease into a severe form,” he said.
Noting that this is first of its kind study since the launch of these vaccines in the country and used in India’s inoculation drive, Bhatnagar said the survey is expected to be undertaken from next week.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Chhattisgarh reports 2,829 new COVID-19 cases, 56 deaths
Chhattisgarh’s coronavirus infection count rose to 9,59,544 on Wednesday with the addition of 2,829 cases, while the death toll mounted by 56 to 12,779, an official said.
The number of recoveries reached 8,93,258 after a total of 997 people were discharged from various hospitals, while 4,100 others completed their home isolation during the day. The number of active cases in the state stands at 53,480, he said.
Raipur district reported 101 new cases, taking the caseload to 1,55,405, including 3,082 deaths. Surguja recorded 240 new cases, Raigarh 216 and Korea 210, among other districts, the official said. As 60,171 samples were tested on Wednesday, the number of tests conducted in the state went up to 88,32,486.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
26,811 new cases, 530 deaths reported in Karnataka
Karnataka on Wednesday reported 26,811 new cases of COVI-19 and 530 more deaths, taking the total number of infections to 24,99,784 and toll to 26,929, the health department said. The day also saw 40,741 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases.
Of the new cases reported on Wednesday, 6,433 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 18,342 discharges and 285 deaths. As of May 26 evening, cumulatively 24,99,784 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 26,929 deaths and 20,62,910 discharges, the Health department said in its bulletin.
The total number of active cases in the state stood at 4,09,924. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 19.48 percent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 1.97 percent.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Our vaccine highly effective on COVID-19 variant prevalent in India, suitable for 12 yrs and above: Pfizer to Govt
Seeking a fast-track approval for its COVID-19 vaccine, US major Pfizer has told Indian authorities that its jab has shown “high effectiveness” against the SARS-CoV-2 variant prevalent in India and on people of Indian ethnicity or nationality, while it is suitable for everyone aged 12 years or above and can be stored for a month at 2-8 degrees, sources said on Wednesday.
Pfizer, which is ready to offer 5 crore doses to India between July and October this year and has sought certain relaxations including indemnification, has held a series of interactions with the Indian government authorities recently including one this week, during which it shared the most recent data points regarding efficacy trials and approvals for its vaccine in various countries and by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“The current situation in India, and across the world, is not business as usual’ and we must not respond to it with processes as usual too,” a source quoted Pfizer as having communicated to the Indian government.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Nagaland logs 260 new COVID-19 cases, 12 more deaths
Nagaland’s coronavirus caseload on Wednesday rose to 20,795 with detection of 260 fresh cases. “260 +ve cases of COVID-19 reported today. Dimapur-117, Kohima-98, Mokokchung-15, Phek-12, Zunheboto-8, Wokha-5, Kiphire-4, Peren-1. 131 +ve patients have recovered. Dimapur-46, Kohima-29, Zunheboto-Kiphire-14 each, Mokokchung- 11, Phek-7, Wokha-5, Mon-Peren-2 each, Longleng-1,” said Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom in a tweet.
The caseload includes 14,929 recovered persons and 4,923 active patients, he said.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Punjab records 4,124 fresh COVID-19 cases, 186 more deaths
Punjab’s COVID-19 caseload surged to 5,52,235 on Wednesday as 4,124 more people tested positive for the disease while the death toll climbed to 13,827 with 186 more fatalities, according to a medical bulletin. Of the latest deaths, 20 each were reported from Ludhiana and Patiala, 15 from Sangrur and 14 each from Amritsar, Bathinda and Fazilka, the bulletin stated.
Ludhiana reported the highest number of fresh cases at 438, followed by 385 in Bathinda, 337 in Jalandhar and 318 in Mansa, it said. The number of active cases dropped to 50,549 from 53,127 on Tuesday. The state’s positivity rate stands at 5.44 per cent, the bulletin said.
There are 354 critical patients who are on ventilator support, 942 other critical patients and 6,007 patients on oxygen support, it said.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Uttar Pradesh reports 196 more deaths, 3,371 fresh cases
Uttar Pradesh reported 196 more Covid-related fatalities as the death toll due to the viral disease rose to 19,712, while the infection tally reached 16,80,684 with 3,371 fresh cases, officials said on Wednesday.
Kushinagar reported the maximum deaths at 18, followed by Varanasi (14), Jhansi (12), Lucknow (11) and Kanpur and Meerut (10 each), the state government said in a statement. Of the fresh cases, Ghaziabad reported 228, followed by Meerut (212) and Gorakhpur (162).
In the last 24 hours, 10,540 COVID-19 patients recovered from the disease and were discharged taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 15,98,701. The count of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 62,271, the statement said.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Govt looking into securing part of J&J vaccines for Indian market
Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to be manufactured in India by Biological E cannot be directly channelled to the domestic market and will have to be handed over entirely to the US pharma giant as agreed by the firms but the government is looking at the possibility of securing a part of this production, sources said.
Hyderabad-based Biological E has, however, proposed to manufacture about 30 crore doses of its indigenous vaccine exclusively for the Indian market by December and has sought “funding support” from the government. Its vaccine candidate is currently in phase 1/2 clinical trial phase.
According to the sources, there are limited prospects of J&J exporting its vaccine from the US to other countries in the near future and the “entire production” at the BE facilities in India, beginning July/August, will be handed over to the pharma giant under a contract between the companies.
-PTI
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
6 black fungus cases reported in Himachal Pradesh
Six cases of black fungus or mucormycosis have been detected in Himachal Pradesh so far, officials said on Wednesday.
The state’s first case was reported on May 20 from Hamirpur district. Black fungus was detected near the nose of a woman from the district’s Khagar area, they said. Three other cases were reported from Kangra and two from Solan, the officials said.
Mucormycosis is caused by a group of moulds known as mucormycetes present naturally in the environment. It spreads through the nose and affects other parts of the body such as the eyes.
People whose immunity has been weakened due to Covid, diabetes, kidney disease, liver or cardiac disorders, age-related issues, or those on medication for auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to contract mucormycosis.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Maharashtra reports 24,752 COVID-19 cases, 453 deaths
Maharashtra recorded 24,752 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the state’s infection tally to 56,50,907, while 453 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 91,341, the health department said. Out of the 453 deaths, 323 occurred in the last 48 hours and 130 during the last week, it said.
The state also added another 539 deaths to the cumulative figure due to updating of fatality counts by various civic bodies and districts. Hence, the overall death toll went up by 992 compared to Tuesday, the department said. After a gap of a couple of weeks, the state witnessed more new coronavirus cases than daily recoveries.
As many as 23,065 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the tally of recoveries to 52,41,833, the department said.
Maharashtra’s active cases stood at 3,15,042, it said. The state’s COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 92.76 per cent, while the case fatality rate was 1.62 per cent, the department said. As many as 2,83,394 people were tested for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the number of samples examined so far in the state to 3,38,24,959, it said.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Jammu and Kashmir records 40 new Covid deaths, 3,037 new cases
Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday recorded 3,037 fresh Covid cases, taking the infection count to 2,78,859, while 40 more deaths in the past 24 hours pushed the toll 3,702 in the Union Territory, officials said.
Out of the fresh cases, 1,089 were from the Jammu division and 1,948 from the Kashmir division, they said. Srinagar district recorded the highest of 493 cases, followed by 445 in Jammu district and 260 in Baramulla district.
The number of active cases has dropped to 43,892 in the Union Territory, while 2,31,265 patients have recovered so far, the officials said. The toll due to the disease rose to 3,702 as 40 more patients died in the past 24 hours.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Gujarat records 3,085 new COVID-19 cases, 36 deaths
Gujarat on Wednesday recorded 3,085 new COVID-19 cases and 36 fatalities that raised the tally of infections to 7,97,997 and the toll to 9,701, an official from the state health department said.
At 10,007, the number of daily recoveries crossed the 10,000-mark for the first time since April 30, taking the total number of such cases to 7,32,748, the official said. The state now has 55,548 active cases, of which 594 patients are on ventilators, he said.
With 526 new infections, Vadodara overtook Ahmedabad district to report the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state. Surat followed with 399 cases, Ahmedabad with 378 cases, Junagadh reported 212, Rajkot 183 and Jamnagar 91, the official said.
Apart from this, Surat reported seven fatalities, the highest in the state, followed by Ahmedabad with six, Vadodara with five and Junagadh one, he said.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
JEE-Advanced postponed due to COVID-19 situation
The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced scheduled for July 3 has been postponed in view of the COVID-19 situation, according to officials at IIT-Kharagpur, the institute which is conducting the exam this year, reports PTI.
The exam is conducted for admission to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology.
“Considering the prevailing pandemic situation due to COVID-19, JEE (Advanced) 2021 which was scheduled to be held on July 3 stands postponed. The revised date of examination will be announced at an appropriate time,” an official said.
For the JEE-Advanced, the JEE-Mains is considered as a qualifying exam and it is conducted for admission to engineering colleges across the country.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Vaccine mix-up: 20 UP villagers get wrong 2nd dose of vaccine
In a major goof-up, health workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district administered Covaxin to 20 villagers who had been given Covishield in the first dose.
The incident has been reported from the primary health centre in Barhni where people from Audahi Kala and another village received Covaxin shots on May 14.
Chief Medical Officer Sandip Chaudhary on Wednesday said he has ordered an inquiry into the matter and assured stern action against those found responsible for this negligence.
He said that no one has yet reported any health complaints and a health department team has already met them.
The incident came to light when one of the villagers, Ram Surat, brought to the notice of the health workers that he received different vaccines in the first and the second dose.
Accepting the shortcoming on the part of the health workers, the CMO said 20 people have been administered a mix-up of vaccines and the medical teams are keeping a close watch on them.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Mumbai logs lowest death count since April 13 at 34
Mumbai reported 34 fresh fatalities due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, the lowest single-day death count after April 13, while the caseload crossed the 7-lakh mark with the addition of 1,362 new infections, the city civic body said.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s updated data, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 7,01,266 with the addition of 1,362 cases in the last 24 hours, while the death toll jumped to 14,742 after 34 more patients succumbed to the infection.
On April 13, Mumbai had reported 26 fatalities.
In the last 36 days, the city has added 1 lakh coronavirus cases to its tally. The financial capital had crossed the 6-lakh case mark on April 21, 2021.
Mumbai’s daily COVID-19 cases increased by 305, while the death toll dipped by 14 as compared to Tuesday, when the city had witnessed 1057 new cases and 48 deaths.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Nashik district sees 1,093 new COVID-19 cases, 35 deaths
Nashik district in Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 1,093 fresh coronavirus positive cases and 35 fatalities, taking the tally to 3,82,213 and the toll to 4,514, officials said.
A total of 1,061 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, raising the count of recoveries in Nashik district so far to 3,63,302, they said.
With 15.043 new tests, the number of samples tested so far in Nashik district rose to 15,80,832, officials added.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
India becomes second county to reach 20 crore vaccination coverage after US
The cumulative number of coronavirus vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 20 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. India became the second country after the US to achieve this coverage in just 130 days. America took 124 days to reach the 20 crore mark.
According to data available on Our World In Data and multiple sources, other leading countries in COVID-19 vaccination drive include the UK which has reached 5.1 crore mark in 168 days, Brazil that reached 5.9 crore mark in 128 days, and Germany which reached 4.5 crore mark in 149 days.
On the 130th day of the drive, the cumulative COVID vaccination coverage crossed the 20 crore mark (with 20,06,62,456 doses including 15,71,49,593 first dose and 4,35,12,863 second dose of COVID-19 vaccines), according to data available at 7 AM," the ministry said.
Over 34 percent of the population above 45 years has received at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in India till date. Similarly, over 42 percent of 60+ years of the population in India has received at least first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the ministry said.
India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Sri Lanka to end travel ban on inbound travellers; restrictions on India arrivals remain
Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced the lifting of its temporary travel ban on inbound travellers from June 1, except for passengers who spent time in India during the last 14 days.
All incoming flights, however, will be limited to a maximum of 75 passengers and they will be subjected to a 14 day quarantine period.
“Any passenger with a travel history to India including transit in the past 14 days will not be permitted to arrive,” the civil aviation office said in a statement.
Foreign nationals, seafarers, businessmen, investors and others are required to obtain approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enter the island along with the entry visa.
Coronavirus LATEST Updates
Shortage of Amphotericin B in Indore as ‘black fungus’ cases rise
Amid the rising number of cases of mucormycosis or ‘black fungus’, Indore is grappling with a shortage of key Amphotericin-B injection used in its treatment.
The situation can be gauged from the fact that only 100 doses of this anti-fungal drug were distributed among 218 patients admitted to 23 private hospitals in the city while the need was much higher, an official of the Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College told PTI.
On Tuesday, 23 private hospitals could get only 50 doses of Amphotericin-B for 221 patients admitted there.
Usually, four to six doses of Amphotericin-B are to be administered on the first day of treatment to black fungus patients. After that, three to four doses are needed every day for the next 10-days, said Dr Ravi Dosi, head, Chest Diseases Department in Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS).
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MK Stalin takes a swipe at Centre over vaccine supply
Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday hit out at the Centre over-allocation of vaccines to states and said not only Tamil Nadu but several states faced constraints and to tackle the situation, the government has gone in for global bids to procure vaccines.
The state government has been continuously requesting the Centre to increase the allocation of vaccines and as of now, an inventory of 3,14,000 vaccine doses meant for the 45-plus age group is available, he said.
For the 18-44 age group people, 12.85 lakh vaccine doses have been received and 11.50 lakh doses would be arriving and work is on at full swing to vaccinate high-risk category people and workers of large industries, he said. The purchase of vaccine for those in 18-44 age bracket is done by the state government.
As regards supply of adequate doses of vaccines to states by the Centre, he told reporters that not only Tamil Nadu, but several states faced constraints. Only to tackle this situation, Tamil Nadu has floated global tenders for the procurement of vaccines.
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Centre says mixing COVID-19 vaccines a possibility, foreign studies make a strong case
In India, the Centre has said that vaccine mixing is theoretically possible, but there isn’t enough evidence to back up this idea and execute it in the real world.
Niti Aayog member VK Paul told Hindustan Times, “It is plausible. But there need to be more studies. It can’t be said definitively that mixing of doses can be practiced. There is no robust scientific evidence. Only time will tell whether it will be done in the future or not. It will depend on international studies, World Health Organisation findings, etc. Our experts are also continuously studying.”
“One shot of one type produces antibodies, and the second shot from another (vaccine manufacturer) will increase that. Scientifically, there is no problem,” Paul added.
However, India doesn’t intend to carry out any studies to check the feasibility of mixing two vaccine doses.
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Telangana logs 3,762 new COVID-19 cases, 3,816 recoveries, 20 deaths
Continuing to witness a decline in daily fresh infections, Telangana on Wednesday clocked 3,762 new COVID-19 cases taking the tally to over 5.63 lakh, while the toll stood at 3,189 with 20 more deaths. The total number of cumulative cases in the state stood at5,63,903 and with3,816being cured, the total recoveries were at5,22,082.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 528, followed by Rangareddy (229) and Nalgonda (218), a government bulletin said. The state has 38,632 active cases and over 91 thousand samples were tested.
Telangana Public Health Director G Srinivasa Raotold a press conference that a downward trend is being witnessed in the daily cases and by next month the situation will ease.
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Kerala logs 28,798 new COVID-19 cases, 151 deaths
Kerala on Wednesday recorded 28,798 fresh COVID-19 cases, while 35,525 people were cured and 2,48,526 people are undergoing treatment for the infection, the government said. The toll mounted to 7,882 with the addition of 151 more deaths.
While the caseload mounted to 23,94,363, the total number of recoveries has reached 21,67,596, it said. As many as 1,44,372 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, and the test positivity rate was 19.95 percent. So far, 1,91,68,987 samples have been sent for testing.
Malappuram reported the highest number of cases – 4751- today, Ernakulam 3444, Palakkad 3038 and Kollam 2886. Of those infected today, 91 are health workers, 184 people had come from outside the state and 28,860 were infected through contact.
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Four-time Assam MLA dies of post-COVID complications
Four-time Gossaigaon MLA Majendra Narzary died due to post-COVID complications at a state-run hospital here on Wednesday, its doctors said. The Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF) leader was 68 and is survived by his wife and four children.
The Assam government said the opposition MLA’s last rites will be conducted with full state honours. He had represented the Gossaigaon constituency in Kokrajhar district since 2006 and defeated his nearest rival of UPPL’s Somnath Narzary by over 10,000 votes in the recently concluded assembly polls.
Narzary was admitted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital after getting infected with COVID-19 and subsequently tested negative but his condition deteriorated due to comorbidities, Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said. Mahanta had visited the MLA at the hospital on Tuesday night after he was put on ventilator support.
-PTI
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Lancet panel gives 8 recommendations for COVID-19 management
A Lancet panel of experts on India on Wednesday proposed central systems for the procurement and distribution of free Covid vaccines, part of an eight-point charter of recommendations to curtail the loss of life and suffering caused by the coronavirus resurgence in the country.
The Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System, which comprises 21 experts including virologist Gagandeep Kang and Narayana Hrudalaya chairperson Devi Shetty, was launched in December last year.
In an article published in the British medical journal, the commission put forward eight urgent recommendations for the Centre and state governments. These include a transparent pricing policy and cash transfers by the state to workers in the informal sector.
Among the key points is the establishment of central systems to procure and distribute COVID-19 vaccines free of cost, a departure from the current policy of decentralised procurement through state governments.
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Andhra Pradesh logs 18,285 new cases, 24,105 recoveries, 99 deaths
Andhra Pradesh saw a record 24,105 persons recovering from Covid-19 in a day even as 18,285 fresh infections were recorded on Wednesday. Also, 99 more fatalities were reported in the 24 hours ending 9 am today, the latest bulletin said.
The state Covid-19 chart now showed 16,27,390 total infections, 14,24,859 recoveries and 10,427 deaths so far. Active coronavirus cases in the state dropped further to 1,92,104. Showing a declining trend for over a week now, the prevailing infection positivity rate stood at 20 percent, down from 25.
The recovery rate is now 87.5 percent while the mortality rate remained stable at 0.64 percent. East Godavari district’s Covid-19 graph continued to rise steeply as 3,296 more cases were added in 24 hours.
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Patna HC upset over ‘brutality’ by cops during lockdown in Bihar
The Patna High Court has expressed displeasure over complaints of “brutality by police” while enforcing lockdown in Bihar and “maltreatment” of COVID-19 patients and their attendants at various health care centres.
In order to this effect was passed on Tuesday by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar after the perusal of a report by a three-member experts’ team which visited government and private hospitals, besides the COVID care centres, across the state.
“The state has adopted the policy of test, track and treat, but for an illiterate person in a village, dissemination of information has to be in a language he understands,” the court pointed out.
“The government must develop a state-level protocol enabling a common person to understand the need to tackle the virus,” it said.
The court noted with concern “purported illegality and brutality exhibited by the police in enforcing the lockdown” and directed authorities concerned to place a check on such measures.
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Night curfew relaxed in 36 cities of Gujarat
Considering a significant drop in the new coronavirus cases in Gujarat, the state government on Wednesday decided to relax the night curfew timings by an hour in 36 cities, while the daytime restrictions will remain in place.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani made the announcement regarding the revised curfew timings after a cabinet meeting in Gandhinagar. From Friday, the night restrictions on people’s movement will be effective from 9 pm to 6 am in 36 cities, the chief minister said.
Currently, the night curfew is being enforced from 8 pm to 6 am.
“Coronavirus cases are decreasing in Gujarat. From nearly 14,600 new cases, the highest daily peak registered on April 30, about 3,200 cases are currently emerging every day. Hence, we have decided to relax the night curfew. The curfew will now be from 9 pm to 6 am,” Rupani said.
A notification in this regard will be issued on Thursday, he said. The night curfew is currently in place in 36 cities, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot.
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Belgium suspends J&J vaccine for under 41 years after death
Belgium on Wednesday suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for people under age 41 following the death of a person who had received the shot, reports AP.
The government said in a statement it was asking for urgent advice from the European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s drug regulator, before it would consider lifting the suspension. It added that the impact on the national vaccination drive would be very limited. Belgium was using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for elderly with reduced mobility and the homeless since it only takes one shot to be protected.
Those shots will be continued. It said it took the action after a single case “where there was serious side effects after administering the Janssen vaccine,” using the local name for the Johnson & Johnson shot. It said a woman was vaccinated through her foreign employer outside the Belgian system and had died in Belgium last week after developing “serious thrombosis and reduced blood platelets.”
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Telangana Cabinet to meet on 30 May to take call on lockdown extension
Telangana Cabinet will meet on May 30 to discuss several issues, including the extension of the ongoing lockdown to contain the spread of COVD-19.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has decided to hold the State Cabinet meeting on May 30 (Sunday) at 2 PM," an official press release said here on Wednesday.
In the meeting, the Cabinet would discuss about agriculture – crops in the State, the ongoing paddy procurement process, availability of seeds and fertilisers, curbing the supply of spurious seeds – coronavirus, lockdown and other subjects, the release said.
The State has been under lockdown since May 12 and would go on upto May 30.
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PM says vaccine absolutely important to save lives, defeat COVID-19
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday described COVID-19 vaccines as “absolutely important to save lives and defeat the pandemic”, noting that this “once-in-a-lifetime” crisis has brought tragedy and sufferings at doorsteps of many and caused huge economic impact.
Delivering the keynote address on the occasion of “Vesak Global Celebrations” on Buddha Purnima, he said the pandemic has impacted every nation, adding that the planet will not be the same after this and the events in future will be remembered as either pre or post-Covid.
He, however, added that there have been many noteworthy developments which strengthen our strategy to fight it.
“Most importantly, we have the vaccine which is absolutely important to save lives and defeat the pandemic,” Modi said, asserting that the emergence of jabs within a year of the COVID-19 outbreak shows the power of human determination and tenacity.
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Only way to decrease variants of COVID-19 is by increasing vaccination: Gagandeep Kang
Stressing that the only way to decrease variants of COVID-19 is by increasing vaccination, prominent clinical scientist Gagandeep Kang said massive inoculation being a mistake is a topic brought up with “pseudo-scientific messy incorrect immunology”.
She was reacting to French virologist and Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier’s comments on mass vaccination.
Kang said that apparently he did not say all vaccinated people will die in two years, as claimed by some, but he did say that new variants are created through selection imposed by antibodies made through vaccination.
“And he said there will be much stronger infection by variants in vaccinated individuals due to antibody dependent enhancement, massive vaccination is an enormous error, a medical mistake,” Kang tweeted, and termed his claims as “not true”.
Kang said, “When we are infected or vaccinated we make antibodies in response to a whole virus or part of a virus. In a viral infection, the body’s immune responses, including antibodies, shut down viral replication and we recover from infection”.
Variants are many, but variants that escape immunity are few. As the virus spreads through populations & multiplies massively, the few variants that are more capable of escaping immunity that is induced by vaccines will make vaccines somewhat less effective. BUT....6/n
— G Kang (@GKangInd) May 26, 2021
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Tripura govt extends corona curfew till 5 June
The Tripura government has announced extension of the corona curfew in Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas and all urban local bodies (ULB) till June 5 to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Earlier, a corona curfew was imposed in AMC areas and ULBs across the state on May 17, and a night curfew in other parts of Tripura till 26 May. State Education Minister and government spokesperson Ratan Lal Nath said the council of ministers on Tuesday resolved to extend the corona curfew given the COVID-19 surge in the state.
“Strict measures will be taken to implement the restrictions imposed by the administration,” Nath said.
In addition, the corona night curfew will continue from 4 pm to 5 am in all areas till June 6.
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States unable to procure vaccines from international market: Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal urged the Centre to give the required vaccine doses to the states. “Then, it is our job to inoculate the people and we will do it,” he adds. “Not even a single state government has been successful in procuring vaccine doses from the international market.”
“Within 24 hours, companies which manufacture vaccines can be directed to ramp up production. Why isn’t the Centre showing the required sense of urgency regarding this?” he asked.
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No state has been able to procure even one extra vaccine dose, says Delhi CM
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressing a press conference on Wednesday said that no state has been able to procure even one extra vaccine dose from manufacturers.
“There’s no vaccine in Delhi; for 4 days vaccination centres for the 18-44 age group are shut & not just here but across India, several centres are shut. Today when we should have opened new centres, but now we are also shutting the existing ones, which is not good. As per my knowledge, no state govt has been able to procure a single dose of vaccine till now. Vaccine companies have denied speaking to the state governments. This is the time to unite and work for both State and Centre, and not work separately.”
कोरोना के ख़िलाफ़ लड़े जा रहे इस युद्द में देश के हर व्यक्ति को वैक्सीन लगाने के लिए हमें राज्यों में बंटकर नहीं बल्कि एकजुट भारत के तौर पर आगे बढ़ना होगा, माननीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री @ArvindKejriwal जी की Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/4orgNWI4dt
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 26, 2021
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Delhi’s COVID positivity rate dips below 2%, lowest in nearly two months
Delhi recorded 1,491 fresh coronavirus cases and 130 fatalities on Wednesday, while the positivity rate declined to 1.93 percent, according to the daily health bulletin. This is the fourth day in a row when the daily cases in the national capital have remained below 2,000.
“Positivity down to 1.93% and total positive cases come down to 1491. These are the lowest numbers in the last 2 months. We still need to take all precautions and follow covid appropriate behaviour,” Health Minister Satyendar Jain tweeted.
The national capital had recorded 1,568 cases and 156 fatalities on Tuesday, while the positivity rate came down marginally to 2.14 percent. According to the latest health bulletin, the 130 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 23,695.
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Centre’s data on vaccine wastage incorrect, says Chhattisgarh CM
The Chhattisgarh administration on Wednesday said that the Union health ministry’s data on vaccine wastage was incorrect, reports ANI. “We have written to them already and we are working with them to resolve the data issues,” it says.
Earlier, the Union health ministry said that Chhattisgarh wasted 30.2% of its vaccines. It urged Chhattisgarh and other state and Union Territories to keep the wastage under 1%. The vaccines wastage for Jharkhand is 37.3%, Tamil Nadu 15.5%, Jammu & Kashmir 10.8% and Madhya Pradesh 10.7%, according to the ministry.
Jharkhand chief minister’s office also clarifies that the vaccine wastage in the state is only 4.65% as against Union health ministry’s data showing 37.3%. “Vaccination data could not be fully updated to the central CoWin Server/Platform due to technical difficulties & the updation is in process,” it adds.
As per total vaccine doses availability with Govt on Jharkhand till today, the current Vaccine Wastage proportion is only 4.65%. Vaccination data could not be fully updated to the central Co-Win Server/ Platform due to technical difficulties/glitches & the updation is in process. https://t.co/w3QXPFnKFR pic.twitter.com/uBFJXCktei
— Office of Chief Minister, Jharkhand (@JharkhandCMO) May 26, 2021
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UK expands COVID vaccine programme to cover all over-30s
The UK’s health service on Wednesday extended its COVID-19 age-based vaccination programme to the next cohort to cover everyone aged 30 and over.
The National Health Service (NHS) said 1 million more people aged 30 and 31 will be invited by text over the coming days, leaving only adults between 18 and 29 yet to get the nod to come forward for their first doses.
It is the latest in a series of expansions this month opening up the vaccinations to people in their thirties, who are to be offered an alternative to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs either Pfizer/BioNtech or Moderna following medical advice related to rare blood clot concerns for lower age groups.
Our vaccination programme is moving at such a phenomenal pace and I am delighted that less than six months after Margaret Keenan received the first authorised jab in the world, we are now able to open the offer to everyone in their thirties and over, said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
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Wockhardt offers to make 2 billion Covid vaccine doses a year
Pharma firm Wockhardt has approached the Indian government for help in tying up with COVID-19 vaccine makers, sources have told CNBC-TV18.
The company has informed the government that it has three facilities which can be repurposed to manufacture vaccines, the sources said, adding that specifically, the Mumbai-based pharma player is seeking collaborations with vaccines using BSL1 and BSL2 technology, they said.
Wockhardt has said that it has the capacity to produce up to 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines a year and can have an initial output of 500 million doses ready by February 2022, the Indian Express reported.
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