Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Maharashtra, Delhi among 8 states showing rising trajectory of COVID-19 cases, says Centre

15:47 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Devendra Fadnavis demands probe into rising COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra

Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said a team of experts should be formed to probe the reason for the surge in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra compared to the other states in the country. The former chief minister was speaking to the media after attending a meeting with Nagpur Guardian Minister Nitin Raut and district officials at the divisional commissionerate.

"I feel a team of experts should be constituted to study the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. Maharashtra is no different from other states, but then why is it witnessing such a surge in infections?" Fadnavis said.

15:34 (IST)

Coronavirus LIVE Updates

Eight states showing rising trajectory in COVID-19 cases, says Centre

A rising trajectory of daily new cases is visible in eight states and UTs, including Delhi and Maharashtra, while Kerala is showing a declining trend, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. The ministry said Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab cumulatively account for 76.22 percent of India's total active caseload, with Maharashtra contributing to 62 percent of such cases, while Kerala and Punjab account for 8.83 percent and 5.36 percent of active cases respectively.

The top five districts in Maharashtra recording the highest number of cases are Pune (37,384), Nagpur (25,861), Mumbai (18,850), Thane (16,735) and Nashik (11,867).

15:18 (IST)

Coronavirus LIVE Updates

Parents protest outside Arvind Kejriwal's residence, demand for schools to be opened

A group of parents staged a protest near Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Saturday, demanding that students of classes 1 to 8 be allowed back into schools.

The protesting parents, led by the Delhi State Public Schools' Management Association, said that since anganwadis, courts, and classes from 9th till 12th standards have resumed functioning, the students of primary section should also be allowed back into schools.

Chairman of the Delhi State Public Schools' Management Association RC Jain said the government should give the parents an option of sending their children to school along with continuing online teaching. "The government should issue an SOP that those who can and want their children to attend offline classes should follow some guidelines, and the rest can continue through online medium," Jain told PTI.

15:06 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Ahmedabad authorities begin screening of COVID-19 'super-spreaders'

In a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus in Ahmedabad, one of the worst-hit cities in Gujarat, the civic body on Satuday said it has decided to once again launch its drive to screen the virus "super-spreaders".

"Super-spreaders" are those people, who are likely to spread the infection to a large number of people. People such as vegetable vendors, medicine store owners, grocers, auto-rickshaw drivers, saloon owners, and masons will have to obtain identity cards after getting themselves tested for the virus across 18 urban health centres in the city, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said.

14:59 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Tamil Nadu govt orders schools to shut from 22 March

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday ordered the closure of schools for classes 9, 10 and 11 with effect from 22 March "until further orders".

Hostels for the students of these classes will also be closed. However online/digital mode of education shall continue for these classes, the government said.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: A rising trajectory of daily new cases is visible in eight states and UTs, including Delhi and Maharashtra, while Kerala is showing a declining trend, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab cumulatively account for 76.22 percent of India's total active caseload, with Maharashtra contributing to 62 percent of such cases, while Kerala and Punjab account for 8.83 percent and 5.36 percent of active cases respectively.

The top five districts in Maharashtra recording the highest number of cases are Pune (37,384), Nagpur (25,861), Mumbai (18,850), Thane (16,735) and Nashik (11,867).

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday ordered the closure of schools for classes 9, 10 and 11 with effect from 22 March "until further orders".

Hostels for the students of these classes will also be closed. However online/digital mode of education shall continue for these classes, the government said.

The COVID-19 vaccine should be able to give good protection from the infection for eight to ten months, AIIMS director Randeep Guleria said on Saturday. He also said that no major side-effect of the vaccine has been recorded.

The COVID-19 vaccine should be able to give good protection from the infection for eight to ten months and maybe, even more, Guleria said at an event organised by the IPS (Central) Association.

He said the biggest reason for the surge in cases is that people feel the pandemic is over and they are not following COVID-appropriate behaviour.

"There are multiple reasons for the surge, but the main reason is that there is change in people's attitude and they feel coronavirus is over. People should still restrict non-essential travel for some more time," the official asserted.

NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said the chain of transmission has to be stopped and for that vaccine is one tool but another is containment and surveillance strategy.

"Not following COVID-19 behaviour and laxity is major reason for the surge," he said.

Responding to a question on vaccinating more people, Paul said the issue is vaccines are limited and that is why, prioritisation has been done.

"If we had unlimited supply, we would open the vaccination for everyone. That is the reason, not everyone, is getting vaccinated. Most countries in the world are not able to go beyond priority group because of this reason," he said.

The NITI Aayog member also said that the highest mortality was seen among people with co-morbidities and older age groups.

"These people must not delay taking the vaccine. So the message is that they need it more than others. That is the reason they have been  prioritised for getting the COVID-19 vaccine," he said.

Talking about the effectiveness of the available COVID-19 vaccines, Covaxin and Covishield, Guleria said, "If we look at the two vaccines, they produce equal antibodies and are very robust. We should take the vaccine available to us because both are equally effective in terms of efficacy and long-term protection.

Over four crore people in the country have been vaccinated against the disease till now. Under the current phase of the inoculation drive, people above 60 years of age and those in the 45-59 years age bracket with co-morbidities, are being vaccinated.

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FP Staff