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Covid Cases Rising in India: Mild Infections, One Death, and States on Alert

May 25, 2025, 12:35 pm

Covid-19 infections are rising again in several parts of India. As a precaution, many states have begun preparing hospital beds, ensuring oxygen supplies, and stocking up on medicines and vaccines in case the number of cases continues to increase.

Several States Report New Infections

Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Delhi have all confirmed fresh Covid-19 cases. Notably, Delhi recorded 23 new infections on Friday. In response, the city government released an advisory to hospitals, urging them to stay ready for a possible surge.

New Covid Variants Identified

According to INSACOG data, India has detected one case of the NB.1.8.1 variant and four cases of the LF.7 variant. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) currently classifies these variants as “Variants Under Monitoring” (VUMs), and not as “Variants of Concern” or “Variants of Interest,” these strains are reportedly contributing to rising cases in China and other Asian countries.

State-Wise Covid Updates

Most Cases Remain Mild

The Union Health Secretary reviewed the national Covid-19 situation on Saturday. ANI quoted an official source saying, “It is observed that most of these cases are mild and under home care. The Union Health Ministry remains vigilant and, through its multiple agencies, is proactively monitoring the situation closely.” Most reported cases are from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.

Karnataka: Situation Under Control

Karnataka’s Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao stated that the state has recorded 35 Covid-19 cases so far this year, with a small increase over the past two weeks. He assured citizens that there is “nothing alarming” about the trend. The state issued an advisory based on input from the Technical Advisory Committee.

Bengaluru Reports First Death and Infant Case

Sadly, an 84-year-old man with existing health issues died from Covid-19 in Bengaluru, according to PTI. Additionally, a nine-month-old baby boy tested positive on May 22. Harsh Gupta, the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, said, “The patient is stable and is currently admitted to Vani Vilas Hospital in Kalasipalya, Bengaluru.”

Delhi Records Cases After Nearly Three Years

On Friday, Delhi confirmed 23 Covid cases—the first in almost three years. The Delhi Health Minister said all patients are doing well. Meanwhile, the government asked hospitals to prepare beds, oxygen cylinders, and medical supplies in case of further spread.

Haryana Reports Four Cases, Urges Public to Stay Calm

Haryana’s Health Minister Arti Singh Rao reassured people that the state has taken all necessary measures. She urged citizens not to panic. The state currently has four active cases—two in Gurugram and two in Faridabad. Health officials confirmed none of the patients had recently traveled abroad.

Uttar Pradesh Confirms New Cases in Noida and Ghaziabad

In Noida, a 55-year-old woman tested positive and is currently in home isolation. Meanwhile, Ghaziabad reported four cases. As a result, the district’s health department has increased surveillance and tracking.

Maharashtra’s Thane Logs One Death

Thane reported one Covid-related death along with eight new infections on Saturday, according to the Thane Municipal Corporation. The city now has 18 active cases. Only one patient is hospitalized while the others are isolating at home.

Uttarakhand’s AIIMS Rishikesh Reports Three Infections

AIIMS Rishikesh confirmed three Covid-19 cases. Dr. Meenu Singh, the hospital’s director, told ANI, “Three Covid patients have been reported in the AIIMS… One has been discharged… Another patient is one of our residents. She has been kept in isolation. Another patient is from Gujarat who came here for the Badrinath Yatra.”

Telangana Sees One Case in Hyderabad

Telangana health officials reported a case in Hyderabad. The patient, a pulmonologist living in Kukatpally, has already recovered. He followed isolation guidelines, and authorities tracked everyone he had contact with.

Four Cases Detected in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav confirmed four recent Covid-19 infections—three in Visakhapatnam and one in the Rayalaseema region. A woman in Vizag tested positive on Thursday. Her relative and a postgraduate medical student also tested positive the next day.

India Reports New Covid Surge; Delhi Urges Genome Testing

May 24, 2025, 11:47 am

Delhi has seen a recent jump in Covid-19 cases. As a result, the government issued an advisory to hospitals across the city. They must ensure that beds, oxygen, essential medicines, and vaccines are ready for use.

According to Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh, the city reported 23 Covid cases as of Thursday. He said officials are checking whether these patients live in Delhi or had traveled recently.

He assured the public that all infected individuals are in stable condition. “We have already held meetings with hospital authorities, and we are ready to deal with any kind of situation. The government has constituted a team of eight senior officers to monitor the situation,” Singh told reporters.

Meanwhile, Delhi isn’t the only region reporting new cases. Covid infections have emerged in multiple states. These include Maharashtra, Telangana, Kerala, Haryana, Gujarat, and Karnataka.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India recorded 257 Covid cases by Wednesday. However, officials said that most cases were mild and showed no signs of severe illness or death.

This rise in cases in India comes as parts of Asia—especially Singapore and Hong Kong—are also seeing similar trends. Both are major business hubs on the continent.

Singapore’s health ministry explained the surge could be linked to falling immunity levels. However, they found no evidence that the current variants are more dangerous or contagious than before. “While the increase in cases could be due to factors including waning population immunity, there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible – or cause more severe cases – than during the pandemic,” they said.

What’s Driving the Increase?

Experts believe the spike is due to a new sub-variant of Omicron, called JN.1. This variant and its descendants—LF.7 and NB.1.8—are spreading quickly. Singapore health officials confirmed this rise.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also pointed out that the JN.1 variant has nearly 30 mutations. LF.7 and NB.1.8 are now the most common versions seen in recent cases.

Despite these developments, Indian health officials continue to monitor the situation closely. They have promised quick action to protect public health. “Nearly all the cases in India currently are mild, and do not require hospitalisation. Hospitals have been advised to closely monitor influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infections,” a Union Health Ministry official told The Hindu.

Delhi’s Hospital Guidelines

The Delhi government has issued an advisory to both public and private hospitals. It asked medical directors, superintendents, and administrators to check that all key equipment is working. This includes ventilators, Bi-PAP machines, and oxygen concentrators.

Hospitals must also send all positive Covid samples to Lok Nayak Hospital for genome sequencing. This will help quickly detect any new variants. The advisory said hospitals must report how many samples they send for whole genome sequencing (WGS) to the State Surveillance Unit. Lastly, the Delhi government directed all health facilities to update their data daily on the Delhi state health management portal.

New Study Reveals Long COVID’s Widespread Impact

August 6, 2024, 2:50 pm

Researchers from the Universities of Arizona, Oxford, and Leeds reviewed numerous studies on long COVID to understand its prevalence, the disease mechanisms, the variety of symptoms, and potential treatments. Long COVID, also known as post-COVID-19 condition, is characterized by symptoms lasting three months or more after the initial COVID-19 infection, affecting multiple organ systems and causing issues like fatigue, cognitive impairment (often called ‘brain fog’), breathing difficulties, and pain.

Long COVID can affect individuals of all ages, including children. It is more common in females and those with lower socioeconomic status, though the reasons for these disparities are still being studied. The researchers noted that while some patients gradually recover, others experience long COVID for years. Many who developed long COVID before vaccines became available remain ill.

“Long COVID is a devastating disease with a profound human toll and socioeconomic impact,” said Janko Nikolich, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and director of the Aegis Consortium at U of A Health Sciences. He emphasized the importance of understanding the mechanisms to find therapy targets, potentially benefiting other chronic conditions like myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

Being fully vaccinated and up to date with boosters reduces the risk of long COVID, but 3%-5% of people worldwide still develop the condition after an acute COVID-19 infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that long COVID affects 4%-10% of the U.S. adult population, with 1 in 10 adults who had COVID developing long COVID.

The review found various biological mechanisms involved in long COVID, including the persistence of the virus, disruption of the immune response, and microscopic blood clotting, even in those with mild initial infections. Currently, there are no proven treatments for long COVID; management focuses on symptom relief and rehabilitation. Researchers stress the need for biomarkers to diagnose and monitor long COVID and therapies addressing its root causes.

People can lower their risk of developing long COVID by avoiding infection, using antivirals promptly if infected, avoiding strenuous exercise during infection, and staying current with COVID vaccines and boosters.

“Long COVID is a dismal condition, but there are grounds for cautious optimism,” said Trisha Greenhalgh, lead author of the study and professor at Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. She highlighted the ongoing research trials for mechanism-based treatments, which, if effective, could target specific subgroups with precision therapies. Greenhalgh also emphasized the significant social and economic burden of long COVID, particularly on ‘long-haulers’ who have been unwell for two years or more, and the need for better treatment and support strategies for these individuals.

Mohali Hospital Fined Rs 1.2 Lakh For Inflating Elderly Man’s Covid Bill

June 13, 2024, 2:53 pm

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh has ordered Max Super Speciality Hospital to compensate VK Agarwal, a 76-year-old man from Chandigarh, with Rs 1.20 lakh for inflating his COVID-19 treatment bill.

Agarwal filed a complaint stating he was admitted to Max Super Speciality Hospital on January 23, 2021, for COVID treatment and discharged on February 12, 2021. The hospital billed him Rs 7,62,445, with Rs 1,11,851 charged directly to him and the remainder to his insurance.

Agarwal discovered discrepancies in the bill, including unjustified charges for a dietician visit not covered by insurance and erroneous physiotherapy fees. He noted that the dietician advised him to consume milk at night, despite his ulcerative colitis, and that the physiotherapist only demonstrated exercises once.

The hospital defended the charges, stating they were in line with their tariff and agreement with the insurance company, and insisted that all billed services were provided. Oriental Insurance, represented by Raksha Health Insurance, claimed they processed and paid the claim according to policy terms, dismissing other allegations.

The Commission concluded that the hospital improperly billed for a dietician visit that provided inappropriate advice to a colitis patient, charged for physiotherapy not performed as stated, and included excessive fees for items like surgical gloves.

“The advice of the dietician to take milk at night to the patient/ consumer, who is suffering from ulcerative colitis is a wrong advice which could lead to serious consequences on the health of the patient/ consumer, which is a clear-cut negligence on the part of the dietician and amounts to deficiency in service,” the commission noted.

“Further the hospital failed to lead any cogent and convincing documentary evidence to justify the said charges billed from the complainant. Therefore, it is held that the Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali has illegally exaggerated the medical bill of the complainant by adding wrong charges for the services, which were never provided to the complainant, and this (behavior) amounts to deficiency in service as well as adoption of unfair trade practice on the parts of the hospital,” held the commission.

It directed Max Super Speciality Hospital to compensate the complainant by paying an amount of Rs 1,20,000 for “causing loss, harassment and mental agony due to its deficient services” as well as “indulgence into unfair trade practice”, which also includes litigation expenses.

Delhi reports 16 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1

January 3, 2024, 4:31 am

Delhi has reported 16 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 with majority of the patients recovering in home isolation, officials said on Tuesday.
The national capital reported its first case of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 last week.

According to an official, reports of 19 samples sent for genome sequencing were received on Monday. Out of these, 15 samples were detected with JN.1 variant, two with the XBB sub-variant, and the rest with other variants, the officials said.

“The first patient got admitted to a hospital because she was scared, but she only had mild symptoms. She was discharged within a few days.
The 15 patients were detected with JN.1 variant are under home isolation and have no discomfort. Four of them have also recovered,” said an official.

The official said that there was nothing to worry about.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said Covid-19 cases being reported recently are mild infections and that there was no reason to worry.

The situation in Delhi is under control and there has been no huge rise in cases, Bharadwaj said.

“The information received about the disease so far from Delhi and neighbouring states has suggested that the cases are mild. Some people have a mild cough and cold, and some have a mild fever. People are recovering from the disease quickly. As of now, there is nothing to worry about,” he said.

A total of 312 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country so far, with about 47 per cent of them recorded in Kerala, according to the INSACOG’s data updated on Tuesday.

India Reports 743 New COVID-19 Cases, Records Seven Deaths; Active Caseload Stands at 3,997

December 30, 2023, 12:40 pm

India has reported 743 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, with the total active caseload increasing by seven to reach 3,997, as per data from the Union Health Ministry. The country also recorded seven deaths during this period, with three reported in Kerala, two in Karnataka, and one each in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

The cumulative count of COVID-19 cases in India since the outbreak in January 2020 has now reached 4,50,12,484, with an increase of 743 cases in the last 24 hours. The death toll due to COVID-19 in the country stands at 5,33,358, reflecting an increase of seven deaths in the same period.

On December 29, 2023, a total of 41,797 tests were conducted, according to the official report by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

India has also reported a total of 145 cases of the Covid-19 subvariant JN.1 till December 28. These cases were identified from samples collected between November 21 and December 18, 2023. The JN.1 subvariant is a descendant of the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.86 or Pirola, and the first case of the JN.1 variant was reported in Kerala. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the WHO has emphasized that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.

Manipur Registers Fresh COVID-19 Case Amidst Growing Concerns Over JN.1 Subvariant

December 29, 2023, 1:28 pm

Breaking its streak of no new infections, Manipur reported a recent case of COVID-19. The infected individual, a resident of Paomata in Senapati district, had recently travelled from Delhi to Dimapur by air and later from Dimapur to Senapati by road.

The specific virus variant remains unidentified, prompting authorities to send samples for genome sequencing to obtain comprehensive details. Authorities are actively monitoring the situation to avert any potential spread of the virus.

The rise in COVID-19 cases has emerged as a growing concern in the country, particularly with the advent of the JN.1 subvariant. Several states are witnessing an increase in fresh cases.

Recent data from the Union Health Ministry reveals that India recorded 692 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, leading to an increase in the active caseload by four, totalling 4,097. Additionally, six deaths were reported during this period, with two in Maharashtra and one each in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal. Since the onset of the pandemic in January 2020, the total COVID-19 cases in India have reached 4,50,10,944, and the death toll stands at 5,33,946.

Given the rise in COVID-19 cases attributed to the JN.1 subvariant in various states, Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, following AIIMS, has taken precautionary measures. The hospital has reserved 50 beds for isolation and nine ICU beds. Adequate arrangements, including provisions for oxygen, PPE kits, and COVID testing, have been put in place.

Dr. Neeraj Gupta, a senior pulmonologist and former HOD at Safdarjung Hospital, described JN.1 as a variant of Omicron. He noted its mild nature and emphasized that, while mild, the virus exhibits the ability to cross immune barriers. Dr. Gupta added that patients with comorbidities or compromised immune systems might experience higher morbidity leading to mortality.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently categorized JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. Despite this classification, the WHO underscored that the overall risk associated with JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.

Delhi reports 3–4 Covid cases every day, Says Bharadwaj

December 26, 2023, 1:59 am

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Monday that the national capital is seeing three to four Covid cases on average every day and asserted that the city is well equipped to fight the virus resurgence.
Sixty-three cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 had been reported in the country till Sunday, including 34 in Goa, official sources said on Monday.
Nine cases have been detected in Maharashtra, eight in Karnataka, six in Kerala, four in Tamil Nadu, and two in Telangana, they added.

“There was a meeting with the Centre over Covid-19 situation, and we were informed that the cases are increasing more in southern states like Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,” Bharadwaj told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
“We have been conducting tests, and we have received on average three to four cases per day, which is less than even one per cent. We have conducted mock drills and made all necessary arrangements,” he said.

States have been asked to monitor and report district-wise cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) from all health facilities regularly for early detection of a rising trend of cases.
India saw a single-day rise of 628 new coronavirus cases, with the number of active cases rising to 4,054, the Union health ministry said on Monday.
The JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) sub-variant of Covid emerged in August in Luxembourg. It is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of SARS COV2.

India reports 656 fresh Covid-19 cases, one death in 24 hours

December 26, 2023, 12:17 am

A total of 656 cases of Covid-19 subvariant JN.1 and one death have been reported in the country for the past 24 hours, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of active cases of Covid-19 in the country was recorded at 3,742.
Earlier on Saturday, a multi-fold spurt in fresh COVID cases was noted in India, with Kerala contributing the majority of those.
A total of 423 cases were reported, of which 266 were from Kerala and 70 from neighbouring Karnataka, Union health ministry data showed.
Two deaths were reported in Kerala.

Meanwhile, former AIIMS director and senior pulmonologist, Dr Randeep Guleria said that the new subvariant of COVID is not causing severe infections and hospitalisation.
“It is more transmissible, it is spreading more rapidly, and it is gradually becoming a dominant variant. It is causing more infections but the data also suggests that it is not causing severe infections or hospitalisations. Most of the symptoms are predominantly in the upper airways, like fever, cough, cold, sore throat, running nose and body aches,” Dr Guleria said.

Earlier, India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) chief Dr NK Arora also said that no additional dose of vaccine is needed against the subvariant at present.
Dr Arora further said, “I would say prevention is required for all those who are 60 years of age or older, who are likely to have comorbidities and those who are on drugs that suppress our immunity, like cancer patients. If they have not taken precaution so far, then they are advised to take precaution; otherwise, there is no need for any additional doses.”
The INSACOG chief asserted that various subvariants of Omicron have been reported but none of them have increased severity.

He reiterated the fact that there is no need for panic but that it requires vigilance. “I would like to assure everybody that we need to be vigilant, but not panicky at all,” he added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.
Due to its rapidly increasing spread, WHO is classifying the variant JN.1 as a separate variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86.
It was previously classified as VOI as part of BA.2.86 sublineages.

Kerala reports 265 fresh Covid-19 cases, one death in last 24 hours

December 23, 2023, 2:19 am

Kerala reported 265 fresh Covid-19 infections and one death in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The total number of active cases of Covid-19 in the country was recorded at 2,997.
Earlier on Thursday, India recorded 594 fresh COVID-19 infections – taking the number of active cases from 2,311 the previous day to 2,669, according to Union Health Ministry data.

Meanwhile, amid rising concerns over the emergence of the new variant of the Coronavirus, former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan asserted that there is no need to panic currently as it is a variant of interest and not of concern.
However, she urged people to be cautious by taking proper precautionary measures.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former DG, of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said, “We need to be cautious, but we don’t need to worry because we don’t have any data to suggest that this variant JN.1 is more severe or it’s going to cause more pneumonia, more death.”
“I think what we need to do is try to take the normal preventive measures that we are all now familiar with. We were familiar with Omicron, so it’s the same family. So not much has changed, but 1 or 2 new mutations have come up. And that’s why I think WHO has said let’s keep a watch on it. It’s a variant of interest. It’s not a variant of concern,” said the doctor.

She further advised precautions to avoid infection, “Avoid being in a very closed environment with very poor ventilation with toxic people without a mask. So do wear a mask if you’re in that type of very close setting because prolonged exposure to somebody infected increases the risk of infection”
“Try to be in an open space rather than in most cases, have gatherings and now ventilated places today, entering into the season of gatherings,” said Swaminathan.
“If you have some warning symptoms and signs like severe fatigue, prolonged fever or you’re feeling breathless, visit the hospital,” she said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.

Emerging Covid-19 cases: Kerala reports 265 cases and a death

December 22, 2023, 3:36 pm

India once again faces a surge in the Covid-19 cases. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released a data of total number of active cases that turned out to be 2,997. Kerala reported 265 fresh Covid-19 cases and one death in the last 24 hours alone. There were 594 cases of Covid-19 on Thursday taking the number of active cases from 2,311 on the previous day to a total of 2,669, according to Union Health Ministry data.

Meanwhile, former Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, amid growing concern about the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus, asserted that there is no need to panic now because it is interesting but definitely not alarming. However, Dr. Swaminathan urged people to take all the necessary precautions for their well being.

Former Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr. Swaminathan also mentioned that, people must remain cautious but they do not need to worry about the new variant as there isn’t any data that suggests that this variant JN.1 is more severe or causes pneumonia leading to more deaths.

“I think what we need to do is try to take the normal preventive measures that we are all now familiar with. We were familiar with Omicron, so it’s the same family. So not much has changed, but 1 or 2 new mutations have come up. And that’s why I think WHO has said let’s keep a watch on it. It’s a variant of interest. It’s not a variant of concern,” said the doctor. In addition, she insisted upon avoiding being in very closed environments with very poor ventilation and toxic people without a mask as a prolonged contact with an infected person increases the risk of infection.

She further advised, “Try to be in an open space rather than closed. In most cases, people have gatherings in ventilated places today, entering into the season of gatherings.” She continued, “If you have some warning symptoms and signs like severe fatigue, prolonged fever or you’re feeling breathless, visit the hospital.”

However, the World Health Organization emphasized that, based on current evidence, the overall risk of JN.1 remains low.

Covid-empowered groups to hold review meeting in Delhi

April 5, 2023, 4:13 pm

The Covid empowered groups review meeting would be in Delhi at 4:30 pm today, said official sources. Dr V K Paul, Director General Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Bahl and other senior health officials will attend this meeting, added the official sources.

According to the sources, this is a review meeting to know the Covid-19 situation and preparedness in the country. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) will also attend the meeting.

A total of 4,435 fresh Covid-19 infections were reported across the country in the last 24 hours, a significant jump from Tuesday’s tally of 3038 cases, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday. It is the highest single-day rise in the last six months, the ministry said.

India’s active Covid caseload currently stands at 23,091 with a daily positivity rate of 3.38 per cent, the ministry said. The Covid-19 cases in India have seen an upward trend in the past few days with the daily fresh infections ranging between 2,994 on April 1 to 3,824 on April 2 and 3,641 on April 3 and 3038 on April 4.

With 2,508 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the total number of recoveries stands at 4,41,79, 712. India’s recovery rate currently is at 98.76 per cent, the union ministry further stated.

“We need to remain alert but there is no need to worry. Currently, the sub-variant of Omicron which is circulating in the country has not increased hospitalisations,” Mandaviya said.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued revised guidelines for Covid in the wake of the surge of cases in the past week across the country.

India’s daily Covid-19 cases highest in 140 days with 1,300 new infections

March 23, 2023, 11:53 am

India has seen a rise in Covid-19 cases with 1,300 new infections reported, the highest in 140 days, according to the latest data from the Union Health Ministry. Active cases have also risen to 7,605, while the death toll has increased to 5,30,816, with three deaths reported in Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.46 per cent, while the weekly positivity was at 1.08 per cent. A total of 92.06 crore tests have been conducted including 89,078 in the last 24 hours. As many as 4,41,60,997 individuals have recovered from the illness, clocking a national recovery rate of 98.79 per cent. India has so far administered a total of 220.65 crore doses of Covid vaccine as per the ministry’s website.

With a significant rise in the number of daily cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed to track newer variants and carry out effective monitoring of influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infections. He has also urged people to follow respiratory hygiene and Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. At a high-level meeting to review the country’s Covid-19 and influenza situations, the PM was informed regarding the availability and prices of 20 major Covid drugs, 12 other drugs, 8 buffer drugs, and one influenza drug that are being monitored.

Maharashtra recorded 334 fresh Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, 54 more than a day before, and one fatality, the health department said in a bulletin. In Mumbai, 71 out of 1290 people who took the test were found to be positive. Hence, the test positivity rate stood at 5.5 per cent. There are 361 active cases in Mumbai. While 26 of the patients are in hospital, 10 among them are on oxygen support.With the new cases, the state’s Covid-19 tally rose to 81,40,479 and the death toll to 1,48,430.

India Records 227 New Covid Cases In The Last 24 Hours

December 25, 2022, 3:39 pm

The Ministry Of Health and Family Affairs said India recorded 227 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours. India’s total COVID-19 vaccination coverage stands at 220.05 crores. 95.12 crore second doses and 22.36 crore precaution doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

India administered 1,11,304 doses in the last 24 hours. India’s active caseload currently stands at 3,424, which accounts for 0.01 percent of the total cases. The national COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 98.8 percent, the Health Ministry said.

A total of 198 patients recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients (since the beginning of the pandemic) was recorded at 4,41,42,989 on Sunday. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.18 percent, while the weekly positivity rate is 0.14 percent.

Moreover, PM Modi insisted citizens to wear masks and follow Covid-19 protocols in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode on Sunday.

India reports 3,230 new COVID-19 infections in last 24 hours, active caseload at 42,358

September 27, 2022, 12:08 pm

According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday, India logged 3,230 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,45,75,473, while the active cases declined to 42,358.The data updated at 8 am stated that the death toll climbed to 5,28,562 with 32 fatalities which includes 22 deaths reconciled by Kerala.The ministry said, the active cases comprise 0.10 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.72 per cent.A decline of 1,057 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.As per the data, the country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year.

India reports 5,443 new COVID-19 cases

September 22, 2022, 2:19 pm

According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,45,53,042, while the active cases climbed to 46,342 as 5,443 new COVID-19 cases were registered in a day. The data updated at 8 a.m. stated that the death toll climbed to 5,28,429 with 26 fatalities which includes 12 deaths reconciled by Kerala.The active cases comprise 0.10 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.71 per cent, the ministry said.An increase of 126 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

India’s daily covid tally falls below 5k with 4,858 new cases

September 19, 2022, 12:28 pm

India reported 4,858 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, 806 fewer than yesterday, bringing the total to 4,45,39,046, according to data released by the Union health ministry on Monday. On the other hand, according to the health bulletin, the number of active cases rose to 48,027.

India has 0.11 percent of the infections that are still active, and the Covid recovery rate has risen to 98.71 percent. 2.76 percent was the daily positivity rate, while 1.78 percent was the weekly positivity rate.

Infections with the coronavirus are currently most common in Kerala, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, and West Bengal.

The health ministry stated that as many as 18 fatalities were reported today, taking the death toll to 5,28,355. This included eight deaths reconciled by Kerala.

According to the data available, 2.16 billion doses of vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid vaccination drive.

On December 19, India’s Covid-19 total had reached one billion. On May 4 and June 23, respectively, last year, it reached the depressing milestones of two and three crore. On January 25 of this year, the number of Covid cases in the nation surpassed four crore.

With 6,395 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, India’s total tally reaches to 44,478,636

September 8, 2022, 11:23 am

India on Thursday was recorded with 6,395 fresh infections of COVID-19. The cases were slightly higher as compared to the day before, i.e., on Wednesday, the total number of cases that came was 5,379. India’s total tally of people infected with COVID-19 is 44,478,636 now.

As per the data received by the Union Health Ministry, the active caseload in the country is 50,342, accounting for 0.11 percent of the total cases. The weekly positivity rate is 1.88 percent, while the daily positivity rate is 1.96 percent.

According to the data, the country’s recovery rate stands at 98.7 percent. A total of 4,39,00,204 people have been recovered so far, out of which 6,614 have been recovered in the last 24 hours.

According to the official data, 88.83 crore samples have been tested since the beginning of the pandemic and 3,25,602 tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours.

Also, India’s vaccination coverage has reached the 214.27 crore-mark, out of which 17.49 crore are precaution (booster) doses. In the last 24 hours, 36,31,977 people have been administered the vaccine doses.

India crosses 2 billion COVID-19 vaccination in 18 months after first shot

July 17, 2022, 2:40 pm

A milestone was achieved on Sunday as India crossed its 2 billion, i.e. 200 crore vaccination mark. After this, India has become the second country in the world to do so.

After achieving this milestone, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “India has scripted history under PM Narendra Modi Ji’s visionary leadership. This extraordinary achievement will be etched in history! 200 Crore Vaccinations.”

A total of 2,00,00,15,631 people have been vaccinated in the country till 12.30 pm on Sunday. These include 1,01,90,73,891 people receiving the first dose, 92,59,26,880 receiving the second dose and 5,50,14,860 receiving the precautionary dose. Regarding Corona Vaccination, at present, vaccination is going on at 14,883 sites, of which 14,166 are government centers, while 717 are private centers.

According to the Ministry of Health, the country has achieved this figure after seven months from the scheduled time. The government had set a target of two billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated all Indians on crossing the special figure of 200 crore vaccine doses. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “India creates history again! Congrats to all Indians on crossing the special figure of 200 crore vaccine doses. Proud of those who contributed to making India’s vaccination drive unparalleled in scale and speed. This has strengthened the global fight against COVID-19.”

Moreover, the country achieved the target of 100 crore vaccinations on 21 October 2021. At the same time, this figure has reached 200 crores after nine months. Notably, the nationwide vaccination drive was started on January 16, 2021.

However, from Friday, the program of administering free precaution doses for the next 75 days to adult citizens across the country under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav has started. Under which booster doses are being administered to people between 18 and 59.

India reports 18,840 new Covid-19 cases, 43 deaths in last the 24 hours

July 9, 2022, 11:44 am

According to the Union Health Ministry of India, India reported 18,840 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday. The Union Health Ministry of India has confirmed 16,104 recoveries pushing the total recoveries to 4,29,53,980 crore.

In the last 24 hours, India also reported 43 deaths taking the country’s toll to 5,25,386 lakh. At the same time, the active caseload stood at 1,25,028. Although on July 8, there were 1,22,335 active cases of Covid-19.

The active cases comprise 0.29 per cent of the total infections. Furthermore, the current recovery rate in the country stands at 98.51 per cent and the daily positivity rate at 4.14 per cent.

The health ministry said on Saturday that as many as 4,54,778 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests undertaken so far in the country to 86,61 crore.

Meanwhile, the national capital, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra has seen a massive spike in Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Delhi reported 531 cases of Covid-19 on Friday. Odisha reported 512 new Covid-19 cases and Tamil Nadu reported 2,722 new cases. However, Maharashtra reported 2,944 new cases of Covid-19.

New Sub-Variant of Covid-19 Detected in India

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed new Covid-19 sub-variant BA.2.75 of the Omicron variant, which has been detected in India. In addition, BA.4 and BA.5 are driving waves in other countries like Europe and America.

“On Covid-19, globally reported cases have increased nearly 30 per cent over the last two weeks. Four out of six of the WHO sub-regions saw cases increase in the last week,” the news agency PTI qouted, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Vaccination In India

Moreover, as of now, India has administered 1,98,65,36,288 crore vaccine doses, and for the age group 12-14 years, over 3.74 crore 1st dose vaccines have been administered. However, in the last 24 hours 12,26,795 Covid-19 vaccines were administrated.
Notably, the nationwide vaccination drive was started on January 16, 2021.

PM Modi’s formula for winning the Covid war

January 21, 2021, 2:20 am

The Modi government has decided to export Covid vaccines free of cost to its neighbours as a ‘goodwill gesture’. Covaxin will be sent to seven countries, including Mongolia, Oman, Myanmar, the Philippines, Bahrain, Maldives and Mauritius, while Covishield is being sent to Bhutan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Seychelles. The government will procure the vaccines for export through the government-run pharmaceutical company, HLL Lifecare Limited. The country had exported hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) last year through the same company to many other countries. India plans to offer 20 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to its neighbours, once again showcasing how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s war against the Wuhan virus has been guided by the abiding principles of “India First” and “Neighbourhood First”.

The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against the coronavirus touched 6.31 lakhs in the first four days itself, through 11,660 sessions. Of the total people vaccinated against Covid-19 so far, 0.18 percent experienced adverse events following immunisation, while 0.002 percent had to be hospitalised, which is fairly low. Hence, concerns about adverse effects and serious problems post-immunisation as of now are unfounded and negligible, with both the “Made in India” vaccines being completely safe.

On 16 January 2021, India, the world’s largest democracy, with a population of 1.38 billion people, kickstarted the world›s largest Covid vaccination drive, with 2.07 lakh people vaccinated in a single day across 3,351 sessions and with the help of 16,755 vaccinators. What makes India›s vaccination drive against Covid unique is the sheer size, scale and meticulous planning of this mammoth exercise, guided by the humanitarian concept of “Jan Bhagidari” or people’s participation. The plan is to inoculate 300 million or 30 crore “priority population” in the first two phases by July-August 2021, including 3 crore healthcare and frontline Covid workers in the next three months in the first phase itself. Inoculating 300 million people within six to seven months is akin to vaccinating almost the whole of America or vaccinating the combined populations of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France, in record time!

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while laying the foundation stone of a new battalion campus of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) near Bhadravathi in Shivamogga district, recently summed up the crux of India›s gigantic pushback against Covid when he said, “India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fought the most successful battle against coronavirus in the world, and with the beginning of the vaccination drive, the country has taken the fight against the pandemic to a final stage”.

“The whole world has been fighting against the coronavirus for about a year, many people have lost lives. This was probably one of the toughest fights that humanity has fought, using knowledge, innovations and mutual cooperation,” Shah further added.

India has reported less than 20,000 daily cases over the past 10 days and less than 300 daily deaths for the last 23 days, pushing the national recovery rate to a solid 96.58 percent and the case fatality rate (CFR) to just 1.4 percent, the lowest globally. The active caseload now is less than 1.98 percent and the daily positivity rate is also pretty low, at barely 1.8 percent. India›s cumulative positivity rate is hardly 5.6 percent, which is commendable given that many states in America like Florida and Connecticut are still reporting daily positivity rates as high as 8.55 percent. It is indeed noteworthy that despite having a density of population of 455 per sq km, amongst the highest in the world, India has tested over 170 million people and done an extraordinary job of reining in the total number of cases at 10.6 million. In sharp contrast, the USA, with a population density of just 36 per sq km, has reported a staggering 24.3 million coronavirus cases and 163 percent higher deaths than in India.

The Modi government has built a war kitty of 2,360 master trainers, 61,000 programme managers, 2 lakh vaccinators and 3.7 lakh vaccination team members so far. The Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech›s Covaxin, which it has developed with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), are homegrown vaccines that vindicate PM Modi›s clarion call of “Vocal for Local” and are reflective of the country›s immense innovative and scientific temper. Both the vaccines have been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

The Modi government has procured 11 million doses of Covishield at a cost of Rs 200 per dose, exclusive of taxes. Of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, the number is 5.5 million doses, of which 1.65 million doses are being procured free of cost, and the remaining 3.85 million doses are being purchased at a cost of Rs 295 per dose. In effect, India›s vaccine roll-out is not only the largest in the world, but also the most affordable, with no compromises whatsoever on any standard operating procedures (SOPs). The PM-Cares fund will bear the entire cost of the first phase, which will inoculate 3 crore frontline Covid workers. Earlier, in June 2020, over Rs 2000 crore had been allocated from the PM-Cares fund for the supply of 50,000 ‘Made-in-India’ ventilators to government-run Covid hospitals in all states and UTs. Out of the 50,000 ventilators, 30,000 ventilators were manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited, again showcasing India›s indigenous manufacturing prowess. While a jaded, directionless and clueless Rahul Gandhi keeps taking needless jibes at the Modi government, the fact of the matter is that for over six decades, India just had 47,000 ventilators, whereas in one go, in June 2020, the Modi government made available 50,000 ventilators to ensure that no life is lost for want of life-saving equipment.

PM Modi›s food security scheme for the needy, called the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY), provided free ration to 81 crore people every single month, for nine months in a row, during the pandemic. Effectively speaking, this means that a population 2.5 times the size of America was fed every month, showcasing the Modi government’s generous, welfarist and people-centric approach.

Contrast the policy of obfuscation and apathy followed by China with the probity and transparency shown by India in taking Covid head-on. Be it building over 116 million toilets under the «Clean India›› or «Swachh Bharat» mission, making India›s 5.5 lakh villages open defecation-free (ODF), giving free health insurance to 50 crore Indians under the «Ayushman Bharat» scheme, producing over 60 million PPE kits and 150 million N95 masks in 2020, bringing home over 3.9 million stranded Indians from different parts of the globe via the “Vande Bharat Mission”, or extending medical and humanitarian assistance to over 150 countries in the fight against the pandemic, the Modi government›s fight against the Wuhan virus was made easier by the fact that a huge amount of effort has gone into ramping up India›s health infrastructure and making cleanliness a way of life in the last 6.5 years.

What is worth mentioning here is that, during the initial days of the Covid outbreak, there was only one lab in the country that could undertake testing for the infection. But today there are over 2000 testing laboratories. Punjab’s case fatality remains at 3.20, amongst the highest in the country. Meanwhile, Maharashtra, which has recorded the highest number of Covid deaths in India, has the second highest CFR of 2.56. Had it not been for the high Covid fatality rates from these two states, India›s CFR of 1.4 percent would have been even lower. Maharashtra, which is currently a non-BJP-ruled state and is led by a Congress-centric alliance, is, in fact, one of the worst performing states, having reported close to 50,000 deaths already. Despite having just 8 percent of India›s population, Maharashtra accounts for almost 33 percent of India›s Covid-related fatalities, showcasing how a poor and lethargic leadership can be a bane during a global health crisis. In sharp contrast, Uttar Pradesh, a BJP-ruled state, which has a massive population of over 200 million people and is almost the same size as Brazil, has reported less that 8,600 deaths. Brazil, in the meanwhile, has reported over 2.1 lakh mortalities.

The Modi government›s massive vaccine roll-out plan has put in place an end-to-end traceability mechanism with RFID and barcoding to secure and monitor the supply chain, transportation and distribution, right from the manufacturing facility to the time the patient is inoculated. Automated data loggers that monitor storage temperature and transfer messages every three seconds to a central unit under tight surveillance 24/7 have been deployed. The mega immunisation drive may see high-speed vehicles transporting the vaccines, secured by rifle-wielding escorts on the outside and highly secure Internet of things (IoT)-enabled locking system from the inside, to prevent theft and counterfeiting.

More importantly, there is the Modi government›s CoWIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network), with 80 lakh beneficiaries from the first priority list already registered on the app. The CoWIN platform is owned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and was earlier the platform used for conducting Pulse Polio and other crucial and highly successful immunisation programmes across the country. The same platform has been expanded for doling out Covid-19 vaccines and the Ministry of Electronics and IT along with the National Informatics Centre are handling the backend and the tech infrastructure for it. CoWIN is again an example of how the Modi government has seamlessly embraced technology to ensure last mile delivery. When it does become open to everyone, it will have four modules—user administrator, beneficiary registration, vaccination and beneficiary acknowledgement, and status updation. The CoWIN app is likely to be made accessible to the general public for registration by the end of March-April 2021. The idea behind the CoWIN app is to create a digital health behemoth. The CoWIN app has two parts: one that will be used by the beneficiary and the other that will be a back-end module to be used by vaccinators.

To cut to the chase, if 2020 was a year that tested the human will to survive, 2021 is slated to be the year that will heal the world and restore faith in the ability of leaders who are both courageous and compassionate. «Good governance is not firefighting or crisis management. Instead of opting for ad-hoc solutions, the need of the hour is to tackle the root cause of the problems››, as a famous quote by PM Modi goes. Better words have not been said. Undoubtedly, India›s outstanding and successful war against Covid will go down in history as a textbook case of what a sensitive and nimble footed leadership can accomplish.

It would be apt to conclude with a quote by John F. Kennedy, who said, “When written in Chinese, the word ‹crisis› is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” Undoubtedly, while a reckless China foisted the Wuhan virus on an unsuspecting mankind, a visionary leader like PM Modi utilised this unprecedented global crisis as an opportunity to reach out to and heal millions, both in India and outside, showcasing India›s true spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, which means that “the world is one family”.

The writer is an economist, national spokesperson for the BJP and the bestselling author of ‘Truth & Dare: The Modi Dynamic’. The views expressed are personal.

HOW IAF’S COVID EVACUATION CREW IS MAKING A MARK IN ANDAMAN & NICOBAR

January 6, 2021, 4:01 am

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands, while being host to some of the most scenic islands on this planet, encounters myriad challenges for connectivity with the mainland in general and within the islands in particular. This predicament became more glaring and predominant during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which necessitated prompt evacuation of patients from various islands to Port Blair. The Indian Air Force helicopter flight at Air Force Station Carnicobar under the Andaman & Nicobar Command was entrusted the responsibility of airlifting critical patients to Port Blair and have flown numerous missions by day as well as night since June this year.

A dedicated team of pilots and technicians were earmarked as the Covid-19 Evacuation Crew and kept in a state of readiness round the clock so as to get airborne at short notice. The maintenance team has ensured high operational readiness of the helicopters by working 24×7 to enable safe evacuation flying. Strict Covid protocols and preventive measures were instituted for these Air Warriors which included stringent isolation for long periods so as to ensure the crew is available for ‘Covid Safe’ flying for evacuations at any time. Innovative measures by creation of partitions ensured that the patient and crew were isolated from each other thereby reducing the risk of the infection to the aircrew during the flight.

Despite the physical and mental challenges, these motivated professionals displayed exemplary dedication to duty and have been the flying angels for our citizens evacuating nearly 34 Covid-19 patients by air since July 2020. In the past few months the helicopters have also been actively involved in medical evacuation of other critical patients and have evacuated patients which includes five ladies with complications in advance stages of pregnancy endorsing the adage associated with the helicopters of IAF—‘Apatsu Mitram’ meaning a ‘Friend in Distress’.

The unit helicopters and crew continue to be in a heightened state of alertness and are ever prepared to provide yeoman service to our fellow citizens.

NEW COVID CASES BELOW 20K FOR 4 DAYS IN A ROW

January 6, 2021, 2:21 am

With 16,375 new Covid-19 cases and 201 deaths in the past 24 hours, India’s overall tally stood at 1,03,56,845 on Tuesday, while the toll touched 1,49,850. The country continued its streak of low daily new cases as the fresh infection numbers remained below 20,000 for the fourth consecutive day. Till now, 99,75,958 have recovered. Currently, there are 2,31,036 active cases. The recovery rate stands at 96.32%, while the fatality rate is 1.45 per cent. Delhi recorded 442 Covid-19 cases and12 new fatalities on Tuesday, even as the positivity rate slumped to 0.55 per cent. The overall infection tally in the city has now gone past 6.27 lakh and the death toll reached 10,609. The 442 new cases came out of the 79,777 tests conducted the previous day, including 41,633 RT-PCR tests and 38,144 rapid antigen tests. The active cases tally on Tuesday dropped to 4,562 from 4,689 the previous day.

Maharashtra’s Covid-19 tally increased to 19,50,171 on Tuesday after it recorded 3,160 fresh cases of the viral infection. The state reported 64 more deaths due to the infection, taking the fatality count to 49,759. Also, 2,828 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the tally of recovered people to 18,50,189. With this, the state now has 49,067 active cases of coronavirus.

Goa’s coronavirus caseload went up by 80 and reached 51,415 on Tuesday, while the death toll increased by one to touch 744. The number of people who have recovered rose to 49,811 after 70 people were discharged during the day. Goa now has 860 active cases.

Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday reported 671 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking its infection count to 2,45,318, while 839 patients recovered from the infection. With 14 more people succumbing to the viral infection, the state-wide death toll rose to 3,662. A total of 839 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s overall recovery count to 2,33,229. The state now has 8,427 active cases.

The coronavirus caseload in Gujarat rose to 2,48,581 with 655 new cases coming to light on Tuesday. Four patients succumbed to the viral infection which took the death toll to 4,325. At the same time, 868 patients were discharged from hospital. The number of recovered persons in the state thus rose to 2,35,426.

Telangana added 253 fresh infections to its Covid-19 tally, taking the total caseload to nearly 2.88 lakh while three related fatalities pushed the toll to 1,554. The total number of cases stood at 2,87,993 while the recoveries were at 2,81,400.

INDIA IS ALL SET TO ROLL OUT COVID VACCINE BY 13 JANUARY

January 6, 2021, 2:10 am

Days after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) gave approval to two Covid-19 vaccines, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that it is prepared to roll out the coronavirus vaccine by 13 January, paving way for mass vaccination drive in the country.

“We are prepared to roll out Covid-19 vaccines within 10 days of granting emergency use authorisation date, based on dry run feedback,” said Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan at a press conference. Approval to two vaccines was given on 3 January.

The Drug Controller General of India had, on Sunday, announced approvals to two vaccine—Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield, manufactured by Serum Institute of India, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin—for restricted emergency use against Covid-19 infection.

The announcement has come as a major relief for India which has the second highest number of infections in the world, after the US.

Talking about the vaccination process, the Health Secretary said that healthcare workers and frontline workers would not need to register themselves as a beneficiary as their data has been stored in a bulk database. “Healthcare workers and frontline workers would not need to register themselves as a beneficiary as their data in bulk database that has been populated on the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner,” said Rajesh Bhushan.

He further said, “When we would come to the population priority group, the provision of registration or editing of data would be used. The system electronically allows session allocation… The process of session allocation would be digital. Whether the beneficiaries have been vaccinated, this will be captured digitally.”

The Health Secretary also emphasised that India’s active Covid-19 cases have now fallen below the 2.5-lakh mark. “The active cases in the country are less than 2.5 lakhs and continue to decline. The positivity rate stood at 1.97 per cent,” he added.

The Health Secretary further said that 44 per cent of active cases are in hospital with moderate or severe symptoms while 56 per cent of cases are very mild or asymptomatic and are in home isolation.

He also revealed how the approved vaccines will travel from manufacturers to the beneficiaries. Addressing a press conference, the health secretary said that the manufacturers will send the vaccine to the Government Medical Store Department depots at Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Karnal in Haryana by air. The vaccine will then travel to 37 state vaccine stores from where it will go to district vaccine stores which will then supply primary health care centres, designated as Covid-19 immunisation centres.

Rajesh Bhushan said that India currently has 29,000 cold chain points where the approved vaccines Covishield and Covaxin can be stored safely.

The vaccine will be first offered to one crore healthcare workers, along with two crore frontline and essential workers and 27 crore elderly, mostly above the age of 50 years with co-morbidities.

On Saturday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had announced that one crore healthcare workers, along with two crore frontline will get the vaccine for free.

India’s daily count in 16k bracket; recovery rate improves to 96.19%

January 5, 2021, 3:18 am

India’s recovery rate continued to rise, standing at 96.19 percent on Monday. A total of 99,46,867 patients have recovered or been discharged in the country so far.

In the past 24 hours, India added 16,504 cases to its Covid-19 tally, placing its overall number at 1.03 crore cases. This is the third time that the daily count has remained within the 16,000 bracket after June 23 and December 28. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has reported that there are still 2,43,953 active cases in the country.

In the same period, India also reported 214 deaths linked to the virus, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,49,649. The fatality rate in India stands at 1.45 percent currently.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state. The maximum number of cases is from Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, which contribute 62 percent of the total active cases.

The Maharashtra Health Department said on Monday that the state has recorded 2,765 fresh Covid-19 cases.

The total coronavirus tally in Maharashtra is 19,47,011 now. With 29 Covid-19 deaths reported on January 4, the death toll in the state is 49,695.

The Covid-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 9,792 with 26 more people succumbing to the disease. At least 896 fresh coronavirus cases pushed the tally to 5,54,975. 1,432 people were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 5,34,737. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state now stands at 96.35 percent, while the percentage of positive cases, out of the samples tested, stands at 7.70 percent. West Bengal now has 10,446 active cases.

Bihar’s Covid-19 tally rose to 2,53,933 as 282 more people tested positive for the virus, while two new fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,405 on Sunday. The Covid-19 recovery rate in the state climbed to 97.75 percent as 631 more people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,48,210.

Delhi recorded 424 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest in over seven months, and 14 fatalities yesterday, even as the positivity rate slipped to 0.62 percent. The 424 new cases came out of the 68,759 tests conducted the previous day, including 39,217 RT-PCR tests and 29,542 rapid antigen tests. The infection tally in the national capital stands at over 6.26 lakhs. The death toll linked to the pandemic rose to 10,585 in the city.

Haryana reported 244 new cases of Covid-19 infections, six deaths and 391 recoveries in the last 24 hours. At least 17,578 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. For the last few days, except Gurgaon, all the 21 districts of Haryana have reported less than 50 new cases in a single day.

PM Modi’s Covid-19 decisions make him most popular leader

January 5, 2021, 2:06 am

US-based political rating firm Morning Consult rated Prime Minister Narendra Modi the most popular world leader last week for his efficient handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. While this should be a moment of pride for all of us, we need to refresh our memory about what he has done to attract such encomiums across the world.

Imagine a family that is saving money on a day-to-day basis to buy lifestyle items but is suddenly faced with a situation where a member falls seriously ill. The family head decides to spend the entire money on getting the ailing member back to health and postpones all major economic decisions. No one in the family grudges that and everybody gets ready to build their dreams again.

This is exactly what happened when Covid-19 struck India in February-March 2020. The country was doing reasonably well and aspiring to become a major economy, despite the economic slowdown the world over. The decision to put the country under lockdown meant that economic activities would virtually shut down. But the decision had to be taken and the country’s leader, like the family elder, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to save lives first.

Nobody knew how to deal with the situation. Nobody knew how the new virus would spread and how it would be contained. World health bodies and experts had differing views on how to deal with the situation. The only reasonable way was to track down the carrier and isolate the patient till he recovered. But this was a near impossible task due to the density of population and the number of people who had already come into India from various affected countries, including China.

Luckily, in India, we had Narendra Modi, who is an expert in disaster management, at the helm. He had organised the biggest relief work in Gujarat while trying to rebuild Bhuj after a devastating earthquake. He did it first as BJP’s organisational man in 2001, then as Chief Minister from 2002, till he became the Prime Minister in 2014.

His experience and instinct, besides feedback from experts, indicated that something serious was going to threaten human existence. Let us not forget that Covid-19 was declared a pandemic much later. One can imagine how civilisations must have collapsed and become extinct in the past. India was clearly not prepared. There was a shortage of PPE Kits, masks, sanitisers, drugs and every other thing that was needed to deal with the situation, including doctors and paramedical staff.

It was in this context that on 24 March 2020, Prime Minister Modi came on national television and announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. Prior to the lockdown, US health expert Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan had warned that, in the worst-case scenario, about 60% of India’s population, or 80 crore people, would be infected with Covid-19. But in view of the lockdown, Dr Ramanan scaled down the figure to about 20% (almost 30 crore). There is now a history of how the lockdown was extended and how it was violated and the controversy associated with the events. But, overall, the country behaved very sensibly. The economy shrunk, people lost jobs and life got completely disturbed—but lives were saved.

A comparison would give a clearer picture. As of 2 January 2021, about 8.2 crore people have been infected with Covid-19 worldwide, of which, more than 18 lakh people have succumbed to the disease. Meanwhile, the most powerful country in the world, with one of the best healthcare systems, saw about 2 crores of its 32-crore population become infected with Covid-19 and close to 3.5 lakhs die. Compare this with India, which has a population of about 140 crores. More than 1 crore people were infected and close to 1.5 lakh people died in the country. While the Indian graph is tapering further and bringing hope, the situation elsewhere in the world is not encouraging. Just last Saturday, the United States recorded the highest spike of 2.77 lakh cases in a day.

PM Modi must be credited for deciding that the economy can wait. Like a senior figure in a family, he decided to save the lives of each and every individual. There are many countries that thought they could tackle the crisis differently due to their strong healthcare systems, but failed and saw very high casualty figures. One country even tried to become a predator by buying cheap stocks in the depressed market. But India upheld its morality and showed the human face of its civilisational roots.

From manufacturing PPE kits, masks and sanitizers, creating extra beds and training paramedics on how to handle the situation, it was an onerous task never undertaken on such a huge scale ever before. Normally, in such situations, panic grips people because of the shortage of essential commodities and the uncertainty about events. But the Modi government ensured that the supply line was not disrupted. He appealed to traders and stockists not to hoard and appealed people not to panic. The Indian Railways plied at night to ensure that there were no shortages. Road transport ensured that these reached the right places. Even the supply of milk was never disrupted.

From depositing money directly into the accounts of the poor and the deprived to giving free ration to 80 crore people for eight months, it was a mammoth task that the government achieved with aplomb. In the absence of employment and money, they had nowhere to go. But the society was saved from a situation that could have turned volatile. From the Prime Minister down to every minister and health worker, everyone stressed on boosting immunity, and I have hardly heard anyone not knowing the art of boosting immunity using traditional herbs and medicines.

The lockdowns and the consciousness generated among the people prevented Covid-19 from touching the rural areas. We saw barricades put up by villagers for those coming from outside. By the time the disease touched the fringes of the rural population, Indian farmers had already produced a miracle as if to supplement the efforts of the government. India received a bumper kharif crop, rekindling the hope of a quick economic revival.

We have entered 2021 with the hope that the vaccine will soon be available to take care of critical and priority sections of the population. Unless a mishap happens, it appears that we have been successful in containing the disease. Of course, the entire country deserves praise for acting as one. However, one must not forget the leader who made this happen. And the nation must rise in unison to thank God for giving us a leader who knew what to do. He deserves our salute, irrespective of any world ratings.

The writer is convener of the Media Relations Department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on television debates. He has authored the most authentic book on the Prime Minister, called ‘Narendra Modi: The Game Changer’. The views expressed are personal.

On 24 March 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came on national television and announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. Prior to the lockdown, US health expert Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan had warned that, in the worst-case scenario, about 60% of India’s population, or 80 crore people, would be infected with Covid-19.

9 MORE DETECTED WITH UK COVID STRAIN, TOTAL CASES IN INDIA RISE TO 38

January 5, 2021, 2:04 am

Nine more Covid patients have been detected with the UK Covid strain, taking the total number of such cases to 38 in the country, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

All the nine latest additions have been reported from a single laboratory in the national capital, which accounts for nearly half of the total cases of new mutant coronavirus strain. The Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) have reported all the new nine cases detected on Monday.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have also reported 8 cases till date. Together, NCDC and IGIB have detected 18 of the total 38 cases.

Earlier, 4 new cases of the UK strain were detected on January 1, when the total count had reached 29.

A government official said all the 38 persons have been kept in single-room isolation in designated health care facilities while their close contacts have also been put under quarantine.

“Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is underway,” the official added.

The health ministry stated that the situation is under watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs. The samples have so far been sequenced in six of the 10 designated labs across the country.

Of the total 38, the mutated UK strain was detected in the samples of eight persons at the NCDC, 11 in the IGIB, one in the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani (near Kolkata), five in the National Institute of Virology in Pune, three in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and 10 were sequenced at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bengaluru.

With IANS inputs

INDIA RECORDS 18K CASES, DELHI’S DAILY COVID TALLY FALLS BELOW 500 FOR FIRST TIME IN MONTHS

January 4, 2021, 2:09 am

NEW DELHI: With only 424 fresh infections reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours, for the first time in the last seven and a half months, the number of Covid-19 cases has gone below 500 in the national capital.

As per the latest health bulletin, there were 424 positive cases in Delhi, showing a 0.62 percent positivity rate after 68,759 tests were conducted on people suspecting symptoms of Covid-19 that has claimed 10,585 lives and infected 6,26,872 people in the city till date.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, “For the first time, positive cases were less than 500, and the positivity rate was on a continuous decline.” “After May 17, 2020, this is the lowest number of cases. Positivity rate has fallen to 0.73 percent implying that in every 1,000 tests conducted, seven positive cases are detected. Testing is still being conducted on a large scale,” he added. However, he also stressed that it is still advisable to wear a mask and follow all precautions. “It is better to remain on the safer side,” he said.

In Maharashtra, the coronavirus tally reached 19,32,112, including 18,28,546 recoveries. The cumulative death toll in the state reached 49,521.

Gujarat’s tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,47,228 on Sunday with the addition of 715 fresh infections. With four more deaths, the number of people who have succumbed to the viral disease in the state went up to 4,318. A total of 938 patients were also discharged from various hospitals during the day, taking the count of recoveries in Gujarat to 2,33,660.

Telangana recorded 394 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total positive cases to over 2.87 lakhs, while three fatalities pushed the toll to 1,549 on Sunday.

Mizoram reported 12 new COVID-19 cases

INDIA’S WAIT OVER, DRUG REGULATOR CALLS COVID-19 VACCINES 110% SAFE

January 4, 2021, 1:56 am

India’s central drug authority, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), on Sunday announced the formal approval for the Covid-19 vaccines of Oxford-AstraZeneca, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and Bharat Biotech, saying they would be administered in two dosages each. Drugs Controller General of India V.G. Somani said that the two firms submitted data on their trial runs of the Covid vaccines and both have been granted permission for “restricted use” in emergency situations.

The approval by the DCGI was given on the basis of recommendations submitted by an expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Announcing approval to Serum Institute’s ‘Covishield’ vaccine, Somani said that the vaccine trial was conducted on 23,745 participants and the overall efficacy of the vaccine was found to be more than 70 per cent. “The Indian data was also found to be comparable with overseas clinical studies,” the DCGI said.

“Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine ‘Covaxin’ is safe and gives a robust immune response,” the DCGI said adding that Covaxin, too, has been approved for restricted use in emergency situations.

Somani also quelled rumours surrounding the Covid-19 vaccines regarding impotency, rubbishing such speculations as “complete nonsense”.

“We will never approve anything if there is even the slightest safety concern. Vaccines are 110 per cent safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain and allergy are common for every vaccine. It (rumours of impotency) is complete nonsense,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav had said, “Covid-19 vaccine might contain something, which can cause harm. Tomorrow, people will say the vaccine was given to kill or decrease the population. You can even become impotent, anything can happen.”

On 31 December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged people to be careful regarding rumours about vaccines and as responsible citizens refrain from forwarding messages on social media without checking.

“The number of new cases of Covid-19 is decreasing in the country now. We are preparing to run the world’s largest vaccination programme in the next year. In our country, rumours spread quickly. Different people for their personal gains or due to irresponsible behaviour spread various rumours. Maybe rumours will be spread when vaccination begins, some have already begun,” Prime Minister Modi had said.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Singh Guleria lauded the work done by Indian laboratories in making indigenous vaccines. “The research has been done here and it’s truly from the scratch and it is Indian vaccine. It’s a great moment, especially because unlike past where we had to rely on importing various products like PPE or N95; now we have vaccines which are being manufactured in India itself. We do not have to rely on vaccines coming from outside. They are cost-effective and easy to administer between 2 to 8 degrees Centigrade,” he said.

He also said that a vaccine has to go through various stages of study to make sure that it is safe for use. “It is important to understand that when we look at any vaccine, safety is paramount and therefore a vaccine goes through various stages of studying to make sure that it is safe,” Dr Guleria stated in an interview with ANI.

On some concerns being raised by the Opposition, the AIIMs director said, “All the data are being critically looked at by the regulatory authorities and experts and then only a vaccine is given approval. At multiple levels, the safety is ensured and I do not think we should be concerned.”

There are questions being raised on Covaxin of Bharat Biotech which is yet to go for Phase III trials. Dr Guleria responded, “Even as far as Bharat Biotech vaccine is a concern, it is on a traditional platform which has been used for other vaccines also. It is shown to be safe and they have robust data from Phase I and Phase II trials to show that it’s a safe vaccine.”