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Coronavirus LATEST News Updates: The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to give relaxation of two more hours during the night ‘corona curfew’ across the state from 21 June with the improvement in the COVID-19 situation. From next Monday, the night curfew hours will be effective from 9 pm to 7 am. So far, the restrictions were effective from 7 pm to 7 am the following day. The order issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) and signed by Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua listed a new set of guidelines, which will be in force from 5 am on 16 June till 5 am on June 22. As the Covid positivity rate dropped to two percent in Punjab, the state government on Tuesday eased restrictions, allowing restaurants, cinema halls and gyms to operate at 50 percent capacity beginning Wednesday. According to an official statement, 50 people are allowed at weddings and cremations. Earlier, 20 persons were allowed for such gatherings. Delhi logs 228 COVID-19 cases, 12 fatalities and 364 recoveries, taking total number of cases to 14,31,498, toll to 24,851 and recoveries to 14,03,569, according to a health bulletin issued by the state government. There are 3,078 active cases in the National Capital and the positivity rate is 0.32%. The health ministry on Tuesday termed as “incomplete” and of “limited understanding” media reports which stated that 488 deaths between 16 January and 7 June following vaccination were linked to post-Covid complications, and highlighted that the vaccination coverage during this period was 23.5 crore. The number of deaths reported following COVID-19 vaccination in the country is only 0.0002 percent of the 23.5 crore doses administered, and this is within the expected death rates in a population, it said. Mutation of Delta variant called as Delta plus has been seen in Europe since March. This is a variant of interest and has not yet been classified as a Variant of Concern, says NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul. The supply price of Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin to the Central government at Rs 150 per dose is not sustainable in the long run, the vaccine maker said on Tuesday. “The supply price of Covaxin to the Government of India at Rs 150 / dose, is a non-competitive price and clearly not sustainable in the long run. Hence a higher price in private markets is required to offset part of the costs,” it said in a statement. A report by the National Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) committee, under the Union health ministry, has acknowledged one death in India due to vaccination, reported NDTV . The death of a 68-year-old fully vaccinated man 31 March has been labelled as “vaccine product-related reaction” in the report assessing 31 severe cases reported since the launch of the vaccination drive in January, the report said.
More than 26.69 crore (26,69,14,930) vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union Territories so far and over 47,43,580 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next 3 days, said the Union health ministry on Tuesday.
The Delta variant of coronavirus, first identified in India, doubles the risk of hospitalisation compared with the Alpha variant first found in the UK, but Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines provide good protection against the strain, says a study published in The Lancet journal. Researchers at Public Health Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, UK, found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered better protection against the Delta variant compared to the Oxford-AstraZeneca preventive, known as Covishield in India. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that a review of the COVID-19 situation was conducted and curbs will be eased in the state from 16 to 22 June. Government and non-government offices will remain open till 5 pm, shops and establishments can operate till 6 pm, the chief minister said on Twitter. “Night curfew will be in force from 8 pm to 5 am,” he added. The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that the weekly COVID-19 positivity rate fell to 4.39 percent. The daily positivity rate stands at 3.45 percent, which is less than 5 percent for eight consecutive days, the statement added. The number of active COVID-19 cases in India declined to 9,13,378 on Tuesday and now comprise 3.09 percent of the total infections. Meanwhile, the national COVID-19 recovery rate improved to 95.64, the Centre said. India on Tuesday reported 60,471 new COVID-19 cases, which is the lowest single-day tally after 75 days, the Union Health Ministry said. The total caseload rose to 2,95,70,881, of which active cases are 9,13,378. Maharashtra on Monday reported 8,129 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day count since March 2, taking the state’s tally to 59,17,121, while 200 more deaths pushed the toll to 1,12,696, the health department said. The rise in fresh coronavirus cases was the lowest since March 2, when 7,863 infections were reported in the state. Over the last few days, the daily spike has been around 10,000. The state had reported 9,927 cases on March 9. A statement from the state health department said 14,732 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the count of recovered cases to 56,54,003. The state’s COVID-19 recovery rate is 95.55 per cent and the case fatality rate is 1.90 per cent, the statement said. As many as 1,68,902 coronavirus tests were conducted during the last 24 hours, taking the number of samples examined so far to 3,82,15,492, it said. The state currently has 1,47,354 active cases of coronavirus, the statement said. Mumbai reported 530 new cases and 19 deaths, taking the tally to 7,16,190 and the toll to 15,202, the department said. The wider Mumbai division reported 1,457 cases and 30 deaths, pushing the infection tally to 15,64,779 and the toll to 30,601, it said. The Nashik division reported 787 COVID-19 cases, including 429 in Ahmednagar district 216 in Nashik district. The Pune division registered 1,804 cases, including 599 in Satara district, the statement said. The Kolhapur division recorded 3,027 cases, including 810 in Kolhapur district, 657 in Ratnagiri district and 666 in Sangli district. The Aurangabad division logged in 197 coronavirus cases, the Latur division 433, the Akola division 309 and the Nagpur division reported 115 cases of the viral infection, the statement said. Maharashtra’s COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 59,17,121; new cases 8,129, Deaths 1,12,696; Recoveries 56,54,003; Active cases 1,47,354; Tests conducted so far 3,82,15,492.