With today's count, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 2,43,72,907 and the number of fatalities stands at 2,66,207. At present, as many as 36,73,802 cases are active while 2,04,32,898 people have been treated and discharged.
Coronavirus India Live updates: India reported 3,26,098 new Covid-19 cases and 3,890 deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday, as per Union Health Ministry. It also reported 3,53,299 recoveries during the same period. With today’s count, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 2,43,72,907 and the number of fatalities stands at 2,66,207. Active cases dropped by more than 31,000 cases to 36.73 lakh.
Karnataka Saturday emerged as a top contributor with 41,779 cases, while Maharashtra reported 39,923 cases. Also, Maharashtra contributed 714 deaths, while 373 came from Karnataka. 311 from Uttar Pradesh.
With the lockdown in place for close to four weeks, Covid cases in Delhi have finally started to dip, with 8,506 cases being recorded on Friday. This is the first time since April 10 that cases dropped below 10,000 in the city. A total of 68,575 people were tested and 12.40% of them were found to be positive — which is the lowest positivity rate in a month. Over 50,000 of these were RT-PCR tests.
In Mumbai too, active Covid-19 cases have started dropping. As on Friday, the active caseload dropped to 37,656. A month ago, on April 14, the city had 87,443 active cases with a recovery rate of 81%. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data shows the recovery rate has also improved over the last four weeks. The recovery rate now, according to the BMC dashboard, is 92%. Officials said that the numbers are an indicator of significant improvement in Covid-19 situation in Mumbai after last month’s peak.
Meanwhile, sounding a note of caution to farmers and rural areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said Covid-19 was spreading to villages at a “rapid” pace, but said India will not lose courage and will fight the pandemic and win.
Earlier in the day, Dr Reddy’s administered the first shot of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19 in Hyderabad. The company said the imported vaccines would be priced at Rs 995.40 (Rs 948 + 5 per cent GST). The price may reduce when local supply begins.
Coronavirus India LIVE updates: India reports 3,26,098 new cases, 3,890 deaths; Delhi cases fall below 10,000; Sputnik V priced at Rs 995 in India; Maharashtra wants 50% doses of Bharat Bio’s Pune plant. Follow latest updates here
Days ago, the bodies were in scores, unclaimed, uncounted and unidentified. On Friday, at the Gahmar Ghat in Ghazipur, there were five. Two face down in the sand on the Ganga riverbank; one part submerged, the remaining two in fragments. Not far from here, in Unnao, again on the banks of the Ganga, an estimated 200 bodies were laid bare this week by the shifting sand after a heavy downpour.
These bodies, juxtaposed with images of overflowing cremation and burial grounds, frame a tragic rural postcard from UP and downstream Bihar touched by Covid.
Interviews with next of kin, officials, eyewitnesses and local residents in Unnao and Ghazipur reveal that behind the bodies lie long-held traditions, deep economic distress and the sudden rush to lay the dead to rest — all of this under the shadow of a devastating pandemic that has led to several deaths outside official records. Read More
Karnataka emerges as top contributor with 41,779 cases. Maharashtra reports 39,923 cases. Also, Maharashtra contributed 714 deaths, while 373 came from Karnataka. Uttar Pradesh reported 311 deaths.
As many as 326,098 new cases of coronavirus infections detected on Friday. 3,890 deaths reported on Friday. Active cases drop by more than 31,000 cases to 36.73 lakh.
With the lockdown in place for close to four weeks, Covid cases in Delhi have finally started to dip, with 8,506 cases being recorded on Friday. This is the first time since April 10 that cases dropped below 10,000 in the city.
A total of 68,575 people were tested and 12.40% of them were found to be positive — which is the lowest positivity rate in a month. Over 50,000 of these were RT-PCR tests. Over 14,000 people were reported recovered on Friday.
Hello and welcome to our Covid-19 LIVE blog. India reported 3,26,098 new Covid-19 cases and 3,890 deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday, as per Union Health Ministry. It also reported 3,53,299 recoveries during the same period. With today’s count, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 2,43,72,907 and the number of fatalities stands at 2,66,207. At present, as many as 36,73,802 cases are active while 2,04,32,898 people have been treated and discharged.
India’s coronavirus numbers over the last two weeks suggest the second wave may have reached its peak, or will in the next few days.
The Kerala government on Friday extended the ongoing lockdown till May 23 as the state’s positivity rate still remains high. “The positivity rate remains high, so the state government has decided to extend the present complete lockdown in Kerala till May 23,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. The state has recorded 34,694 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while 93 deaths took the toll to 6,243, the chief minister added.
India’s coronavirus numbers over the last two weeks suggest the second wave may have reached its peak, or will in the next few days. However, the end of the second wave may still be a long distance away. India’s cases, which touched 4.14 lakh last Thursday, have dropped significantly in the last one week.
Behind bodies found on river banks, a Covid shadow
Days ago, the bodies were in scores, unclaimed, uncounted and unidentified. On Friday, at the Gahmar Ghat in Ghazipur, there were five. Two face down in the sand on the Ganga riverbank; one part submerged, the remaining two in fragments. Not far from here, in Unnao, again on the banks of the Ganga, an estimated 200 bodies were laid bare this week by the shifting sand after a heavy downpour.
These bodies, juxtaposed with images of overflowing cremation and burial grounds, frame a tragic rural postcard from UP and downstream Bihar touched by Covid.
Interviews with next of kin, officials, eyewitnesses and local residents in Unnao and Ghazipur reveal that behind the bodies lie long-held traditions, deep economic distress and the sudden rush to lay the dead to rest — all of this under the shadow of a devastating pandemic that has led to several deaths outside official records.
Covid reaches the interiors: secluded tribe in Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills affected; survey on
The first cases of coronavirous infection have been reported among the Dongria Kondh tribe, settled in the Niyamgiri hills of Rayagada district in Odisha, sparking concern among officials.
One of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups in India, the Dongria Kondhs had remained untouched during the first wave. Given their poor immunity due to lack of nourishment and a secluded way of life, officials are worried about the impact of the current virulent Covid-19 wave on them.
The administration had initiated a door-to-door survey in villages specifically falling under the Kalyansinghpur block following reports of tribe members showing members.
Maharashtra wants 50% vaccine doses of Bharat Biotech’s Pune plant
The state government will urge Bharat Biotech, the Hyderabad-based firm that is manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine, to reserve 50 per cent doses manufactured at its proposed Pune plant for supply within Maharashtra, said deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday.
Delhi: Drugs to oxygen, amid Covid-19 surge, black market flourishes
Rs 50,000 for a vial of remdesivir, Rs 40,000 for a large oxygen cylinder: This is what some people paid in Delhi over the last three weeks trying to save lives of loved ones as the Covid surge left the healthcare infrastructure overwhelmed, and created fertile grounds for black marketers.
Explained: Punjab’s Covid-19 vaccine shortage, and why it wants to join Covax facility
On Friday, the Punjab government announced that, since it was facing a shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, it had decided to join the global Covax facility to procure supplies. Several other states, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, have over the past few days expressed their intention to import vaccines from abroad.
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