India
India Coronavirus Latest News LIVE Updates: 4,03,738 Fresh Covid Cases In India, 4,092 Deaths In The Last 24 Hours
India Coronavirus Updates: A coronavirus test report is no longer needed for hospitalisation.
New Delhi:
India recorded 4,03,738 fresh Covid cases and 4,092 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the overall caseload to 2.22 crore. This is the fifth time in a week that the country has reported over 4 lakh daily infections.
The government on Saturday said it has revised the national policy for admission of Covid patients as it told the hospitals that “no patient will be refused on any count”. A coronavirus test report is no longer needed for hospitalisation. Hospitals can’t also refuse patients from another city.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dialled up Chief Ministers of four states – Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur – to discuss Covid situation with them. Maharashtra has the country’s highest overall caseload.
Here are the Live updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
China reported 12 new COVID-19 cases in the mainland on May 8, up from seven a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Sunday.
The National Health Commission said in a statement that all the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas.
The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 10 from eight a day earlier.
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 90,758, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,636.
The COVID vaccination for the age group of 45 years and above will remain closed in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad on Sunday, said district administration.
However, the vaccination for the age group of 18 to 44 years will continue at only selected vaccination centres with prior appointment/booking.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday sought the help of the Central government for better implementation of the vaccination drive for people in the age group 18 to 44 years.
In a letter to Prime Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister asked for a separate app developed by the states or a CoWin App for each state developed and assigned by the Union government to ensure better interface and experience for the citizens who are keen to take the vaccine shot.
The COVID vaccination for people in the age group of 18 to 44 years will begin in Uttarakhand from May 10, informed the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Saturday.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat instructed officials to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination in the state in the wake of a surge in COVID cases. He reviewed the vaccination status through video conferencing in the Secretariat.
The Chief Minister has also appealed for plasma donation. Mr Rawat said the blood plasma of people who have recovered from COVID is helpful in the treatment of other infected patients. He requested everyone to donate their blood plasma if they have recovered from the virus to save lives.
With the union territory of Puducherry witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases, the territorial government on Saturday imposed a two-week lockdown starting from May 10, in a bid to curb its spread.
The Secretary to Government (Relief and Rehabilitation), Ashok Kumar, in an order, said the lockdown would be in addition to the night curfew already in force from 10 pm to 5 am the next day.
The lockdown was being imposed as there was no let up in the increased cases of coronavirus in the Union Territory, he said.
“The lock down will be in force for two weeks from May 10 midnight to May 24,” he said in the order.
A drug to treat coronavirus patients, developed by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), has been approved for emergency use by the country’s top drugs controller as India battles the second wave of the pandemic that is killing thousands every day.
The drug comes in powder form in a sachet and is taken orally by dissolving it in water.
A DRDO lab and Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories developed the anti-Covid therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).
A 12-member National Task Force has been set up by the Supreme Court to assess availability and distribution of medical oxygen – on scientific, rational and equitable basis – across the country. The task force will also suggest measures to ensure availability of medicines needed to treat COVID-19.
Setting up of the task force had been ordered by the top court on Friday, when it called for a revamp of the centre’s allocation of oxygen to different states. At the time the centre had agreed and wanted an audit to be performed, but the Delhi government had opposed it.
