Coronavirus Latest News LIVE Updates: J&K, TN, and UP join states who extended curfew till 31 May

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Coronavirus curfew extended till May 31 in UP

The partial coronavirus curfew in Uttar Pradesh has been extended till 7 am on May 31, a state government statement said here on Saturday. Earlier, the UP government had imposed the restrictions till 7 am on May 24. “The Uttar Pradesh government is committed to safeguard the life and livelihood of people of the state. Keeping this in mind, the policy of partial coronavirus curfew was adopted, the statement said, adding that the measure gave positive results. “In this regard, a decision has been taken to extend the partial coronavirus curfew in the state till 7 am on May 31,” the statement added.

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MP to ease coronavirus `curfew’ from June: CM

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday announced that the coronavirus-induced restrictions in the state would be gradually relaxed from the next month.

“Our target is to free our state of COVID-19 by 31 May. We will have to unlock the coronavirus-induced-curfew gradually from June 1. The world has to move but we will need to unlock in such a manner that COVID-19 doesn’t spread again,” he said at a meeting to review the coronavirus situation. Lockdown-like restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus infection — termed as `curfew’ by the state government — are in force in many cities and towns of MP. In most of the districts including Bhopal they have been extended till 31 May.

Several localities in major cities would already be free of COVID-19 infection, Chouhan said in the meeting, a video of which was tweeted by his official Twitter handle.

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Cong slams govt over ‘slow pace’ of Covid vaccination

The Congress on Saturday questioned the government’s statement that India will be in a position to vaccinate all of its adult population against the coronavirus by the end of 2021, and warned that if inoculations are not accelerated, it will not be possible to prevent a third wave.

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram said both the IMF and the WHO have cautioned India about the consequences of the slow pace of vaccination.

The claim of the Union Health Minister of getting 216 crore vaccine doses by December 31 to vaccinate the entire adult population by that date must be backed by hard data, Chidambaram said, adding that so far it is not.

“We need data on capacity of domestic producers, orders placed vaccine-wise, import contracts concluded, agreed schedule of delivery etc. Nothing has been disclosed so far,” he said in a series of tweets.

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Goa sees 1,647 fresh COVID-19 cases; 39 deaths

Goa on Saturday recorded 1,647 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 39 casualties that took the tally of infections in the state to 1,44,839 and toll to 2,341, an official from the state health department said.

Apart from this, 2,693 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, raising the count of recoveries to 1,24,255 and leaving the coastal state with 18,243 active cases, the official said. With the addition of 4,581 swab samples tested during the day, the total number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 7,83,409, he added.

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Bharat Parenterals gets DCGI nod for favipiravir oral suspension

Drug firm Bharat Parenterals on Saturday said it has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for favipiravir oral suspension, to be used for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The company has received licence and authorisation from DCGI to manufacture and market favipiravir oral suspension l00mg/ml, Bharat Parenterals said in a regulatory filing.

Favipiravir, an antiviral drug, was approved in Japan in 2014 for the treatment of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections

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Telangana logs 3,308 COVID-19 cases, 21 deaths

Telangana on Saturday reported 3,308 COVID-19 cases taking the tally to over 5.51 lakh cases while the death toll was 3,106 with 21 casualties, said a bulletin. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 513 followed by Khammam (228) and Rangareddy (226), the bulletin said. 

The State has42,959 active cases and over 63,000 samples were tested. The total number of cumulative cases stood at5,51,035 while with4,723 being cured, the total recoveries were 5,04,970.

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Vaccine wastage in India has improved: Centre

Talking about vaccine wastage, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said Covishield vaccine wastage reduced from 8 percent on March 1 to one percent now while Covaxin wastage decreased from 17 percent to 4 percent in the same period.

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No consensus yet on COVID vaccine passport issue at WHO level: Govt

The WHO is yet to reach a consensus on the vaccine passport issue for allowing international travel to those fully vaccinated against the coronavirus infection, the government said on Saturday and noted that discussions are still on. So far there’s no consensus at the level of WHO over this, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said.

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Jammu and Kashmir govt extends curfew till 31 May

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday extended till 31 May the curfew imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus. The restrictions were scheduled to end on 24 May.

“Curfew will be strict except for a few essential services. DCs (Deputy Commissioners) are being given limited flexibility to ensure economic activities do not suffer,” the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) said in a tweet.

Jammu and Kashmir on Friday recorded 3,848 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its tally to 2,63,905, while 43 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 3,465, officials said.

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26 Jharkhand migrant workers arrive in India from Nepal

Five of the twenty-six migrant workers from Jharkhand who were stuck in Nepal due to COVID-19 lockdown in Nepal and are now on way to their home in
Dumka have been isolated in an ambulance after found positive for the virus, an official said.

The migrant workers engaged in a project in Nepal by L&T, through a contractor, had been stranded in the country due to lockdown to rein in coronavirus surge
and had been sending SOS messages including video messages to the Jharkhand government for rescue.

They arrived at Viratnagar on Bihar-Nepal border on Saturday morning and boarded a bus to their home town Dumka.

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Unprepared health infra in Delhi forced people to visit hospitals in neighbouring states: HC

The “deadly and highly infectious” nature of the second wave of COVID-19 and “unpreparedness” of the national capital’s health infrastructure forced citizens to visit hospitals in neighbouring states, the Delhi High Court said and rejected the Delhi government’s argument that such patients should seek medical relief from the state where they are getting treatment.

“This submission of respondent 1 (Delhi government) has been noted only to be rejected…. It is a matter of public knowledge that the deadly, highly infectious nature of the second wave of COVID-19 and the unpreparedness of the health infrastructure in the city had compelled many desperate citizens of the NCT of Delhi, like the petitioner’s father, to seek admission/medical attention at hospitals in the neighbouring states,” Justice Rekha Palli said.

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Kerala reports 28,514 new COVID-19 cases today

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that 28,514 new COVID-19 cases, 45,400 recoveries and 176 deaths were reported in the state. The total recoveries rose to 20,25,319 and the toll rose to 7170. Active cases stand at 2,89,283.

“Triple lockdown will continue in Malappuram district. Restrictions will be tightened as test positivity rate is high. We’ll conduct tests among 75,000 people on Monday & Tuesday. More police force will be deployed, directed them to take strict action against violators,” he said.

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Punjab govt declares summer vacations from 24 May to 23 June

The Punjab government on Saturday declared summer vacation in all schools from May 24 to June 23, according to a statement. Punjab education minister Vijay Inder Singla said all government, semi-government and private schools across the state will remain closed during the period.

The cabinet minister said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions were already closed for students and now for a period of one month, schools will remain closed for teachers and other staff too.

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Jagan Mohan Reddy asks Centre to stop vaccine supply to private hospitals

Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday asked the Centre to stop supply of coronavirus vaccines to private hospitals in view of the
limited availability of stocks and also since they were collecting exorbitant amounts from the people.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Reddy pointed out that private hospitals were charging as high as Rs 2,000-25,000 for each vaccine dose from people due to the flexibility offered to them to fix the price.

“This makes these doses one of the costliest in the world and invites criticism from the general public. Vaccine is for a public good and ideally it needs to be given free of cost or at least at affordable rates,” the chief minister said.

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Karnataka govt appoints committee to investigate source of black fungus disease

“We’ve appointed committee to find out the exact source of infection (black fungus). We’ve received initial report, now we’re giving directions, issuing a circular to use only distilled water in humidifiers that are used in concentrators and ICU facilities,” said Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar.

“Similarly, the use of steroids on patients who are diabetic or have comorbidities should be properly monitored and at the time of the discharge a thorough check-up should be done by faculty members of medicine, ENT and give a proper report,” he added.

He also said, “People with infection should be admitted to COVID-19 care centres. We need to ensure person does not spread virus because of lapses in home isolation. So that the spread in rural areas will definitely reduce. Will try to inoculate people before December.”

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Centre says no robust evidence on efficacy of taking jabs from different companies

NITI Aayog member VK Paul on Friday said that there is no “robust” scientific evidence enough to recommend whether taking vaccine doses from different companies is encouraged.

“You asked me if a person can get inoculated with a vaccine different from the one he received in the first dose. Scientifically and theoretically it’s possible. But recommending this — is evolving situation. No robust scientific evidence, only time will tell,” he said.

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Seven states reporting over 10,000 new cases, says Centre

“There are only seven states that are reporting more than 10,000 cases and six states with 5,000-10,000 cases. Six states are reporting a high number of deaths. These are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, UP, Punjab and Delhi,” said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry.

“There are more than 93 districts where declining case positivity is being noted,” he added.

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Centre licensing 5 more manufacturers to produce amphotericin B, says Health Ministry

Union Health Ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said that the production of the drug amphotericin B, being used in the treatment of black fungus cases, is being boosted.

“Amphotericin B was available in the country in limited supply. Its availability and supply is now being increased. Ministry of Pharma is coordinating with Ministry of Health for providing license to 5 additional manufacturers.

“The existing manufacturers are working towards increasing their capacity and production capacity,” Agarwal said.

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Positivity rate is going down in India, says Centre

NITI Aayog member VK Paul on Saturday said that the pandemic is “stabilising in a major part of the country”.

“The positivity rate is going down and active cases are going down,” he added.

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British Airways flight carrying 18 tonnes of medical aid lands in Delhi

A British Airways cargo flight carrying 18 tonnes of medical aid mainly comprising oxygen concentrators landed at the Delhi airport on Saturday morning, a statement said. The cargo flight from London landed in Delhi at 5.45 am on Saturday.

“The total weight of the medical aid was 18 tonnes, made up of five thousand pieces. Among the medical equipment were hundreds of oxygen concentrators from charities, including Oxfam, Khalsa Aid, Christian Aid and LPSUK,” the British Airways said.

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Education Ministry calls crucial meeting tomorrow on Class 12 board exams

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has called a crucial meeting on Sunday to decide on pending Class 12 board exams that were postponed in view of the second wave of COVID-19, Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said. The meeting will be chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar will be in attendance.

Education ministers and secretaries of all states and union territories have been asked to attend the meeting.

“A high-level virtual meeting will be convened tomorrow (Sunday) with all states and union territories’ education ministers, education secretaries and chairpersons of state examination boards and stakeholders to discuss the proposals for the conduct of exams for Class 12 and entrance examinations for professional courses,” Pokhriyal said.

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Record 20.66 lakh COVID tests done in a day: Centre

Over 20.66 lakh tests for detection of COVID-19 were conducted in a span of 24 hours in the country, the highest-ever done in a single day, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

In a statement, the ministry said it is also the fourth successive day that the number of tests has been more than 20 lakh. “With more than 20.66 lakh tests conducted in the past 24 hours, India has again set a new record of highest tests conducted in a day,” it said.

Over 19.33 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country under the inoculation drive against COVID-19, the statement said.

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Madhya Pradesh declares black fungus a notified disease

The Madhya Pradesh government has declared black fungus or mucormycosis a notified disease in the state. The State Public Health and Family Welfare Department on Friday issued an order, in which it notified black fungus under the provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Madhya Pradesh Public Health Act.

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Tamil Nadu announces complete lockdown for a week from 24 May 

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has decided to extend the COVID-19 lockdown’s stringent measures for a week from 24 May. Chief Minister MK Stalin made this announcement on Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday, shops will function from 6 am to 9 pm.

Stalin, who chaired a meeting with the MLAs of all parties, discussed the ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the MLAs have offered support to the government’s decision. The current lockdown comes to an end on the morning May 2.

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Delhi to shut vaccination centres for 18-44 age group due to shortage: Kejriwal 

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said COVID-19 vaccination centres for those in the 18-44 years age group are being closed in the National Capital due to lack of doses and appealed to the Centre to provide more vaccines.

From Sunday, all vaccination centres for youths in Delhi will be closed as stocks have run out, he said in a press conference.

Delhi requires 80 lakh doses a month to vaccinate its youth. But it only received 16 lakh doses in May. The Centre has further decreased Delhi’s quota in June to 8 lakh doses, Kejriwal said.

The National Capital needs 2.5 crore doses to vaccinate all adults, he said, urging the Centre to raise the quota and supply to the city.

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Odisha reports 11,108 new cases, 26 deaths; positivity rate at 18.28%

Odisha on Saturday reported 11,108 new COVID-19 cases and 26 more deaths, a Health Department official said. The new cases were detected after testing 60,759 samples on Friday, taking the day’s positive rate to 18.28 percent.

So far, the state has reported 6,79,530 COVID-19 cases and 2,456 deaths, the official said.

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At least 420 doctors lost lives during second COVID-19 wave, says IMA

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has said 420 doctors, including 100 in Delhi, have succumbed to the novel coronavirus in the second wave of the pandemic. The coronavirus cases in the National Capital have been on decline recently after an overwhelming crisis in April.

At least 96 doctors have died in Bihar and 41 in Uttar Pradesh, the doctors’ association was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier this week, the top medical body reported 270 doctors have died due to coronavirus. Among them was former IMA president Dr KK Aggarwal, who died due to the deadly virus on Monday. He was 65.

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India’s daily COVID-19 fatalities continue to be above 4,000

Even as the rate of infection slowed down, India’s daily COVID-19 fatality rate remained high. As many as 4,194 patients succumbed to the novel coronavirus in a matter of 24 hours, taking the country’s toll to 2.95 lakh.

Data on COVID-19 cases and related deaths may be severely deficient as several states have inadequate testing, chronic underreporting and have been attributing the casualties to other causes.

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Over 1.6 cr vaccine doses still available with states and UTs: Health ministry

More than 1.60 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories, and over 2.67 lakh doses will be supplied to them in the next three day, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

In a statement, the ministry said more than 21 crore vaccine doses have been provided to states and union territories (UTs).

“Of this, the total consumption, calculated based on average up to 21 May, including wastage, is 19,73,61,311 doses (as per data available at 8 am today),” it said.

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Maharashtra reports 1,263 of 4,194 new COVID-19 fatalities

Of the 4,194 new COVID-19 fatalities registered in past 24 hours, Maharashtra recorded the maximum with 1,263 patients succumbing to the novel coronavirus.

This was followed by 467 in Tamil Nadu, 353 in Karnataka, 252 in Delhi, 172 in from Uttar Pradesh in Punjab, 159 in West Bengal, 142 in Kerala, 129 in Rajasthan, 116 in Uttarakhand, 112 in Haryana, 104 in Andhra Pradesh and 96 in Chhattisgarh.

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India’s active caseload below 30 lakh, lowest since 28 April

India’s active COVID-19 caseload fell below the 30-lakh-mark for the first time in over three weeks as recoveries continued to outpace newly reported infections.

Over 2.57 lakh people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry’s update on Saturday. Recoveries during the same period were significantly higher with 3.57 lakh discharges.

As a result, active cases in the country fell to 29.23 lakh — the lowest since 28 April. They still account for more than 11 percent of the country’s total caseload.

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Tamil Nadu’s daily COVID-19 cases increases by 1% from Thursday

Tamil Nadu on Friday reported 36,184 new coronavirus infections, taking the overall count to 17.70 lakh. The daily cases was 1 percent higher than Thursday’s tally of 35,579, which was its highest ever.

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With 467 new deaths, Tamil Nadu sees 15% increase in daily toll in 24 hours

Tamil Nadu witnessed a 15 percent increase in daily COVID-19 fatalities with 467 deaths reported on Friday as compared to 397 deaths a day ago. With 467 new fatalities reported in a day, the state’s COVID-19 toll climbed to 19,598.

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India’s COVID-19 crisis a warning of possible events in other low, middle-income countries: IMF

Observing that the ongoing “catastrophic” second wave of COVID-19 in India is a sign that the worst may be yet to come, the IMF has said that the situation in the country is a warning of the possible events in low and middle-income nations that have seemingly escaped the pandemic till now.

A report co-authored by International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist Ruchir Agarwal and its Chief Economist Gita Gopinath on Friday also said that under the business-as-usual scenario, the vaccine coverage in India is expected to remain under 35 percent of the population by the end of 2021.

The ongoing catastrophic second wave in India, following a terrible wave in Brazil, is a sign the worst may be yet to come in the developing world, it said.

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India’s recovery rate improves to 87.76%

The number of people who have recuperated from the novel coronavirus in India surged to 2.30 crore, taking the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 87.76 percent as on Saturday.

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India’s daily COVID-19 spike remain below 3 lakh for sixth straight day

The daily rise in coronavirus cases in India remained below the 3 lakh-mark for the sixth consecutive day, with 2.57 lakh new cases recorded in a single day, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

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India’s active caseload reduces to 29.23 lakh

The active COVID-9 cases in India on Saturday further reduced to 29,23,400 comprising 11.12 percent of the total infections. The country reported 2.57 lakh new infections on Saturday, taking the overall count over 2.62 crore.

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Mumbai reports 1,416 new cases; recovery rate at 93%

Mumbai reported 1,416 new cases of coronavirus on Friday along with 54 fatalities. With this, the city’s COVID-19 tally has increased to 6,95,080 and the toll to 14,522. With a recovery rate of 93 percent, Mumbai’s active cases have dropped to 29,103.

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Maharashtra’s single-day cases below 30,000 for second straight day 

Maharashtra reported 29,644 new coronavirus infections and 555 fatalities on Friday, which took its cumulative tally to 55,27,092 and toll to 86,618, the state health department said. This was the second consecutive day when the state reported less than 30,000 daily cases. 

The state witnessed a drop of 267 cases as compared to Thursday, when it had recorded 29,911 cases.

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Canada extends ban on direct flights from India, Pakistan till 21 June

Canada has extended the ban on direct flights from India and Pakistan by one more month until 21 June in a bid to arrest the spread of new variants of the COVID-19, according to an official announcement.

The ban on flights from India and Pakistan was extended as the previous 30-day ban, first imposed on 22 April, was set to expire on Saturday, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News reported.

Cargo flights, however, will be permitted in order to maintain shipments of essential supplies, such as vaccines and personal protective equipment, it said on Friday.

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India reported over 71 lakh cases in the first 21 days of May

The surge in coronavirus cases in the second wave in India during the first 21 days of May crossed 70 lakh on Friday , becoming the deadliest month of the pandemic so far.

In just 21 days, May has recorded over 71.3 lakh cases, accounting for over 27.3 percent of total infections detected since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. India continues to record more than 2.5 lakh daily cases. While cases have declined by around 35 percent from the peak, deaths are still high.

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India’s single-day deaths at 4,194

With the death of 4,194 more patients in the past 24 hours, the total number of fatalities in the country climbed to 2.95 lakh, said the Union health ministry on Saturday. This takes the national fatality rate to 1.12 percent.

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India adds 2.57 lakh new COVID-19 cases

India registered 2,57,299 fresh coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, pushing the cumulative tally over 2.62 crore, said the Union health ministry on Saturday.

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Centre widened vaccination drive without considering stock, says SII

Amid an acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, executive director of Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) Suresh Jadhav on Friday alleged that the government began inoculating people from multiple age groups without taking into account the available stock of vaccines and the WHO guidelines.

Speaking at an e-summit organised by Heal Health, health advocacy and awareness platform, Jadhav said the country should have followed the WHO guidelines and prioritised vaccination accordingly.

Initially, 30 crore people were to be administered the vaccine for which 60 crore doses were required. But before we reached the target, the government opened vaccination for all above 45 years followed by those aged 18 and above despite “knowing well that so much vaccine is not available”, Jadhav said.

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Thane’s daily cases up by 887, toll by 61

The coronavirus caseload in Thane district of Maharashtra climbed to 5,07,316 with the addition of 887 cases, an official said on Saturday.

These cases were reported on Friday, when the virus also claimed the lives of 61 persons, pushing the toll in the district to 8,768. Thane’s COVID-19 mortality rate is 1.72 percent now, he added.

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Delhi govt think tank delivers over 2,300 oxygen concentrators to hospitals

Tech-based solutions and selfless contribution of several individuals and organisations saw Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC), a premier think-tank of the Delhi government, deliver over 2,300 oxygen concentrators to several government hospitals here, a statement said.

The DDC has been coordinating with donors wanting to support the Delhi government’s COVID-19 response amid the second wave of the pandemic, it said.

“Following the appeal of Honorable chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to all sections of the society to come forward and support Delhi govt’s efforts to fight coronavirus , several donors have come forward to give critical medical supplies to Delhi government hospitals,” Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson of DDC, said in the statement.