Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab cumulatively account for 73 per cent of the total active cases in the country.
Tag: Health Ministry
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Covid-19: India reports highest single-day spike this year with 53,476 new infections
By PTI
NEW DELHI: India added over one lakh coronavirus infections in just two days with 53,476 new cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest single day rise so far this year, pushing the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,17,87,534, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.The active caseload registered an increase for the 15th day in row and was recorded at 3,95,192 comprising 3.35 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 95.28 per cent, the data stated.
The daily rise in infections was the highest recorded in 153 days.
The death toll increased to 1,60,692 with 251 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
As many as 54,366 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on October 23.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,12,31,650, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.36 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.
According to the ICMR, 23,75,03,882 samples have been tested up to March 24 with 10,65,021 samples being tested on Wednesday.
The 251 new fatalities include 95 from Maharashtra, 39 Punjab, 29 from Chhattisgarh, 12 each from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and 10 from Kerala.
A total of 1,60,692 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 53,684 from Maharashtra, 12,630 from Tamil Nadu, 12,461 from Karnataka, 10,973 from Delhi, 10,312 from West Bengal, 8,769 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,197 from Andhra Pradesh.
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.
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Eight states showing rising trajectory in COVID-19 cases: Health Ministry
By PTI
NEW DELHI: A rising trajectory of daily new cases is visible in eight states and UTs, including Delhi and Maharashtra, while Kerala is showing a declining trend, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.The ministry said Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab cumulatively account for 76.22 per cent of India’s total active caseload, with Maharashtra contributing to 62 per cent of such cases, while Kerala and Punjab account for 8.83 per cent and 5.36 per cent of active cases respectively.
The top five districts in Maharashtra recording the highest number of cases are Pune (37,384), Nagpur (25,861), Mumbai (18,850), Thane (16,735) and Nashik (11,867).
The top five districts in Kerala recording the highest number of cases are Ernakulam (2,673), Pathanamthitta (2,482), Kannur (2,263), Palakkad (2,147) and Thrissur (2,065).
The top five districts in Punjab recording the highest number of cases are Jalandhar (2,131), SAS Nagar (1,868), Patiala (1,685), Ludhiana (1,643) and Hoshiarpur (1,572).
“A rising trajectory of daily new cases is visible in eight states. These are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana.
Kerala is showing a consistently declining trend,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry further said that five states account for 81.38 per cent of the new deaths.
Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties at 70, Punjab followed with 38 daily deaths and Kerala reported 17 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, fifteen states and UTs have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.
These are Assam, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Ladakh, Manipur, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.
The ministry further said India has scaled a significant peak in its battle against COVID-19 pandemic.
The total vaccination coverage has surpassed 4 crore.
“About 4,20,63,392 vaccine doses have been administered through 6,86,469 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.
These include 77,06,839 healthcare workers (HCWs) (first dose), 48,04,285 HCWs (second dose), 79,57,606 frontline workers (FLWs) (first dose) and 24,17,077 FLWs (second dose), 32,23,612 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (first dose) and 1,59,53,973 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years,” it said.
As on day 63 of the vaccination drive (March 19), 27,23,575 vaccine doses were given.
Eighty per cent of the 27.23 lakh vaccine doses administered in the last 24 hours are from 10 states.
Of the total, 24,15,800 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 38,989 sessions for first dose (HCWs and FLWs) and 3,07,775 HCWs and FLWs received second dose of vaccine.
The ministry said eight states account for 60 per cent of the cumulative vaccine doses given so far.
They are Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
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No shortage of COVID vaccine doses in any state in India, clarifies Health Ministry
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry on Thursday clarified that there is no shortage of COVID-19 vaccine doses in any state in the country so far.Responding to a question on the Rajasthan government’s claim that there is a shortage in COVID-19 vaccine stock, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the central government regularly monitors the availability of vaccine supply in all states and UTs and their consumption on a daily basis.
The vaccine stock availability is reviewed every morning.
“Data of the usage and consumption of COVID-19 vaccine comes from states. The central government does not vaccinate people. It just makes the vaccines available at free of cost in government facilities and at a fixed rate in private health facilities.
“According to data available as part of the daily review meeting held today morning, and even three days ago, there was no shortage of COVID-19 vaccine in any state in the country,” he said.
ALSO READ | Maharashtra Covid situation alarming; Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat, MP at tipping point: Centre
The health ministry on March 9 had rejected reports on the impending shortage of COVID-19 vaccine doses in Rajasthan, saying the central government regularly monitors the availability of vaccine supply in all states and UTs, and provides doses as per their requirement and consumption pattern.
“The factual position is that there is no shortage of COVID-19 vaccine with the state at present. Rajasthan has been supplied 37.61 lakh doses and has consumed only 24.28 lakh doses till yesterday night,” the ministry had said in a statement.
In response to a question on whether the government has a timeline in mind for phase 3 of the vaccination drive and who gets included in that, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said, “We are now focused on the relatively large group of individuals above the age of 60 as well as those aged and those aged 45-60 with comorbidities. We are building a momentum to cover this significantly large group.”
“We will see progress and moving forward, yes, further increase in the circle of those who are eligible will be considered,” he added.
On reducing the price of COVID-19 vaccine Covisheild, Bhushan said, “We have renegotiated the price for the vaccine. The earlier price was Rs 210, including taxes. After that, we have renegotiated the price, which is significantly lower than Rs 200.”
The manufacturer of Covishield (Serum Institute of India Ltd.) has agreed to supply 10 crore doses at a price of Rs 150 plus GST per dose for priority group of population above 60 years and those aged between 45 to 60 years with comorbidity, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey recently said in a written reply at Rajya Sabha.
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Health Ministry tells states, UTs with rising COVID cases to ‘Test, Track and Treat’
By ANI
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Saturday urged the states, exhibiting surge in daily new COVID-19 cases and high active caseload, to return to the fundamentals of ‘Test, Track and Treat’.According to an official release issued by the ministry, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and member of NITI Aayog Vinod K. Paul today interacted with Health Secretaries and Managing Directors of National Health Mission of Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh.
“These States/UTs have in the recent past seen increased positivity and increased number of daily positive cases,” the release said.
The officials reviewed the ongoing public health measures of surveillance, containment and management of COVID-19 cases in wake of the steep rise in daily new cases of COVID-19 and the high number of active caseload being reported from these eight States/UTs.
“These state/UTs have been asked to continue with the effective strategy of ‘Test Track and Treat’ that had yielded rich dividends at the height of the pandemic,” the release said.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that that 9 districts in Delhi, 15 in Haryana, 10 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Odisha, 9 in Himachal Pradesh, 7 in Uttarakhand, 2 in Goa and one district in Chandigarh continue to be of concern as these districts are seeing a decrease in total tests being conducted, low share of RT-PCR tests, increase in weekly positivity and low number of contact tracing of the COVID positive cases.
These together can pose high risk of transmission to the neighbouring States and UTs.
The ministry has urged the officials of these states/UTs to increase the share of RT-PCR tests in districts dependent on high levels of antigen testing, to refocus on surveillance and stringent containment of those areas in selected districts which are seeing cluster of cases and carry out an average close contact tracing of minimum of 20 persons per positive case.
The ministry has also asked them to accelerate the vaccination against the virus for priority population groups in districts reporting higher cases.
The state and UTs officials have also been asked to promote COVID-appropriate behaviour through communication and enforcement.
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Second phase of Covid-19 vaccination drive begins
By ANI
NEW DELHI: The second phase of the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive for age-appropriate population groups began on Monday with the Union Health Ministry calling out eligible people to get an appointment at respective hospitals in the country.Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first ones to receive the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday as vaccination opened for the general population, beginning with people above 60 and those with co-morbidities above 45.
Citizens will be able to register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the COWIN 2.0 portal or through other IT (information technology) applications such as Arogya Setu, etc.
The Central government released a new framework for Co-WIN2.0 on Sunday.
According to the new framework, the schedule of vaccination of eligible beneficiaries will be closely linked with the availability of vaccine doses. The states and Union Territories will determine the target number of doses to be administered in a vaccination cycle.
“The target number of doses is to be determined considering the available stocks and the requirement of further vaccine stocks for the second dose since, when a beneficiary is being vaccinated with the first dose, Co-WIN will automatically confirm the appointment of the beneficiary for the second dose at the same vaccination centre,” the government said.
To avoid confusion and problems in physical queue management at COVID-19 Vaccination Centre (CVC), the central government has recommended that one particular CVC may be either fully reserved or their full capacity is opened for online self-appointment.
On the other hand, if a CVC has both reserved and open slots, session timings for open slots must be carefully selected to avoid overlap of beneficiaries.
On Saturday, the government informed that from March 1, the nationwide vaccination program is now to be exponentially expanded to all citizens above 60 years of age, and those within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities.
“Health Departments of State governments have already initiated dialogue with these private hospitals so that they can be encouraged to participate in this drive as CVCs. A list of all these private hospitals has been uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Health Authority,” the government said in a release.
In addition, there would be government health facilities that will be used as CVCs such as medical college hospitals, district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, CHCs, PHCs, Health Sub Centres and Health and Wellness Centres. Geo reference maps with GPS coordinates of all these health facilities have been prepared that will serve as CVCs and these Geo referenced maps are being shared with the states, the release said.
The Central government also said that states were informed about the three methods of registration, i.e., advance self-registration, onsite registration and facilitated cohort registration.
States have been informed that private hospitals functioning as CVCs can charge subject to a ceiling of Rs 250 per person per dose along with the electronic and financial management mechanism in this regard. User names and passwords to be provided to the private facilities to facilitate effective use of Co-WIN 2.0, were also discussed during the meeting.
In addition, mapping of private facilities with the nearest cold chain points to ensure a seamless flow of vaccines to them was explained to the states.
The simplified system of certifying people with 20 co-morbidities within the 45-59 years age group was also explained to the states. The simplified one-page certificate is to be signed by any registered medical practitioner. The certificate can either be uploaded on Co-WIN2.0 by the beneficiary while self-registering or a hard copy can be carried by the beneficiary to the CVC.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16, 2021. The vaccination of the frontline workers started on February 2. (ANI)
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India’s total active COVID cases reach 1,64,511; six states show surge in cases
By PTI
NEW DELHI: India’s total number of active COVID-19 cases has reached 1,64,511, which comprises 1.48 per cent of the country’s total infections, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday highlighting six states that have shown a surge in new cases in a span of 24 hours.It said 86.37 per cent of the new cases are from Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
A total of 16,752 new COVID-19 cases were registered in a span of 24 hours.
Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 8,623, followed by Kerala with 3,792 cases while Punjab reported 593 fresh COVID-19 cases.
Eight states are displaying an upward trajectory in the daily new cases, the ministry said.
“The Centre has been engaging with states and union territories exhibiting higher active number of cases and those reporting a spike in the daily new COVID-19 cases,” the ministry stated.
The cabinet secretary chaired a high-level review meeting on Saturday with states and union territories exhibiting a surge in cases, including Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal.
The cabinet secretary reiterated that states need to maintain a continued rigorous vigil in terms of containing the spread and not squander away the gains of the collective hardwork of last year.
They were advised not to lower their guard, enforce COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and deal firmly with violations.
It was strongly underlined that they need to follow effective surveillance strategies in respect of potential super spreading events, the ministry said.
Need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation of positive cases and quick quarantine of close contacts were also strongly emphasised.
The Centre has also deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir to ascertain the reasons for the surge and coordinate with the state health departments in COVID-19 control and containment measures.
ALSO READ: Cabinet secy advises states to refocus on surveillance amid COVID cases surge
On the front of COVID vaccination, a total of 1,43,01,266 doses have been administered through 2,92,312 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am.
These include 66,69,985 healthcare workers (first dose), 24,56,191 healthcare workers (second dose) and 51,75,090 frontline workers (first dose).
India is all set to start the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination on March 1 for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
To ramp-up the COVID-19 vaccination capacity, around 10,000 private hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY and over 600 private hospitals under the central government health scheme will be utilised.
Other private hospitals empanelled under state governments health insurance scheme can also participate as COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs).
A total of 1.07 crore (1,07,75,169) people have recovered so far with 11,718 patients having recuperated in a span of 24 hours.
The ministry said 84.19 per cent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in six states.
Kerala has reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries with 4,650 newly-recovered cases.
A total of 3,648 people recovered in Maharashtra in a span of 24 hours, followed by 491 in Tamil Nadu.
Besides, 113 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in a span of 24 hours.
Six states account for 84.96 per cent of the new deaths.
Maharashtra saw the maximum of 51 casualties.
Kerala follows with 18 daily deaths and Punjab reported 11 deaths in a span of 24 hours.
Nineteen states and union territories have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.
These are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Goa, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Sikkim, Ladakh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Arunachal Pradesh.
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India records 16,488 new COVID-19 cases, 113 deaths
By PTI
NEW DELHI: India registered a single-day spike of over 16,000 COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row on Saturday, pushing the infection tally to 1,10,79,979, while the recoveries surged to 1,07,63,451, according to Union Health Ministry data.A total of 16,488 novel coronavirus cases were reported in a day, while the death toll rose to 1,56,938 with 113 new fatalities, showed the data updated at 8 am on Saturday.
The active case count has further increased to 1,59,590, which comprises 1.44 per cent of the total infections, the data stated.
The number of recoveries reached 1,07,63,451, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.14 per cent and the case fatality rate stands at 1.42 per cent.
A total of 16,577 new COVID-19 cases were reported in India on Friday, while 16,738 fresh infections were registered in the country on Thursday.
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 one crore on December 19.
The 113 new fatalities include 48 from Maharashtra, 15 from Punjab and 14 from Kerala.
The death toll from the pandemic stands at 52,041 in Maharashtra, 12,488 in Tamil Nadu, 12,320 in Karnataka, 10,906 in Delhi, 10,263 in West Bengal, 8,725 in Uttar Pradesh and 7,169 in Andhra Pradesh.
For the first time, a coronavirus-linked death has been reported in Lakshadweep.
The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths were caused due to comorbidities.
“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” the ministry said on its website, adding state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
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No COVID-19 deaths in last 24 hours in 18 states, UTs: Health ministry
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Eighteen states and Union Territories, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, have not reported any death due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.India’s cumulative recoveries have been showing a progressive increment on a daily basis, the ministry said.
“Eighteen states/UTs have not reported any COVID-19 death in the last 24 hours. These are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Ladakh, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu,” the ministry said in a statement.
Nearly 90 lakh vaccine doses have been given to beneficiaries through 1,91,373 sessions till 8 am on Wednesday, as per the provisional report.
ALSO READ | Covid deaths cross 4,000 in Kerala; toll might be higher, say experts
These include 61,50,922 healthcare workers (first dose), 2,76,377 healthcare workers (second dose) and 25,71,931 frontline workers (first dose).
A total of 36 cases of hospitalization and 29 cases of deaths were reported among those who have been vaccinated till 4 pm on February 16, the ministry said.
Out of 36 cases of hospitalization, 22 were discharged after treatment.
“Two are still under treatment and 12 cases (people) died. Out of the 29 deaths, 17 are outside hospital whereas 12 deaths are in hospital,” it said.
The ministry said no case of serious or severe AEFI (adverse event following immunization) or death is attributable to vaccination to date.
The administration of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccination started on February 13 for the beneficiaries who had completed 28 days after receipt of the first dose.
As on day 32 (February 16) of the vaccination drive, a total of 2,76,943 doses were given across 7,001 sessions.
“Out of which, 1,60,691 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 1,16,252 HCWs received the second dose of vaccine,” it said.
“Eight states account for 57.8 percent of the total vaccine doses administered in India. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 10.4 percent (9,34,962),” it said.
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Maharashtra, Kerala account for 72% active COVID cases; need to ramp up RT PCR testing: Health min
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Maharashtra and Kerala, which account for 72 per cent of the total coronavirus active cases in the country, have been asked to substantially increase RT-PCR testing, the health ministry said on Tuesday.Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said both these states have 61,550 and 37,383 active cases, respectively.
“This accounts for 72 per cent of the total active cases in the country,” Bhushan said.
ALSO READ | Rise in COVID cases in some parts of Maharashtra ‘alarming’; may take harsh steps: Dy CM Ajit Pawar
Responding to a question on the reason behind more active cases in these two states, he said one of the reasons might be that the number of RT-PCR tests have gone down.
“Over a period of time, both in Maharashtra and in Kerala, the number of RT-PCR tests have gone down and there is a need to substantially increase RT-PCR tests; this is something we have shared with both the states,” he said.
NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said there is a need to keep following COVID-appropriate behaviour.
“If we look at Kerala, the increase in the number of cases can be traced since the time of festivals. There is a scope to increase testing in both the states too and attempts to increase surveillance intensity must be made. We should keep maintaining vigil,” he said.