Coronavirus news LIVE Updates: With 80,834 new COVID-19 cases, India reports lowest daily tally in 71 days

10:46 (IST)

Coronavirus news LIVE Updates

Thane district sees 432 new COVID-19 cases, 23 deaths

With the addition of 432 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 5,24,704, an official said on Sunday. These new cases were reported on Saturday, he said.

With 23 more patients succumbing to coronavirus, the death toll in the district rose to 10,221. The mortality rate now stands at 1.94 percent, he added. The details of the recovered and under-treatment patients were not provided by the district administration.

In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,13,416 while the death toll is 2,398, he said.

10:34 (IST)

Coronavirus news LIVE Updates

ICMR says 19 lakh COVID-19 tests conducted yesterday

The Indian Council of Medical Research (IMCR) said that a total of 37,81,32,474 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to 12 June, 2021.

Of these, 19,00,312 samples were tested on Saturday.

10:20 (IST)

Coronavirus news LIVE Updates

WHO chief says vaccine need is much more than pledges by G7 members

The head of the World Health Organisation has welcomed the vaccine-sharing announcements coming out of the Group of Seven summit but says we need more, and we need them faster.

"The challenge, I said to the G-7 leaders, was that to truly end the pandemic, our goal must be to vaccinate at least 70% of the world's population by the time the G-7 meets again in Germany next year," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Saturday at the summit in southwest England.

"To do that, we need 11 billion doses," Tedros said, adding that it was essential for countries to temporarily waive intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines.

10:09 (IST)

Coronavirus news LIVE Updates

At G7, Narendra Modi suggests 'One Earth, One Health' approach to fight COVID-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for following a "one earth, one health" approach to effectively deal with the coronavirus pandemic globally, and sought the support of the G7 grouping to lift patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, during a virtual address at an outreach session of a summit of the bloc.

Calling for global unity, leadership, and solidarity to prevent future pandemics, Modi also emphasised on the special responsibility of democratic and transparent societies to deal with the challenge, according to an official statement. In his address, Modi sought the support of the G7 countries for a proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa, for patent waiver on Covid related technologies.

"The prime minister committed India's support for collective endeavours to improve global health governance. He sought the G7's support for the proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa for a TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver on Covid related technologies," the statement said.

09:53 (IST)

Coronavirus news LIVE Updates

Lowest single-day new number of COVID-19 cases in 71 days

With 80,834 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, India reported its lowest daily figure in the last 71 days, the Centre said.

The daily positivity rate is at 4.25 percent, which is less than 10 percent for 20 consecutive days. The recovery rate rose to 95.26 percent in last 24 hours, with 1,32,062 recoveries recorded.

09:37 (IST)

Coronavirus news LIVE Updates

India reports 80,834 new COVID-19 cases today, lowest new figure in 71 days

India on Sunday reported 80,834 new COVID-19 cases, 1,32,062 discharges, and 3,303 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said.

Total cases: 2,94,39,989
Total discharges: 2,80,43,446  
Toll: 3,70,384
Active cases: 10,26,159  

09:20 (IST)

Coronavirus news LIVE Updates

Salons, weekly markets likely to reopen in Delhi from next week

With the COVID-19 situation improving in Delhi, authorities are expected to give more relaxations and allow reopening of salons and weekly markets from next week, sources claimed on Saturday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had last week announced reopening of markets, malls and Delhi Metro services among other relaxations, saying more activities would be allowed if the Covid situation continued to improve in the city.

"There is a likelihood of the Delhi government announcing more relaxations like reopening salons and weekly markets from next week. Reopening of cinema halls, gyms and allowing dining at restaurants are also under consideration," a source claimed.

Phased reopening of Delhi had started with allowing construction and manufacturing activities from 31 May, in view of declining numbers of coronavirus cases and positivity rate.

Coronavirus news LATEST Updates: With 80,834 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, India reported its lowest daily figure in the last 71 days, the Centre said.

The daily positivity rate is at 4.25 percent, which is less than 10 percent for 20 consecutive days. The recovery rate rose to 95.26 percent in last 24 hours, with 1,32,062 recoveries recorded.

India on Sunday reported 80,834 new COVID-19 cases, 1,32,062 discharges, and 3,303 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said.

Total cases: 2,94,39,989
Total discharges: 2,80,43,446
Toll: 3,70,384
Active cases: 10,26,159

The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of hiding coronavirus deaths in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat and demanded the resignation of the states' chief ministers as well as a judicial inquiry to ascertain the actual Covid figures of the country.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have been found to be hiding data and the chief ministers of these states have no moral right to continue in their positions.

His remarks came after media reports claimed that over 1.7 lakh deaths had taken place in Madhya Pradesh in May, but the state government data reported much less.

"We demand an independent judicial inquiry across all these states in India in the number of Covid deaths," he told an online press conference.

"We demand that chief ministers of these states must resign now; they have no moral right to continue in their positions. Their hands are red, as they are responsible, one way or the other, for these deaths. They are responsible for not just the deaths, but also for denying dignity after death by hiding this data," he said.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, Only in May, 1,70,000 deaths in Madhya Pradesh. What was never heard and not seen, and now the truth is before us."

The deaths in May (in the state) are equal to the deaths reported in six months. Has human life become so cheap? Has our soul died? The prime minister and chief minister should come forward and say who is responsible, he tweeted tagging a media report.

Khera also cited difference in data given by the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, and that of crematoriums and burial grounds in these states.

The Congress leader said this is not just statistics or mere data, but people, these are sons, daughters, parents, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters.

"For God's sake, have some heart, Mr Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi)," he said while demanding the inquiry. Khera alleged that the present government at the Centre considers data as its enemy.

"It considers truth which comes out through data as 'enemy, number one'. It fights with data. It tries to defeat data," he alleged.

The spokesperson also alleged that one has seen how in Parliament whenever questions are asked and uncomfortable statistics have to be laid on the table, "this government and this alliance called the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) becomes a 'No Data Available' alliance."

The Congress leader said it is also for jobs, the economy and human lives. Concealing data on deaths is not only a crime, but also a sin, he said.

"Let's not reduce human lives to mere statistics. We are talking about deaths due to accidents, due to pandemic, people will say - look, don't reduce it to mere statistics, Khera said.

"Under this new India of Mr Modi, the importance given to human life has gone down so much that it is not even mere statistics any more.

These deaths will not even be counted in statistics any more, which is a most unfortunate thing, we have witnessed through this pandemic," he said.

The Congress has been accusing the governments of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh of suppressing Covid death data.

Khera alleged that in Gujarat, between April 10 and May 9, government data showed 3,578 deaths across the state.

But, if one sees the death records of one civil hospital in Ahmedabad as many as 3,416 people died in the same period in just one hospital and 1,23,000 death certificates were issued across 33 districts and eight municipal corporations of Gujarat from March 1 to May 10, he claimed.

This is 58,000 more than last year's period -- March 1 to May 10 -- and this cannot be natural, Khera alleged.

"If 58,000 more death certificates are being issued, questions will be asked, answers will be demanded, accountability will be sought," he said.

In Madhya Pradesh too, he alleged record registers from mukti dhams and from cremation grounds are being taken away or hidden.

Khera claimed that if one compares deaths from last year to this year, the gap is astounding, as between January and May last year, the number of deaths this year has increased by 1,90,000.

"What explains this increase, what explains the fact that the government doesn't want this data to come out," he asked.
He made similar claims about Uttar Pradesh.

One has seen horrifying visuals of how the government was trying to erect view cutters in Lucknow, so that people don't take videos or pictures of extra ordinarily high number of cremations taking place, Khera said.

"We have seen visuals of bodies floating in rivers. We have seen visuals of river beds, those visuals don't let us sleep," he said.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3gtT0c2
FP Staff