Tag: India Covid

  • PM Narendra Modi to hold meeting with chief ministers on COVID situation on Wednesday

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with chief ministers on the emerging COVID-19 situation in the country on Wednesday through video conference, official sources said on Saturday.

    They said that Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan will make a presentation on the matter. With 2,527 coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of cases rose to 4,30,54,952, while active cases have increased to 15,079, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll has climbed to 5,22,149 with 33 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

    The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.75 per cent, the health ministry said. An increase of 838 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in 24 hours.

  • 1,088 new COVID-19 cases recorded in country, recovery rate at 98.76 per cent

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 1,088 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,30,38,016, while the active cases dipped to 10,870, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

    The death toll climbed to 5,21,736 with 26 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

    The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 19 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    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.

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

  • Future COVID waves unlikely to have serious impact in India: Experts

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia and parts of Europe, experts in India feel that given the high vaccination coverage and immunity due to natural infection, any future waves are unlikely to have a major impact in the country.

    Some of them even said that the government should consider relaxing the mask mandate as the daily COVID-19 cases and deaths have remained low for a while. India on Sunday recorded 1,761 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest in around 688 days, and 127 deaths. The active cases also declined further to 26,240, according to government data.

    Dr Sanjay Rai, senior epidemiologist at AIIMS and the principal investigator of Covaxin trials for both adults and children at the institute, said that SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus and mutations are bound to occur.

    ALSO READ| China under pressure amid countrywide COVID resurgence as local businesses face heat

    Already more than 1,000 mutations have occurred, although there are only five variants of concern. “India experienced a very devastating second wave last year, which was very unfortunate, but currently this is our main strength as natural infection provides better and longer duration of protection. Also, there is high vaccination coverage. Hence, severe impact of any future wave is unlikely,” Rai, professor at the Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS, said.

    “It is also time that the Indian government may consider relaxing the mask mandate,” he said, adding that senior citizens and those at a higher risk of contracting the infection should continue wearing masks as a precautionary measure.

    Having said that, Rai emphasised, the government should continue with the SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, including genomic sequencing, to monitor the emergence of any future variant. According to Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public health specialist, the possibility of a fresh surge in India is low even with a new variant.

    “If we analyse data on seroprevalence, vaccination coverage and evidence on the spread of Omicron, it is logical to conclude that the COVID-19 epidemic in India is over. For India, the possibility of a fresh surge for many months and even with a new variant is low,” he said.

    The reason is that because of the hybrid immunity after three waves of natural infection and a large proportion of adults receiving both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the susceptible pool has come down drastically, Lahariya said.

    “We know that antibody level declines over a period of time but hybrid immunity continues to provide protection. Moreover, at this stage of the pandemic, infections and new COVID-19 cases are not a concern. The outcome of those infections should be the criteria to assess the situation,” he said.

    ALSO READ| COVID menace ending finally? India adds 1,761 cases, lowest single-day rise in nearly two years

    Lahariya, however, stressed the need for the government to continue tracking situations in other countries, experts to analyse the situation in India, continue genomic surveillance and citizens to get the recommended vaccine shots. “It is also a time that as a society, we prepare for living with COVID,” he said.

    Lahariya further said the time is right to do away with the mask mandate for the majority of the population. “It is also time that the Indian government reviews and revises the face mask-related regulation. The time has come that the mask requirement for the majority of the population can be done away with. It can be done in a graded manner,” he stated.

    Dr Jugal Kishore, head of Community Medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, said due to high prevalence of seropositivity, which indicates that more than 80-90 per cent of the population has been infected by coronavirus, measures like wearing masks can be done away with. He also pointed out that due to high natural infection, people are unlikely to have severe symptoms if a new wave of coronavirus comes.

    Dr NK Arora, chairman of the COVID-19 working group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), said given the high vaccination coverage and the wide spread of the disease, the possibility of India being hit by a severe wave is less likely.

    But that should not lead to the lowering of guard as there is always the risk of new variants emerging. The current understanding is that most of these outbreaks are due to Omicron and its sublineages, he said.

    Arora said that data from other countries shows that the risk of severe disease and death is primarily for those who are either unvaccinated or partially immunised. “So, I would strongly request all those adults who have still not received their second dose and are due for their precaution dose to take it. Also, they should ensure that children aged 12 to 18 also complete the Covid vaccination as recommended under the national programme,” he said.

    Last week, the Union health ministry had asked all states and union territories to ensure an adequate number of samples are submitted to the INSACOG network for timely detection of new COVID-19 variants, continue testing according to protocols and not to let the guard down while resuming economic and social activities.

    It also asked them to restart monitoring influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections so that no early warning signals are missed and COVID-19 is controlled.

    Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had chaired a high-level meeting on March 16 during which states were advised to focus on aggressive genome sequencing, intensified surveillance and overall vigil on the COVID-19 situation.

  • Single day rise of 10,273 COVID-19 infections, 243 fatalities push India’s tally of cases to 4,29,16,117

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With 10,273 people testing positive for coronavirus in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,29,16,117, while the active cases dipped to 1,11,472, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

    The death toll climbed to 5,13,724 with 243 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

    The daily COVID-19 cases have remained less than one lakh for 21 consecutive days.

    The active cases comprise 0.26 per cent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further improved to 98.54 per cent, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 10,409 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.00 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.26 per cent, according to the ministry.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,22,90,921, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.

    The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 177.44 crore.

    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.

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

    The 243 new fatalities include 181 from Kerala and 19 from Karnataka.

    A total of 5,13,724 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,43,695 from Maharashtra, 65,161 from Kerala, 39,919 from Karnataka, 38,002 from Tamil Nadu, 26,119 from Delhi, 23,450 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,172 from West Bengal.

    The 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 daily COVID-19 cases drop below 50,000 mark in nearly 40 days

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: As COVID-19 third wave appears to be abating with new cases dropping below 50,000-mark for the first time in nearly one and a half months, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s data on Sunday.

    The COVID cases had begun to show a significant rise following the emergence of the Omicron variant last year.

    As many as 44,877 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported across the country in the 24-hour period, the lowest since January 4 when 37,379 new cases were recorded. The daily COVID spike breached 58,097 cases mark on January 5.

    44,877 #COVID19 cases in the last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate stands at 3.17%.Express Photo | @ashokkumar_TNIE pic.twitter.com/PmhDvtmPXg
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) February 13, 2022
    A total of 75.07 crore tests have been conducted so far in India, with 14,15,279 tests held in the last 24 hours, as per ministry data.

    With this, the country’s active caseload currently stands at 5,37,045 which accounts for 1.26 per cent of total cases. At present, Kerala (1,82,118) has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases followed by Maharashtra (56,206) and Tamil Nadu (47,643).

    ALSO READ: Tamil Nadu almost back to normal from February 16 as govt lifts most COVID restrictions

    The daily positivity rate in India has been recorded at 3.17 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.46 per cent, as per the bulletin.

    A total of 1,17,591 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,15,85,711, stated the bulletin. India’s recovery rate now stands at 97.55 per cent.

    The country reported 684 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 5,08,665.

    ALSO READ: COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted in Bihar

    After witnessing the second wave in April-May last year, COVID-19 cases in India started declining in subsequent months and daily infections spike reached as low as 5,326 new cases on December 21.

    Meanwhile, the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529), a new variant of the coronavirus, was first reported in Botswana on November 11, 2021, and appeared on November 14 in South Africa. India detected its first Omicron case on December 2 last year in Karnataka.

    Following the emergence of the Omicron variant, daily cases began rising by December-end and breached the 1-lakh mark on January 7 when 1,17,100 fresh infections were reported. In a written reply in Lok Sabha on February 4, 2022, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar stated that “an upsurge of COVID-19 cases in the country was observed by the end of December, 2021 which was primarily driven by the Omicron variant”.

    The peak of the current surge was recorded on January 21, 2022, when 3,47,254 new cases were recorded in a 24-hour period.

    Meanwhile, 172.81 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far under nationwide vaccination drive. 

  • India reports 2,09,918 fresh COVID-19 infections; active cases reach 18,31,268

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: India reported 2,09,918 fresh COVID-19 cases and 959 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Monday. With this, the total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country moved up to 4,13,02,440 including 18,31,268 active cases which account for 4.43 per cent of the total cases.

    Active #Covid19 cases stand at 18,31,268. pic.twitter.com/8CKMUuusvQ
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) January 31, 2022
    However, the COVID-19 fatalities reported an upsurge as the country’s total death toll rose to 4,95,050. On Monday, the country logged 893 deaths from this virus. As many as 2,62,628 recoveries were added in the last 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 3,89,76,122. The recovery rate is currently at 94.37 per cent.

    Of the 13,31,198 COVID-19 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, a daily positivity rate of 15.77 per cent was reported. Moreover, the weekly positivity rate stood at 15.75 per cent. Under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive, as many as 166.03 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far, the ministry informed.

  • 60 per cent of India’s adult population fully vaccinated: Health minister

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Over 60 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday, December 23, 2021.

    “Accomplishing more new feats! Congratulations India. Aided by public participation & dedicated efforts of our health workers, over 60 per cent of the eligible population fully vaccinated now,” he said in a tweet.

    Accomplishing more new feats!Congratulations India Aided by public participation & dedicated efforts of our health workers, over 60% of the eligible population fully vaccinated now #SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine pic.twitter.com/cts7lR8SzA
    — Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 23, 2021
    Besides, around 89 per cent of India’s adults have been administered the first dose, according to health ministry officials.

    With the administration of 70,17,671 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses given in the country have exceeded 139.70 crore as per provisional reports till 7 am.

    This has been achieved in 1,47,94,783 sessions.

  • India’s Omicron tally at 236, Maharashtra records highest cases of new variant 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India has recorded 236 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 16 states and UTs so far out of which 104 people have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday, December 23, 2021.

    Maharashtra has recorded the maximum 65 cases of the Omicron variant followed by Delhi at 64, Telangana 24, Karnataka 19, Rajasthan 21 and Kerala 15.

    The ministry data updated at 8 am also showed that India recorded 7,495 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of cases to 3,47,65,976, while the active cases increased to 78,291.

    The death toll has climbed to 4,78,759 with 434 fresh fatalities, the data stated.

    The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 56 days now.

    The active cases comprise 0.23 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further improved to 98.40 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

    An increase of 101 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    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.

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

  • Covid: Number of active cases in India lowest in 151 days

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A single-day rise of 34,457 COVID-19 cases pushed India’s tally to 3,23,93,286 on Saturday, while the number of active cases declined to 3,61,340, the lowest in 151 days, according to Union health ministry data.

    India has reported less than 50,000 daily cases for 55 consecutive days.

    The death toll climbed to 4,33,964 with 375 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

    The 3,61,340 active cases comprise 1.12 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March last year.

    The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.54 per cent, the highest since March last year, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 2,265 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate stands at 2 per cent.

    It has been less than 3 per cent for the last 26 days, according to the ministry.

    The weekly positivity rate stands at 1.98 per cent.

    It has been below 3 per cent for the last 57 days, the ministry said.

    As many as 17,21,205 COVID-19 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the total number of tests done so far in the country to 50,45,76,158.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 3,15,97,982, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

    So far, 57.61 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

    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, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

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

    The 375 new fatalities include 105 from Maharashtra and 99 from Kerala.

    Of the 4,33,964 deaths reported so far in the country, 1,35,672 were from Maharashtra, 37,105 from Karnataka, 34,663 from Tamil Nadu, 25,079 from Delhi, 22,791 from Uttar Pradesh, 19,345 from Kerala and 18,346 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. 

  • Covid: Number of active cases in India lowest since March 2020

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A single-day rise of 34,457 COVID-19 cases pushed India’s tally to 3,23,93,286 on Saturday, while the number of active cases declined to 3,61,340, the lowest in 151 days, according to Union health ministry data.

    India has reported less than 50,000 daily cases for 55 consecutive days.

    The death toll climbed to 4,33,964 with 375 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

    The 3,61,340 active cases comprise 1.12 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March last year.

    The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.54 per cent, the highest since March last year, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 2,265 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate stands at 2 per cent.

    It has been less than 3 per cent for the last 26 days, according to the ministry.

    The weekly positivity rate stands at 1.98 per cent.

    It has been below 3 per cent for the last 57 days, the ministry said.

    As many as 17,21,205 COVID-19 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the total number of tests done so far in the country to 50,45,76,158.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 3,15,97,982, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

    So far, 57.61 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

    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, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

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

    The 375 new fatalities include 105 from Maharashtra and 99 from Kerala.

    Of the 4,33,964 deaths reported so far in the country, 1,35,672 were from Maharashtra, 37,105 from Karnataka, 34,663 from Tamil Nadu, 25,079 from Delhi, 22,791 from Uttar Pradesh, 19,345 from Kerala and 18,346 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.