Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Thursday held a review with State police, Central armed police forces and home guards seeking a database of all frontline workers who will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine as and when it is ready.
An estimated one crore frontline health workers will also receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine whenever it becomes available, with around 92 per cent of government hospitals and 55 per cent of private hospitals across all states and UTs providing data identifying the workers.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here . A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
500 teams to be deployed to administer COVID-19 vaccine in Mumbai
At least 500 teams of five trained personnel each will be deployed for administering the COVID-19 vaccine in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
The first to get inoculated will be health workers followed by frontline workers, people above the age of 50 and those suffering from co-morbidities, it said in a release.
The announcement was made by Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani in the first meeting of the city task force for vaccine distribution at the BMC headquarters today, the release said. - PTI
Karnataka gears up for possible second wave
Gearing up for a possible second wave of coronavirus in the State, the Karnataka government has approved over Rs 82 crore for the purchase of oxygen generator for various hospitals, testing kits and drugs among others, Health Minister K Sudhakar said.
The government wanted to equip itself adequately to meet any exigency in the next three months when the State might witness another surge, he said, asking people to take all necessary precautions, including avoiding large congregations. - PTI
India’s COVID cases drop to lowest in over 100 days
India’s total active COVID-caseload has dropped to 3.63 lakh (3,63,749) on Friday and this is the lowest after 146 days. The total active cases was 3,58,692 on July 18, according to data released by the Health Ministry on Friday.
The Ministry added that 37,528 COVID cases have recovered and been discharged in the last 24 hours. This has led to a net decline of 8,544 from the total active caseload.
“India has registered less than 30,000 daily new cases in the last 24 hours. The number of daily new cases in the last 24 hours is 29,398. 79.90% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 States/UTs. Karnataka has reported the maximum number of single day recoveries with 5,076 newly recovered cases, 5,068 people recovered in Maharashtra followed by 4,847 in Kerala,” said the Ministry.
24.19% of Punjab’s population has been infected by COVID-19, says sero-survey
A total of 24.19% of Punjab’s population has been infected by COVID-19, according to the second sero-survey conducted in 12 districts of the State, Hussan Lal, State Health Secretary, said on Friday.
Mr. Lal, sharing the findings of the survey, which was conducted in randomly selected districts and populations, informed a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh that a total of 4,678 participants were interviewed and their blood samples collected. “Of these, 1,201 tested IgG reactive, of which only 4.03% were symptomatic and 95.9% were asymptomatic,” he said, according to a government statement.
AstraZeneca to use a component of Sputnik V in trials of COVID-19 vaccine
Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said pharma firm AstraZeneca has accepted its offer to use one of the two components of the Sputnik V vaccine in the latter’s clinical trials.
RDIF and Gamaleya Institute on November 23, 2020 had offered AstraZeneca to use one of the two components (human adenoviral vectors) of the Sputnik V vaccine in AstraZeneca’s clinical trials of its vaccine against COVID-19, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said in a statement.
“AstraZeneca accepted RDIF’s proposal and will begin clinical trials of its vaccine in combination with Sputnik V’s human adenoviral vector type Ad26 by the end of 2020,” it added. - PTI
49% of COVID-19 patients who died in Indore diabetic, say study
Of the 803 patients who have died due to complications from COVID-19 till December 10 in Indore district, 49% were diabetic, according to an analysis of fatality figures conducted by a senior Madhya Pradesh Health Department official.
Indore, a commercial hub, is the worst coronavirus- affected district in the State, recording 47,839 cases so far (till December 10).
49% of the people who have died from coronavirus in the district so far were suffering from diabetes, Anil Dongre, head of Indore’s screening team for COVID-19, said today, citing his analysis.
In the wake of a spurt in cases of the respiratory disease, people suffering from diabetes should be extra careful, he said, adding they should follow a regimen to keep their sugar level in check. - PTI
HC seeks AAP govt stand on plea against ₹800 price cap on RTPCR tests
The Delhi High Court Friday sought the AAP government’s response on a plea challenging its decision fixing a cap of ₹800 on RTPCR tests for detecting COVID-19 infection in the national capital.
Justice Navin Chawla issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand on the plea by an Association of Practising Pathologists which has contended that the price fixed would not cover the cost of consumables to be used in the test.
The association also contended that the price cap cannot be made applicable to TrueNat and CBNAAT tests, which are also used to detect COVID-19 infection, as they use cartridges which are very expensive.
It further said that sensitivity of TrueNat and CBNAAT was 98 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively, which were much higher than that of RTPCR open ended system test which stood at 67-70 per cent.
It also said that approximate costs incurred by the labs on TrueNat and CBNAAT tests were ₹2,000 and ₹3,500, respectively and were higher than the amount of ₹1,200 for RTPCR.
The Delhi government, represented by its standing counsel Ramesh Singh and additional standing counsel Gautam Narayan, told the court that the price cap was not applicable to CBNAAT and TrueNAT tests as these are different from RTPCR.
The court also noted that the three tests are not common and hence a common price cannot be fixed for them.
Neetu Kapoor tests negative
Veteran Bollywood star Neetu Kapoor has tested negative for COVID-19, her daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni said on Friday. Taking to Instagram, Sahni posted a picture with the actor and expressed gratitude to all those who prayed for the good health of her mother.
“Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers. My mother has tested COVID negative today,” Sahni wrote.
On December 4, a source close to the Kapoor family had told PTI that the 62-year-old actor tested positive for COVID-19 while shooting for her next film “Jug Jugg Jeeyo” in Chandigarh.
Neetu Kapoor, who flew back to Mumbai after her actor-son Ranbir Kapoor made necessary arrangements, had confirmed her diagnosis on Thursday as she shared her health update on Instagram.
“Earlier this week, I tested positive for Covid-19. All safety measures are being followed and I am thankful to the authorities for all their help and quick response.
“I am in self-quarantine, taking medication on my doctor’s advice and feeling better,” she had said in a statement.
The actor, known for films “Rafoo Chakkar”, “Dharam Veer”, “Kaala Patthar” and “Do Dooni Chaar”, among many others, had also said that she was grateful for the outpouring of love and support from well wishers.
Two Delhi Police officers at Singhu test positive
Two senior Delhi Police officers heading security arrangements at Singhu border where thousands of farmers have been camping for two weeks have tested positive for COVID-19, an officer said said on Friday.
Both the DCP-rank officers are in isolation, he said.
Hundreds of police personnel have been deployed at the Singhu border point to prevent the protesters, demanding a rollback of the new farm laws, from entering the national capital.
“Two senior police officers deployed at Singhu border tested positive for coronavirus a few days ago. Both of them are currently in isolation,” a senior police officer said.
Australia not to rush approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that his government won’t rush approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine because he wants people to have confidence in the product
Morrison said Australia was in a different position to Britain, which has given emergency approval to the Pfizer roll out, and the United States, where a government advisory panel has endorsed the Pfizer vaccine.
"We want to ensure that Australians - and I think all of us feel very strongly this way - have ... absolute full confidence that when it gets the tick, they can get the jab,” Morrison said.
"They can make that decision for themselves and for their families confidently,” he added.
Australia has 47 active COVID-19 cases, with 36 of those people in hospitals. The pandemic has claimed 908 lives in Australia.
CBSE exam dates yet to be decided, says Education Minister
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Thursday said the schedule of Class X and XII examinations was yet to be decided by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), but would be announced soon after consulting all stakeholders.
During a virtual interaction with students, parents and teachers, the Minister was asked about the dates for exams as well as their possible postponement. He said the government would examine the suggestion that the IIT-JEE (Main) 2021 was held four times in the year — February, March, April and May 2021.
Third wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi ‘on the wane’: Jain
The third wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the national capital is not over yet but it is “definitely on the wane”, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday. Delhi recorded 2,463 new COVID-19 cases and 50 fatalities on Wednesday, the lowest number of deaths in a single day since November 1.
As the positivity rate slipped to 3.42%, Mr. Jain had on Wednesday tweeted that it was heartening to see that the national capital is “emerging victorious” in the battle against the coronavirus.
CSIR-CCMB, Apollo to scale up dry swab tests
CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited announced a collaboration for joint manufacturing and commercialisation of an innovative dry swab test or the Direct Amplification rapid RT-PCR (DArRT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) detection on Thursday.
Kerala local body polls | PPE must for infected persons to vote
Those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 3 p.m. on December 13 and 6 p.m. on the voting day on December 14 can exercise their franchise by going directly to the polling station.
According to a release on Thursday, such people should produce a certification letter in Form 19C given by the designated health officers. They should also reach the polling station by 6 p.m. on the polling day and will be allowed to vote after all the other voters exercise their franchise.
Health Department’s COVID-19 expenses touch ₹205 cr.
The State Health and Family Welfare Department has so far incurred expenses of ₹205 crore towards handling the COVID-19 pandemic, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed the Karnataka Legislative Council on Thursday.
Apart from this, ₹108.75 crore has been spent on salaries, incentives, and risk allowances paid to employees. During the lockdown period, the State had distributed additional 5 kg of rice to eligible families under PDS and had spent ₹711.62 crore towards this, the Minister said.
Plan for vaccine rollout taking shape in Vizag
A road map for rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine in the district is rapidly taking shape with committees set up by the District Collector to execute the plan working on a war footing.
The District Immunisation Officer, DM&HO and the District COVID Special Officer met on Thursday to chalk out the plan and it will be presented to Collector V. Vinay Chand on Friday.
( With inputs from our Correspondents and agencies )
