The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 2.80 crore on Thursday.
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Here are the latest updates:
Over six COVID-19 vaccines in offing in India: Harsh Vardhan
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday announced that more than six coronavirus vaccines will come up in India.
He also said that 1.84 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to people so far, while 23 crore tests have been conducted.
"India has developed two vaccines, which have been given to 71 countries. Many more nations are seeking the vaccines, and these are not little-known nations...Canada, Brazil and other developed countries are using Indian vaccines with a great zeal," he said.
Ratan Tata takes first shot of COVID-19 vaccine
Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata hoped everyone can be immunised and protected soon from the coronavirus pandemic, having got himself vaccinated.
Mr. Tata in a social media post praised the process of vaccination, describing it as "effortless and painless".
"Very thankful to have gotten my first vaccination shot today. It was effortless and painless," he said.
20 lakh jabs on Friday, highest so far: Govt
The Health Ministry said on Saturday that more than 20 lakh vaccine doses against the coronavirus were administered across the country the previous day, the highest single-day count so far As many as 16,39,663 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose – healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) – and 4,13,874 such people received the second shot.
"India recorded a significant milestone in its countrywide COVID19 vaccination drive which started on January 16. More than 20 lakh (20,53,537) vaccine doses were given on Day-56 of the vaccination drive (March 12) through 30,561 sessions," the ministry said in a statement.
Thane district's COVID-19 count rises by 1,153
With the addition of 1,153 coronavirus cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 2,74,283,an official said on Saturday, March 13, 2021.
These new cases were reported on Friday, he said. As the virus claimed five more lives, the death toll in the district rose to 6,326. Its COVID-19 mortality rate is 2.31 per cent, he added.
So far, 2,59,360 patients have recuperated from the infection, which took the recovery rate to 94.56 per cent. There are 8,597 active cases in the district at present, the official said.
In neighboring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 46,558, while the death toll is 1,207, another official said.
Night curfew likely in Bhopal, Indore, says CM
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that night curfew might be imposed in Bhopal and Indore from Sunday or Monday in view of spurt in coronavirus cases in these two districts.
He said this during a meeting held on Friday evening to review the coronavirus situation in the state.
"Look at the rise in infection cases...Tough measures will be taken to flatten the curve. Night curfew might be clamped in Bhopal and Indore from Sunday or Monday," Chouhan was quoted as saying in an official statement.
The chief minister said that people coming to the state by air, trains or roads from neighbouring Maharashtra, where there is a spike in cases, should be thermally scanned.
During the meeting, ways to restrict the influx of people from Maharashtra were also discussed, the statement said.
Chouhan also instructed the officials to ensure that COVID-19 rules are strictly followed by people to prevent the spread of the virus.
No lockdown, but fresh restrictions in place for Pune
While clarifying that no lockdown was imposed across Pune district, the administration on Friday said that all schools and colleges would remain closed till March 31 in wake of a heightened spike in cases.
Pune district has been recording the highest single-day jump in Maharashtra for the past few days, clocking up a daily average spike of more than 2,000 cases.
Over 2.80 crore vaccine doses administered so far
The COVID-19 vaccine does administered across the country so far include, 72,84,406 health care workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 41,76,446 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 72,15,815 frontline workers (FLWs) (first dose), 9,28,751 FLWs (second dose), 71,69,695 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 12,30,704 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities, the Ministry added.
Haemodialysis performed on 725 COVID-19 patients at RGGGH
The nephrology team of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) has performed haemodialysis for 725 COVID-19 patients, according to dean E. Theranirajan.
So far, 1,520 kidney transplants have been performed at the RGGGH. As part of World Kidney Day, the hospital honoured the recipient and donor of the 1,500th kidney transplant. A beneficiary of maintenance haemodialysis programme, who has been on dialysis for four years, and another patient with chronic kidney disease, who has been under treatment for over 30 years at the RGGGH, were also honoured, according to a press release.
South Korea reports 3-week high cases of COVID-19
South Korea reported a three-week high 490 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, with infections creeping higher as the authorities prepare for abroad vaccine rollout.
The daily tally as of Friday midnight was up slightly from4 88 the day before to the highest since Feb. 19, said the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Of Friday's total, 474 were locally transmitted infections and 16 imported.
Australia records first local COVID-19 case in 2 weeks
Australia on Saturdayrecorded first local COVID-19 case in more than two weeks aftera doctor tested positive for the coronavirus, triggeringrestrictions in area hospitals.Queensland state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the unnamed doctor last week treated two patients who had recently returned to Australia and had tested positive for the UK variant.
Vizag officials on high alert after 4 cases detected in schools
In the wake of four new COVID-19 cases being detected in a couple of schools in Gopalapatnam area of the city and some more cases in a few schools in the State, the Education Department is on high alert and taking all measures to prevent possible spread of the coronavirus in the schools in the district.
Vaccination camps sought on premises of old-age homes
Authorities running old-age homes and long-term care facilities have demanded that the government organise vaccination camps on the premises of the facilities for their residents and staff with necessary precautionary measures.
This is because it is risky to take the residents, most of whom are senior citizens and those with dementia, to hospitals for vaccination as they are among those most vulnerable to infection. The authorities running these institutions have now written to Union Health Minister Harshvardhan asking him to make the vaccination available at the premises.
( With inputs from our Correspondents and agencies )
