Coronavirus News Updates: Three more in Maharashtra test positive for UK COVID-19 strain, state's tally now 11

Three more test positive for UK strain in Maharashtra, state’s tally now 11

The number of persons infected  with the UK variant of coronavirus in Maharashtra rose to 11 on Thursday with three new cases coming to light, a state health official said. All 11 cases are asymptomatic, he added.

“So far there were eight passengers with the new strain found in the UK which is 70 percent more infectious. Now three more samples sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune have also come out positive,” he said. All three new patients are from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation area near Pune city, he said. Of total 11 cases, one each is from Gujarat and Goa.“Two have been now discharged after testing negative in two consecutive RT-PCR tests after the mandatory 14- day institutional quarantine,” the official said.

PTI

Ready for transportation of COVID-19 vaccine from Pune: AAI

 The Airports Authority of India  (AAI) on Thursday said it is fully geared to deploy its resources to facilitate transportation of COVID-19 vaccine across the country from Pune in Maharashtra. Consignments of ‘Covishield’ vaccine, manufactured at city-based Serum Institute of India (SII), are scheduled to be dispatched to various locations in the country from the Pune airport. The AAI said along with its subsidiary AAI Cargo Logistics & Allied Services Company Ltd (AAICLAS), it was ready for the task.

PTI

Four UK returnees among 5,051 new COVID-19 cases in Kerala

 Kerala recorded 5,051 new COVID-19 cases, including four UK returnees and 5,638 recoveries on Thursday as the total caseload inched towards

the eight lakh mark. In the last 24 hours ending 2 pm, 60,613 samples have been tested and the test positivity rate was 8.83 percent,

Health Minister K K Shailaja said. So far, 82,85,394 samples have been sent for testing. The toll has gone up to 3234 with 25 more deaths.

Four more people who recently returned from the UK have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of to have been infected so far to 47, the minister said in a press release. The samples of the four people have been sent to NIV, Pune, for further testing for the new variant of the virus.

PTI

 Andhra Pradesh asks collectors to form teams for fire audits in all COVID-19 hospitals

Andhra Pradesh Principal Secretary, Health, Anil Kumar Singhal, in an order directed the district Collectors to conduct a meeting once again with all Nodal Officers of COVID hospitals and reiterate the directives issued by the Supreme Court and to strictly adhere to them in providing proper treatment to COVID-19 patients in both government and private hospitals. He asked the Collectors to constitute inspection teams under the supervision of Joint Collector to conduct Fire Audit in all COVID hospitals, both government and private. Hospital authorities were required to necessarily obtain a no-objection certificate from the Fire Department.

PTI

Andhra Pradesh issues fresh COVID-19 guidelines

The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday issued some fresh guidelines for surveillance, containment, control and proper treatment of COVID-19 patients and directed the district Collectors to be vigilant and personally monitor day-to-day status of cases. The fresh guidelines were issued in line with the Supreme Court judgment in a civil writ petition and also the recent increase in cases in a few states and the spread of the new UK strain, state Principal Secretary, Health, Anil Kumar Singhal said in a Government Order

PTI

India’s GDP expected to contract by 7.7% in 2020-21: govt estimates

India’s GDP is estimated to contract by a record 7.7 percent during 2020-21 as the COVID-19 pandemic severely hit the key manufacturing and services segments, as per government projections released on Thursday. Amid overall decline in economic activities, some respite was provided by the agriculture sector and utility services like power and gas supply, which have been projected to post positive growth during the current fiscal ending March 2021. “Real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices (2011-12) in the year 2020-21 is likely to attain a level of Rs 134.40 lakh crore, as against the Provisional Estimate of GDP for the year 2019-20 of Rs 145.66 lakh crore…The growth in real GDP during 2020-21 is estimated at -7.7 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 4.2 per cent in 2019-20,” said the first advanced estimates of national income released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

The contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), however, would not be as steep as projected by certain international agencies like the IMF and World Bank.

Maharashtra records 3,729 new cases, 72 deaths

Maharashtra reports 3,729 new COVID-19 cases and 72 deaths, pushing infection tally to 19,58,282; and toll to 49,897, reports PTI quoting a health official

Union health secretary asks four states to proactively promote COVID appropriate behaviour

The Union health secretary has written to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal and health authorities in the states have been advised to proactively promote COVID appropriate behaviours such as wearing masks, even while the vaccination drive is about to begin, said the health ministry statement. “It is important to ensure that there is no complacency in the collective efforts in containment and management of CIOVID19, the health secretary has strongly reiterated,” the statement said.

Health secretary asks four states to curb surge in cases

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal urging them to take steps to curb the spike in COVID-19 cases as these states are reporting an upsurge in the number of daily news cases in the recent days, said the health ministry in a statement. These four states account for 59 percent of the total active COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the ministry.

As per the statement, states have been advised to maintain a ‘strict vigil’ and to take steps to keep a check on the rising cases, especially in view of the new strain of the virus being observed in some countries, which has also been reported in a few states in India. The health secretary has drawn attention to the low and declining testing rates in the states and stressed that “any laxity at this crucial junction may squander the results of our collective actions in containing the transmission,” the statement said. They have been advised to analyse the surge at the district and sub-district levels to understand the reasons for this rise and plan adequate measures proactively to curb the same.

South Africa to get 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines from India

 South Africa will receive one million COVID-19 vaccines from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India this month, followed by an additional 500,000 doses in February, the country’shealth minister told Parliament on Thursday, amid a spike in coronavirus deaths and infections. Addressing Parliament’s portfolio committee on health, health minister Zweli Mkhize said the imported vaccines would be used to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers.

PTI

Andhra Pradesh records 295 fresh cases, one fatality

COVID-19 cases added up to 8,84,171 in Andhra Pradesh as 295 were reported afresh in the state on Thursday. In the 24 hours ending 9 AM on Thursday, 368 patients had recovered while only one succumbed in the state, the latest bulletin said. The total recoveries touched 8,74,223 and deaths 7,126, leaving an active caseload of 2,822.

PTI

Karnataka to conduct vaccination mock drill at 263 health facilities, says minister

Karnataka has planned to conduct COVID-19 vaccination dry run at a total of 263 different health facilities across the state on 8 January, Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Thursday. “As per the Central government’s guidelines at least at three places in a district the dry run will be held, so in

263 different health facilities across the state the dry run will be held tomorrow,” Sudhakar said.“The dry run will be held in 24 district hospitals, 20
medical colleges, 43 taluk hospitals, 31 community health centres, 87 primary health centres, 30 urban primary health centres and 28 private facilities in the state,” he added.

Speaking to reporters after attending a video conference by Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan, he said, at the meeting preparations by the states and assistance by the Centre for the vaccination programme were deliberated in detail, also regarding the dry run tomorrow.

Harsh Vardhan asks states to keep tabs on disinformation on COVID vaccines

Ahead of a country-wide vaccination mock drill scheduled for Friday, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan held a meeting with the health ministers and officials of states and UTs to review preparations, said the Union health ministry in a release .  The minister reassured all his state counterparts that the country’s cold chain infrastructure has been sufficiently upgraded to ensure last mile delivery and that adequate supplies of syringes and other logistics have also been provided for.  He said the entire operational planning and IT platform has been field-tested on several occasions before the second national dry run of tomorrow. The earlier national mock drill of 2 January helped to iron out any glitches in the final execution and further refinement of the operational procedures he stated and asked health ministers to be vigilant against rumours and disinformation campaigns regarding the safety and efficacy of the COVID19 vaccine and spread the correct ifnromation with the help of youth and other stakeholders. Taking note of the rumours being spread on social media, he said, “These miscreants might derail the whole exercise, set the clock back by years," according to the release.

The health minister said that more than 78 lakh beneficiaries had already been registered on the digital Co-Win platform and added that detailed training modules have been developed for different categories of vaccine handlers and administrators.

Harsh Vardhan to visit Tamil Nadu tomorrow to supervise vaccination dry run

As the country prepares for the COVID 19 vaccine roll out, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan will visit Tamil Nadu on Friday to. personally review the preparedness and oversee the dry run operations at the scheduled sites, said the Union health ministry in a statement.  A massive countrywide mock drill to prepare for the COVID19 vaccination is being conducted on  Friday at 736 districts across 33 States/UTs.

“Harsh Vardhan will visit the sessions site at Government General Hospital, Chennai followed by the one at Government Omandurar Hospital, Chennai. In the afternoon Dr Harsh Vardhan will visit the private vaccination centre in Apollo Hospital, Chennai after a brief visit to the General Medical Store Depot (GMSD) in Periamedu. This is one of the four national vaccine storage facilities, the other three at Mumbai, Kolkata and Karnal,” the ministry’s release said.

 Harsh Vardhan is also scheduled to visit the vaccination centre and the Hindustan Bio-Tech Ltd. Campus at Chengalpattu after concluding his supervision at these sites.

Kerala BJP chief K Surendran tests positive for COVID-19

Kerala BJP president K Surendran on Twitter said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and been admitted to  MIMS hospital, Kozhikode. " I request all those who came in close contact with me recently to self-isolate,’ he said.

Fully prepared, tweets Harsh Vardhan after meeting with states and UTs

Tweeting about his meeting with states and UTs ahead of a COVID-19 vaccination dry run on Friday, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said he had a “resourceful VC” with health ministers and asserted that exhaustive efforts have been made to ensure smooth roll-out of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus disease.  “A presentation was put forth detailing the meticulously planned end-to-end operations for carrying out the vaccination drive.We are fully prepared with an expansive number of people trained and a robust supply chain infra in place,” he said in another tweet.

Private sector willing to partner with govt for accelerating COVID-19 vaccine administration: FICCI

The private sector is willing to support and augment government’s capacity across the value chain of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration, industry body FICCI on Thursday said. In this regard, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has submitted a detailed plan outlining what support private sector, including healthcare, can provide, through the FICCI-EY Strategy paper on ‘Protecting India – Public Private Partnership for vaccinating against COVID-19’. The strategy paper was submitted to the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) last month.

“Given that we are on the verge of launching the largest ever and a complex vaccination programme, effective partnerships and seamless collaborations will be pivotal for its success. We hope that the government has taken note of the intent and commitment from private sector players for accelerating the process of targeted vaccination across the country,” FICCI Chair Health Services Committee and Chairman Medica Group of Hospitals Alok Roy said in a statement.

PTI

Two Delhi govt hospitals turned into non-COVID facilities

 Amid an improvement in the coronavirus situation in the national capital, two Delhi government hospitals have been turned into non-COVID facilities, officials said on Thursday.  These two hospitals are Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College and Hospital and Nehru Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital. The two facilities had 100 and 35 beds reserved for COVID-19 patients earlier.

PTI

Delhi govt allows medical colleges to re-open with immediate effect

The Delhi government has decided to re-open the medical colleges under the state government with immediate effect, considering that the state of the virus in the National Capital is under control, said Health Minister Satyendar Jain. “All guidelines related to COVID-19, in terms of precautions will be duly followed,” the minister said attaching a copy of the official order.  

The order states that first year MBBS/BDS batch will be called in staggered manner initially and teaching and practical will be completed within one and half to two months from the date of re-opening of college. “Subsequently, final year students will be allowed to join college” it states, adding that final year students can give exams after successful training after which they will be leigible to join as interns." Thereafter, process will be initiated to to permit second year MBBS/BDS students to rejoin college."

Delhi registers 486 fresh cases, positivity rate dips to 0.63%

Delhi recorded 486 fresh COVID-19 cases and19 new fatalities on Thursday, while the positivity rate dipped to 0.63 percent, authorities said. The infection tally in the city stood at 6,28,838, and the toll mounted to 10,644, they said. The active cases tally on Thursday dropped to 4,168 from 4,481 the previous day.

PTI

Arvind Kejriwal urges Centre to extend ban on UK flights till 31 Jan

 Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Twitter: “The Centre has decided to lift the ban and start UK flights. In view of the extremely serious situation in UK, I would urge the Central Government to extend the ban till 31 January.” In another tweet, the AAP leader said," With great difficulty, people have brought COVID situation in control. UK’s COVID situation is v serious. Now, why lift ban and expose our people to risk?"

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Saturday flights from India to the UK will resume from 6 January, while services from that country to here would resume 8 January onwards. Puri had tweeted, “30 flights will operate every week. 15 each by Indian & UK carriers. This schedule is valid till 23 Jan 2021. Further frequency will be determined after review”.  India had suspended all passenger flights connecting the two countries from December 23 to January 7 as a new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus emerged in the UK. 

Volunteer enrolment for Covaxin phase-3 trial successfully completed: Bharat Biotech

Bharat Biotech announced that it has successfully completed volunteer enrollment of the phase-3 trials for its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin. On its Twitter handle, the company shared a statement by one of its founders Suchitra Ella, which said “Covaxin successfully completes phase-3 clinical trial enrolment of 25,800 volunteers”. 

“We sincerely express our gratitude to clinical trial sites, Principal investigators and healthcare workers for their relentless support and trust in our Public-Private Partnership vaccine discovery,” the statement said and also expressed appreciation for volunteers participating in trials for India’s first fully indigenous COVID-19 vaccine**.** 

Covaxin received approval for restricted use in emergency situations on Sunday. The approval has been questioned by industry experts and some Opposition Congress leaders who have expressed concern over the absence of Phase 3 trial data, who have expressed concern that “sidestepping” processes and giving “premature” clearance could risk lives and fuel vaccine hesitancy in India.

States, UTs likely to receive first supply of COVID-19 vaccine shortly, says Centre

The Union health ministry has informed states and Union Territories that they are likely to receive the first supply of COVID-19 vaccine shortly and asked them to remain prepared to accept these consignments.  In a communique, the ministry said vaccine will be supplied to the identified consignee points of 19 states and union territories — Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal — by the supplier. The vaccine for remaining 18 states and union territories — Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Daman and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand — will be received from their respective government medical store depots.

“All the states and UTs are likely to receive the first supply of COVID-19 vaccine shortly. “In this regard, you are requested to ensure the advance preparation and readiness for the acceptance of forthcoming supply of the vaccine,” Dr Pradeep Halder, advisor, Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) in the health ministry, said in the letter dated5  January.

PTI

SC expresses concern over large gathering of farmers during COVID-19

The Supreme Court Thursday expressed concern over large gatherings of farmers protesting against the new farm laws at Delhi borders and asked the Centre whether they were protected against the spread of COVID-19.

The top court was hearing a plea seeking various reliefs including a CBI probe into the matter related to the assembly of people at the Anand Vihar Bus Terminal and the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizammudin Markaz in the national capital after the nationwide lockdown was announced last year to contain the pandemic.

The same problem is going to arise in farmers’ agitation. I do not know if farmers are protected from COVID. So, the same problem is going to arise. It is not that everything is over, said Chief Justice S A Bobde, heading a bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

Japan declares virus state of emergency in Tokyo region

Japan’s government declared a month-long coronavirus state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area on Thursday as the capital reported a record surge in daily infections, reports AFP.

“The nationwide, rapid spread of the new coronavirus is feared to have a great impact on people’s lives and the economy,” said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as he announced the new restrictions, which begin on Friday.

The measure is far less strict than the harsh lockdowns seen in other parts of the world and softer than the country’s first state of emergency last spring.

PIL in HC to remove Amitabh Bachchan’s voice from caller tune

A PIL has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the Centre to remove megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s voice from the caller tune on precautions against coronavirus on the grounds that he himself, along with some family members, had been infected by the virus.

The plea, which said there were some famous corona warriors who were willing to give their services for free, came up for hearing on Thursday before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh.

The bench listed it for January 18 as the petitioner’s counsel expressed the inability to appear for a physical hearing.

The petition, filed by Delhi resident and social worker Rakesh, said the government engaged Bachchan for making people aware of preventive measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic while the superstar himself as well as other members of his family could not escape it.

-PTI

Odisha reports 230 fresh COVID-19 cases, one death

With 230 more people testing positive for the infection, Odisha’s COVID-19 tally on Thursday mounted to 3,31,151, while one more fatality pushed the state’s coronavirus death toll to 1,888, a health department official said.

The new cases were detected in 23 of the state’s 30 districts, with 134 reported from different quarantine centres and 96 are local contact cases. Sundergarh district recorded the highest of 30 new cases followed by Angul (24) and Bolangir (18).

The Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) department informed that one COVID-19 positive patient in Khurda district succumbed to the infection.

-PTI

Odisha allows opening of bars, shops after 9 months

The Odisha government has allowed bars, beer parlours and clubs to resume their services after nine months with strict adherence to the COVID-19 guidelines following improvement in the pandemic situation, official sources said.

Though the state government had earlier allowed opening of liquor outlets and home delivery of alcohol across the state, it had prohibited the opening of bars and clubs.

The government after careful consideration in exercise of powers conferred under section-93 of the Odisha Excise Act-2008 allows consumption of liquor in the Restaurant ‘ON’ / Hotel ‘ON’/ Beer Parlour ‘ON’ and Club ‘ON’ outside the containment zone with immediate effect, a notification issued by the Excise Department said on Wednesday, said.

-PTI

Priority groups for vaccination decided by experts’ group: Harsh Vardhan

The Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Thursday said that priority groups have been decided for vaccination as advised by the experts’ group formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Covid-19 vaccines ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’ are on the verge of being available in the country. Our efforts are to ensure seamless last-mile delivery of the vaccine,” said Vardhan.

Ensure no misinformation campaign on vaccine is successful: Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan at the meeting with health ministers of all states and Union Territories on Thursday said, “We have to ensure that no misinformation campaign on the COVID-19 vaccine is successful.

SC expresses concern over large gathering of farmers during COVID-19

The Supreme Court Thursday expressed concern over large gatherings of farmers protesting against the new farm laws at Delhi borders and asked the Centre whether they were protected against the spread of COVID-19.

The top was hearing a plea seeking various reliefs including CBI probe into the matter related to Assembly of people at Anand Vihar Bus Terminal and the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizammudin Markaz in the National Capital after the nationwide lockdown was announced last year to contain the pandemic.

“The same problem is going to arise in farmers’ agitation. I do not know if farmers are protected from COVID. So, the same problem is going to arise. It is not that everything is over,” said Chief Justice S A Bobde, heading a bench, also comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

Kerala, Maharashtra account for nearly half of new coronavirus cases this week

Daily new cases averaged less than 19,000 over the past week, the lowest in six months. The worst of the pandemic now seems limited to Kerala and Maharashtra even as the country gears up for the world’s largest vaccination drive.

Of the 128,604 cases India added in the last one week, more than a quarter (35,164) came from Kerala, shows latest data from the Union health ministry. Maharashtra contributed 20 percent of all new cases. The combined share of the two states has risen sharply because infections are abating nearly everywhere else. Chhattisgarh, the state with the third highest case-load last week, added only 7,046 cases (5% share).

Efforts on to ensure ‘seamless’ delivery of COVID-19 vaccines: Health minister

“Coronavirus vaccines ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’ are on the verge of being available in the country. Our efforts are to ensure seamless last mile delivery of the vaccine,” Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.

Odisha reports 230 fresh COVID-19 cases, one more death

With 230 more people testing positive for the infection, Odisha’s COVID-19 tally on Thursday mounted to 3,31,151, while one more fatality pushed the state’s coronavirus toll to 1,888, a health department official said.

The new cases were detected in 23 of the state’s 30 districts, with 134 reported from different quarantine centres and 96 are local contact cases.

Sundergarh district recorded the highest of 30 new cases followed by Angul (24) and Bolangir (18).

COVID-19 vaccine dry run to be held in 33 states, UTs tomorrow: Harsh Vardhan 

The dry run for COVID-19 vaccine will be carried out in 33 states and Union Territories on Friday, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. “Feedback on dry run of COVID vaccine in four states was reviewed. Tomorrow dry run will be done in 33 states & Union Territories,” said Vardhan.

“Maharashtra, Kerala and Chhattisgarh have seen a sudden spike in coronavirus cases recently. This gives us a warning that we shouldn’t forget precautions and continue our fight against COVID-19,” he said.

Schools in Punjab reopen for Classes 5 to 12

India’s COVID-19 recovery rate at 96.36%

The number of people who have recuperated from the novel coronavirus surged to 1,00,16,859, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.36 percent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45 percent, said the Union health ministry on Thursday.

Over 17.84 cr COVID-19 samples tested so far: ICMR

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 17,84,00,995 COVID-19 samples have been tested so far, with 9,37,590 samples being tested on Wednesday alone.

Active cases in India account for 2.19% of total caseload

The number of active COVID-19 cases remained below three lakh for the 17th consecutive day. There are 2,28,083 active coronavirus cases in the country, which account for 2.19 percent of the total caseload.