Coronavirus Updates: India Administers 1 Crore Covid Vaccine Doses in A Day, Says Health Ministry

As many as 18 persons tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh, taking the tally of infections to 7,93,232 on Saturday, an official from the state health department said. The count of recoveries rose to 7,82,562, after 10 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, while the toll remained unchanged at 10,528, as no fresh casualties were reported, the official said. With this, the central state currently has 142 active cases, he said.

Himachal Pradesh has become the first state to fully vaccinate 100 per cent of its adult population against COVID-19, an official spokesperson claimed here on Saturday. As many as 53,86,393 eligible adults have been administered the second dose, he said, adding Himachal Pradesh was also the first state to achieve the 100 per cent first dose vaccination of adult population by the end of August. A special function is being organised to honour COVID-19 workers at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bilaspur on Sunday, he said.

Karnataka on Saturday logged 397 fresh COVID-19 cases and four deaths, taking the caseload to 29,97,643 and the toll to 38,224. Discharges numbered 277, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,52,378, leaving 7,012 active cases. Bengaluru Urban remained the major contributor with 207 fresh infections. Other districts too reported fresh cases, including Mysuru (29), Dharwad (26), Dakshina Kannada (22) and 19 each in Hassan and Shivamogga. There were zero fatalities in 27 districts.

Mumbai on Saturday reported 219 fresh coronavirus positive cases and four fatalities, taking the tally to 7,63,622 and the toll to 16,348, the city civic body said. With 303 people being discharged during the day, the number of recoveries in Mumbai increased to 7,42,905, leaving the metropolis with 1,797 active cases. A total of 40,703 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, which raised the number of samples tested so far in Mumbai to 1,25,76,302. Mumbai’s recovery rate now stands at 97 per cent, the civic body said. A total of 15 buildings in Mumbai are currently sealed because of the prevalence of COVID-19 cases, it said.

“25 of the co-passengers from the Delhi-Mumbai flight have been tested negative. More contacts are currently being traced,” Maharashtra Health Department said. The 33-year-old passenger arrived in Mumbai on Nov 24 from Capetown, South Africa through Dubai and Delhi. He hasn’t taken any vaccine. 12 of his high-risk contacts & 23 of the low-risk contacts have been traced and all have been tested negative for Covid-19, the health department added.

Maharashtra has reported first case of Omicron variant in Kalyan in Dombivli. The total case of Omicron variant has reached four.

A 46-year-old doctor, one of the two people to have tested positive for the new Covid-19 variant omicron, is currently undergoing treatment and is in isolation at a hospital in Bengaluru. Talking about his experience, the doctor said he does not have a cold or cough and neither has he face any difficulty in breathing yet. However, three days into home isolation, he experienced spells of dizziness, and with concern growing among his family, decided to get admitted in a private hospital. “I was given a dose of monoclonal antibodies on November 25 and that made a lot of difference. The next morning, I was absolutely normal with zero symptoms. I felt as though I had never had Covid at all,” he said. READ MORE

The city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport ( CSMIA) on Saturday said it has revised downward the charges for Rapid PCR test for COVID-19 at its facility to Rs 3,900 from Rs 4,500 earlier. Along with this, normal RT-PCR test costing Rs 600 per passenger is also available at the airport, the CSMIA said in a statement. The reduced RT-PCR test charges will help passengers to avail the COVID-19 test at a minimal cost and enable them a safe and secured travel, the private airport operator added.

Active Covid-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh remained almost constant at 2,149 as the state reported 186 fresh positive cases, 191 recoveries and three deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday. The state Covid-19 chart now showed a total of 20,73,576 positive cases, 20,56,979 recoveries and 14,448 deaths, according to the latest bulletin. East Godavari district logged 32 fresh cases, Krishna 28, West Godavari 26, Chittoor 21, Visakhapatnam 20, Anantapuramu and Guntur 11 each in 24 hours. The remaining six districts added less than 10 new cases each.

Haryana recorded no new coronavirus-related death, even as it added 17 fresh infections on Saturday, pushing the case count to 7,71,797, according to the state health department’s daily bulletin. The death toll remained unchanged at 10,054, it said.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 remains predominant in England, accounting for over 99 per cent of all coronavirus infections, even as 75 more cases of the new Omicron strain have now been detected, taking the total to 104. A further 16 cases have been identified in Scotland, bringing the total to 29, and with one case from Wales, the UK-wide total stands at 134. Delta remains the predominant variant in England, accounting for over 99 per cent of all COVID-19 cases.

The national capital recorded 51 coronavirus cases at a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent while there was no more death due to the infection, according to data shared by the health department here on Saturday. The number of cumulative cases of the disease rose to 14,41,295.

The Union health ministry on Saturday wrote to Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and Mizoram to take necessary steps under the ‘Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate-Covid Appropriate Behaviour’ strategy to control the spread of COVID-19 and reduce fatality. The move comes in view of rising cases of the infection, weekly positivity rates and weekly deaths in some districts. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Saturday said all states have been advised to undertake enhanced surveillance of international travellers, monitor emerging hotspots, prompt contact tracing of positive people, besides sending all positive samples for genome sequencing, early identification of cases and review of health infrastructure preparedness, and most importantly to focus on IEC and community sensitisation.

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel reviewed the readiness of state health system, at a high-level meeting. He instructed people to strictly implement new guidelines issued by the centre regarding Omicron variant in the state. “Patel gave clear instructions to proceed with the strategy of tracing, testing, and treatment in positive cases. He also appealed to all citizens to use social distancing, masks to the fullest, urging them to be vigilant and cautious even in the context of this new variant,” a statement from the Chief Minister’s office said, ANI reported.

Station Managers of Air India Airlines and Mahan Airlines of Delhi International Airport issued a show-cause notice for not following Covid guidelines. Three passengers were allowed to board flights without filling Self Declaration form on Air Suvidha Portal and uploading negative RT-PCR test report, a report in ANI said.

Amid rising concerns over ‘Omicron’, the new variant of COVID-19, the Delhi Police has instructed its personnel and their family members to get fully vaccinated, besides following COVID-appropriate behaviour, officials said on Saturday. The department has also called for reviving its COVID-19 Health Monitoring Cells headed by inspector-rank officials, and ensuring availability of oxygen cylinders and life saving medicines, they said. Further, police officials have been directed to make the COVID-19 helpline functional at the earliest and gradually step up prosecution of those found violating COVID-appropriate behaviour.

After a teenager who returned from Paris and a 41-year-old man who travelled to Barcelona, Spain, were found positive for Covid-19 in Mumbai, the number of people who would be checked for the new Omicron variant in the city has risen to 14. Amid growing concerns for the heavily mutated new variant, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has introduced a very unique and strict home quarantine monitoring mechanism for international passengers arriving from ‘at-risk’ countries. The quarantine is said to be as effective as institutional quarantine. As per the new guidelines, Mumbai International Airport Ltd. will send a list of travellers coming from South Africa or ‘at-risk’ countries to the government every day, following which the Disaster Management team will then track all of these passengers.