NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said, "COVID-19 situation is turning from bad to worse. In last few weeks, especially in some states, it is a huge cause for worry. No state, no part of the country or district should be complacent."
In view of a persistent rise in COVID-19 cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday ordered that there will be no public celebrations in the national capital for upcoming festivals such Holi and Navaratri. Considering the rise in COVID-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also announced that Holi celebrations, on March 28 and 29, will not be permitted in both private or public places.
According to a doctor unless the virus is cultured or gene sequencing done, it will be difficult to determine whether it is a different strain of the virus that has infected the person the second time.
'The pandemic ends only when 70 per cent of the world is vaccinated with two doses.'
The recoveries have mounted to 11,45,629, while there are 5,67,730 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country presently.
It also said that an average of 11.5 lakh tests for detection of coronavirus infection were done on a daily basis during the past 10 days. From merely one in January 2020, India's total tests for detection of COVID-19 have crossed 7.89 crore so far. There has been a commensurate dip in the COVID-19 positivity rate, it said.
'This year, we know the virus. Last year we didn't know anything about it.' 'The best part is that for the Indian population there has been some amount of cross protection.'
With 1,209 new deaths reported across the country, the toll due to the disease stands at 76,271.
There are 8,97,394 active cases of COVID-19, which is 20.53 per cent of the total caseload in the country, the data stated.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection stands at 1.7 per cent.
35 districts have been reporting high active COVID-19 caseload and fatality rate. These 35 districts comprise all 11 districts in Delhi, Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and 24 South Parganas in West Bengal; Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Raigad, Jalgaon, Solapur, Satara, Palghar, Aurangabad, Dhule and Nanded in Maharashtra; Surat in Gujarat; Pondicherry in Puducherry and East Singhbhum in Jharkhand.
Bad management, an exhausted government vigilance mechanism, delay in roping in private players, relaxing norms, and over-dependence on antigen tests may be the reason behind the surge, reports Shine Jacob.
The number of recoveries from COVID-19 exceed active cases by more than 10 lakh.
With the fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally rose to 22.68 lakh, while the recoveries have surged to 15,83,489, pushing the recovery rate to 69.80 per cent.
The move comes in view of rising cases of the infection, weekly positivity rates and weekly deaths in some districts.
The number of recoveries has surged to 14,80,884 with 53,879 coronavirus patients having recuperated and discharged in 24-hours, the highest in a day so far.
While there is a continuous increasing trend in COVID-19 cases and deaths globally, particularly in America and Europe and the situation in the world is becoming worrisome, in contrast the scene in India is satisfying as the cases and deaths are declining, Dr V K Paul, member (health) at NITI Aayog, told a press conference.
As many as 29,557 COVID-19 patients have recuperated in the past 24 hours.
While the numbers of fresh COVID cases and active cases are going up, the administration is focussing on testing, contact-tracing and treatment.
'I was told to go to the next room and strip -- that's when it really hits you for the first time... that you are a criminal and you are being treated like one.' 'It comes as a shock when, instead of your name, you hear, "Yeh naya Maowadi aaya hai (A new Maoist has arrived)".'
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The body of Sehrai, 77, was handed over to his family on Wednesday evening and taken in a police escort to Kupwara in north Kashmir, at least 350 km from Jammu, where he would be buried at his ancestral graveyard in accordance with the COVID-19 guidelines.
Dr Rai, who is also a principal investigator of the Bharat Biotech Covaxin clinical trial at AIIMS, said that COVID-19 preventive measures like wearing masks, hand hygiene should be followed till there is an effective vaccine.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection has further dropped to 1.66 per cent.
Local trains will be allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 7 pm, while all shopping malls and markets will be allowed to remain open till 10 pm but with half their capacities, he said.
There are 8,15,538 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country.
The total coronavirus cases rose to 35,42,733, while the death toll climbed to 63,498 with 948 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The average daily recovered cases are now more than 55,000 and active cases are just 25 per cent of the total COVID cases.
The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has risen to 66.31 per cent.
I believe that UP has been doing this consistently -- of grossly under-reporting the Covid-positive cases. Nothing else explains the glaring differences in UP's positivity rates versus other badly affected states, says Omkar Goswami.
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According to the latest health department bulletin, the positivity rate has also jumped to 9.55 per cent, amid the festive season and the rise in pollution level.
Two dogs -- two-year-old cocker spaniel Casper and one-year-old Jaya, a 'chippiparai', which is an indigenous breed from Tamil Nadu -- have been trained to detect COVID-19 by sniffing samples of sweat and urine, senior Army officials said.
'There is no data to show this virus is more deadlier.'
The Manipal Hospital where the 77-year-old leader is admitted said he was "doing well" and "clinically stable."
As the number of COVID cases rise in Bihar, data indicates that the state is slowing down on testing. It is also relying more on the Rapid Antigen Test than the more accurate RT-PCR test.
The court noted that the daily number of new COVID-19 cases received for November 10 was at 8,593 and "still counting" and the number of containment zones in the city were 4,016.
The apex health research body on Tuesday validated the 1,000th testing laboratory, ramping up the capacity for detection of COVID-19 in the country. Currently, three lakh samples can be tested per day, an official said.
'In the case of Aadhaar, we were able to build and enrol 1 billion in five-and-a-half years.' 'For vaccination, it can be done even faster -- in just two years.' 'When everybody is coming for vaccination, they can be offered a choice -- to create a health record and a digital ID.'
'The new cases should be divided into three categories - mild, moderate, if a patient needs oxygen, and severe, if he/she needs ventilator support'
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