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Coronavirus updates | September 17, 2021

September 17, 2021 08:50 am | Updated 09:48 pm IST

India sets record with 2 crore COVID-19 jabs in one day.

Medics and family members of COVID-19 victims at Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi. File

Over 2 crore doses of COVID vaccine have been administered on Friday, (till 5 p.m.) making this the highest single day vaccination tally so far.

In his tweet Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “Vaccine Seva: A gift to the Prime Minister on behalf of the health workers and the countrymen. Today on the birthday of PM Narendra Modi, India has crossed the historical figure of 2 crore vaccines in a day, setting a new record. Well done India!”

According to the Ministry on Friday as part of the 'Vaccine Seva' campaign, the Health Minister visited Safdarjung Hospital to take stock of the ongoing vaccination and congratulated the healthcare workers for helping the country cross the two crore benchmark.

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Meanwhile, India reported 34,403 new coronavirus infections as in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed in a press release. 

India's overall infection tally rose up to 3,33,81,728, while the count of active cases dipped to 3,39,056, as of 08:00 am on Friday.

The country has also administered 77.2 crore (77,24,25,744) doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday.

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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 developments:

New Delhi

Daily COVID-19 vaccination crosses 1-crore mark for fourth time

Daily COVID-19 vaccinations crossed the one-crore mark for the fourth time in less than a month, taking the total number of doses administered in the country to over 78 crore, the Union health ministry said on Friday.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said this is the fastest pace at which one crore doses have been administered.

"On PM @Narendra Modi Ji's birthday, till 1:30 pm, the country has crossed the mark of 1 crore vaccines, the fastest so far, and we are continuously moving forward. I believe that today we will all make a new record of vaccination and give it as a gift to the prime minister," he said in a tweet in Hindi along with the hashtags "VaccineSeva" and "HappyBdayModiji".

The daily COVID-19 vaccination in the country on September 6, August 31 and August 27 was over 1 crore.

 

China

China reports 62 new cases, 1 billion vaccinated

China has reported another 62 cases of COVID-19, even as the number of Chinese citizens fully vaccinated has topped 1 billion.

All but one of the cases was detected over the previous 24 hours in the eastern coastal province of Fujian in China's latest outbreak of the delta variant, the National Health Commission said on Friday.

Of those, 31 were in the major port city of Xiamen, with 28 others in the city of Putian and one in the city of Quanzhou.

That came a day after health officials announced that more than 1 billion Chinese, or 72% of all 1.4 billion citizens of the world's most populous country, have been fully vaccinated.

- AP

Arunachal Pradesh

COVID-19 recoveries outpace fresh cases in Arunachal

Single-day recoveries outnumbered fresh COVID-19 cases in Arunachal Pradesh, with 56 more patients recuperating as against 47 new infections, a health department official said on Friday. No fresh fatality was reported in the state in the last 24 hours, he said.

The coronavirus tally stood at 53,990, while the death toll was at 271.

The northeastern state now has 536 active cases, and 53,181 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said.

- PTI

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

3 new COVID-19 cases push Andamans tally to 7,595

The union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported three new cases in the last 24 hours pushing the tally to 7,595, a health official said on Friday.

Two new cases were detected during testing at the Veer Savarkar Airport here and one during local contact tracing, the official said.

All passengers arriving by flight have to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR test at the Veer Savarkar Airport before they are allowed entry into the islands.

The archipelago now has 15 active COVID-19 cases and all 15 patients are in the South Andaman district while the other two districts - North and Middle Andaman and Nicobar - are COVID-19 free, he said.

One more patient recovered from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours taking the total number of COVID-19 recoveries to 7,451.

The COVID-19 death toll remained at 129 as no new fatality was reported.

- PTI

Mizoran

251 children among Mizoram's 1,121 new COVID-19 cases

Mizoram's COVID-19 tally rose to 76,591 on Friday as the state registered 1,121 new cases, 281 less than the previous day, an official statement said.

The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 254 as three more fatalities were reported, the statement by the state Information and Public Relations department said.

The single-day positivity rate was 14.35 per cent as the 1,121 fresh cases were detected from 7,809 samples, it said.

At least 251 children were among the newly infected people, the statement said, adding that two patients have travel history and the remaining 1,119 were found to have contracted the disease locally.

- PTI

Andhra Pradesh

Mega vaccination drive in Visakhapatnam today, says Collector

Visakhapatnam district administration will be conducting a ‘mega vaccination drive’ in the district on Friday, Collector A. Mallikarjuna said.

The drive will be held at all primary health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs) from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., he informed. The Collector organised a video-conference to review the arrangements being made for the drive. He said that in the last two vaccination drives, only 50% of people in the age category of 18 to 44 years were vaccinated. In this mega vaccination drive on Friday, we have decided to vaccinate around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh people, he said.

 

Maharashtra

Thane district's infection count up by 239, death toll by three

The COVID-19 tally in Thane district of Maharashtra has increased by 239 to 5,55,607, while the death of three patients has taken its toll to 11,362, an official said on Friday.

These cases and fatalities were reported on Thursday, he said.

Thane's COVID-19 mortality rate is 2.04% at present, the official said.

In neighbouring Palghar district, the infection caseload has gone up to 1,35,250, while the death toll stood at 3,273, another official said.

- PTI

South Korea

South Korea reports more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases

South Korea has reported more than 2,000 new cases of the coronavirus, nearing a one-day record set last month, continuing an alarming surge as the nation enters its biggest holiday of the year.

The 2,008 cases reported Friday was the 73rd consecutive day of over 1,000 despite officials enforcing the country's strongest social distancing rules short of a lockdown in capital Seoul and other large population centers for the past 10 weeks.

More than 1,500 of the new case came from the greater Seoul area, home to half of a population of more than 51 million, where infections have surged as schools reopened and people returned from summer vacations in recent weeks.

- PTI

India

COVID-19 cases showing a declining trend across India, says government

Presenting an overall picture of the current COVID-19 situation in India, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said there was an overall decline being observed in the country. “Weekly positivity is less than 3% for the eleventh consecutive week. Currently, there is only one State with over one lakh active cases.”

“States and Union Territories such as Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Goa and Himachal Pradesh have registered 100% vaccine coverage of the first dose for its over 18 years of age population. Overall, 20% of the population over 18 is fully vaccinated,” he said.

 

U.S.

Florida surpasses 50K COVID deaths after battling delta wave

Florida surpassed 50,000 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began, health officials reported Thursday, with more than one fourth of those succumbing this summer as the state battled a fierce surge in infections fueled by the delta variant.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied 50,811 deaths after adding more than 1,500 COVID-19 deaths provided Thursday by the state's health department. Those reported deaths occurred over various dates in recent weeks.

Florida has the 11th worst per-capita death rate among the 50 states, the CDC says. New Jersey, Mississippi and New York have had the worst, but Florida has risen from the 17th spot in the past two weeks.

- PTI

Cuba

Cuba begins vaccinating children as young as 2

Cuba on Thursday began a COVID-19 vaccination campaign for children between the ages of 2 and 10, saying it was necessary to curb the spread of the delta variant.

Cuba has two homegrown vaccines, Abdala and Soberana, that it says are safe and effective. Both require three shots. In previous weeks, the government started vaccinating people between 11 and 18 years old.

Cuba faces a persistent outbreak of COVID-19, putting heavy pressure on medical facilities and compounding economic problems.

- AP

Brazil

U.N. rule may be hurdle for Brazil vaccine skeptic Bolsonaro

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's reluctance to get a COVID-19 vaccine is a rarity in his country — and may complicate his plans to attend the UN's General Assembly next week.

The assembly's leader, Abdulla Shahid, announced on Wednesday that all attendees must be vaccinated to speak at the gathering, citing a New York City policy. That could bar Mr. Bolsonaro, a beleaguered right-wing leader seeking to rehabilitate his image abroad.

- PTI

Australia

Vaccinated Australians promised more freedom even as COVID-19 cases mount

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday pledged more freedom for vaccinated citizens, even as the country's second largest state reported its second highest daily rise in new COVID-19 infections this year.

Mr. Morrison said federal and state leaders would discuss vaccine passports and expanding home quarantine when they meet for a national cabinet later on Friday.

"You will see vaccinated people being able to move and do more things," Mr. Morrison told radio station 3AW .

- Reuters

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