The first consignment of 75,000 vials will reach India on Friday, it added.
Asked if the government has decided to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to the entire population free of cost on priority basis and if so, the target fixed to administer the doses, the health minister said according to Revised Guidelines for Implementation of National COVID Vaccination Program, which came into effect from June 21, all citizens aged 18 years and above, irrespective of their income status, are entitled to free vaccination at all government vaccination centres.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Thursday said the city government will declare black fungus an epidemic if need arises.
Jewellers across the country will go on a 'token strike' on August 23 against the "arbitrary implementation" of mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery, All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) said on Friday. The strike will be supported by 350 associations and federations from all four zones of the entire gems and jewellery industry, the GJC claimed. Mandatory gold hallmarking has come into force from June 16 in a phased manner. The government has identified 256 districts from 28 states and union territories for the phase-1 implementation.
Chief ministers of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi are among those who attended the meeting.
Two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the Union government said on Thursday while asking people not to panic but follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay.
As the new year arrives, the Bharatiya Janata Party's finds itself on the cusp of the most consequential cycle of state polls since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the results will tell if the road ahead in its bid for a third straight term at the Centre is getting any bumpier or a strong opposition challenge remains elusive.
The total recoveries have climbed to 8,17,208, while there are 4,40,135 active cases of coronavirus in the country at present, the govt said as the COVID-19 tally surged to 12.87 lakh.
While the Delhi government announced that schools will not be allowed to hike fees during the lockdown period and only tuition fee will have to be paid, Maharashtra has said parents can lodge complaints with district education officers if schools demanded fees. The Gujarat government had on Monday announced that private schools will not hike fees for an year. The West Bengal government has appealed to schools to refrain from hiking fees.
On when vaccination for children could start as Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine has been granted emergency use authorisation for those 12-year-old and above, he said children were not being inoculated against COVID-19 on a large scale anywhere in the world though it has been initiated in some countries in a limited manner.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that vaccination against COVID-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission.
A pan-India 'fraud-to-phone' network has been busted by security agencies, which have also arrested eight people and seized nearly 300 new mobile phones bought with stolen funds, officials said on Tuesday. Moreover, 900 mobile phones, 1,000 bank accounts and hundreds of unified payment interface (UPI) and e-commerce IDs of this gang have been identified and are under investigation. Nearly 100 bank accounts, and debit and credit cards have been frozen by the security agencies so far, officials said.
The prime minister also called for more RT-PCR tests.
India has the capacity to store vaccines that may require a lower temperature in the range of -15 to -20 degrees Celsius and there are over 29,000 cold chain points (CCPs) across the country where vaccines are stored at the recommended temperatures, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.
Strict norms for arriving international passengers, especially from 'at-risk' countries, will come into effect from Tuesday midnight and authorities are stepping their vigil for effective surveillance amid mounting concerns over the emergence of the coronavirus variant Omicron.
The country's total vaccination coverage has surpassed 6 crore on Sunday.
Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat are reporting a surge in daily COVID-19 cases and the five states together account for 77.44 per cent of the new infections, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.
It is a difficult problem and will require the Union, state governments and civil society, meaning NGOs, to work together, points out Aakar Patel.
The Centre on Saturday strongly advised 12 states and Union Territories reporting a surge in coronavirus cases to significantly increase testing and ensure people follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, noting that one infected person could spread infection to an average of 406 individuals in a 30-day window without restrictions.
Gandhi has been critical of the government's handling of the pandemic and has questioned the Centre's claims on battling coronavirus.
The number of recoveries from COVID-19 exceed active cases by more than 10 lakh.
The total number of beneficiaries who have been vaccinated on Thursday till 6 pm include 15,507 in Andhra Pradesh, 15,798 in Bihar, 10,266 in Kerala, 16,103 in Karnataka, 7,117 in Madhya Pradesh, 6,497 in Tamil Nadu, 5,128 in Delhi, 12,212 in Gujarat and 7,187 in West Bengal, according to the provisional report.
"The unsound analysis of the said article is based on the extrapolation of data without any epidemiological evidence," the ministry said, adding the studies used by the magazine to estimate the mortality are not validated tools for determining the death rate of any country or region.
The Northern Railway is set to suspend wrestler Sushil Kumar after he was arrested by the Delhi Police in a murder case
'You may be aware that any increase in 'R' factor above 1.0 is an indicator of spread of COVID-19. Therefore, it is important that the authorities concerned shall be made responsible for ensuring COVID Appropriate Behaviour'
The elevation of BJP working president J P Nadda to the top party post is all but certain as he is likely to be elected unopposed, party sources have said.
International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening-up will take place in a calibrated manner.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive was successfully conducted on the first day, Additional Secretary in the Union health ministry Manohar Agnani said during a press briefing. Giving an update on COVID-19 vaccination, the health ministry said 3,352 vaccination sessions were held and 1,91,181 beneficiaries vaccinated.
South Africa will remain on the lowest 'level 1' of its five-level lockdown strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic despite the global panic around the detection of the Omicron variant in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced .
Two weeks after the vaccination programme started, about 37 per cent of the targeted 10 million healthcare professionals had received the first shot. This slow rate may prompt the government to allow vaccines in the private market sooner, to use up the doses before they expire, Sohini Das reports.
With COVID cases declining, Delhi will see further relaxation in lockdown, including reopening of markets and malls and resumption of metro services, from June 7 while Maharashtra will implement a five-level plan to ease curbs based on weekly positivity rate and occupancy of oxygen beds in districts.
The finance ministry on Friday asked state governments to accord priority to employees of banks and insurance companies for Covid-19 vaccination, saying they are exposed to high risks during these difficult times.
Vardhan emphasised on how the Indian traditional system of medicine has also contributed substantially in boosting the immunity of general population during COVID-19.
The Centre has asked states and union territories witnessing surge in new COVID-19 cases and high active caseload to continue with the strategy of 'test, track and treat' that had yielded rich dividends at the height of the pandemic and accelerate vaccination for priority population groups in districts reporting higher infections on mission mode.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, however, did not specify when its implementation is likely to start. He said that he has discussed the issue with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
"The Right to Life as guaranteed by Article 21...gives the right to every human being to live a life of dignity with access to at-least bare necessities of life. To provide food security to impoverished persons is the bounden duty of all States and Governments," the top court observed while issuing a slew of directions on a plea of three activists.
Since its launch in April, helpline 155260 has been able to prevent more than Rs 18.5 million of defrauded money from reaching the hands of fraudsters.
The Union health ministry has listed 130 districts in the country in red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zone on the basis of incidence of cases of COVID-19, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback. Rediff Labs has mapped all the red, orange and green zones across the country.
The Union health ministry on Friday said license has been given to five more manufacturers for production of Amphotericin-B, used in the treatment of black fungus, and they will start producing 1,11,000 vials of the drug per month from July.
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