Vaccine registrations for those aged 18-44 began on Wednesday with several — after some glitches — able to enrol, but unable to get appointments at hospitals for vaccination.
Though no figure was available for precisely how many in this age bracket registered, Ram Sewak Sharma, Chairman, CoWIN, told The Hindu via a text message that “most” of the 8 million who had registered on Wednesday belonged to the 18-44 age bracket.
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:
PM to chair council of ministers meeting tomorrow
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on Friday and the prevailing COVID-19 situation is expected to be discussed, sources said. The meeting will be held virtually on Friday morning, they said.
This will be the first meeting of the council of ministers in aftermath of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sources said. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had held several rounds of meetings with Chief Ministers to deliberate on the COVID-19 situation.
He has also held meetings with top government officials, pharma industry leaders, oxygen suppliers, heads of the three armed forces and other dignitaries to discuss how to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bharat Biotech cuts vaccine price for States to Rs 400/dose
Bharat Biotech announced a cut in price of its COVID-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' it plans to sell to the States to Rs 400 per dose from the earlier Rs 600.
This follows a widespread criticism of its pricing policy as it sold Covaxin to the central government at Rs 150 per dose.
"Recognising the enormous challenges in the public healthcare system, we have made Covaxin available to State Governments at a price of 400/ dose", Bharat Biotech said in its announcement.
No curbs for officials on vote counting work on May 2, says T.N. govt.
Complete lockdown shall be enforced throughout Tamil Nadu on all Sundays but there would be no restriction on May 2, also a Sunday, for people connected to counting of votes including officials, candidates and counting agents, the government said on Thursday.
Night curfew shall continue to be in place across the State from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., a Government Order said, adding current curbs like bar on private and public transport during the curfew would also continue.
Though a full lockdown shall be enforced on all Sundays without any relaxations, there shall be no restrictions for those connected to the vote counting exercise on May 2.
Centre claims States are sitting on over one crore vaccine doses
More than 1 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with States and UTs and they will receive over 20 lakh more doses within the next 3 days, the Union Health Ministry said.
On media reports quoting some Maharashtra government officials saying that vaccines in the State are "finished" and adversely impacting the vaccination drive, the Ministry said a balance of 7,49,960 vaccine doses is still available with the State for administration to eligible population groups.
"It is clarified that the total COVID vaccine doses received by Maharashtra as on April 29 (at 8 a.m.) are 1,63,62,470.
"Of this, the total consumption, including wastage (0.22%), was 1,56,12,510. Balance of 7,49,960 vaccine doses is still available with the State for administration to the eligible population groups," the Ministry said.
The Centre has so far provided nearly 16.16 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses to States and UTs free of cost.
Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 15,10,77,933 doses, the Ministry said.
Delhi Capitals pledge Rs 1.5 crore to city's fight against COVID-19
Indian Premier League side Delhi Capitals pledged Rs 1.5 crore in support of the national capital's fight against the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The amount will be used to procure essential medical supplies, ranging from oxygen cylinders and concentrators to COVID wellness kits.
"Together, the franchise and its patrons, the JSW Foundation & GMR Varalakshmi Foundation are offering financial support amounting to INR 1.5 crore to NCR based NGOs the Hemkunt Foundation and the Uday Foundation," the IPL franchise said in a statement.
Himachal announces several COVID-19 restrictions
With a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, the Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday announced that all educational institutions and temples across the State would remain closed till May 10.
The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to review the COVID-19 situation in the State.
Mr. Thakur said the government had also decided to impose a complete ban on dham (community feast) at weddings and other celebrations. He said it had also been decided to restrict social gatherings to not more than 20 persons.
IAF airlifts 12 empty cryogenic oxygen containers from Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday airlifted 12 empty cryogenic oxygen containers from Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai to India.
India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection as hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.
"The IAF is currently transporting empty cryogenic oxygen containers from three destinations outside India. 3 containers from Bangkok, 3 from Singapore and 6 from Dubai," said an official statement.
Manmohan Singh discharged from AIIMS
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
He was admitted to the facility after testing positive for COVID-19. Sources close to the Congress leader said he was doing fine.
Dr. Singh was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on April 19 after he had fever and tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection.
Intramural spread of COVID-19 is the most difficult to control, says Ambarish Satwik
Dr. Ambarish Satwik , vascular and endovascular surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi calls for the rationing of resources like blood tests so that severe patents who need results with a quicker turnaround time get their report faster. He also stresses on the importance of wearing a mask at home if there is a person developing a respiratory infection so that it does not spread within those living together.
Following are excerpts from an interview .
Uttarakhand postpones Char Dham Yatra
Uttarakhand government has suspended Char Dham Yatra this year in view of COVID-19 situation in the State, Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat has said. The yatra includes Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.
Only priests of the four temples will perform rituals.
The government has already postponed Shri Hemkunt Sahib Yatra.
Coronavirus bulletin issued by Delhi govt. rife with major discrepancies
The Delhi government on Thursday issued a COVID-19 bulletin rife with major discrepancies in cumulative figures recorded over the last year since the pandemic set in.
Cumulative figures related to cases, recoveries and deaths were relatively lower compared to the bulletin issued a day earlier.
While the bulletin recorded 25,986 new cases, 368 deaths and 81,829 recoveries in addition to a positivity rate of 31.76%, cumulative figures were significantly lower as per the bulletin which was issued after midnight.
Kerala’s case graph registers a new high
The State’s COVID-19 case graph in the second wave of the pandemic showed another alarming rise on Wednesday when the daily new cases rose to 35,013 cases when 1,38,190 samples were tested in the past 24 hours.
This is yet another new high for the State, and with the case graph still climbing, these figures may be overtaken in the coming days.
The average test positivity rate (TPR) in the State, which was a little over 19% a week ago, has risen to 25.34%. The State’s active case pool now has 2,66,646 patients.
However, just 8.5% of the diseased are ending up in hospitals during the second wave. A chunk of the COVID-19 cases in the State are mild and being isolated at home or institutions, providing some relief to the health system.
