PIB News Update: Near 30 Lakh doses given on Day 1 of TIKA UTSAV pushes Cumulative Coverage to 10.45 crore; India’s average doses per day cross 40 Lakh mark, continues to be highest globally; 10 States Contribute 81% of the Daily New Cases; 70.16% of Active Caseload concentrated in 5 States
Today marks Day-2 of the countrywide Tika Utsav. The cumulative number of COVID19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 10.45 Cr today.Cumulatively, 10,45,28,565 vaccine doses have been administered through 15,56,361 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. These include 90,13,289 HCWs who have taken the 1st dose and 55,24,344 HCWs who have taken the 2nd dose, 99,96,879 FLWs (1stdose), 47,95,756 FLWs (2nddose), 4,05,30,321 1st dose beneficiaries and 19,42,705 2nd dose beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 3,20,46,911 (1st dose) and 6,78,360 (2nd dose) beneficiaries aged 45 to 60.Eight states account for 60.13% of the total doses given so far in the country.Nearly 30 lakh vaccination doses were administered yesterday, on Day 1 of Tika Utsav.Day 1 of the countrywide Tika Utsav saw 63,800 Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) operational, which is a rise of an average of 18,800 operational CVCs. Most CVCs were operational in the private work places. Additionally, despite being a Sunday, which generally witnesses lower vaccination numbers, the first day of Tika Utsav clocked nearly 30 lakh vaccination doses.As on Day-86 of the vaccination drive (11th April, 2021), 29,33,418 vaccine doses were given. Out of which, 27,01,439 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 38,398 sessions for 1st dose and 2,31,979 beneficiaries received 2nd dose of vaccine.In terms of the number of daily doses administered globally, India continues to remain at the top with an average of 40,55,055 doses administered per day. The corresponding figure yesterday was 38,34,574.India’s daily new cases continue to rise. 1,68,912 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours.Ten States including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have shown a rise in the COVID daily new cases. 83.02% of the new cases are reported from these 10 states. Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 63,294. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 15,276 while Delhi reported 10,774 new cases.India’s total Active Caseload has reached 12,01,009. It now comprises 8.88% of the country’s total Positive Cases. A net incline of 92,922 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours.The five states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala cumulatively account for 70.16% of India’s total Active Cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 47.22% of the total active caseload of the country.India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,21,56,529 today. The National Recovery Rate is 89.86%.75,086 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.Daily Deaths continue to show an upward trend. 904 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.Ten States account for 89.16% of the new deaths. These areMaharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (349). Chhattisgarh follows with 122 daily deaths.Nine States/UTs have not reported any COVID19 deaths in the last 24 hours. These are Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh (UT), D&D & D&N, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, A&N Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.
Centre Prohibits Exports of Injection Remdesivir and Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients till the COVID situation in the country improves; Centre takes Various Steps to ensure easy access of Remdesivir to Patients and Hospitals
India is witnessing a recent surge in COVID cases. As on 11.04.2021, there are 11.08 lakh active COVID cases and they are steadily increasing. This has led to a sudden spike in demand for Injection Remdesivir used in treatment of COVID patients. There is a potential of further increase in this demand in the coming days. Seven Indian companies are producing Injection Remdesivir under voluntary licensing agreement with M/s. Gilead Sciences, USA. They have an installed capacity of about 38.80 lakh units per month. In light of the above, Government of India has prohibited the exports of Injection Remdesivir and Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) till the situation improves. In addition, Government of India has taken the following steps to ensure easy access of hospital and patients to Remdesivir:All domestic manufactures of Remdesivir have been advised to display on their website, details of their stockists/distributors to facilitate access to the drug, Drugs inspectors and other officers have been directed to verify stocks and check their malpractices and also take other effective actions to curb hoarding and black marketing. The State Health Secretaries will review this with the Drug Inspectors of the respective States/UTs.and the Department of Pharmaceuticals has been in contact with the domestic manufacturers to ramp up the production of Remdesivir.
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‘Tika Utsav’ is beginning of second major war against Corona: PM
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has called the ‘Tika Utsav’, vaccination festival, the beginning of second big war against Corona and has emphasized special focus on social hygiene along with personal hygiene. The Utsav started yesterday, on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and will continue till the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar on April 14th .In a message on the occasion, the Prime Minister stressed four points with regard to the drive. First, Each One- Vaccinate, meaning those who can’t go themselves for vaccination, such as illiterate and old people, should be assisted.Second, Each One- Treat One. This involves helping people in getting Corona treatment, who do not have resources or knowledge to get it.Third, Each One- Save One, meaning I should wear mask and save myself and others. This should be stressed.Finally, society and people should lead in creating ‘micro containment zones’. Family members and community members should create ‘micro containment zone’, in case of even a single positive case. He expressed the hope that with people’s participation. Awareness and responsible behaviour we will succeed in containing Corona once again.He ended by reminding – Dawaibhi, kadaibhi.
English rendering of PM Narendra Modi’s message on ‘Tika Utsav’
India is the fastest country to administer 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine
India is the fastest country in the world to administer 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. India achieved the feat in 85 days whereas USA took 89 days and China reached the milestone in 102 days.The Prime Minister Office tweeted“Strengthening the efforts to ensure a healthy and COVID-19 free India” along with the details.
Two-day Scientific Convention on World Homoeopathy Day inaugurated today
A two-day convention on ‘Homoeopathy – Roadmap for Integrative Medicine’ was inaugurated on Saturday at New Delhi. Minister of state for Defence Shri Shripad Yesso Naik was the chief guest on this occasion. The Convention was organized by the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), an autonomous apex research organization under Ministry of AYUSH to celebrate the occasion of the World Homoeopathy Day. Addressing the gathering online, Shri Shripad Naik emphasized that the contribution of Homeopathy in controlling epidemics is already well known. With an overall support from the Government, during COVID pandemic, an immense achievement of Homoeopathy is reflected through the works of the Council. He said that The Ministry of AYUSH fervently invited research proposals from AYUSH systems of medicine which had an overwhelming response from Homoeopathy fraternity few of which got a nod from the task force committee and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). The minister further said that the mantra of Integration of medicine stood the test of times in this way and he was delighted that CCRH has chosen this as the theme for this Conference.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh calls for celebrating the “Teeka Utsav” by facilitating vaccination for eligible
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh called for celebrating the “Teeka Utsav” by facilitating vaccination among those who require it and who are entitled to receive the jab in the current phase of the vaccination drive.Speaking in a Virtual discussion on the occasion of “Teeka Utsav” on Sunday, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also an eminent medical professional and Diabetologist, dwelt at length on India’s fight against COVID and the optimum way to respond to the “new normal” as an individual and as a community. Dr Jitendra Singh said, while as responsible citizens, it is the obligation of each one of us to act as a catalyst in the Vaccination Drive, at the same time it is also our social responsibility to help our friends and acquaintances to overcome unwarranted apprehensions about COVID. He said, particularly those who have recovered from COVID should take upon themselves the responsibility to spread awareness about the disease because the narration of their first-hand experience can be more effective in reducing the stigma and many myths.Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the importance of preventive and promotive behaviour which has got reaffirmed in the social psyche following the COVID experience, will have a larger implication on individual well-being, because it will also serve to protect from many a lifestyle disease.
Online Dispute Resolution’s Role Critical during Covid-19 Pandemic: Justice DY Chandrachud; NITI Aayog, Agami& Omidyar Release ODR Handbook
Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) has the potential to decentralize, diversify, democratize, and disentangle the justice delivery mechanism, Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud said on Sunday. He was addressing the release event of a handbook on ODR, developed by Agami and Omidyar India, in association with NITI Aayog and with the support of ICICI Bank, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, Trilegal, Dalberg, Dvara and NIPFP.Covid-19 has transformed our lives in unimaginable ways, which inevitably also included the way courts operated—with physical hearings giving way to virtual ones. “The transition was difficult for everyone, including advocates, litigants and even court staff. However, while this process was initially slow, the concept of virtual hearings eventually came to find its place in the judicial ecosystem,” Justice Chandrachud said. Despite resistance and insistence on moving back to physical hearings post the pandemic, Justice Chandrachud emphasized that ODR is the need of the hour, given its many benefits
INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES
- Kerala: With Covid cases increasing at an alarming rate, the state health department has decided to strengthen contact tracing and expand treatment facilities. It has also initiated steps to address the vaccine shortage which is threatening to upset the government’s ‘Crush the Curve’ campaign aimed at speeding up the vaccination drive. Health authorities have directed to continue the camps by bringing vaccines from nearby districts to meet the shortage of stock. At present the state has a stock of only about eight lakh doses of the vaccine. The Centre has promised that more than 15 lakh doses of the vaccine will be provided by Thursday. Meanwhile, a total of 6,986 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Kerala yesterday. The test positivity rate was recorded at 10.75 percent. There are now 44,389 active Covid-19 cases in the state. Chief Secretary V P Joy has called a high-level meeting later today of the secretaries of all departments involved in Covid control.
- Tamil Nadu:CM Edappadi K Palaniswami is convening an urgent meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in the state. Alarmed by rising Covid-19 cases in Coimbatore district, schoolteachers have urged the state government to declare holiday for classes till XI. Srivilliputhur Congress candidate PSW Madhava Rao (63) was reported to be dead on Sunday morning. He was admitted with Covid symptoms at a private hospital in Madurai on March 20. After a gap of eight months, Tamil Nadu reported over 6,000 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday. The State reported 6,618 cases, compared to 5,989 cases on Saturday, taking the tally to 9,33,434 while the toll has risen to 12,908 with 22 more deaths being reported.
- Karnataka:Experts opine that the second wave of Covid-19 is likely to peak by the first week of May in Karnataka and will slow down by the end of that month, the wave would last for 60-80 days, Health and Family Welfare Minister K Sudhakar said. As per Covid bulletin released by the state government for 11-04-2021, New Cases Reported: 10250; Total Active Cases: 69225; New Covid Deaths: 40; Total Covid Deaths: 12889.
- Andhra Pradesh: State reported a new high of 3495 Covid infections after testing 31,719 samples taking the overall infections to 9,25,401. The single-day spike is the highest since October 25. The overall active cases in the state have risen to 20,954. Even as the four-day-long mass vaccination drive ‘Tika Utsav’ takes off in the country, including parts of Andhra Pradesh, followed by the call given by PM Modi, several districts in the state including Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and East Godavari could not follow suit as they grapple with shortage of vaccine doses. According to Health officials, the count of people approaching vaccine session sites to get immunised has seen a five-fold increase as there is a growing awareness among people about the need to get vaccinated compared to the initial days. This apart, the spike in the daily caseload is invariably driving people to go for the vaccine.
- Telangana: The State Govt issued orders yesterday to impose Rs.1000 fine for not wearing face mask in public places and the State Chief Secretary asked all district collectors/SPs/Police Commissioners to implement the order strictly. A record number of 1,62,385 doses were administered to people of various categories on Saturday. Referring to the Central Govt guidelines to conduct at least 70 percent RT-PCR tests, the State Health Minister EetalaRajender said it is impossible with the present manpower and equipment available with the state to implement it. He said the state is conducting about One lakh Covid tests per day now and out of which around 7,000 tests are RT-PCR tests.
- Assam: Total 73,329 tests were carried out in Assam so far out of which 352 were found to be positive for the novel Coronavirus. The positivity rate was 0.48 per cent. Health Minister HimantaBiswaSarma on Sunday said that the Health Department is planning to conduct 1 lakh tests daily. The Health & Family Welfare department is confident of carrying out the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Assam without any disruption despite shortage of vaccines. The state is expecting to receive 8 lakh fresh stocks of COVID-19 vaccines by April 16.
- Manipur: COVID-19 active cases rise to 107 in Manipur on Sunday. Chief Minister, N Biren Singh takes COVID-19 vaccine first dose and appealed to all eligible to get themselves inoculated.
- Sikkim: Sikkim records 54 new COVID19 cases,14 of whom are tourists. Total number of active cases in the State surged to 169. And a total of 2,662 persons were vaccinated for COVID-19 at different parts of Sikkim.
- Tripura: 48 people tested COVID19 positive with one mortality in the State. In last 12 days the state added 200 positive cases.Vaccination camp in Agartala Press Club held today for Journalist and their family who are above 45 years of age.
- Meghalaya: Meghalaya Health Minister, Alexander LalooHek on Sunday informed that he will convene a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state but made it clear that the state government has not discussed the possibility of re-imposing lockdown in Meghalaya.Darrang, a border village in West Jaintia Hills, has closed down all community activities in the village including schools, after 13 of its residents were tested positive for COVID-19. All schools, public gathering, MGNREGA work and shops will be closed in view of the fresh COVID-19 cases.
- Nagaland: Nagaland reports 2 COVID19 deaths, 5 new cases on Sunday. There has been 83 deaths so far. Nagaland Health Dept official says state has around 1.5 lakh COVID vaccine doses at present.
- Maharashtra: In Maharashtra, 63,294 new patients tested positive on Sunday. In terms of number of tests performed, 11,80,136 samples were tested in the country on Sunday, out of which 22% i.e 2 lakh 63 thousand 137 were in Maharashtra. More than 5 lakh 65 thousand active cases are in Maharashtra. Out of the total number of patients in the state, 3 % cases are critical, while 5% are outside ICU on oxygen support.Out of the total cases, 72% are from the age group of 21 to 60 years. During the last two months, more than 32 thousand children below the age of 10 years tested positive in Maharashtra. In terms of gender, around 61 percent patients are male. The meeting of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and members of State’s Covid task force is being held in Mumbai today.Various measures to tackle the covid situation in the state are being discussed in the meeting.State revenue minister BalasahebThorat also said that strict curbs will be imposed in the state. Decision about 10th and 12th board exam will be taken in day or two.
- Gujarat: In the last 24 hours, 5469 new cases of corona were reported and 54 deaths occurred. The state has a total of 3,47,495 including 27,568 active cases. The total vaccination in the state has been 91,23,719. On Saturday, more than five thousand cases of corona were reported in the state and 49 people died from corona. Corona cases are increasing in many districts of the state. The country’s largest 1200-bed Civil Covid Hospital in Ahmedabad is now completely filled with corona patients. Meanwhile, in view of the increasing cases of corona, the Gujarat Government has closed offline classes till 30th April in all the government and private colleges in the state.
- Rajasthan: With several areas coming under the grip of second Covid-19 wave, the state reported a jump of 4,080 active cases in 24 hours on Sunday, taking the tally to a new high of 31,986 active infections. The state has now seen a substantial jump of 14.6% in active cases in 24 hours. The state also reported the biggest single-day spike of 5,105 cases. While Jaipur, Kota and Jodhpur reported significant spike in cases, Udaipur has emerged as the biggest hotspot, reporting 864 new infections in 24 hours. On Sunday, 10 deaths were reported in the state. In the past five days, 72 people have died of Covid. CM Ashok Gehlot has said that the Government will not be imposing a lockdown, but strict measures will be taken. Further restricting the number of guests in weddings will be one of these measures.
- Madhya Pradesh: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that in order to effectively prevent corona infection in the state, a spontaneous corona curfew will be implemented in cities. As many as 5,939 people were found to be infected with COVID-19 virus in the state on Sunday. Currently, the number of active cases stands at 35,316. A maximum of 919 people have been infected in Indore as on Sunday, while 793 in Bhopal, 402 in Jabalpur and 458 new infections have been reported in Gwalior.
- Chhattisgarh: In Chhattisgarh, orders have been issued to impose complete lockdown in 17 districts by the respective administrations. Now it will be mandatory for railway passengers to have a negative report of the corona test conducted within 72 hours before reaching Chhattisgarh. A new portal ( https://cg.nic.in/health/covid19/RTPBedAvailable.aspx ) has been launched by the State Government’s Health Department to give information about empty beds in Covid hospitals in all districts of the state. In view of the difficulties faced by the migrant workers from the state, or those working away from their home district during this pandemic period, a Labour Faciliatation Centre has been started to resolve their problems. The workers may call in the helpline numbers 9109849992 and 0771- 2443809 at any time of the day. Also, two senior officers have been sent to Mumbai and Hyderabad to ensure uninterrupted supply of Remdesivir and other essential medicines and equipment to the state. Besides, in view of the lack of oxygen in the hospitals, the state government has decided that eighty percent of the oxygen produced in Chhattisgarh will now be provided to the state hospitals in the form of medical oxygen gas.
- Goa: The state’s active Covid-19 count on Sunday crossed the 4,000-mark for the first time since October 15 last year. The state’s positivity rate too soared to an alarming 21%. 525 new cases along with 170 recoveries and 2 deaths have been reported in Goa on Sunday. There are 4322 active cases at present and the recovery rate is 91.70%.
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