Coronavirus India Highlights: Bihar records 11,407 new Covid-19 cases, 82 deaths in last 24 hours

With 11,407 more Covid-19 cases Bihar breached the five lakh-mark of infections Monday, while 82 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 2821 in the state, health department bulletin said.

The caseload of the state went up to 5,09,047, with capital Patna being the worst-hit.

Out of 82 new deaths, Patna accounted for 24 casualties while Muzaffarpur reported 13 fatalities, Madhepura (6) and West Champaran (5).

Among the 11,407 new cases, Patna's share was 2028, the health bulletin said.

Other major Covid-hit districts are Gaya with 662 cases, Muzaffarpur (653) and Begusarai (510).

The Ahmedabad division of the Western Railway has set up 19 isolation coaches with 304 beds in Gujarat amid the shortage of beds in hospitals. Thirteen of these coaches, equipped with required medical facilities, including oxygen cylinders, have been stationed at the city’s Sabarmati railway station, while six coaches are parked at Chandlodiya railway station, the railways said on Monday. (With inputs from Gopi Maniar)

The European Union on Monday announced additional emergency medical support by its member countries, including Denmark, Spain and Netherlands, to India to help it deal with a severe wave of coronavirus infections. Under the additional package, Denmark is sending to India 53 ventilators, while Spain is supplying 119 oxygen concentrators and 145 ventilators.

The EU said the medical supplies from the Netherlands included 100 oxygen concentrators, 30,000 vials of antiviral drug, Remdesivir, and 449 ventilators. Fresh supplies from Germany will comprise 15,000 vials antiviral drugs, 516 ventilators and one oxygen generator, the EU said in a statement.

"I am proud to say EU member states are providing substantial help part of a Team Europe effort to show our solidarity with India at this very difficult time, offering critical oxygen, ventilators and antiviral drugs to our Indian friends," said EU's Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic.

"Collective action is the only solution if we want to win our fight against the pandemic," he added. (With inputs from PTI)

The Centre on Monday said medical oxygen being given to Covid-19 patients, especially in hospitals, should be used "judiciously" and claimed that there was no "shortage" of the life-giving gas in the country. At a routine briefing on steps taken by the government to battle the Covid-19 crisis, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Piyush Goyal told reporters that multiple efforts were being undertaken to enhance production and quickly transport oxygen to the hospitals and patients.

"It is very important for all the hospitals that they ensure judicious use of oxygen as per the guidelines issued in this context by the Union Health Ministry. Many efforts are being undertaken in this context, and we are getting positive results also. We need to continuously monitor this so that very judicious use of oxygen is undertaken," Piyush Goyal said.

He appealed to the citizens to not get jittery about the lack of oxygen in the country. "Oxygen is available in adequate quantity in the country and efforts are being made to transport it to hospitals in the shortest possible time.If we undertake this battle together, I have no doubt that we will be victorious," he said. (PTI)

With a spike in Covid-19 cases, partial curfew will be imposed in Andhra Pradesh for 14 days starting from May 5 until further orders. All the shops shall remain open only from 6 am to 12 pm under Section 144 and only emergency services will be allowed.

The decision was taken during review meeting held at the camp office by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Covid-19, vaccination drive and public health on Monday.

A total of 1,66,0,2873 tests have been conducted across the state at an average rate of 3,10,915 tests per month and on Monday 18,972 new cases and 71 deaths reported in Andhra Pradesh. (With inputs from Ashish Pandey)

Total case - 197023

Active cases- 55,436

Death toll- 2,930

Breakup:

Dehradun- 2,026

Haridwar- 676

Nainital -458

Tehri- 415

Udham Singh Nagar- 656

The Punjab government placed an order for 30 lakh doses of vaccine with Serum Institute of India Limited for the 18-44 age group but has been allocated only 3.30 lakh for the month of May, officials said on Monday. They said 70 per cent of the allocation has been reserved for individuals with comorbidities and the remaining 30 per cent will be for the high-risk category of employees and workers.

The state did not start the vaccination drive for the above 18 category on May 1 due to "non-availability" of the vaccine.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who chaired a Covid review meeting, announced that within these groups, district-wise allocation had been made based on population index, mortality and density. (PTI)

Mumbai on Monday saw a sharp drop in daily Covid-19 cases with 2,662 fresh infections. The city reported 78 deaths and 5,746 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Overall cases- 12,28,064

Death toll- 14,468

Overall active cases- 1,23,258

Overall discharged- 10,90,338

Chennai: 6,150 new Covid-19 cases

Overall cases- 3,52,260

Active cases- 32,785

Death toll- 4,858

As many as 14 Covid Care Centres (CCC) with 2,081 beds in 8 zones have been set up for the treatment of asymptomatic people who do not have a separate room to be isolated while other asymptomatic Covid-19 infected people are self-isolating at home. With the increasing cases of Covid-19, the need for oxygenated beds is also on a rise. In this regard, a minimum of 20 per cent of the beds is being converted into oxygenated beds in the CCCs in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits at present while the new ones too will have at least 20 per cent oxygenated beds. (With inputs from Nolan Pinto)

Maharashtra witnessed a dip in the Covid-19 cases from over 56,000 cases to 48.621 new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

Patients recovered in last 24 hours: 59,500

Covid-19 patients discharged after full recovery until today: 40,41,158

Recovery rate: 84.7%

Case fatality rate: 1.49%.

Active cases in the state:6,56,870

As many as 44,438 cases of Covid-19 and 239 deaths were reported in Karnataka in the last 24 hours. Bengaluru Urban alone accounted for 22,112 new Covid cases.

Positivity rate: 29.80%

The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about various initiatives being taken by the Indian Navy to assist the countrymen in the Covid-19 pandemic. He told the prime minister that the Navy has reached out to all state administrations and have offered help in terms of hospital beds, transportation and other such things.

Apprising PM Modi about Naval hospitals being opened for use of civilians in various cities, Karambir Singh said, "Medical personnel in the Navy have been redeployed at various locations in the country to manage Covid duties. Naval Personnel as being provided Battle Field Nursing Assistant Training to be deployed in Covid duties. The Navy is helping increase oxygen availability in Lakshadweep as well as Andaman & Nicobar Islands. (With inputs from Poulomi Saha)

He also apprised PM that the Indian Navy is transporting Oxygen Containers as well as other supplies from Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait & Singapore to India.

Vaccination drive for those above 45 years of age will begin from tomorrow in Mumbai. In a tweet, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said, " 45 aboves may walk-in ONLY for their second dose with their first dose certificate/sms."

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A huge crowd is expected at all the vaccination centers and the officials fear that vaccination centers might become hotspots. (With inputs from Saurabh)

New cases reported in:

Srinagar 1136
Baramulla 232
Budgam 208
Pulwama 296
Kupwara 64
Anantnag 145
Bandipora 85
Ganderbal 51
Kulgam 167
Shopian 55
Jammu 584
Udhampur 86
Rajouri 111
Doda 12
Kathua 112
Samba 209
Kishtwar 9
Poonch 30
Ramban 44
Reasi 97

Sweden plans to donate 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to India via the U.N.-backed COVAX, an initiative devised to give countries access to coronavirus vaccines regardless of their wealth. The Scandinavian country's International Development Cooperation Minister Per Olsson Fridh announced it Monday on Swedish broadcaster SVT, adding “we see how the pandemic is raging around the world. People are dying, poverty is spreading, and children are still not back at school.”

“We need to do everything we can to face this pandemic and fight it across the world.” (AP)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to agree a "huge range" of commitments to deepen cooperation between the two countries, including on combating the coronavirus pandemic, Downing Street said on Sunday. The government confirmed the talks schedule as it said that 1,000 more ventilators will be sent from the UK's surplus supply to Indian hospitals to help the most severe Covid cases, in addition to 200 ventilators, 495 oxygen concentrators and three oxygen generation units the UK announced as part of the assistance package last week. (With inputs from PTI and Geeta Mohan)

Madhya Pradesh will begin the vaccination drive for people between 18 and 44 years of age from May 5. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the state requires 5 crore 19 lakh doses of vaccines and the vaccine will be administered free of cost. (With inputs from Ravish)

With 29,192 fresh Covid-19 cases, the total tally of positive cases in Uttar Pradesh pushes to 13,42,413. Lucknow alone accounted for 3,058 new Covid-19 cases, while 5,686 patients were discharged in last 24 hours.

Total recoveries in UP in last 24 hours: 38,687

Total samples tested over last 24 hours: 2,29,440

The Indian Army has kept 200 truck drivers on standby for emergency movement of oxygen and medical supplies. Army Operations Logistics teams is preparing themselves to help with coordination and the movement. It will also offer help in repairing oxygen generation plants. (With inputs from Gaurav Sawant)

Total deaths: 5450

Samples tested in last 24 hours: 96,296

Test positivity rate: 27.01

AIIMS director Randeep Guleria said that it is better to avoid going for unnecessary CT scans if you have mild symptoms as there will be few patches.

Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that numbers have gone down from 1 May, but these are very early signal. The number of deaths is going down. There are 12 states, with more than 1 lakh active cases, therefore, intensive effort is required. There are 22 states, with more than 15 per cent of positivity rate. "Chhattisgarh, Delhi, MP, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Punjab, UP are those states, where we are witness in positive trajectory. AP, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Himanchal, Chandigarh are states, where cases have gone up in the last few days, and strict containment is required. We are witnessing some relief in several districts of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, MP," he said.

On vaccine front, 18 lakh people have been vaccinated under 18-44 age bracket so far.

Oxygen Express set to deliver its biggest single-day load of nearly 205 tonnes to Delhi by tomorrow morning. 20 Oxygen Express have completed their journey, delivering 1125 MT (approx.) liquid medical oxygen (LMO) in 76 tankers. Seven Oxygen Express on the run with 422 MT LMO in 27 tankers. Haryana will receive its fourth and fifth Oxygen express carrying nearly 72 MT of liquid medical oxygen from Angul (Orissa) and Rourkela (Orissa). Oxygen Express to Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are on the way. (With inputs from Sanjay Sharma)

Oxygen plants in industries like steel plants, refineries with petrochemical units which produces gaseous oxygen will be tapped for medical use. Industrial units which produce gaseous oxygen of requisite purity closer to cities are being identified and temporary Covid-19 care centres with oxygenated beds are being proposed to be established near that source. "10,000 oxygenated beds can be made available through this initiaive and 1,500 PSA oxygen generation plants are in process of being set up," said Lav Agarwal.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that 1.1 per cent is the death rate in India and 12 states have more than one lakh active cases in the country.

Delhi government has launched a portal for accepting any kind of donation for critical medical equipment from India and abroad to strengthen Delhi's fight against Covid-19.

The Delhi government tells the high court that currently 33 tankers are being tracked, but the problem is that these tankers are standing idle or not moving due to different reasons. "The prime minister in his address had said that no oxygen tankers would be obstructed, but it’s not happening," the government tells HC. (With inputs from Nalini Sharma)

Addressing a press conference, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared all journalists as "Covid-19 warriors". Earlier, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar declared media professionals accredited with their respective state governments as 'frontline workers'.

Madhya Pradesh on Monday declared media professionals accredited with the state government as 'frontline workers'. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said journalists were risking their lives while doing their duty during this "dangerous period of COVID-19 pandemic". Around 4,000 journalists are currently accredited with the state government, according to a public relations department official, PTI reported.

Odisha formally launched the third phase of COVID-19 vaccination for people in the 18-44 age group here on Monday, with beneficiaries being administered the first dose of Covaxin, PTI reported. The third-phase of vaccination is taking place between 8 am and 1 pm, while those above 45 years will receive the shots from 3-6 pm, according to the schedule announced by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.

Following a steep rise in Covid-19 cases, Andhra Pradesh has decided to impose a partial lockdown from May 5 (Wednesday) across the state for two weeks. The decision was taken by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at a review meeting today at the camp office in Amaravati. Shops will be open only from 6 am-12 pm. Essential services will remain unaffected. Andhra Pradesh reported 23,920 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the highest single-day surge since the beginning of the pandemic.

Earlier in the day, Delhi's IBS Hospital, Lajpat Nagar, sent an SOS to authorities regarding an oxygen crisis. The hospital has 37 Covid-19 patients on oxygen support. The Delhi government said it would send 10 D-type oxygen cylinders to provide temporary relief. On Sunday, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to ensure that the deficit in the supply of oxygen to the national capital was rectified before May 3 midnight.

Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot's daughter died of heart attack on Monday. The 43-year-old was undergoing Covid-19 treatment.

Global pharma major Pfizer is sending medicines worth $70 million that have been identified as part of India's Covid-19 treatment protocol, the company's chairman and CEO Albert Bourla has. "We are committed to being a partner in India's fight against this disease and are quickly working to mobilize the largest humanitarian relief effort in our company's history," Bourla said in a mail sent to Pfizer India employees that he has shared on his linked.in post.

Our reporter, Ashutosh Mishra, travelled to Buxar district in Bihar to check the ground situation on the condition of Covid-19 hospitals. He found that the old Sadar Hospital, which houses a Covid-19 care centre, has been forced to turn away patients due to a shortage of medical oxygen. Besides the oxygen crisis, the negligence of the administration in following Covid-19 protocols was also visible. Relatives and family members were seen sitting with Covid-19 patients inside the ward without wearing PPE kits. The hospital does not even have basic medicines and relatives are being asked to procure them from outside. READ FULL STORY

If you were gearing up to watch the encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore this evening, there is some sad news. The match has been rescheduled after two players of KKR tested positive for Covid-19. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and pacer Sandeep Warrior are the two players who contracted coronavirus, the tournament officials confirmed. READ FULL STORY

A Delhi hospital has told the high court, during the oxygen shortage hearing, that it has only two hours of oxygen left at the hospital. Santom Hospital said, "We are catering to 119 patients on oxygen right now. 45 patients are on cylinders. We only have 2 hours of oxygen left. We request the HC to do something." The Delhi HC has asked Santom Hospital to approach the nodal officer directly.

As many as 24 patients, including the Covid-19 positive, died at a hospital in Karnataka allegedly due to the oxygen shortage. The incident took place in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district on Sunday night. "We are waiting for the death audit report," District Incharge Minister Suresh Kumar said. Read here.

During the hearing on the oxygen crisis in Delhi amid surging Covid-19 cases, a Dwarka hospital told the Delhi High Court that its owners cannot manage the crisis from Saudi Arabia and the hospital is ready to give its keys to the district magistrate. Rockland hospital said, "Our owners are from Saudi Arabia so they’re not able to manage things from there. But we are ready to hand over our keys to the District Magistrate. We have 77 beds, ventilators, everything. The hospital can be taken over by the government."

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday extended the lockdown in the state by two more days till May 6 due to the spurt in Covid-19 cases. Last week, the Uttar Pradesh government increased the duration of the weekend lockdown by 24 hours till May 3. During this period, all essential services will be allowed and vaccination drive will continue. A 'corona curfew' in night (from 8 pm to 7 am) will be implemented across the state strictly.

The third and largest phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive to inoculate people in the 18-45 age group has begun in Delhi. Around 90 lakh people are eligible for the jabs under this category in Delhi. Five vaccination booths each have been set up at 77 schools for the exercise, PTI reported. The Delhi government has placed orders for 1.34 crore vaccine doses, which will be delivered over the next three months.

Kerala won't be able to start the Covid vaccination drive for the age group of 18-44 years anytime soon as the state is yet to receive the vaccines it had ordered, sources said. At present, the state has 3.18 lakh doses provided by the Centre and priority will be given to those awaiting their second dose and those above 45 years. READ FULL STORY

The spokesperson of BJP Uttar Pradesh Dr Manoj Mishra died due to Covid-19 on Monday. Dr Manoj Mishra was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kanpur. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over his death.

The Supreme Court has said that no Covid-19 patient should be denied hospitalisation or essential drugs in any state for lack of local residential proof. The court also directed the Centre on Sunday to come up with a national policy on admissions to hospitals within two weeks. "Till the formulation of a national policy by the Centre on admissions to hospitals, no patient shall be denied hospitalisation or essential drugs in any state/UT for lack of local residential proof of that state/UT or even in the absence of identity proof," the SC said. READ FULL STORY

Battling an acute shortage of oxygen, several hospitals across the country, especially in Delhi, have sent out desperate SOS calls to authorities to replenish their dwindling stocks. Several hospitals in Delhi continue to grapple with a shortage of medical oxygen, as coronavirus cases continue to spike every passing day. Here are some images from across the country that speak about the continuing crisis (Image source: PTI)

At a time when hospitals in Delhi have been flagging their dwindling stocks of oxygen, the Supreme Court has directed the Centre to ensure that the deficit in the supply of oxygen to the national capital was rectified before May 3 midnight. The Centre on Saturday raised the national capital's daily quota of oxygen to 590 metric tonne from 490 MT.

India saw a dip in daily cases, reporting 3,68,147 new infections on Monday. In the last 24 hours, 3,417 Covid-related deaths were reported in the country. The top five states that have registered maximum cases are Maharashtra (56,647 cases), Karnataka (37,733 cases), Kerala (31,959 cases), Uttar Pradesh (30,857 cases) and Andhra Pradesh (23,920 cases). About 49% of the new cases have been reported from these five states, with Maharashtra alone responsible for 15.39% of the new cases. Maximum casualties were reported in Maharashtra (669), followed by Delhi with 407 deaths.

Leaders of 13 Opposition parties have urged the Centre to launch a free mass vaccination drive across the country. In a joint statement, they also called upon the Centre to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply to all hospitals. The signatories include Congress president Sonia Gandhi, JDS leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. "In times of the uncontrollable surge of the pandemic across our country, we call upon the Central government to focus all attention in ensuring the uninterrupted flow of oxygen supplies to all hospitals and health centres across the country," they said in a joint statement. "We call upon the Central government to immediately launch a free mass vaccination programme across the country," they added.

A week-long lockdown has been imposed in Haryana from today amid a sharp surge in coronavirus cases. The state government has said vaccination centres, banks and essential services, including pharmacies and dispensaries, will remain functional. All goods traffic will be allowed to ply. Shops, including kirana and single shops selling essential goods, and carts, including ration shops under PDS, those dealing with food and groceries for daily use, hygiene items, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, poultry, meat, fish, animal feed and fodder are allowed to operate. Buses for public transport with 50 per cent capacity, taxi and cab aggregators with a maximum of three passengers in addition to the driver, metro rail will also be allowed to ply. Also, passenger movement by train will be allowed. Students or those who have to attend various exams will be allowed to go to examination centres.

Welcome to our live blog on Covid-19. We will keep you updated throughout the day on the latest developments.

As India struggles with the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with hospitals reeling under a shortage of oxygen and beds, several countries are sending medical supplies. The Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted four oxygen containers from Frankfurt in Germany to the Hindon air base in Delhi on Sunday. The IAF also used its C-17 aircraft to airlift 450 oxygen cylinders from Brize Norton in the UK to the Chennai airbase in Tamil Nadu. Besides, France, Taiwan, Uzbekistan and Belgium on Sunday sent medical supplies to India, including oxygen plants, while the US sent 1,25,000 vials of antiviral drug Remdesivir.