Healthcare staff collect swab in Thane (Express photo by Deepak Joshi)Coronavirus India Live Updates: India reported 23,067 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Friday, taking the coronavirus infections tally over 1.01 crore. Of the total 1,01,46,845 cases, 2.81 lakh are currently active while over 97.17 lakh people have recovered after testing positive. As many as 336 new deaths took the death toll to over 1.47 lakh. Kerala, among the fastest-growing states in India, is the only state to report more than 5,000 cases on Thursday.
Fifty-one lakh people in Delhi — comprising healthcare staff, frontline workers, people with co-morbidities, and those aged above 50 — will be administered Covid-19 vaccine in the first phase, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. The Delhi government’s plan is in line with the recommendations made by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of Covid-19 (NEGVAC). Kejriwal said Delhi has made all arrangements to receive and store vaccine doses.
Five Covid-positive flyers from the UK went untraceable after landing at the Delhi airport on Tuesday. While three of them were traced by Tuesday night and admitted to Lok Nayak hospital in the capital, one managed to reach Ludhiana while another reached Andhra Pradesh before they were brought back on Wednesday, The Indian Express has learnt. Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain Thursday said that the Delhi govt. will will approach the Delhi airport authorities over the same.
Meanwhile, a new potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has been found in Britain in cases linked to South Africa, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. South Africa’s health department said last week that a new genetic mutation of the virus had been discovered and might be responsible for a recent surge in infections there. Read our explainer on Mutated coronavirus vs tests and vaccines here.
Night curfew in place in Pune on Tuesday. (Express photo by Ashish Kale)
PEOPLE REDRAWING New Year's plans after the state government imposed a night curfew till January 5 will also have to strike out beaches in Alibaug and Mandwa or Janjira Fort in Raigad district from their options.
The district collector of Raigad on Thursday issued an order closing the fort, a popular tourist draw, for visitors from Friday to January 2 with a view to prevent crowding at the site as people gather there for New Year's celebrations on December 31. While there will be no restrictions on celebrations at hotels and resorts in Raigad, the night curfew from 11 pm to 6 am will be imposed in public areas, including beaches and riverfronts.
Given the coastal district's proximity to Mumbai, Thane and Pune, beaches in Raigad, mainly Alibaug, Murud and Shrivardhan, are expected to see a number of tourist arrivals for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Raigad district administration will also set up nine checkpoints where health workers will conduct preliminary health checks on arriving tourists for Covid-19 screening. The checkpoints will be set up at Mandwa, Revas, Kharpada, Vadavli toll naka, Matheran, Vakan Phata, Tamhani Ghat, Varandh Ghat and Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Poladpur taluka from December 28 to January 1, the district administration said.
Morocco announced it has acquired 65 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinopharm and Britain's AstraZeneca, as the north African kingdom prepares to launch a COVID-19 vaccination program that aims to immunize 80 per cent of the country's adult population. Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb announced the figure at a Cabinet meeting Thursday, but didn't say whether the first doses have already arrived in Morocco. The government didn't indicate whether the vaccines were purchased or provided by Covax, the global project to provide vaccines to developing countries, or a combination of both. Morocco has one of the most advanced vaccination plans in the region. The country has also reported the second-highest number of virus infections and deaths in Africa, after South Africa. PTI
THE Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has launched an online registration facility for Covid-19 vaccination for those who missed the ongoing door-to-door survey covering the entire city that commenced from December 10.
The online registration facility is for residents to be covered in the first phases including -frontline workers, those above 50 years of age and those below 50 years but with co-morbid conditions- and have not registered yet with the health workers yet.
“The online registration facility added yesterday on the official website is for those who have been missed out in the door to door survey due to any reason,” said AMC’s medical officer of health Dr Bhavin Solanki.
Karnataka added 1,005 new COVID- 19 cases and five related fatalities, taking the infection count to 9,14,488 and the toll to 12,044, the health department said on Friday. The day also saw 1,102 patients getting discharged after recovery and there were 13,508 active cases in the state. The state's cumulative COVID-19 tally stood at 9,14,488, including 12,044 deaths and 8,88,917 discharges, the department said in its bulletin. A total of 13,300 patients were stable in isolation at designated hospitals, while 208 are in Intensive Care Units. As many as 578 fresh cases were from Bengaluru Urban district, which also accounted for four of the five deaths, followed by Dharwad 1. Four of the deceased had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), while the patient in Dharwad had Influenza Like illness (ILI). PTI
After a brief spike in Maharashtra’s coronavirus active cases in the last week of November following Diwali celebrations, the total active cases in the state have dipped by nearly 36 per cent since the beginning of December, from 89,098 cases to 56,823 cases, in the 25 days of the month.
State health officials believe that in view of a night curfew and the enforcement of stringent closing timings for restaurants and bars for the upcoming 10 days, subdued Christmas and New Year celebrations may not lead to a significant spike in cases in a manner that Diwali festivities had. Since March, Maharashtra has recorded two significant spikes, both following festivals - Ganpati Visarjan celebrations in September and Diwali in November.
Dharavi in Mumbai, India's largest slum, reported zero Covid-19 cases on Friday, the first time since April 1, when the first coronavirus case was reported here. At present, there are 12 active Covid-19 cases in Dharavi: eight are in Home quarantine, while four are in Covid care centres.
With the addition of 416 coronavirus positive cases, Thane district's total case count has gone up to 2,40,619, an official said on Friday. These new cases were reported on Thursday, he said.
The fatality count in the district increased to 5,910 with the virus claiming nine more lives during the day. As 2,30,432 patients recuperated, the recovery rate of the district reached 95.76 per cent. There are 4,277 active cases at present, while the district's mortality rate is 2.46 per cent, he said.
(PTI)
A traveller from the UK, who arrived here a few days ago, has tested positive for COVID-19 and the swab samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to ascertain whether the patient has contracted a new strain of coronavirus, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
The person returned to the state recently amid concern over the detection of a mutated and more infectious strain of COVID-19 in the European country and has been admitted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital here, he told reporters.
(PTI)
The union territory of Puducherry registered 29 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours while no fresh fatality was reported, a top Health department official said on Friday. The 29 new infections took the overall tally in the union territory to 37,914, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.
The new cases were identified at the end of testing of 2,973 samples and 44 patients were treated and discharged during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Friday. No fresh fatality was reported for a second straight day and the death toll remained at 629.
(PTI)
With an aim to put curbs on the New Year celebrations considering the coronavirus situation, the district administration in Pune has sent a proposal to the Maharashtra government seeking imposition of night curfew at some popular places, a senior official said on Friday. District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh said that the administration seeks to impose night curfew in some areas close to Pune civic limits and tourist places like Lonavala, Aambi Valley, Mulshi dam, Tahmini Ghat, Khadakwasla and Lavasa from the midnight of December 25 till January 5.
"In view of the COVID-19 situation, a proposal has been sent to the state government to impose night curfew at these places, where revellers go to celebrate the New Year. We are awaiting the government's nod," he said. Night curfew has been already imposed in the city in the wake of a new coronavirus variant being detected in the UK.
(PTI)
Odisha on Friday reported 325 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the coronavirus tally in the state to 3,27,867, a health department official said. The COVID-19 death toll in the rose to 1,853 with three fresh fatalities in the last 24-hours, he said. The three fatalities were reported from Balasore, Dhenkanal and Khurda districts, he said.
The new COVID-19 cases were detected in 24 of the 30 districts of Odisha, with 187 reported from different quarantine centres, while the remaining 138 are local contact cases. Khurda district of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, recorded the highest number of new cases at 36, followed by Sundergarh (33) and Angul (32).
Six districts - Boudh, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri and Rayagada, did not report any new positive cases in the last 24 hours, he said.
(PTI)
Uttar Pradesh reported 13 more COVID-19 fatalities and 1,285 new cases on Friday, pushing the death toll to 8,279 and the infection tally to 5,79,982 in the state. Currently, there are 16,159 active cases in the state, and 5,55,544 people have recovered from the disease so far, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here.
He said the recovery rate in the state stood at 95.78 per cent. Prasad said over 1.43 lakh samples were tested for the disease on Thursday, and the total number of tests conducted so far was around 2.31 crore. Of the total active cases, 7,317 are in home-isolation, 1,663 in private hospitals and the rest are undergoing treatment in government hospitals.
(PTI)
On the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, when the Maharashtra government-imposed night curfew began in the city, the Mumbai Police let off most of those who were found on the roads after the designated hour with a reprimand and a warning.
A senior police officer said, “Since it was the first night of the curfew, we let people off after giving them a warning. However, in the next few days we will start taking action.”
The Mumbai Police had warned that all vehicles found on the roads during curfew hours without a valid reason would be impounded.
Days after the state government allowed reopening of amusement and entertainment parks, the Tourism department on Thursday issued guidelines for safe and secure operations amid Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the standard operating procedure (SOP), all customers would be screened at entry points of amusement and entertainment parks and similar establishments for symptoms of Covid-19. Only those found asymptomatic would be allowed, the guidelines stated.
The SOP added that only those wearing a face mask or cover would be allowed to enter premises and customers would have to wear the mask at all times on the premises.
South Korea's Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Friday 1,241 new coronavirus cases were reported the day before, the highest daily count recorded, with a large outbreak at a prison in Seoul.
South Korea had early success in quickly controlling outbreaks with aggressive testing and contact tracing but has struggled to contain the recent surge in cases.Tougher restrictions to stem new cases were taken this week including a ban on social gathering of more than five people, and ski resorts and tourist spots have been shut in a bid to stop the spread during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"The daily record of confirmed cases was renewed yesterday at 1,241 cases," Chung said at a coronavirus response meeting, adding despite a large majority of the public heeding the government warning, many still flout social distancing rules.(Reuters)
At least seven people who recently returned from the UK have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Telangana. Their samples have been sent to the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) to find out if they have contracted the new strain of the virus, Telangana health officials said.
On Thursday, state Health Minister Eatala Rajender reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the state and the steps being taken to curb the spread of the disease.
Officials informed the minister that 1,200 passengers had flown to Telangana from or via the UK since from December 9. Covid-19 tests were done on 846 persons. (Read more here)
India reported 23,068 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am Friday, taking the coronavirus infections tally over 1.01 crore. Of the total 1,01,46,846 cases, 2.81 lakh are currently active while over 97.17 lakh people have recovered after testing positive. As many as 336 new deaths took the death toll to over 1.47 lakh. Kerala, among the fastest-growing states in India, is the only state to report more than 5,000 cases on Thursday.
As many as 216 people who arrived here from the UK in a December 22 flight will be institutionally quarantined as they might have come in contact with seven of their fellow passengers and a crew member who tested COVID-19 positive on arrival, health officials said on Thursday.
They are from different places, including Amritsar, and are being taken from their homes to quarantine centres, they said.
Punjab's Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Thursday directed all civil surgeons to ensure tracing, surveillance and testing of international passengers who recently arrived from the UK.
Sidhu in a statement said a list of 1,822 passengers who arrived from the UK at the Delhi airport and then to Punjab has been received by the state authorities, which he added has already been shared with all districts.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the city government will approach the airport authorities here over a report that two COVID-positive flyers from the United Kingdom had slipped out from the Delhi airport. Amid mounting concern over a new strain of the virus detected in the UK, the Delhi government on Tuesday had said people who have arrived here recently from that country, are being traced and tested, while an institutional quarantine facility was being set up separately for positive cases at the LNJP Hospital.
At a press conference on Thursday, when asked about the report that two passengers from the UK, who had landed at Delhi airport on Tuesday, had further travelled to Punjab and Andhra Pradesh despite testing positive for COVID-19, Jain said, 'I have also read about it in the newspaper today'.
A UK-returned man in Dwarka area here has been found positive for COVID-19 and his family has been quarantined while tracing of others who came in contact with him was underway, officials said on Thursday. Earlier, another person who recently arrived from the UK had tested positive in south east Delhi on Wednesday.
The district authorities have deployed teams to contact those who have returned from the UK in the past four weeks and ensure that they undergo RTPCR tests if they show any symptoms, said a senior government official.(PTI)
Tamil Nadu on Thursday logged 1,035 new COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 8,11,115 and the toll mounted to 12,036 with 12 more deaths. The state capital city's daily case count dipped below the 300 mark for the first time after May. It reported 296 fresh cases. All the 12 dead were aged between 60 and 84 and had co-morbidities, a health department bulletin said. The toll included Chennai's 3,979, the highest in the state.
Barring the state capital, all other districts showed either a single or double digit count of fresh infections, evidencing the trend of a continuing decline in new cases and more recoveries in the past several weeks. (PTI)
Schools and colleges for Classes 9 to 12 will reopen in the limits of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) from January 4, 2021, an official said on Thursday. The civic body had earlier postponed the reopening of schools and colleges in its limits and stated that they will continue to remain shut till January 3. In an order issued on Thursday the civic body stated that schools and colleges for classes 9 to 12 will reopen from January 4.
'It is mandatory for all schools and colleges to follow the COVID-19 protocols and adhere to safety measures such as thermal screening, oximeter checking of students and staff,' the order stated. The schools and colleges will also have to ensure that the seating arrangements are made in keeping with the physical distancing norms, it was stated. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh police on Thursday warned people not to fall prey to mobile phone calls or messages offering to register name for the coronavirus vaccine. "People should not attend any phone call or click on a link (in a text message) offering coronavirus vaccine," said
Rajat Saklecha, Additional Superintendent of Police, Cyber Crime. It is an attempt by cyber fraudsters to get confidential information and siphon off money from bank accounts, he told reporters.
A student who received one such call informed the cyber wing after which an advisory warning about this racket was issued, Saklecha said. (PTI)
South Africa's health minister says the country has seen more than 14,000 confirmed new coronavirus cases in the past day, with a positivity rate of 26 per cent, as overall cases edge toward 1 million. Heath Minister Zwelini Mkhize says the 'alarming rate of spread' of infections is much faster than during the first wave in midyear. His daily report doesn't say how many of the new infections are attributed to the new variant of the virus in South Africa.
The country has more than 950,000 confirmed cases, including more than 25,000 deaths. More than 400 people have died in the past day. Mkhize says COVID-19 is unrelenting and urges South Africans to not be complacent as they enter the holiday season, and he warns that the government will have to review restrictions meant to limit the spread of the virus and consider further measures. More than a quarter of the country's infections are in Gauteng province, home of commercial hub Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria. (AP)
The Karnataka government on Thursday withdrew its night curfew order, hours before it was scheduled to be implemented. The decision to impose night curfew for nine days from 11 pm to 5 am starting from Thursday was taken on Wednesday in line with the Centre's advice, amid concerns over a new COVID-19 variant spreading in the UK. In a statement, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said: "In view of the public opinion that there was no need for night curfew, the decision was reviewed and after consulting with cabinet colleagues and senior officials it has been decided to withdraw the night curfew," Yediyurappa said. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed authorities to maintain extra vigil especially at airports amid concerns over a new strain of coronavirus spreading in the UK. Adityanath held a high level meeting with senior officials and directed that arrangements be made for proper treatment of COVID-19 patients, an official release issued said.
The Central government on Monday had directed testing of all passengers coming from the UK on arrival at Indian airports. It had issued a stringent set of SOPs mandating RT-PCR tests at airports for each traveller from the country and isolation in a separate unit of an institutional facility for positive cases. India suspended all passenger flights connecting the UK from Wednesday till December 31 or till further orders. (PTI)
Russian authorities reported 29,935 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest daily spike in the pandemic. This is nearly 2,700 infections more than was registered the previous day. Russia's total of over 2.9 million remains the fourth largest coronavirus caseload in the world.
The government's coronavirus task force has also registered more than 53,000 deaths in all. Russia has been swept by a rapid resurgence of the outbreak this fall, with numbers of confirmed COVID-19 infections and deaths significantly exceeding those reported in the spring. The country's authorities have resisted imposing a second nationwide lockdown or a widespread closure of businesses. (AP)
The result of genomic analysis of a sample from a United Kingdom returnee, who tested COVID-19 positive, could be expected next week, according to the National Institute of Virology and Tamil Nadu has requested the research facility to expedite it, a senior health official said on Thursday. The returnee from UK, who days ago tested positive, continues to be treated at the King's Institute for Preventive Medicine and Research and he is stable and doing well, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said.
Asked on genomic analysis result of the sample sent to the Pune based NIV, he said institute authorities have indicated that it may be expected on December 28 and Tamil Nadu has requested it to expedite availability of result. 'We are talking with them (NIV) continously. This is genomic analysis. There are several mutations which has to be studied,' he said. (PTI)
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the city government will approach airport authorities here over a report that two COVID-positive flyers from the UK had slipped out from the airport. Amid mounting concern over a new strain of the virus detected in UK, the Delhi government on Tuesday had said people who have arrived here recently from that country, are being traced and tested, while an institutional quarantine facility was being set up separately for positive cases at the LNJP Hospital.
At a press conference, asked about the report that two passengers from the UK, who had landed at Delhi airport on Tuesday, had further travelled to Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, despite testing positive for COVID-19, Jain said, "I have also read about it in the newspaper today". "Flight operations and security there is under the airport authorities... But, a person who has tested positive, should not have moved out," Jain said. Asked about the responsibility of the nodal officer for COVID-19 at the Delhi airport, the health minister said, "We will talk to airport authorities about it".
A list of people who should be inoculated on priority in Tamil Nadu is ready and 21,000 personnel were being trained and 46,000 centres identified in the state for the rollout of the immunisation exercise after the vaccine is made available, a top state health official said here on Thursday. The comprehesive list, including about five lakh health workers, all other frontline personnel like those from municipal administration, revenue and police, the elderly and those with co-morbidities is ready, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said.
Speaking on the coronavirus vaccine, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the government is fully prepared to receive, store and give vaccines to priority category persons in the capital. "Delhi govt has completed all preparations & is ready for vaccination. There are around 51 lakh people including healthcare & frontline workers who would get the vaccine in the first phase. The process of identification of all such people is almost complete." "Each priority category person will be given two doses; total 1.2 crore doses will be required in the 1st phase of vaccination in Delhi. Currently, we have the capacity to store 74 lakh doses which will be increased to 1.15 crore within one week," he said.
China will suspend direct flights to and from the United Kingdom, Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday, citing the emergence of a new coronavirus strain. "After much consideration, China has decided to take reference from others countries and suspend flights to and from UK," Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
A passenger who disappeared from Delhi airport after testing positive for coronavirus upon her return from the United Kingdom on December 21 has been found in Andhra Pradesh’s Rajahmundry early Thursday morning. Health officials received the woman and her son at Rajahmundry railway station and shifted her to the district hospital.
“The woman is asymptomatic and doing well at the district hospital. Her son who traveled along with her to Rajahmundry will be tested for the virus today. We received them upon their reaching here and shifted them to the special ward of Rajahmundry district hospital,” Dr. T Ramesh Kishore, East Godavari district coordinator for health services, told indianexpress.com.
The Kerala government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the state high court's verdict which had directed it to increase the number of pilgrims to the historic Sabarimala temple to 5,000 per day, saying it will put a "great strain" on police personnel and health officials in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state government, in its petition filed in the apex court against the December 18 judgment of the Kerala High Court, has said the state had constituted a high-level committee headed by the chief secretary which had set the number of pilgrims per day to 2,000 on weekdays and 3,000 on weekends respectively. It said that to control the COVID-19 pandemic during the Sabarimala temple festival season between December 20 and January 14 next year, the state had constituted the high-level committee to consider all aspects and to fix the number of pilgrims who can be permitted per day to visit the shrine.
Singapore has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus variant found in the United Kingdom, the city-state said, while 11 others who were already in quarantine had returned preliminarily positive results for the new strain. All the cases, which were imported from Europe, had been placed in 14-day quarantine at dedicated facilities or isolated upon arrival, and their close contacts had been quarantined earlier. “There is currently no evidence that the B117 strain is circulating in the community,” Singapore’s health ministry said late on Wednesday, referring to the new, potentially more infectious UK strain.
A new, potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has been found in Britain in cases linked to South Africa, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday. South Africa’s health department said last week that a new genetic mutation of the virus had been discovered and might be responsible for a recent surge in infections there. “Thanks to the impressive genomic capability of the South Africans, we’ve detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the UK,” Hancock told a media briefing.
Britain is already trying to curb the spread of a mutated strain of the virus which is up to 70% more transmissible, and further studies aerie being carried out on the new variant. “This new variant is highly concerning, because it is yet more transmissible, and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant has been discovered in the UK,” he said.
Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar Wednesday clarified that classes for 10th and 12th standard students across the state will reopen as per schedule from January 1. Addressing the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Zilla Panchayats via video conference, the minister said CEOs across districts were overseeing and implementing preparations for the same. “They have been directed to adhere to the rules issued by the department and the government,” Kumar said.
He added that teachers will also be asked to mandatorily wear face shields and a mask “in a bid to uphold safety.” While all teachers have been asked to get a Covid negative report 72 hours prior to entering the school, Kumar said Covid tests would not be made mandatory for around 16 lakh students studying in Classes 10 and 12. “Instead, students will be shifted to an isolation room and then to a hospital for other procedures in case they develop symptoms,” he said.
The Karnataka government on Wednesday announced a 11 pm – 5 am night curfew in the state from December 24 to January 2 in an effort to ensure that a new strain of Covid-19 discovered in the UK does not spread during the Christmas and New Year period. “In view of the new strain of the Covid 19 virus and as per the advice of the government of India and the state technical advisory committee, it is decided to impose night curfew from December 24 till January 2, 2021, from 11 pm to 5 am. I request the public to co-operate and contain the new Covid -19 strain,” Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Wednesday. “During the night curfew on December 24, the midnight services at churches will not be hindered,” Yediyurappa said. The night curfew will not restrict movement of all types of goods, and industries and factories that require 24/7 operations, long-distance buses, trains and flights will be allowed to operate, a government order stated.
With 24,712 cases reported in the 24 hours ending 9 am Thursday, coronavirus infections in India now stand at 1.01 crore. Of these, 2.83 lakh are currently active. As many as 312 deaths were reported on Wednesday, the toll has reached 1.46 lakh. Kerala, among the fastest-growing states in India, is still reporting more than 6,000 cases a day.
The Rajasthan government has imposed a night curfew on December 31 in all cities having a population of over one lakh, news agency PTI reported. The restrictions will remain in place from 8 pm on December 31 to 6 am on January 1, according to an order issued by the Home Department. No New Year party will be organised on the occasion while bursting of firecrackers will be banned. According to the order, markets will be closed at 7 pm.
The state government’s information department supported by Centre For Communication of Child Rights (CCCR), Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), UNICEF and state health and family department organised an online workshop on ‘Sensitization of Radio Professionals on Covid-19 and Covid-Appropriate Behaviour’ on Wednesday.
The webinar was attended by about 30 professionals, including 25 radio jockeys and programming heads from across the FM channels and community radio stations in Gujarat.
Addressing the participants, information directorate Ashok Kalaria said “With vaccine just around the corner, this workshop is a good initiative. RJs have a big role to play in this process as they wield great influence.”
Dr Nayan Jani, state immunisation officer, said, “Radio has reach to grassroots level and therefore they can play a significant role in communicating correct information about vaccine, its process and most importantly busting myths, wrong information and AEFI (Adverse Effect Following Immunization) around vaccination.” (With input from Express News Service)
Delhi recorded 871 fresh COVID-19 cases and 18 more fatalities in a day, even as the case positivity rate slipped 0.99 per cent, authorities said on Wednesday. This was the third consecutive day when the daily rise in cases remained below the 1,000 mark. On Tuesday, 939 new instances of the viral infection was reported, while the previous day the rise was 803, the lowest since August 17 when 787 cases were recorded.
These 871 new cases came out the 87,861 tests, including 45,816 RT-PCR tests and 42,045 rapid antigen tests, conducted the previous day, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department. The infection tally in the city mounted to over 6,19,618 and the death toll rose to 10,347 on Wednesday, officials said. The tally of active cases on Wednesday dropped to 8,003 from 8735 on Tuesday. (PTI)
Qatar began inoculating a prioritised group of citizens and residents against the coronavirus with the vaccine created by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Qatar state-run media reported that several health centres across the tiny energy-rich country started providing the Pfizer vaccine free of charge on Wednesday to older adults, healthcare workers, people in nursing homes and those with underlying health conditions.
Authorities approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use earlier this week. The government has also signed a supply agreement with American drugmaker Moderna. Also on Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates' commercial hub of Dubai started administering free-of-charge Pfizer-BioNTech shots to city residents over the age of 60 and those with chronic illnesses. Dubai has also not specified how many Pfizer doses would be distributed in the campaign announced earlier this week. (AP)
As many as 1,688 passengers arrived at the Mumbai international airport from the UK and other countries since Monday midnight and 745 of them were quarantined in the city, a civic official said on Wednesday. In the wake of detection of a new variant of coronavirus in the UK, a new Standard Operating Procedure has been issued for dealing with passengers arriving from Europe and the Middle-East. It could not be ascertained if any of these 745 passengers were found to have COVID-19 symptoms.
Around 2,000 passengers were expected to land at the Mumbai airport in the last two days, but only 1,688 had landed as of Wednesday afternoon, said an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). As many as 745 of them were placed in institutional quarantine in Mumbai, he said. (PTI)
Karnataka government on Wednesday revised the night curfew timings and date amid fears of new and fast-spreading Covid-19 strain in UK. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in a series of tweets said that the night curfew, which is intended to be enforced from today, will go into effect tomorrow, 24 December from 11 pm to 5 am and will continue till 2 January, 5 am.
With 22 fresh COVID-19 fatalities, the death toll in the state rose to 8,245, while the tally climbed to 5,77,642 with 1,233 new COVID-19 cases reported in the state in the past 24 hours. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government said that of the 22 fresh COVID-19 deaths, four were reported from state capital Lucknow, three from Kanpur and two deaths were reported from Varanasi.
Of the 1,233 fresh COVID-19 cases reported in the state, Lucknow registered 252 new cases. In the past 24 hours, 1,102 COVID-19 patients have been discharged. So far, 5,53,019 patients have recovered from the disease, and have been discharged in the state. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 16,378, the statement said. (PTI)
Increased patrolling by police, heightened vigilance and curbs on timings of bars and pubs are back in Mumbai as it has come under fresh restrictions to check the spread of COVID-19 amid concerns over detection of a new variant of the virus. Police have been conducting marches and are going around streets requesting people to stay indoors, as the night curfew from 11 pm to 6 pm came into force from Tuesday, a police official said on Wednesday.
Those involved in emergency, medical and essential services are exempted from the government order. Vehicles used for non-essential purposes during the night curfew will be seized, a city police spokesperson said. Increased police patrolling was seen near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Haji Ali areas of south Mumbai in the wee hours of Wednesday. (PTI)
Amid concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that those who came to the state from abroad between November 25 and December 8 should undergo tests for detection of COVID-19.
Those who arrived in UP from abroad after December 9 must undergo RT-PCR test, he told officials at a review meeting.
India has suspended all passenger flights connecting the United Kingdom from Wednesday till December 31 or till further orders in the wake of the emergence of a mutated strain of the virus there, joining several other countries that have imposed a similar flight ban. The Union Health Ministry also issued a standard operating procedure advising states to ensure that passengers coming from the UK should undergo RT-PCR test and be isolated in a separate unit of an institutional facility if found positive. (PTI)
Amid concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that those who came to the state from abroad between November 25 and December 8 should undergo tests for detection of COVID-19.
Those who arrived in UP from abroad after December 9 must undergo RT-PCR test, he told officials at a review meeting.
India has suspended all passenger flights connecting the United Kingdom from Wednesday till December 31 or till further orders in the wake of the emergence of a mutated strain of the virus there, joining several other countries that have imposed a similar flight ban.
The Union Health Ministry also issued a standard operating procedure advising states to ensure that passengers coming from the UK should undergo RT-PCR test and be isolated in a separate unit of an institutional facility if found positive. (PTI)
Amid growing concerns over the detection of a new coronavirus strain in the UK, the Madhya Pradesh health department has asked 33 people who returned to Indore from that country in the last 15 days to remain in home isolation, an official said on Wednesday. Indore district nodal officer for COVID-19 prevention, Amit Malakar, told PTI that health of these passengers was being closely monitored.
The list of these passengers was received from the state government, he said. 'These 33 people had returned from the UK in the last fortnight. They have been told to keep themselves isolated in their homes for 15 days after their arrival in Indore,' he said. (PTI)
Jallikattu, the popular bull taming sport in Tamil Nadu, could be held next month by following the guidelines imposed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government said on Wednesday. A maximum of 300 participants would only be allowed for Jallikattu and 150 for 'Erudhu Vidum Nigazhchi', another variety of the sport. Spectators shall be subjected to thermal scanning before entry into the open spaces earmarked for the events and they must follow requisite social distancing and wear masks, the government said in an official release.
The participants should necessarily possess a COVID-19 negative certificate from government authorised labs. There are 235 COVID laboratories in Tamil Nadu. (PTI)
Even though there is a lot that we already know about the coronavirus, there are still some things that need to be understood. Around the world, there are many misconceptions about the virus, with the most prominent one being that once a person has been infected, there are less chances of them getting reinfected because of the presence of antibodies. But, we have read in the news about people getting infected again, and Dr Anita Mathew, Infectious Disease Specialist at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, says that much research is required to understand how long the antibodies developed after a recent COVID19 infection will protect a person, if at all – and if the antibodies are even strong enough to fight reinfection.
It has been noted that if SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes COVID-19) follows the footsteps of other pre-existing coronaviruses, reinfection will be common — and will not remain to be a one-off case study, she says.
Karnataka government Wednesday imposed night curfew in the state. Beginning today, the curfew will remain in place from 10 pm to 6 am till January 2, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said.
Unprecedented and herculean efforts by the scientific community across the world over the past few months have yielded at least two promising Covid-19 vaccines — by Pfizer and Moderna — that have been developed following all the mandatory clinical trial stages. While the average time to develop and make a vaccine publicly available until now has been 15 years, according to the World Health Organisation, it remains an extraordinary feat to have built a vaccine, and shown it to be safe and effective, for a novel disease that is just one-year old but has upended economies and claimed the lives of 1.65 million people.
The developments mark a remarkable turnaround since there was no antidote to the virus and the most optimistic prediction was a vaccine by the middle of 2021. In fact, the vaccine that comes remotely close in matching the Covid-19 pace is the mumps vaccine, which took close to 4 years to get all necessary permissions and licensing. So far, only smallpox has been declared officially eradicated by vaccination.
Maharashtra government Wednesday allowed water sports, nauka vihar, amusement parks and indoor entertainment activities. It also permitted reopening of tourist places outside containment zones.
People who have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection have immune memory to protect against reinfection for at least eight months, according to a new study which provides evidence for the likelihood that COVID-19 vaccines will work for long periods, reported PTI.
While earlier studies have shown that antibodies against the coronavirus decrease after the first few months of infection, raising concerns that people may lose immunity quickly, the new research, published in the journal Science Immunology, puts these concerns to rest.
According to the scientists, including those from Monash University in Australia, specific cells within the immune system called memory B cells, "remembers" infection by the virus, and if re-exposed to the virus, triggers a protective immune response through rapid production of protective antibodies.
Ahmedabad district and corporation officials have registered more than seven lakh people across Ahmedabad city and rural areas during a month-long survey to identify the high-risk population for vaccination against Covid-19. As many as 704 vaccinators, including 324 from rural areas, have been also identified during the survey, officials said.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation officials, engaged from the first week of November to collect data on the highest priority group for the first round of vaccination, have identified 52,000 health-care workers and 40,000 other essential workers, including police and defence personnel and others. The civic body has also identified four lakh in the high-risk population — people above 50 years and residents with long-term-care facilities and underlying medical conditions — ahead of the vaccine roll out.
The pandemic has finally reached every continent on Earth.
Chilean authorities announced that 58 people that were at two military bases in Antarctica or on a navy ship that went to the continent tested positive for the new coronavirus.
So far no other country with a presence in Antarctica has publicly reported any other cases.
Chile’s army announced Monday that 36 people at the Gen Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme Antarctic base have tested positive, and on Tuesday the health minister for the Biobio region in Chile said there are 21 infections involving people aboard the Chilean navy’s Sergeant Aldea supply vessel.
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