Covid-19 roundup: Cases decline, emergency use of Sputnik approved

With COVID-19 cases witnessing a marked decline across the country, the states have been modifying the regulations regarding public gatherings and the closure of schools. On the other hand, the Drugs Controller General of India has granted emergency use permission to single-dose 'Sputnik Light' Covid vaccine in the country, as informed by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday.

New Delhi: With COVID-19 cases witnessing a marked decline across the country, the states have been modifying the regulations regarding public gatherings and the closure of schools. On the other hand, the Drugs Controller General of India has granted emergency use permission to single-dose 'Sputnik Light' Covid vaccine in the country, as informed by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday.

The decision has come following the recommendations of an expert panel of India's central drug authority. As for the daily roundup on Covid-19, schools will reopen in Bihar even as the state administration has decided to lift the night curfew and other restrictions.

National capital Delhi on Sunday reported 1,410 fresh COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths, while the positivity rate dropped to 2.45 per cent, according to data shared by the health department. With this, the case count increased to 18,43,933 and the death toll climbed to 25,983. Maharashtra reported 9,666 new coronavirus positive cases on the day, taking the state's infection tally to 78,03,700, while the death of 66 persons took the toll to 1,43,074, the health department said. There are 1,18,076 active cases in the state now. Mumbai reported 536 COVID-19 cases, which took the tally in the metropolis to 10,51,373, while three deaths put the toll at 16,661, a civic official said.

Gujarat's COVID-19 tally crossed the 12 lakh mark today after 3,897 new cases took the number of infections to 12,00,241, a state health department official said. It was also the first time since January 5 that the daily addition of cases had fallen below the 4000-mark, he pointed out. The death of 19 patients, which was the lowest in nearly two weeks, put the toll at 10,667, he said.

Karnataka, meanwhile, logged 8,425 fresh COVID cases and 47 deaths taking the total caseload and fatalities to 38,96,158 and 39,347 respectively. In its bulletin, the health department said 19,800 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 37,58,997 while the active cases stood at 97,781.

Telangana on Sunday registered 1,217 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the total positives to 7,77,530 while the toll rose to 4,100 with one more fatality. Kerala saw a drop in daily coronavirus cases with 26,729 fresh infections being reported on Sunday, taking the total number of those affected by the disease to 62.71 lakh. The COVID toll mounted to 58,255 with 22 additional deaths.

Mizoram's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,85,227 on Sunday as 1,754 more people, including a minister, tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 623, a health official said.

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 10,05,753 on Sunday after the detection of 5,171 new cases, while the death toll increased to 10,662 with six patients succumbing to the infection in the last 24 hours, as confirmed by a health department official.

Uttar Pradesh's COVID-19 case tally climbed to 20,41,734 on Saturday with 3,555 fresh infections being detected in the state, while the death toll mounted to 23,303 as 17 more people succumbed to the disease.

Eleven people succumbed to COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, pushing the death toll to 4,026 while the state recorded 376 fresh cases that took its tally to 2,76,522, a health official said.

Chhattisgarh on Sunday reported 976 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 11,39,175, while nine deaths in the past 24 hours increased the toll to 13,937, an official said.

Rajasthan on Sunday reported 4,509 new Covid cases and seven more deaths, officials said. The state's death toll stands at 9,379, they said.

Andhra Pradesh added 2,690 new cases to its Covid-19 tally, taking it to 23,03,455 on Sunday. Nine more deaths pushed the overall toll up to 14,664, while the number of active cases came down to 69,572, the bulletin added.

Tamil Nadu continued to witness a decline in daily COVID-19 cases as 6,120 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the aggregate to 34,10,882, the health department said on Sunday. According to a medical bulletin, 26 more people succumbed to the contagion, mounting the toll to 37,759.

Meghalaya's COVID-19 tally rose to 92,301 on Sunday as 157 more people tested positive for the infection. Four fresh fatalities pushed the northeastern state's coronavirus death toll to 1,546, Health Services Director Dr Aman War said.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 1,151 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection tally to 4,46,648 while nine more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, officials said. Jharkhand's COVID-19 tally rose to 4,31,252 today as 449 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 5,310, a health bulletin said.

Odisha recorded 23 more COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, while the infections were the lowest in a month as 2,106 people tested positive, the Health Department said. The daily positivity rate dropped to 3.48 per cent as 60,483 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, a bulletin stated. Ladakh's COVID-19 caseload increased to 26,821 on Sunday as 111 more people tested positive for the viral disease, officials said. The death toll remained unchanged at 226.

Tripura reported zero daily COVID-19 fatality on Sunday after a month, while 13 fresh cases pushed the northeastern state's tally to 1,00,650, a senior health official said. The state has registered 913 COVID-19 deaths so far.