Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cautioned states and union territories against any laxity in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and called for reducing the positivity and fatality rates by focusing on curbing the virus transmission.
Interacting with chief ministers, the prime minister also called for more RT-PCR tests, even as he underlined that India's COVID-19 situation is more stable than other countries in terms of recovery and fatality rates. Modi asked them to work towards bringing the positive rate to less than 5 per cent and the fatality rate to under 1 per cent and called for more RT-PCR tests.
India has conducted over 13.36 crore tests so far to detect COVID-19 cases, including 10,99,545 in a day, while the cumulative positivity rate in the country is sustained at low levels and the daily positivity rate has fallen below four per cent, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
The country registered less than 40,000 fresh coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours after six days. Since November 8, the number of daily cases has been sustained below the 50,000-mark, the ministry said.
Delhi:
New Delhi: Amid a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the city, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered for immediate procurement of 1,200 BiPAP machines for the new ICU beds being added in the national capital this week, an official said on Tuesday. He said the move will allow immediate operationalisation of the new ICU beds. A total of 1,200 BiPAP machines will be procured immediately from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the official said.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: Starting November 25, people arriving in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa by air and train must carry with them a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test report done three to four days before arrival, or they will be tested on arrival.
The Maharashtra government introduced the requirement a day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar hinted at the possibility of putting in place curbs over the movement of people in view of the threat of a second wave of coronavirus cases post Diwali.
After Maharashtra government’s decision to compulsorily test passengers coming from Delhi, NCR, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which handles public health in the city, will start screening outstation train passengers by spot testing for Covid-19 symptoms at major railway stations.
Telangana
Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Tuesday announced the state’s readiness to administer a vaccine against novel coronavirus to its people, if and when scientifically approved. During a video conference call with prime minister Narendra Modi, Rao opined that a batch of vaccines should be first sent to states to check for side effects if any.
Kerala
Trivandrum: After Lord Ayyappa pilgrims, a COVID-19 negative test report has been made mandatory for those working in temporary shops operating in Sabarimala and the temple premises now. With the annual pilgrimage season progressing at the Lord Ayyappa temple here, a high level committee, which reviewed the arrangements made for devotees.
Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has made preparations like cold-chain storage for COVID-19 vaccine and is also imparting training to health personnel, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday even as he demanded the shots be administered to frontline workers on priority. The CM made this demand during a meeting of chief ministers of eight states, which have reported higher number of COVID-19 cases, addressed by the PM via video conferencing.
Karnataka
Bengaluru: Following directions from the Centre, Karnataka has initiated necessary action for COVID-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration. The State’s COVID-19 Task Force has also deliberated on the issue and preparations are being made for vaccine storage and delivery, Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday.
Speaking on the measures initiated for vaccine delivery and distribution, the Minister said the government has identified 29,451 session sites (vaccination sites) and 10,008 vaccinators as per the norms of the Universal Immunisation Programme.
