India
Latest News LIVE Updates: “Double Mutant” Covid Variant Found In 18 States, Says Centre
Latest News Live Updates: Out of 10,787, British variant has been reported in 736 samples in India
New Delhi:
A new “double mutant variant” of the coronavirus has been detected in 18 states in the country in addition to many other strains or variants of concern (VOCs) which have also found abroad, the Health Ministry said today amid fears of a second wave of the crisis in the country.
“Though VOCs and a new double mutant variant have been found in India, these have not been detected in numbers sufficient to either establish a direct relationship or explain the rapid increase in cases in some States,” the ministry said.
Out of 10,787, the British variant has been reported in 736 samples in India. The South African strain of coronavirus has been detected in 34 people in the country and the Brazil variant has been seen in one sample, the government said.
India recorded 47,262 fresh coronavirus cases in a day, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,17,34,058, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.
The active caseload registered an increased for the 14th day in row and was recorded at 3,68,457, comprising 3.14 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate further dropped to 95.49 per cent, the ministry data said.
The daily rise in infections was the highest recorded in 132 days, while the country’s COVID-19 death count increased to 1,60,441, with 275 new fatalities, the highest in around 83 days.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates:
Alarmed over rising coronavirus cases, the Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday decided to impose Sunday lockdown in the districts of Betul, Chhindwara, Ratlam and Khargone, an official said.
Sunday lockdown is already in force in Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced this while briefing his ministerial colleagues on the coronavirus situation after the cabinet meeting, said the official.
The lockdown will begin at 10 PM on Saturday and end on 6 AM on Monday.
In the cities where more than 20 cases are being reported daily, and in the districts where the average new cases per week are more than 20, only 50 persons can attend a marriage ceremony and only 20 people can take part in the last rites.
Finland and Iceland announced Wednesday their senior citizens will again be able to have the AstraZeneca vaccination against Covid-19, after halting the jabs over blood clot fears.
“There is no increased risk of very rare blood clots for people older than 65 after having the vaccination,” said Finland’s THL health agency.
“Vaccination in this age bracket can thus go ahead,” from Monday.
As a precaution while tests continue, the vaccine will remain suspended for those aged under 65, the agency added.
In Reykjavik, Health Minister Svandis Svavarsdottir had similar “good news”, saying those over 70 could again take the AstraZeneca jab.
Iceland halted its use of the vaccine on March 11 — the same day as Norway and Denmark — amid reports of post-jab side effects.
Brazil’s death count in the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 300,000 Wednesday, as a deadly surge that has pushed hospitals to the brink made it the second country after the United States to pass the bleak milestone.
The country’s Covid-19 death count now stands at 300,685, the health ministry said, from 12.2 million infections.
President Jair Bolsonaro announced earlier he was launching a crisis committee to deal with the pandemic, a change of course amid mounting pressure over a situation he has repeatedly minimized.
