A record 14,92,409 tests have been conducted for detection of COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours.
Steve Smith, David Warner, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler will arrive in the UAE late on Thursday night (UAE time) from the UK and on arrival will undergo RT-PCR test for COVID-19.
Experts feel the figures are modest for a count of the size of 1.3 billion and "much more number of tests" are needed to combat COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
The ICMR on Monday asked states and union territories to stop using the test kits procured from the Chinese companies -- Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics -- due to "wide variations" in their performance.
One in five Indian students now prefer new and unconventional study destinations like Ireland, Turkey and Spain. The number of Indian students in Germany grew by 20.85 per cent in the winter semester to stand at over 25,000.
The spending on a typical RT-PCR test would take up 23 per cent of the monthly income of an average Indian, compared to 2 per cent in China. This is one of the deepest cuts in the pocket of an individual, in comparison to 14 other countries, reports Abhishek Waghmare.
The plans also state that highly suspected cases testing negative on Rapid Antigen Test should be examined again using the gold standard RT-PCR test.
The Centre has asked Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to ensure that health facilities are stocked with essential medicines and supplies to meet any exigencies in the wake of Cyclone Yaas which is expected to make a landfall later this month.
Vardhan, who interacted with chief ministers, state health ministers, principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Goa through video conferencing and urged them to focus on effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases to reduce deaths in the first 24, 48 or 72 hours.
Manpreet Singh and three other players test positive for COVID-19 ahead of national camp in Bengaluru.
In view of cases of the Delta plus variant of COVID-19 emerging in Maharashtra, the state government on Friday announced 'state-level trigger' for imposing restrictions in administrative units irrespective of weekly positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy percentage.
A total of 5,15,385 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far with 19,870 patients having been cured and discharged in the last 24 hours till 8 am.
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.
These decisions were taken by the ministry based on the fresh recommendations by The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) and have also been communicated to the states and union territories, an official statement said.
Officials said the study would have started earlier as it was planned to be conducted with the rapid antibody test kits brought from China.
The positivity rate dipped to 0.12 per cent.
This is the highest number of cases since December 13 when 1,984 people tested positive for the virus, according to official data.
Also, the recovery rate in COVID-19 patients has progressively improved from 13.06 per cent to over 25 per cent in the country over the last 14 days. Addressing a press briefing, Joint Secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal said the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in several states is better than the national average.
Timely, proactive, and graded strategy initiatives for effective coronavirus infection management in the country, led by the Centre and implemented by the states and Union Territories, have ensured that the actual COVID-19 caseload remains manageable.
The former Maharashtra chief minister in his letter pointed out the high mortality rate in the state and alleged that the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress government was neglecting Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra in the fight against the pandemic.
'This health emergency has brought a lot of people together with the common purpose of getting Feluda to play detective as quickly as possible.' 'As a scientist, if we can make a small difference in people's lives, we are happy'
Modi stressed on the need for constant genome sequencing to monitor emergence of mutants and also to ensure increased oxygen availability, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.
Amid a scare about the spread of the Omicron variant, Delhi recorded 331 fresh coronavirus cases on Monday, the highest single-day rise since June 9, and one death in the past 24 hours, while the positivity rate mounted to 0.68 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
A group of public health experts, including doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences and members from the national taskforce on COVID-19, have said that mass, indiscriminate and incomplete vaccination can trigger emergence of mutant strains and recommended that there is no need to inoculate those who had documented coronavirus infection.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2.
The pandemic is set to become even more challenging, with migrant workers returning home, relaxations in lockdown rules, and the approaching monsoon. However, states are looking at community participation to ramp up testing and home treatment of patients
While Delhi reported 19,486 Covid cases in the last 24 hours, Maharashtra logged 63,729 infections.
We have no standard processes in place to address the more serious public health hazard of our lifetime, observes Aakar Patel.
Mumbai on Friday recorded 20, 971 new coronavirus infections, the highest one-day spike to date, while Delhi registered the highest single-day spike too with the national capital reporting 17,335 new infections, highest since May 8 last year
In a massive surge, Delhi on Thursday recorded 15,097 fresh COVID cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and six deaths while the positivity rate mounted to 15.34 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
These dedicated COVID-19 facilities will have a capacity of 1,06,719 isolation beds and 12,024 ICU beds reserved for such patients in the country.
As many as 29,557 COVID-19 patients have recuperated in the past 24 hours.
President of Public Health Foundation of India, Professor K Srinath Reddy said that India may see COVID-19 cases peaking as early as in two months if there are strong public health measures and people take all precautions like wearing face masks and maintaining physical distance.
More than 6.5 crore vaccine doses have been administered across the country so far to frontline workers, healthcare workers, those above 60 and for people aged above 45 with specified co-co-morbid conditions.
'This means that there is a higher likelihood of individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 to be reinfected with the Omicron variant'
The Union health ministry on Friday said while there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, some of the mutations reported may decrease the efficacy of the jabs.
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.
While the numbers of fresh COVID cases and active cases are going up, the administration is focussing on testing, contact-tracing and treatment.
'We are seeing 50% fewer cases now.' 'It is primarily due to the lockdown.'
In its daily briefing, the government also reported Goa is now free of coronavirus.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances