News Analysis India

Tag: covid deaths

  • India adds record high 4,14,188 COVID-19 cases, 3,915 deaths in last 24 hours

    By Online Desk
    India reported 4,14,188 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

    With this, the cumulative count of COVID-19 cases in the country has gone up to 2,14,91,598, informed the Union Health Ministry.

    Around 3,915 people succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, with this the total death toll reached 2,34,083. India registered a total of 3,31,507 recoveries, taking total discharge to 1,76,12,351.

    ALSO READ: Covid second wave is nearing its peak, says Noted virologist Dr T Jacob John

    Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 36,45,164 comprising 16.96 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 81.95 per cent.

    The fatality rate is over 1 per cent.

    According to the ICMR, 29,86,01,699 samples have been tested up to May 6 with 18,26,490 samples being tested on Thursday.

    4,14,188 people tested positive for #COVID19 while 3,915 succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours. Total cases stand at 2,14,91,598. pic.twitter.com/a6lf0UYy8O
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 7, 2021

    On Thursday, Kerala, which accounted for over 10% of the nation’s tally, announced a rigourous nine-day complete lockdown till May 16, starting Saturday, as it recorded its highest single-day spike of 42,464 and 63 deaths. 

    Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh also decided to implement a lockdown to break the chain as COVID cases surged across the country.

    After almost a week of reporting less than 60,000 cases, Maharashtra’s tally increased by 62,194 on Thursday.

    The Supreme Court on Thursday was not satisfied with Centre’s oxygen supply strategy.

    “Your formula needs a relook. When you prepared the formula, not everybody who went to ICU needed oxygen. But now many home isolation patients need oxygen. Your formula does not take into account ambulances, Covid care facility etc,” Justice Chandrachud said.

    (With agencies inputs)

  • ‘Criminal act, not less than genocide’: Allahabad HC on COVID deaths due to non supply of oxygen

    By ANI
    ALLAHABAD: The death of COVID-19 patients due to non supplying of oxygen is a “criminal act and not less than a “genocide”, said that the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday amid reports of shortage of medical oxygen due to rise in COVID-19 infections.

    “We are at pain in observing that death of Covid patients just for non supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is a criminal act and not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen,” read the order by a bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Siddhartha Varma.

    The High Court observed that stories of hoarding of oxygen cylinders and harassment meted out to those poor citizens who were begging for an oxygen cylinder to save the life of their near and dear ones, both at the end of district administration and police administration are being viralled in social media.

    ALSO READ: No oxygen lifeline, 14 more die in Karnataka

    “The news was also viralled that five patients had died in ICU of a new trauma centre of Medical College, Meerut on Sunday last. Similarly, news were also being viralled that one Sun Hospital, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow and another private hospital at Meerut had taken their hands off the admitted Covid patients only for the reason that oxygen supply was not made even after demand. We find these news items showing a quite contrary picture to one claimed by the Government that there was sufficient supply of oxygen,” it pointed out.

    The High Court further said that the current state of affairs about the management of an online portal created by the Government today casts a shadow upon COVID-19 Hospital Management.

    As per the union health minister, there are currently 2,85,832 active cases in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 10,43,134 recoveries and 13,447 deaths have been reported in the state so far. 

  • Rahul Gandhi expresses condolences to kin of COVID patients who died due to lack of treatment

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday offered his condolences to all those who have lost their dear ones due to lack of treatment and said prayers and sympathies from every state of the country are with them.

    India saw 3,86,452 new coronavirus infections in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far, pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,87,62,976, while active cases crossed the 31 lakh-mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

    इलाज की कमी के चलते अपने प्रियजन खो रहे देशवासियों को मेरी संवेदनाएँ।इस त्रासदी में आप अकेले नहीं हैं- देश के हर राज्य से प्रार्थना व सहानुभूति आपके साथ है।साथ हैं तो आस है।
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 30, 2021

    The death toll increased to 2,08,330 with 3,498 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. “My condolences to fellow citizens losing their loved ones due to lack of treatment. You are not alone in this tragedy — prayers and sympathies are with you from every state of the country. There is hope if we are together,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

  • COVID-19: Sharp rise in deaths among Bihar’s journalists, teachers and bureaucrats

    Express News Service
    PATNA: April has seen a dramatic rise in the number of COVID deaths among Bihar’s police personnel, doctors, teachers, professors, bureaucrats, journalists, and public employees. 

    According to official sources, as many as 13 police personnel, 75 school teachers and professors, 14 doctors, 3 journalists, and half a dozen officers of both the Indian Administrative Services and the Bihar Administrative Services (BAS) have lost their lives to the deadly virus.

    More than 202 police personnel have tested positive this month. What’s concerning is that about 90% of them were administered both doses of the COVID vaccine. Around 600 healthcare professionals, including doctors and paramedic staff, have tested positive. Fourteen of them have died, and almost all of them had taken the second dose of the vaccine.

    Many senior IAS officers Vijay Ranjan (Director of Panchayat Raj), Ravi Shanker Chaudhary  (Additional secretary in health department ) and Pankaj Kumar Singh-(Director of Industries Department) were among those who died. More civil servants have tested positive and are under quarantine

    As per the data, 60 teachers and 15 professors have died. In the Nalanda district, the District Education Officer (DEO) and 15 teachers died in the last two weeks. Alarmed over the deaths, the Nalanda teachers union has written a letter to the Human Rights Commission seeking its intervention to get the schools closed.

  • Lowest COVID mortality rates in world but each death painful, says Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: There has been a sudden jump in the number of coronavirus cases in the last one month but the figure of recoveries is also increasing at the same speed, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday while highlighting that India has one of the lowest COVID mortality rates in the world.

    After his visit to the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) here to take a comprehensive review of the COVID facilities available at the hospital, Vardhan said India has one of the lowest COVID mortality rates in the world but each and every death is tragic and painful, according to a statement issued by the health ministry.

    The National Mortality Rate has been falling and currently stands at 1.11 per cent, he added.

    India saw the highest single-day rise of 3,79,257 COVID-19 cases and a record 3,645 deaths caused by the viral disease in a span of 24 hours, according to the health ministry’s data updated at 8 am.

    Vardhan asserted that the biggest weapon against the viral disease is following COVID-appropriate behaviour.

    “There is no bigger weapon than wearing a mask, regularly washing hands with soap and maintaining social distancing,” he said.

    The health minister said from the beginning of the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been exhorting people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour as it is essential in the fight against the disease.

    He assured people that just as the number of active cases was reduced to less than 10,000 in February with a graded response from the government, it will again be brought down, the statement said.

    Vardhan said no one knew about the coronavirus last year, but now, the government is better informed about how to deal with the menace and is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to fight the pandemic.

    He appreciated that the testing capacity in the country is continuously improving and that over 17 lakh COVID tests were conducted on Wednesday.

    Cumulatively, 28,44,71,979 COVID tests have so far been conducted across the country, including 17,68,190 on Wednesday.

    The minister urged people with symptoms to get themselves tested at the earliest and not to panic.

    He stressed on working towards improving diagnosis and helping people through tele-consultations to provide the right advice to the patients recovering at home.

    The minister appreciated the Centre’s vaccination efforts and said more than 15 crore doses of the anti-COVID vaccine have been administered till date to healthcare workers, frontline workers and people above the age of 45 years.

    He said the new phase of the vaccination drive will start from May 1, when the inoculation of those above the age of 18 years will start.

    Lauding the Co-WIN portal, Vardhan said a seamless registration process for vaccination is being carried out through the digitally and technologically sound portal, the statement said.

    The portal witnessed more than 80 lakh people registering themselves within three hours from 4 pm to 7 pm on Wednesday.

    The minister further stated that vaccination is a critical component of the containment-and-management strategy of the government.

    The fight against the pandemic is ongoing and the government is using all its experience to tackle the situation, he added.

    Vardhan visited the LHMC to take a comprehensive review of the COVID facilities available at the hospital and further strengthen those.

    He first visited the IPD block, where a 240-bed facility is being set up, which will be operational within two weeks, the statement said.

    Following Vardhan’s instructions, the academic activities of the college were shifted to the new academic block, resulting in further enhancement of the bed capacity at the Kalawati Saran Children Hospital and Smt.

    Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, which are attached to the LHMC.

    The bed capacity at the Kalawati Saran Children Hospital has been increased by 30 and that of Smt.

    Sucheta Kriplani Hospital by 112, the statement said.

    The minister dedicated the new academic block to the COVID warriors, appreciating their untiring efforts in fighting the pandemic and working tirelessly and dedicatedly for helping people in these challenging times.

    He also praised the doctors, nurses and staff of the LHMC for their dedication in fighting the pandemic.

    He directed that further expansion of the facilities at the hospital should continue.

  • Two AMU teachers die, showed ‘COVID-like symptoms’; seven deaths in 10 days

    By PTI
    ALIGARH: Two more teachers with “COVID-like symptoms” have died at the Aligarh Muslim University, which has lost seven faculty members in recent days amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

    Prof Mohammad Ali of Centre of Agricultural Sciences and Prof Qazi Jamshed of Political Science Department passed away on Wednesday after a brief illness, a university spokesman said on Thursday.

    With these two deaths, AMU has lost seven members of its teaching staff in the past 10 days, he said.

    Earlier, Department of Museology chairman Irfan Ahmad (61), Assistant Prof Faisal Aziz (45), Prof Maula Baksh (59) from the Department of Urdu, Prof Saeed Zaman from the university polytechnic and Prof Ahsanullah Fahad (50) from the Department of Theology had passed away.

    On Wednesday, in an open letter to the AMU community, Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor had said that the university authorities have approached pharmaceutical company Cipla to rush 1,000 doses of Remdesivir to tackle the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the university.

    An online emergency help desk and tele-medicine service for teachers and other employees were also set up on Wednesday.

    Mansoor expressed hope that any shortage in oxygen supplies would be overcome within next three weeks when the new oxygen producing plant will become functional.

    Notably, the Vice Chancellor had sanctioned Rs 1.4 crore to set up an oxygen generation plant.

    Meanwhile, in Bareilly, a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Sahsavan tehsil in Badaun, Kishore Gupta (60), who had tested positive for COVID-19, died during treatment on Thursday morning.

    He was due to retire on Friday.

  • West Bengal has highest coronavirus case spike rate in India

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: At 9.5%, poll-bound West Bengal has the highest Covid-19 case growth in the country now, data shared by the Union health ministry showed. It was followed by Karnataka, which has a near explosive growth rate of 9%, while Delhi, reeling under a huge medical oxygen crisis, has the second-lowest growth rate at 1.5% after Maharashtra (0.5 %), among the surge states. And at about 50%, Bengal’s capital Kolkata now has the highest test positivity rate.

    The stark West Bengal data showed a mirror to the Election Commission of India that till recently chose to ignore all violations of Covid-appropriate behaviour in the run up to the eight-phase elections in the state. Despite massive mask-less political rallies that created an uproar, the poll panel tried to wish them away till last week when it got a stinker from the Calcutta High Court and was forced to act.

    Another worrying figure was the 1,800% spike in active cases in Uttarakhand between March 31 and April 24, which coincided with the Haridwar Maha Kumbh, indicating the mela was a possible super spreader event in the state. Prior to the Maha Kumbh, the total active cases stood at 1,863 (March 31), but they quickly ballooned to 33,330 by April 24. 

    India, now the worst-hit in the pandemic globally, has been reporting nearly 1,500 or more daily deaths since April 20. On Sunday, the highest 2,812 fatalities were recorded. There are also concerns that the fatality count is being majorly undercounted in most cities and towns.

    In a health ministry press briefing on Monday, several government authorities, including V K Paul, member, Niti Aayog and Randeep Guleria, director, AIIMS Delhi urged patients to follow home isolation protocols unless hospitalisation is absolutely required. 

  • India sees record spike with over 3,46,786 new COVID-19 cases, 2,624 deaths

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: India recorded 3,46,786 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike since the pandemic broke out last year.

    According to the official data issued by the Union Health Ministry, the country has recorded 2,624 new deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours

    The country’s total infection count has mounted to 1,66,10,481 cases, while 1,89,544 people have succumbed to the viral infection so far.

    Currently, there are 25,52,940 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, said the official data of the ministry.

    ALSO READ: COVID-19 survivors face increased risk of death, serious illness, says Study

    As many as 1,38,67,997 recoveries have been reported so far, out of which 2,19,838 were reported in the last 24 hours.

    According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 27,61,99,222 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to April 23. Of these, 17,53,569 were tested yesterday.

    Meanwhile, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in the country stands at 13,83,79,832. 

  • Study shows rural Maharashtra suffering more in onslaught of COVID second wave

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: A weekly Maharashtra government report on the prevalence of Covid-19 has revealed that positivity and mortality rates are higher in the state’s rural districts than in big cities such as Mumbai and Pune. In Maharashtra, the highest weekly positivity rate of Covid-19 is in Osmanabad (39.25%) followed by Parbhani and Hingoli (36.78% and 36.70% respectively). Pune’s positivity rate is 30.43% while Nagpur’s positivity rate is 35.02%.

    The average positivity rate of Maharashtra was 25.17% from April 11 to 17. Most rural districts are included in the highest weekly positivity rates across the state. These include Jalna, Beed, Nandurbar, Nasik, Latur, Gondhia, Ahmednagar, Palghar, and Ratnagiri districts. The weekly report also revealed that the growth of Covid positive cases is more in the second wave than in the first wave. The first Covid wave in Mumbai saw 34,259 total active positive patients.

    In the second wave so far, the number stands at a staggering 85,221 — 249% growth. In Jalna, this growth is 345%. Beed, Latur and Parbhani witnessed 347%, 398% and 798% growth respectively from the first wave. “The cases suddenly started rising in the Vidarbha and Marathwada region and later spread across Maharashtra. No one had gauged the seriousness of the situation in the second wave. It caught everyone, including health experts, off guard. In April, it turned out to be a Covid tsunami,” said a government official.

    He said in February and March, people did not follow the Covid 19 norms and started attending weddings and other social and cultural functions in large numbers. “The virus spread rapidly in a short period and now we have a shortage of beds, Remdesivir doses and oxygen,” said the official.

    NCP minister Nawab Malik said for the last 10 days, the state’s positive cases have hovered between 60,000 and 67,000 while in other states, there is a steep rise. “We are confident of the Covid curve flattening soon in Maharashtra. We hope by April-end, things will be much better with more vaccinations and better health infrastructure,” he said.

  • West Bengal: COVID deaths quadruple, new cases treble in 10 days amidst poll rush

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  When horrified people looking at the humongous political rallies with mask-less supporters in West Bengal a couple of weeks ago wondered if such mobilisation was wise, the prompt reply of politicos was the state’s Covid-positive count was far below that of high incidence states.  

    The numbers have since climbed with Bengal reporting a daily spike of 12,876 positive cases on Friday, compared to 4,511 on April 12. Within those 11 days, the toll went up four times from 14 on April 12 to 59 on Friday. At least 80 large rallies were held in the state during that period. 

    On February 26, the day poll panel announced Bengal’s election schedule, the daily positive cases in Birbhum, Nadia and West Burdwan districts were 2, 6 and 10, respectively. Almost a month later, on April 22, the three districts recorded 624, 455 and 596 fresh positive cases respectively, indicating its rapid unspooling in rural Bengal.

    Two candidates have so far died of Covid-19 and others like state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have been hospitalised. While the Election Commission of India on Thursday, after a stinker from the Calcutta high court, banned roadshows and public meetings with more than 500 people ahead of the last two phases of the ongoing Assembly elections, surely someone should be held accountable for sleeping on the job.  “Among other reasons, big political rallies played a crucial role in the spread of Covid-19 in rural areas,’’ said an official of the state health department.