New Delhi: India clocked 2 lakh daily new cases for the second consecutive day with states like Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Karnataka contributing to the maximum number of cases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with chief ministers over the COVID-19 situation in the country and stressed on local containment of the virus spread.
A United Nations report said on Thursday that the deadly wave of COVID-19 Delta variant stole 240,000 lives in India between April and June in 2021 and disrupted economic recovery, and warned that "similar episodes" could take place in the near term. The flagship United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2022 report also said that with the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 unleashing new waves of infections, the human and economic toll of the pandemic are projected to increase again.
Maharashtra, which leads the Covid tally in India, reported 46,406 new coronavirus cases and 36 more Covid fatalities on Thurdsay. The Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh tope during the meeting with the Prime Minister today said the state has sought additional 40 lakh stocks of Covaxin and 50 lakh doses of Covishield for providing precautionary or booster dose to co-morbid people aged above 60, health and frontline workers.
Mumbai reported 13,702 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, down 16.55 per cent from 16,420 infections registered a day ago, and six fresh fatalities, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. As the daily COVID-19 tally dipped by 2,718, the city reported 16.55 per cent less cases as compared to Wednesday. The case positivity rate also came down to 21.73 from 24.38 per cent a day before.
Meanwhile, expressing concern over the non-reporting of the coronavirus positive cases diagnosed using self-testing kits by people, the Maharashtra health department has written to the district and civic officials to monitor the sale of such kits and ensure that patients report about their infection to the authorities.
The national capital Delhi on Thursday reported 28,867 COVID-19 cases, the sharpest single-day spike since the beginning of the pandemic, and 31 deaths, while the positivity rate surged to 29.21 per cent. Delhi's previous biggest daily jump of 28,395 cases was recorded on April 20 last year. DDMA includes offices of the Chartered Accountants and Income Tax practitioners under the 'Exempted category'. Moreover, routine or elective surgeries are presently suspended in Lok Nayak Hospital (LNH) and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTB) hospitals, till further orders.
Hospitalisation has remained relatively low in Delhi, and Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday that the plateauing of hospital admissions indicates that the ongoing wave has peaked and cases may go down soon.
However, health experts have pointed out that one cannot conclude that the peak of the ongoing wave of the coronavirus pandemic is over in Delhi solely on the basis of hospital admission data. This is because the number of cases and positivity rate continue the upward trend in the national capital.
Over 56,000 eligible teenagers received their first COVID-19 vaccine doses in Delhi on Thursday, while more than 24,000 precaution shots were also administered, according to official figures.
In Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining Delhi, 1,626 new infections were reported. The number of active COVID-19 cases crossed the 10,000-mark in the district on Thursday. Meanwhile, neighbouring Ghaziabad district recorded 1,678 new cases, which pushed its active case count to 9,179.
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West Bengal which also has a high burden of 1,31,553 active Covid cases reported 23,467 fresh COVID-19 cases and 26 more fatalities on Thursday. Meanwhile, thousands of pilgrims arrived at Sagar Island on Thursday on the occasion of Makar Sankranti to take a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and Bay of Bengal. Officials carried out RT-PCR tests at the site as part of the measures to check the spread of COVID-19. A senior official of South 24 Parganas administration said that a two-member panel formed by the Calcutta High Court to monitor adherence to COVID-19 norms at the fair inspected the preparations during the day.
Odisha recorded 10,059 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, 14.6 per cent higher than the previous day and the biggest daily spike in over seven months. Meanwhile the Odisha High Court will be completely shut from January 13 to January 17, in view of the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Continuing to report a spike in numbers, Karnataka on Thursday reported 25,005 new cases of COVID-19 and 8 fatalities, taking the tally to 31,24,524 and the death toll to 38,397. During the meeting with the Prime Minister, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai sought central assistance to raise the number of oxygenated beds and oxygen plants in the state. The Karnataka Chief Minister had also appealed to Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President D K Shivakumar to suspend the Mekedatu padyatra on Thursday.
Telangana continued to witness a spike in daily COVID-19 cases with 2,707 new infections being reported on Thursday, taking the tally to 7,02,801, while the death toll rose to 4,049 with two more fatalities. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) recorded the highest number of fresh cases. Health Minister T Harish Rao said the total COVID-19 vaccination doses administered in Telangana crossed the 5 crore mark on Thursday. Recently, Telangana became the country's first large state to achieve 100 per cent administration of the first-dose of COVID-19 vaccination.
Tamil Nadu continued to witness an uptick in daily Covid-19 cases as 20,911 infections were added afresh on Thursday, pushing the aggregate to 28,68,500, while the toll mounted to 36,930 with 25 more fatalities. The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday enhanced the fine collected for not wearing face mask at public places to Rs 500 in view of surge in Covid-19 cases in the state. During the meeting with Prime Minister, Chief Minister M K Stalin assured the state's support to the Centre's efforts in managing the Coronavirus Omicron variant. He said that the state is fully prepared to manage the Omicron threat.
Goa reported 3,728 new coronavirus cases and four deaths on Thursday, the state health department said, while the positivity rate rose to more than 39 per cent. "In Goa, less than one per cent people have been hospitalised and there is 92 per cent recovery," the Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said during the meeting with the Prime Minister on Thursday.
The Centre has appreciated the steps taken by Haryana to contain the spread of COVID-19, the state government said in a statement on Thursday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with chief ministers on the pandemic situation. On Thursday, Haryana government extended COVID restrictions imposed under 'Mahamari Alert- Surakshit Haryana' to all districts of the state. Haryana reported 7,591 new cases. The active case stands at 35,979 and the positivity rate at 15.90 percent.
Meanwhile, Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi, who is also the acting Governor of Nagaland, tested positive for Covid-19, Raj Bhavan officials said. Presently he has been hospitalised.
Jharkhand has chalked out a multi-pronged strategy that includes stepping up tests to 80,000 a day and intensifying the vaccination drive, besides augmenting the health infrastructure, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Thursday.
Uttar Pradesh on Thursday logged 14,765 new cases of COVID-19 which pushed its active tally of infections to 71,022. Six more deaths were recorded in the state on Thursday, with the total number of fatalities due to the pandemic surging to 22,946.
Rajasthan recorded 9,881 fresh cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths due to it on Thursday.
Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded 1,966 fresh coronavirus cases, raising the tally to 3,50,167, while five fresh deaths pushed the toll to 4,552. Authorities in Kashmir on Thursday directed the hospital administrations in the valley not to allow patients and attendants enter the medical facilities without taking a rapid antigen test for COVID-19.
Six people succumbed to COVID-19 in Punjab on Thursday, while 6,083 fresh cases took the infection tally to 6,42,182. The number of active cases climbed to 30,384 from 26,781 on Wednesday. The state's positivity rate was 17.02 per cent. The Union Territory of Chandigarh reported 1,338 COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 72,641 and the positivity rate was 20.80 per cent. The Chandigarh administration decided that hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and eating places would be allowed to function up to 10 pm.
Kerala on Thursday reported more than 10,000 fresh COVID-19 cases for the second day running with the state logging 13,468 new infections which raised the caseload to 53,17,490.
Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech announced that COVAXIN is now a universal vaccine for adults and children. The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 155.28 crore on Thursday with more than 63 lakh doses being given till 7 pm, the Union Health Ministry said.
(With agency inputs)
