Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on Friday amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country. The country posted a record daily rise in coronavirus cases of 386,452 on Friday, while deaths from COVID-19 jumped by 3,498 over the last 24 hours. Several states, including Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra said they do not have sufficient doses of vaccine for the inoculation of those in the 18-44 age group. The shortage comes with less than 24 hours to go for the third phase of the vaccination drive for all adults in the country.
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Complete failure of state, says HC
'It is a complete failure of the state', the Delhi High Court said on Friday as a group of lawyers, including Bar Council of Delhi chairman Ramesh Gupta, pleaded for help seeking medical facilities to advocates suffering from COVID-19.
The hearing witnessed breakdown of lawyers, including senior advocate Gupta, who urged the judges to come to their rescue and help them as they were not getting medical treatment.
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Vaccination of people in 18-45 age group will not start from May 1 in J-K
Amid a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine doses, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday said the third phase of the inoculation drive that will cover people in the 18-45 age group will not begin from May 1 in the union territory.
The new date will be announced once vaccine supply is established, it said.
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TN defers covid vaccine rollout over uncertainty in supplies
With uncertainty looming large over the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday deferered its roll out the massive vaccination drive for the 18-44 years age group on May 1 as originally planned.
For the present, the state government would continue to administer vaccines with the existing stock.
The third phase of the COVID-19 vaccination in the country is scheduled to be launched on Saturday, amid record number of fresh daily infections.
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We should hear voices of citizen, say SC
There should be no clampdown on citizens seeking help on the presumption that they are raising false grievances on the internet, the Supreme Court said on Friday, terming the second wave of COVID-19 cases as a national crisis.
'There should be free flow of information, we should hear voices of citizen,' said a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud, and asked the Centre, states and all DGPs not to take any action against anyone posting a shortage of oxygen, beds or doctors as spreading rumour.
If any action is taken against such posts by citizens in distress, we will treat it as contempt of the court, the bench also comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat said.
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Arunachal defers launch of COVID vaccination drive
The Arunachal Pradesh government has deferred the roll-out of the COVID-19 inoculation drive for those in the 18-44 years age group from May 1, as the state is facing some 'technical issues, an official said on Friday.
The third phase of the vaccination programme has been postponed for an indefinite period, National Health Mission (NHM) director for the state Dr CR Khampa said.
He, however, declined to elaborate on the 'technical issues for which the commencement of the immunisation programme has been deferred.
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CM Adityanath's experiment to check COVID spread 'failed': BJP MLA
BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Bairia constituency Surendra Singh on Friday criticised the state government's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, saying Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's experiment to control the pandemic with the help of the bureaucracy has 'failed'.
He said the system should be centred around elected public representatives and not the bureaucracy.
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The Delhi High Court on Friday directed authorities to take immediate steps for release of 170 oxygen concentrators, which were seized by the Delhi Police from the black market, as they are required for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
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MP mulls closing inter-state borders to curb COVID-19 cases
In the wake of a surge in COVID- 19 cases in Madhya Pradesh, the state government is contemplating sealing its borders with adjoining states as part of efforts to restrict the movement of people and stem the infection spread.
Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday night said the government is seriously thinking over sealing its inter-state borders to break the chain of the coronavirus infection.
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Amid surge in COVID-19 cases, AAP MLA demands President's rule in Delhi
AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal on Friday demanded the imposition of the President's rule in Delhi in view of the massive surge in COVID-19 cases.
The Matia Mahal MLA, who left the Congress and contested the Delhi Assembly polls last year on an AAP ticket, said neither him nor the government is able to offer any help to the people affected by the second wave of COVID-19.
"I feel embarrassed being an MLA since I cannot be of use to anyone, our government is unable to stand with the people. Despite being a six-time MLA, there is no one to listen to(me) and I cannot contact anyone," Iqbal said in a video message.
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PM Modi chairs meetings of Union Council of Ministers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on Friday amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country.
The meeting of the council of ministers is the first in the aftermath of the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.
Sources said the pandemic and the response of the government is likely to be discussed in the virtual meet.
The ongoing vaccination drive, which will now open for those in the 18-45 age group from May 1, could also be discussed.
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Government to import 4.5 lakh vials of antiviral drug Remdesivir
The government has placed orders for import of 4.5 lakh vials of antiviral drug Remdesivir with the first consignment of 75,000 vials expected to reach Indian shores on Friday, Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry said in a statement.
The government has started importing the vital drug Remdesivir from other countries to ease its shortage in the country, the ministry said.
The first consignment of 75,000 vials will reach India on Friday, it added.
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Aviation Ministry permits Telangana govt to use drones for delivery of vaccines
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Friday permitted the Telangana government to use drones for experimental delivery of vaccines within the visual line of sight.
The ministry's statement does not mention which particular vaccine will be part of this experimental delivery.
The ministry on Twitter said it has granted a conditional exemption to the Telangana government from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, for 'conducting experimental delivery of vaccines using drones within the visual line of sight range'.
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COVID surge leaves Bihar choked
Bihar choked with 89 COVID-19 fatalities and an active caseload of more than one lakh, the first occasion for the pandemic, which began more than a year ago, to assume such alarming proportions in the state.
The state has been reeling under an intense second wave, which has caused its active caseload to rise by more than 50 times in less than a month.
Plagued by a notoriously inefficient health sector, the state has been hoping against hope to stem the tide through measures like designating government health facilities as 'dedicated COVID hospitals' severe curbs on economic activities.
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India to Start Vaccination with Russia's Sputnik Vaccine from Next Month: Envoy
Over 1.5-2 lakh doses of Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V will be provided to India in the starting of May, DB Venkatesh Varma, Ambassador of India to Russia said. He added that the vaccine numbers will be subsequently increased over the next few months. Read the full report
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Over 2.45 crore register for Phase 3 of COVID-19 vaccination
More than 2.45 crore beneficiaries have registered themselves on the Co-WIN digital platform ahead of the Phase-3 of the COVID-19 vaccination for those above 18 years that is set to start from May 1, according to the Union Health Ministry.
While more than 1.37 crore people registered themselves on April 28, more than 1.04 crore registered by the end of April 29.
The ministry also said that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.22 crore.
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Ten states account for 73.05 pc of new COVID-19 cases in India
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are among the 10 states that account for 73.05 per cent of new COVID-19 cases reported in a day, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.
India has registered 3,86,452 new coronavirus infections in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far, pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,87,62,976, according to the ministry's data.
Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are the other states in the list of 10.
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Vaccination of people above 18 in K'taka may be delayed: Health Minister
Vaccination of people above 18 years of age, which was supposed to start from May 1, may be delayed as the vaccines have not yet arrived, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Friday.
'We have made orders to Serum Institute in Pune for over one crore doses but the official news is that they are still not prepared to give it to us from tomorrow as scheduled,' the Minister told reporters here.
He asked people who have enrolled themselves on the Cowin portal for inoculation to refrain from going to vaccination centres on May 1. The Minister said the government will intimate the eligible people after confirmation from Serum Institute of India about the arrival of vaccines.
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'Stand with India': US' first COVID-19 relief supplies reach India
The first shipment of COVID-19 aid supplies from the United States arrived in India this morning as the country battles the world's worst coronavirus outbreak that has made a dent in its healthcare infrastructure.
India has been reporting over three lakh cases daily for more than a week, and people are running from pillar to post to secure basic facilities such as medical oxygen.
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Delhi Police arrests 5 for manufacturing fake Remdesivir injections
The Delhi Police on Thursday busted a pharmaceutical unit and arrested five people from Uttarakhand's Kotdwar area for allegedly manufacturing large quantities of fake Remdevisir injections, official said.
Police said they have seized 196 fake Remdesivir injections. The accused have already sold 2,000 fake Remdesivir injections.
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‘US working to expand oxygen supply chain in India’
The Biden administration is working to expand the oxygen supply chain in India to save lives and wage a successful battle against what has now become one of the worst outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world, a USAID official has said.
“Obviously this is now one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the world.
The numbers are extremely high and continuing to grow,” Jeremy Konyndyk, Senior Advisor coordinating agency-wide COVID efforts at the United States Agency for International Development said.
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Strict COVID-19 curbs come into force in Goa
People stayed indoors and streets wore a largely deserted look on Friday as a four-day-long lockdown came into force in Goa to bring down the rising COVID-19 cases in the coastal state.
The COVID-19-related curbs came into force at 9 pm on Thursday and will remain applicable till 6 am on Monday (May 3).
The state government has said all essential services would be allowed to function during the period.
A total of 2,08,330 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 67,985 from Maharashtra, 15,772 from Delhi, 15,306 from Karnataka, 13,933 from Tamil Nadu, 12,238 from Uttar Pradesh, 11,248 from West Bengal, 8,909 from Punjab and 8,312 from Chhattisgarh.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
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