Covid-19 news from across the nation

India's daily COVID-19 case count fell below 23,000 after a little over five months, while the national recovery rate stood at over 95 per cent, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry. COVID-19 cases and deaths are declining in India which is very reassuring, the Centre said on Tuesday but cautioned against any laxity saying an overwhelming proportion of the country’s population is still “very very susceptible” to the virus and the situation may escalate unexpectedly.

Hyderabad:COVID-19 cases and deaths are declining in India which is very reassuring, the Centre said on Tuesday but cautioned against any laxity saying an overwhelming proportion of the country's population is still "very very susceptible" to the virus and the situation may escalate unexpectedly. While there is a continuous increasing trend in COVID-19 cases and deaths globally, particularly in America and Europe and the situation in the world is becoming worrisome, in contrast, the scene in India is satisfying as the cases and deaths are declining, Dr V K Paul, member (health) at NITI Aayog, told a press conference here.

"Mortality is declining and it is well below 400 per day. Cases have come down to almost 22,000. This is the kind of number we all experienced in July. So that is very reassuring. As a nation, we seem to be now doing very well.

"We are saving lives. But remember, this cannot be taken for granted. An overwhelming proportion of our population is still very very susceptible to the virus. And the situation can escalate unexpectedly," Paul said while cautioning against any laxity.

More than 15.55 crore COVID-19 tests have been conducted so far; cumulative positivity rate has declined to 6.37 per cent, said Health ministry on Tuesday. "29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers & 300 solar refrigerators will be used. All these equipment have already reached state governments," said Rajesh Bhushan.

Speaking at a press briefing, Health Ministry’s Rajesh Bhushan Tuesday said that 29000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators will be used for the Covid-19 vaccine storage. “All necessary resources of vaccination have been delivered to the states,” he added.

Bhushan also said, “Adverse events following immunisation is a critical issue. When we undertake a universal immunisation program, which has been done for decades, then some adverse effects are seen in children and pregnant women after vaccination.”

Covid-19 news from across the nation

Delhi

New Delhi: A Delhi court Tuesday acquitted all 36 foreign nationals facing trial for allegedly breaking Covid-19 related guidelines by attending the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area.

The Jamaat was in news in March after the Nizamuddin Markaz emerged as a hotspot. As many as 955 foreigners were chargesheeted by the Delhi Police for allegedly violating visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities and not following the government’s Covid guidelines.

Seniormost submariner of the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Srikant, passed away due to Covid-19 related complications at Base Hospital in the national capital Monday night, Indian navy officials said.

Srikant was the Director-General of Project Seabird and had previously held titles including Inspector General of Nuclear Safety and Commandant of the National Defence College.

Maharashtra

Mumbai:Nine districts have shown a rise in active caseload even as the state’s overall number of active infections has dipped. The recent trend indicates that the threat virus poses has not dissipated yet.

State officials said the rise in certain other districts may be due to increased mobility during festivals or because some of these districts started recording Covid-19 cases much later than others.

Tamil Nadu

Chennai:A day after IIT-Madras campus was placed under a temporary lockdown, 79 more students, staff members tested positive for Covid-19 Tuesday, taking the total number of infections in the hotspot institution to 183. IIT-Madras has emerged as one of the biggest clusters of coronavirus infections in Chennai after education institutions were allowed to open on December 7. Tamil Nadu health secretary J Radhakrishnan said that the institution failed to adhere to the safety precautions resulting in a spike.

As per local reports, the students had claimed there had been overcrowding in the hostel mess and that could have led the infection to spread.In the last 10 days, 71 residents of IIT-Madras tested positive for Covid-19 and on Monday, 33 more were found to be infected.

Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Election Commission has sought an explanation from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over complaints that he violated the model code of conduct by saying that the Covid-19 vaccine would be made available free of cost.

Vijayan had made the statement to the media on Saturday — after the model code of conduct had come into play for the final phase of Kerala’s local body elections.