Coronavirus India Updates: More Than 37 Lakh Vaccinated, Active Cases Drop
Track all developments around the Covid-19 outbreak in India here.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Active coronavirus cases in India continued to decline at a time the government inoculates citizens against the deadly pathogen while assuring that the vaccines are safe.
India added 13,052 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to more than 1.07 crore in the world’s second-worst infected country, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2021. This includes 1.54 lakh deaths and 1.04 crore patients who have recovered.
Key figures:
Total confirmed cases: 1,07,46,183
Total number of active cases: 1,68,784
Total patients cured/discharged/migrated: 1,04,23,125
Total deaths: 1,54,274
Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 13,052
One-day recoveries: 13,965
One-day deaths: 127
The nation with 1.3 billion people is only behind the U.S. in the number of confirmed infections. New cases have been falling and remained below 20,000 since Jan. 7, 2021. The slower pace of daily infections and an improved recovery rate pushed active cases in India below the 2-lakh-mark for the first time since Jan. 20. That’s just 1.57% of the total caseload. India’s active cases had crossed 10 lakh in mid-September.
Meanwhile, more than 37 lakh health workers have been vaccinated under the world’s largest inoculation drive, which began on Jan. 16.
India, according to Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, has administered 1 million Covid-19 vaccinations in six days, making it the fastest country to reach the milestone. The U.S. took 10 days, Spain 12, Israel 14, the U.K. 18, Italy 19, Germany 20 and UAE 27 days to achieve the goal.
Read more on global virus updates here.
Track all developments around the Covid-19 outbreak in India here.
Delhi Records Single-Day Rise Of 140 Covid-19 Cases
The national capital reported 140 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Sunday as the city's positivity rate slipped to 0.23%, authorities said.
These cases came out of 60,695 tests conducted the previous day for detection of Covid-19, according to a bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
With four more people succumbing to the disease, the death toll mounted to 10,853. The tally of active cases in Delhi has dropped to 1,361 from 1,436 on Saturday, it said.
(Source: PTI)
No New Covid-19 Case In Andamans For Fifth Day In A Row
Andaman and Nicobar Islands have not reported any coronavirus case for the last five days notwithstanding a steady inflow of tourists into the archipelago, the health department officials said Sunday.
The virus caseload in the archipelago remained at 4,994, with only four active cases, a senior health official said. No casualty due to the virus has been reported for over a month time, keeping the death toll at 62. One more person was cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the islands to 4,928, the official said.
The administration is ensuring a strict compliance of Covid-19 protocols by the natives as well as the tourists visiting the place. The Andaman and Nicobar administration has conducted 2,21,875 sample tests so far, and the positivity rate stands at 2.25%, the health official said.
Inoculation drive is going on at a smooth pace in the islands. So far a total of 2,844 beneficiaries, including defence healthcare workers, have received Covid-19 vaccine in the union territory. Of which, 1,518 are in south Andaman district, 1,000 in north Andaman district and 326 in Nicobar district, the official said.
(Source: PTI)
Kerala, Maharashtra Report Maximum New Cases
Global Coronavirus Death Toll Crosses 2.2 Million
Globally, the coronavirus cases exceeded 102.4 million, with more than 2.2 million deaths.
The U.S. added 162,390 cases on Friday, as new infections continue a downward trend. This week’s average number of cases is 15% less than the previous one.
The U.K. reported 23,275 new cases on Saturday, more than 3,500 fewer than the average of the previous seven days and 30% lower than a week ago.
Brazil’s second-wave outbreak eased as new cases and deaths slowed over the last week. The nation reported 58,462 cases Saturday, capping the second week with a decline in new infections.
Pakistan will receive as much as 17 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the Covax arrangement by the end of second quarter this year.
Follow the latest updates here.
100% Occupancy Will Be Allowed In Theatres From Feb. 1: Javadekar
Cinema halls across the country will be permitted to operate at 100% capacity from Feb. 1 in adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced on Sunday.
Digital booking of tickets and staggered show timings will be encouraged, the minister said, releasing a set of the standard operating procedures.
“Staggered show timings will be encouraged so that the entry and exit of the crowd can be managed better. Sanitisation and all Covid-19 safety protocols must be followed,” the minister said. “Customers can also buy food and beverage from the stalls at the theatres and can carry it with them inside (the auditorium). These are all normal things but when the situation became abnormal due to Covid-19, we had to put these restrictions. These restrictions are on the verge to be relaxed.”
(Source: PTI)
Telangana Reports Less Than 200 Fresh Covid-19 Cases For Eighth Straight Day
The number of fresh Covid-19 cases remained under 200 for the eighth day in a row in Telangana as the total infection count rose marginally to 2.94 lakh, while the toll edged up to 1,599 with one more death, the state government said on Sunday.
Of the 163 fresh cases reported till 8 p.m. on Saturday, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation accounted for maximum of 28, followed by 11 cases in Rangareddy district, while the rest was scattered in other places, a bulletin said.
The total number of Covid-19 cases stood at 2,94,469, while recoveries were at 2,90,630. Reflecting the downward trend in the past several weeks, the number of active cases fell to 2,240 as against 5,571 at the beginning of this month.
The case fatality and recovery rates in the state stood at 0.54% and 98.69% against 1.4% and 96.9%, respectively, at the national level.
(Source: PTI)
WHO Teams Visits Wuhan Food Market In Search Of Virus Clues
A World Health Organization team looking into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday visited a market known to be the food distribution center for the Chinese city of Wuhan during the 76-day lockdown last year.
The team members were seen walking through sections of the Baishazhou market one of the largest wet markets in Wuhan surrounded by a large entourage of Chinese officials and representatives.
The members, with expertise in veterinarian, virology, food safety and epidemiology, have so far visited two hospitals at the center of the early outbreak Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital and the Hubei Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital.
On Saturday, they also visited a museum exhibition dedicated to the early history of Covid-19.
(Source: PTI)