Tag: India Coronavirus

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 1,41,986 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally to 3,53,68,372, which included 3,071 cases of Omicron variant reported across 27 states and union territories so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Of the 3,071 cases of Omicron variant, 1,203 have recovered or migrated, according to the data updated by the ministry at 8 am.

Maharashtra has recorded the maximum number of 876 Omicron variant cases, followed by Delhi at 513, Karnataka 333, Rajasthan 291, Kerala 284 and Gujarat 204.

1,41,986 #COVID19 cases, 40,895 recoveries, and 285 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.Express Photo | @shrirambn pic.twitter.com/lHhToSbOiU
— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) January 8, 2022
A total of 1,41,986 new coronavirus infections were reported in a day, the highest in around 222 days.

The active Covid cases have increased to 4,72,169, the highest in around 187 days, according to the data.

The death toll has climbed to 4,83,463 with 285 fresh fatalities, it stated.

A total of 1,52,734 new infections were reported on May 31 last year.

ALSO READ: Uttarakhand government bans political rallies, shuts schools till January 16 amid Covid surge

The active Covid cases have increased to 4,72,169, comprising 1.34 per cent of the total infections.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 97.30 per cent, the health ministry said.

An increase of 1,00,806 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 9.28 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 5.66 per cent, the ministry said.

ALSO READ: Nine COVID deaths in New Delhi, highest in six months

The number of people who have recuperated from COVID-19 surged to 3,44,12,740, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.37 per cent, it said.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 150.06 crore, the ministry said.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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, 2020.

READ OPINION: When hospitals turn COVID clusters

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, 2021, and three crore on June 23 of that year.

The 285 new fatalities included 189 from Kerala and 20 from Maharashtra.

A total of 4,83,463 deaths due to the pandemic have been reported so far in the country, including 1,41,614 from Maharashtra, 49,305 from Kerala, 38,362 from Karnataka, 36,833 from Tamil Nadu, 25,136 from Delhi, 22,918 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,864 from West Bengal.

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.

By ANI

NEW DELHI: India reported 12,830 new COVID-19 cases, 446 deaths in the last 24 hours, informed the Union Health Ministry on Sunday.

Of the 12,830 new infections and 446 deaths reported in India in the last 24 hours, Kerala reported 7,427 new cases and 62 deaths.

As per the ministry, India’s active caseload stands at 1,59,272, which is the lowest in 247 days. The active cases account for less than 1 per cent of total cases and is currently at 0.46 per cent which is the lowest since March 2020.

So far, 3,42,73,300 positive cases have been registered across the country since the onset of the pandemic last year in March.

With 14,667 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries mounted to 3,36,55,842. Consequently, the recovery rate is currently at 98.20 per cent.

The COVID-19 death toll in the country stands at 4,58,186.

The daily positivity rate is 1.13 per cent and it is less than 2 per cent for last 27 days. Meanwhile, weekly positivity rate is 1.18 per cent, which also remained below 2 per cent for last 37 days.

As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), over 60.83 crore (60,83,19,915) COVID-19 tests have been conducted so far. Of these, 11,35,142 samples were tested on Saturday.

In the ongoing nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive, 106.14 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The UK on Monday said it is engaging with India to explore how it could expand the recognition of the COVID-19 vaccine certification issued by Indian authorities amid criticism of the new British travel rules.

The comments by a spokesperson in the British High Commission here came amid concerns in India over the latest Covid-related travel restrictions announced by the United Kingdom.

According to new rules, Indian travellers who have received both doses of the Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) will be considered unvaccinated and will have to undergo self-isolation for 10 days.

Asked about the concerns in India over the new rules that will come into effect from October 4, the British High Commission spokesperson said the UK is engaged with India on the issue and is committed to opening up international travel again “as soon as is practicable”.

“The UK is committed to opening up international travel again as soon as is practicable and this announcement is a further step to enable people to travel more freely again, in a safe and sustainable way, while protecting public health,” the spokesperson said.

“We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we could expand the UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India,” the official added.

From October 4, the current “traffic light system” of red, amber, green countries based on levels of COVID-19 risk will be replaced by one red list of countries.

The scrapping of the amber list, which is what India is currently on, means a reduced PCR test cost burden only for some travellers.

The expanded list of countries whose vaccines are recognised in the UK does not include India.

It means Indians vaccinated with Covishield, the SII-produced Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, would be required to undergo compulsory PCR tests as well as self-isolation.

People familiar with the development said the UK has kept visa rules under constant review throughout the pandemic to keep borders open, while gradually and safely restarting travel.

“The UK will continue to review the scientific evidence on other vaccines and keep the health measures under regular review,” said one of the persons cited above.

The people said visa applications from Indian travellers for all categories continue to be processed and they do not need to be vaccinated to travel to the UK.

They said regardless of an Indian national’s vaccination status, the person travelling from India to the UK must take a pre-departure test and a COVID-19 test on or before day two of the visit, and on or after day eight, and self-isolate for 10 days.

Travellers can also choose to shorten their home quarantine period to around five days under the “Test to Release” service, the people said.