News Analysis India

Tag: COVID cases

  • COVID-19: India logs 48,786 new cases, 1005 fatalities

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India added 48,786 new cases of coronavirus taking the total tally to 3,04,11,634, while the national recovery rate improved to 96.97 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

    The COVID-19 death toll rose to 3,99,459 with 1,005 fresh fatalities.

    According to the data published at 7 am, cumulatively 33. 57 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

    The active cases have further declined to 5,23,257 comprising 1.72 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.97 per cent.

    As many as 19,21,450 tests were conducted on Wednesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 41,20,21,494.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.54 per cent .

    It has been less than five per cent for 24 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.64 per cent.

    Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for the 49th consecutive day.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,94,88,918, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.

    31 per cent, the data stated.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

    The 1,005 new fatalities include 221 from Uttarakhand, 142 from Kerala, 141 from Maharashtra, 113 from Tamil Nadu and 111 from Karnataka.

    A total of 3,99,459 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,21,945 from Maharashtra, 35,040 from Karnataka, 32,619 from Tamil Nadu, 24,977 from Delhi, 22,591 from Uttar Pradesh, 17,708 from West Bengal and 16,052 from Punjab.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

    “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • Covid cases with variants of concern rose from 10% in May to 51% till June 20: Parliamentary panel told

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: COVID-19 cases with variants of concern rose from 10.31 per cent of total infections in May to 51 per cent till June 20, top government officials told a parliamentary panel on Monday and stressed that both Covaxin and Covishield work against these strains albeit with slightly reduced potency.

    The panel was informed that the economic impact of the second wave of viral infection was “asynchronous in its onset and wider in its spread particularly in rural hinterland”, a source said.

    About the availability of vaccine doses, officials informed the panel that 135 crore jabs will be made available in the country during the August-December period this year.

    The doses would be of Covishield, Covaxin, Bio E Subunit vaccine, Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine and Sputnik V, they said.

    Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry Govind Mohan, Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry K Raja Raman were among the officials who deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on ‘Socio-economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic’s second wave’.

    The committee is chaired by senior Congress leader Anand Sharma.

    ALSO READ: 40,845 cases of black fungus reported in India so far, says Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

    Sharing details about various coronavirus variants of concern, officials told the panel that it includes the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants.

    These variants have been traced in 174 districts of 35 states and Union Territories, with the maximum reported from Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat, the parliamentary panel was informed.

    According to the details shared by officials with the parliamentarians, coronavirus’ variants of concern led to increased transmissibility, change in virulence and effect on diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.

    “Officials told parliamentarians that the proportion of COVID-19 cases with variants of concern has risen from 10.31 per cent in May to 51 per cent in June 20,” a source in the panel said.

    A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology on the efficacy of Covaxin and Covishield against coronavirus’ variants of concerns found that “antibody potency is slightly reduced against these strains as compared to standard strain.

    But the vaccine is effective in protection against severe forms of the disease,” the source added.

    The panel was informed that a similar study on evaluating the efficacy of both these vaccines against the latest variant of concern — Delta plus — is being conducted and will be completed within the next two weeks.

  • Conducive time to hold CA exams as COVID-19 spread substantially low: ICAI to SC

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: ICAI told the Supreme Court on Monday that it is the most conducive time to hold CA exams as the COVID-19 spread is now at a substantially low level, offering an opportune moment for chartered accountants to further their professional career.

    The CA examinations which are conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in May, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now scheduled to be held from July 5-20.

    ICAI told the top court that as on date, the numbers of COVID-19 cases are comparatively low and thus it would be in the best interests of the candidates if the examinations are held as per the schedule and not cancelled or postponed.

    A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose said that since it has not received the ICAI note, it will hear the matter on Tuesday.

    The top court is hearing a batch of pleas seeking different reliefs including an opt-out option for the candidates, postponement of the exam, and increase in number of centres this year.

    At the outset, senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan, appearing for ICAI, said that they have circulated a note which if taken into consideration deals with some of the issues raised in the petitions.

    Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for one of the petitioners, said that they are not seeking deferment but want more centres to be given as many of them have been unilaterally closed by ICAI.

    The bench said it will hear the matter on Tuesday and asked Srinivasan to take instruction on the contention raised by Arora.

    In the note, ICAI has said the “chartered accountant exams are professional examinations and ought not to be equated with CBSE or other State Board Examinations for Class 10 or 12″, and it is in the interest of the candidates to start their “professional lives and earn livelihoods”.

    It said the ICAI has no vested interest in holding the exams but to safeguard the interest of the aspiring CAs, ensuring that the exams are held at the most appropriate and conducive time.

    The ICAI further told the top court that whenever the risk has been minimum this court has allowed exams to be held, like Class 12 exams in Kerala and Bihar which were held in April, 2021 and February, 2021 respectively.

    “Further, the 3rd wave of COVID-19 cases is expected only by September-October. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India are scheduled to hold examinations in August-September, 2021.

    “Many candidates appear for 2 or more of these exams, hence the three Institutes hold the exams in a manner that the same do not overlap. Therefore, since COVID is dynamic in nature, the ICAI has got this very narrow window to hold the exam in July, 2021,” it said.

    The ICAI said the CA exams are normally scheduled to be held in May, but owing to the high number of cases at that time it postponed them, and after evaluating all factors, has now decided to hold the exams this month when the number of COVID-19 cases is comparatively low.

    It said that the present COVID situation in the country is similar to when this court had allowed ICAI to hold examinations in November, 2020 and there is no reason to believe that it will not take adequate precautions.

    About the arrangements, it said that the average number of examinees in an examination room will be 12 and in any case not more than 50 percent of the capacity of the room.

    It said there will be 10,820 exam rooms in 847 centres and the total number of examinees will be 3,74,230.

    It further added that of these 580 centres have less than 200 candidates, 208 centres have 201-250 candidates, 58 centres have 251-300 candidates and one centre has more than 500 candidates.

    It said that candidates are eager to appear in the examination, as out of 3,74,230 candidates, as on June 27, more than 2, 82, 000 candidates have downloaded their admit cards.

    “It is understandable that some of the candidates would have inhibitions in appearing for the exams, but that cannot be allowed to jeopardize the aspirations of a majority of the candidates,” it said.

    PTI MNL ABA SJK SA 06281704 NNNN

  • India records 48,698 fresh cases of COVID-19 in a day, weekly positivity rate falls below 3 per cent

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A single-day rise of 48,698 COVID-19 infections took India’s case tally to 3,01,83,143 while the weekly positivity rate declined to 2.97 per cent, according to Union Health Ministry data on Saturday.

    The death toll climbed to 3,94,493 with 1,183 more people succumbing to the viral disease in a day. The number of active cases has further declined to 5,95,565 and now accounts for 1.97 per cent of the total infections, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    Recoveries outnumbered daily new cases of COVID-19 for the 44th consecutive day with the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surging to 2,91,93,085. The case fatality rate stood at 1.31 per cent.

    While the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.72 per cent, the weekly case positivity rate has come down to 2.97 per cent. According to the Health Ministry data, the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.79 per cent.

    It has been less than 5 per cent for 19 consecutive days. India administered 61.19 lakh vaccine doses in a day taking the cumulative number of jabs given so far under the nationwide inoculation drive to 31.50 crore, according to immunisation data published at 7 am.

    Also, 17,35,781 tests were conducted on Friday for the detection of COVID-19, taking the total number of tests conducted so far in the country to 39,95,68,448. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore total COVID-19 cases on May 4 this year and three crore on June 23.

  • Seven cases of COVID-19 ‘Delta Plus’ variant in Madhya Pradesh, two dead

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: At least seven confirmed cases of the new Delta Plus variant of coronavirus have been confirmed in Madhya Pradesh.

    Three patients, out of the seven, had either got single or double doses of the COVID vaccination and were cured under home isolation sans any complications.

    The four remaining cases, who had not taken the vaccine, two have died after hospitalization, while two others, including a 22-year-old woman and a 2.5-year-old girl child have managed to defeat the infection.

    Out of the seven cases, three are from Bhopal, two from Ujjain and one each from Raisen and Ashok Nagar districts.

    All the seven patients were tested COVID positive last month but the genome sequencing of their samples at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) established them as confirmed Delta Plus variant cases this month only.

    The Commissioner of Health in MP Akash Tripathi told The New Indian Express that what could emerge as a silver lining in the dark cloud is the fact that three of these seven cases were either fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated.

    “While a 60-plus woman who had already been administered double jabs of the vaccine won the battle against the infection under home isolation only, two other female patients, including a 60-plus woman and a 50-plus woman in Bhopal (both vaccinated partially) also turned negative for the viral infection under home isolation. This raises hope about strong possibility of the vaccination even working against the newest variant of the Coronavirus,” Tripathi said.

    The two other patients of the new variant, who’ve turned negative for infection after proper medical treatment, include a non-vaccinated 22-year-old woman from Raisen district and a 2.5 year old girl child in Bhopal.

    Two other non-vaccinated patients, including a middle-aged man from Ashok Nagar district and a middle aged woman in Ujjain, however, succumbed to the infection despite best efforts by doctors at hospitals, Tripathi informed further.

    Importantly, the non-vaccinated female patient who died at hospital in Ujjain last month had possibly contracted the infection from fully vaccinated security guard husband, who beat the COVID infection under home isolation. He had already turned negative, before his samples could be sent for genome sequencing.

    “Though deriving any major conclusion from data of just seven patients would be like jumping the gun, still three fully or partially vaccinated patients of the new variant turning COVID negative without reporting any complications under home isolation in Ujjain and Bhopal, gives us hope that vaccination might be working against newest variant also. We’re further speeding up vaccination exercise, till date we’ve administered single or double doses of the twin vaccines to around 30 per cent of the state’s population. We are targeting to render at least single doses to 50% of the state’s population by August 15,” he said.

    After rendering over 11.37 lakh doses on Wednesday, the state administered around 7.40 lakh doses on Thursday, taking the total number of doses administered in the state so far to over 1.87 crore.

  • India’s Covid tally crosses 3-crore mark with 50,848 fresh cases

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 3-crore mark with one crore infections being added in 50 days.

    The total tally mounted to 3,00,28,709, with 50,848 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day.

    The death toll climbed to 3,90,660 with 1,358 fresh fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

    India’s total COVID-19 infections had surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19 after which it took around 136 days to cross the 2-crore mark on May 4.

    The active cases further declined to 6, 43,194 comprising 2. 14 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96. 56 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    A net decline of 19,327 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

  • India adds 67,208 fresh cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours, active cases decline to lowest after 71 days

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A single day rise of 67,208 new coronavirus infections were recorded taking India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,97,00,313, while the active cases declined to 8,26,740, the lowest after 71 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

    The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,81,903 with 2,330 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed The active cases declined to 8,26,740 comprising 2.78 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.93 per cent.

    A net decline of 38,692 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. As many as 19,31,249 tests were conducted on Wednesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 38,52,38,220.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded 3.48 per cent. It has been less than 5 per cent for 10 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 3.99 per cent. Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for the 35th consecutive day.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,84,91,670, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.29 per cent, the data stated. Cumulatively, 26,55,19,251 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.

  • 79 per cent decline in daily COVID-19 cases, says Health Ministry

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday stressed on avoiding large gatherings for a couple of months and following COVID-19-appropriate behaviour to avert any future wave, even as it noted that there has been a continued and sharp decline in daily new coronavirus cases in the country.

    In a joint press briefing on the pandemic situation, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said almost 79 per cent decline in daily new COVID-19 cases has been noted since the peak on May 7.

    There has been a continued and sharp decline in daily new cases, he said on the second wave of COVID-19.

    India reported 86,498 coronavirus cases, the lowest in 66 days, and 2,123 deaths, according to Health Ministry data on Tuesday.

    On May 7, the country saw a record 4,14,188 new coronavirus infections.

    Agarwal said India has reported 20,822 coronavirus cases and 252 deaths per million population, which is among the lowest in the world.

    The government stressed on following COVID-19-appropriate behaviour till the population is vaccinated, to avert any future wave.

    The government also stressed on the need to avoid large gatherings for a couple of months even though states have announced relaxations in lockdown guidelines in view of the declining number of cases.

  • India records around 1.2 lakh new cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours; 3,380 fatalities

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India reported 1,20,529 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in infections in around two months, taking the infection tally to 2,86,94,879, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

    The death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 3,44,082 with 3,380 new fatalities, while the number of active cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the fifth consecutive day, the data updated at 8 am showed. The daily new cases are the lowest in 58 days, the ministry said.

    A total of 20,84,421 tests were done on Friday, taking the cumulative tests conducted so far for the detection of COVID-19 in the country to 36,11,74,142. The ministry said that the daily positivity rate further dipped to 5.78 per cent, less than 10 per cent for the 12th consecutive day.

    The weekly positivity rate has declined to 6.89 per cent, it said. The active case count has reduced to 15,55,248, which comprises 5.73 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 93.08 per cent, the data showed.

    The number of recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for 23 consecutive days. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,67,95,549, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, the data stated.

    The 3,380 new fatalities include 1,377 from Maharashtra, 364 from Karnataka, 463 from Tamil Nadu, 136 from Uttar Pradesh, 135 from Kerala, 113 from West Bengal.

    ~1.20 lakh #Covid cases in a day, the lowest in last 58 days; daily test positivity for India 5.78 %.@NewIndianXpress #COVID19
    — Sumi Dutta (@SumiSukanya) June 5, 2021

    A total of 3,44,082 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported so far in the country including 98,771 from Maharashtra, 30,895 from Karnataka, 26,128 from Tamil Nadu, 24,497 from Delhi, 21,031 from Uttar Pradesh, 16,034 from West Bengal, 14,927 from Punjab and 13,162 from Chhattisgarh.

    WATCH | 

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore COVID-19 cases on May 4.

  • India records 1.32 lakh fresh cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours, 2,713 deaths reported

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India reported 1,32,364 new coronavirus infections taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,85,74,350, while the recovery rate crossed 93 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

    The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,40,702 with 2,713 fresh deaths, while the active cases were recorded below 20 lakh for the fourth consecutive day, the data updated at 8 am showed. A total of 20,75,428 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 35,74,33,846.

    The daily positivity was recorded at 6.38 per cent. It has been less than 10 per cent for 11 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 7.27 per cent.

    India recorded 1,32,364 fresh #COVID19 cases and 2,713 fatalities in a single-day. pic.twitter.com/Ce1TXvtVQa
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) June 4, 2021

    The active cases have reduced to 16,35,993 comprising 5.73 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 93.08 per cent. A net decline of 77,420 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for 22 consecutive days. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,65,97,655, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, the data stated.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4. The 2,713 new fatalities include 643 from Maharashtra, 514 from Karnataka, 460 from Tamil Nadu, 153 from Kerala, 108 each from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

    A total of 3,40,702 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 97,394 from Maharashtra, 30,531 from Karnataka, 25,665 from Tamil Nadu, 24,447 from Delhi, 20,895 from Uttar Pradesh, 15,921 from West Bengal, 14,840 from Punjab and 13,139 from Chhattisgarh.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.