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India’s Cumulative Vaccination Coverage exceeds 11.72 Crores with over 27 Lakh doses given in the last 24 hours

· More than 26 Crore tests conducted across the country

· 9% of new cases are being reported from 10 States

· India’s daily new cases continue to rise. 2,17,353 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours.

· India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,25,47,866 today. The National Recovery Rate is 87.80%.

· 1,18,302 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.

· Ten States/UTs have not reported any COVID19 deaths in the last 24 hours. .These are Ladakh (UT), Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram,Manipur, Lakshadweep, A&N Islands and Arunachal Pradesh

For details:

PM reviews status of oxygen availability to ensure adequate supply

• PM Modi took a detailed review of current situation of oxygen supply and projected use in the coming 15 days across 12 high burden states (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan). An overview of district level situation in these states was presented to the PM.
• PM urged officials to ensure seamless and free movement of tankers carrying oxygen throughout the country. The Government has exempted all interstate movement of oxygen tankers from registration of permits to enable easier movement.
• PM was informed that States and transporters have been asked to ensure tankers move round the clock with drivers working in shifts to ensure faster turnaround and adequate capacity to meet the surge in demand. Cylinder filling plants will also be permitted 24 hour working with necessary safeguards.
• The Government is allowing Industrial cylinders to be used for medical oxygen after due purging. Similarly nitrogen and argon tankers will be automatically allowed to be converted to oxygen tankers to overcome the potential shortage of tankers. Officers also briefed the PM about the efforts being made to import medical grade oxygen.

For Details:

Dr Harsh Vardhan reviews preparedness of AIIMS New Delhi in light of recent surge of COVID19 cases in the Capital

· Dr Harsh Vardhan held a detailed review meet on the availability of beds/oxygenated beds at the general/ICU wards with the heads of the various departments engaged in treating COVID and non-COVID medical conditions taking note of difficulties faced by them and their colleagues in carrying out their present duties.

• He visited the patient ward of the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JPNATC) of AIIMS, New Delhi (Dedicated COVID Hospital) and interacted with many patients under treatment. He assured them of the best possible care.
• Dr Harsh Vardhan also interacted with the media afterwards and used the occasion to remind people of the many virtues of COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB): “Our biggest fight this time is to teach COVID appropriate behaviour to the people. People have adopted a casual approach which is very dangerous. COVID Appropriate behaviour is the biggest social tool we have to break the chain.” In order to encourage the public from following CAB in the quest for a COVID free environment, he put out statistics that demonstrate the diligence of the general public along with the hard-work of healthcare and frontline workers: “India has 52 districts with no fresh cases in 7 days, 34 districts with no fresh cases in 14 days, 4 districts with no fresh cases in 21 days and 44 districts with no fresh cases in 28 days.” He also detailed steps taken by the Union government to stop black marketing of drugs like Remdesivir and Itolizumab.

For details:

Union Health Ministry advises the Central Ministries and their PSUs to dedicate their Hospital beds for COVID19 Management in States/UTs

• In a significant measure to substantially augment the hospital infrastructure for effective clinical management of severe COVID-19 patients across the country, the Union Health Ministry has advised all central Ministries to issue instructions to the hospitals under their control or their PSUs to set-up exclusive dedicated hospital wards or separate blocks within the hospitals for COVID Care, as was done last year.
• In the letter written to the Central Ministries, the Union Health Secretary had reiterated that the present situation of sudden surge in the COVID cases across the country calls for similar supportive action as last year from all such Central Ministries / Departments and their PSUs and the Hospitals under their control.
• In order for the public to avail of the required treatment at these hospital wards/blocks, the Central Ministries have been also been advised that details of such dedicated hospital wards/blocks are provided to the public, duly coordinating with the respective health departments of States/UTs and the District Health Administration of the States/Districts wherever these hospitals are located. It has been suggested that a Nodal Officer may be nominated from the Ministry/Department for necessary coordination with the respective States/UTs for this purpose and their contact details be shared with the respective States/UTs as well as the Union Health Ministry.

For details:

Union Home Secretary reviews COVID-19 Status and Public Health Measures for its Containment & Management taken by Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh

Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh along with Maharashtra are the only three States in the country which have more than one lakh Active Cases. Both Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are reporting very high number of daily new COVID19 cases and high deaths caused by COVID-19. Chhattisgarh has reported nearly 6.2% increase in weekly new COVID cases based on 7 day moving average. After a detailed and comprehensive review, the following 5-fold strategy for tackling the recent surge was re-emphasised:

1. Significantly increase testing in all districts with a minimum of 70% RT-PCR tests and use of Rapid Antigen Tests as screening tests in densely populated areas as well as areas where fresh clusters are emerging. Mandatorily subject those who have tested negative in Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) to RT-PCR test.
2. Ramped up effective and timely tracing, containment and surveillance activities to curb the chain of transmission, and strict implementation of containment measures.
3. Effectively follow the protocol of clinical care, treatment and supported home / facility care.
4. Strict and effective enforcement of COVID safe behavior including strict limitation of unnecessary movement of people and crowds.
5. Time-bound plan of 100% vaccination of eligible population groups, especially in the high focus districts.

For details

INPUTS FROM PIB FIELD OFFICES

Maharashtra:More than 3 lakh 69 thousand people were vaccinated in the state on Thursday. Pune with 59,190 witnessed the highest number of doses administered, followed by Mumbai with 50930 doses. Thane stands third in the tally with 32085 doses administered. On the same day, Maharashtra recorded 61,695 fresh cases, taking the tally of current active cases to 6,20,060. The State Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope advised district health departments to work on increasing bed capacity, ensuring availability of medicines like Remdesivir and medical oxygen. He said that positive patients must be subjected to institutional isolation as many try to break quarantine rules and thus infect numerous others. Meanwhile, Mumbai's civic body  has taken over four and five star hotels to accommodate patients with no or mild symptoms.

Gujarat: Gujarat government has ordered 100 per cent use of all oxygen produced in the state for the health sector. The State Government has added 18,000 COVID beds in the last 15 days and 8,000 more beds will be added in the coming days, stated CM Vijay Rupani. Gujarat has recorded 8152 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Maximum 2631 new cases have been reported from Ahmedabad, while Surat recorded 1551 new cases. Gujarat now has 44298 active cases.

Rajasthan: To curb the second COVID-19 wave, the Rajasthan Government on Thursday night announced a weekend curfew from Friday 6 P.M. to Monday 5 A.M. However, emergency services such as milk and LPG supply, banking services will be exempted. Amid spiralling COVID cases, Sawai Man Singh Medical College issued a COVID-19 management protocol 2021 in which it has appealed to doctors to use remdesivir, an anti-viral drug, and liquid medical oxygen (LMO) judiciously as its demand has gone up. The health department has imposed a ban on over-the-counter sale of remdesivir from chemists to prevent black-marketing, while for continuous supply of LMO, the health department has written to collectors to keep stock and issued letter to industry department asking them to send a list of industries producing LMO in the state. In the last 24 hours, 6,658 tested positive in the state.

Madhya Pradesh :In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has thanked the central government for supplying oxygen to the state. Chief Minister said that supply of about 450 metric tonnes of oxygen to the state was agreed upon from Bhilai, Rourkela and Deori. 94 COVID Care Centers have started in the districts of the state. Rs 2 crore has been made available to each district for the arrangements. Along with this, Rs 1 crore has been released separately from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to each district. Madhya Pradesh recorded 10,166 fresh COVID cases on Thursday, while 3,970 patients recovered from infection. the state government has postponed the Board exams for Class 10th and 12th in the wake of worsening COVID-19 situation.

Chhattisgarh: Amidst the rapidly surging COVID crisis, Chhattisgarh Government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). As on April 15, 386.92 metric tons of oxygen gas is being produced in the state every day, while currently only 110.30 metric tons of oxygen is needed per day for 5 thousand 898 patients with oxygen support. The fair price shops have been instructed to follow all COVID protocols while distributing ration. 15,256 new Corona positive patients in the state on Thursday. With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh mounted to 5,01,500. Chhattisgarh Government has made it mandatory for all passengers entering the state by air or railways to carry negative RTPCR report that is not older than 72 hours.

Kerala: A total of 24,953 people have taken COVID vaccination today in the state till noon. Out of this 19,376 took their first dose and 5,577 second dose. The total number of vaccination administered in the state so far is 2,06,116. Out of this 1,66,306 were first dose and 39,810 second dose.

Meanwhile, the state government has put in place a three-pronged strategy to arrest within two months the COVID-19 surge being witnessed post Assembly elections. These include 2.5 lakh tests each on Friday and Saturday, slashing of number of people at events and making COVID negative certificate mandatory for entering into malls.

8126 new cases were reported in the state after 60,900 tests on Thursday, with the test positivity rate shooting up to 13.34%.

Tamil Nadu: With 58,097 active COVID cases reported on Thursday, TN crossed its earlier peak of 57,968 cases recorded on July 31, 2020. A total of 7,987 new cases and 29 deaths were recorded yesterday, the highest in 2021. A total of 2,17,666 people, including 1,15,970 people aged 45-59 with co-morbidities and 85,111 senior citizens, were vaccinated at 4,408 sessions on Thursday. The number of those vaccinated has gone up to 43,90,629. Oxygen facilities in Government Hospitals increased to 780 KL. Door-to-door fever survey has been restored to identify people for RT PCR test as well as eligible individuals for vaccination.  The second phase of the state health department’s sero-surveillance to measure the exposure of the Madurai’s population to the SARS-CoV-2 is underway in Madurai.

Karnataka: As per COVID bulletin released by the state government for 15-04-2021, New Cases Reported: 14738; Total Active Cases: 96561; New COVID Deaths: 66; Total COVID Deaths: 13112. Around 73,687 were vaccinated yesterday with a total of 62,74,260 having been vaccinated in the state till now. Karnataka on Thursday reported its highest single-day COVID spike. Out of the cases reported, 10,497 were from Bengaluru Urban alone. Ten more COVID Care Centres (CCCs) will be set up across Bengaluru to cater to the rising number of people contracting the coronavirus infection daily. The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the state DGP and IGP to immediately direct all authorised officers to register FIRs against all who violate COVID-19 rules on wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

Andhra Pradesh: The State reported highest one-day spike of 5086 new cases in coronavirus cases, 14 fatalities, while the infection positivity rate climbed to 6.05 per cent.  The total number of cases have increased to 9,42,135, the death toll rose to 7353.  Meanwhile, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the officials to intensify the COVID vaccination programme.  At a review meeting on Thursday, he congratulated Health officials for administrating 6.28 lakh doses of vaccine on Wednesday. In the wake of surging COVID-19 cases, the state government on Thursday revived the State COVID Command and Control Centre with 21 All India Services officers, to take necessary steps for COVID-19 management and vaccination on a daily basis, monitoring and guiding the district administrations in taking the necessary measures.

Telangana: A total of 1,54,568 were administered first dose and 13,631 second dose of COVID vaccine on Thursday in the state. Now, the cumulative number of persons of all categories received first dose of vaccine stands at 22,90,562 and second dose at 3,36,009. Meanwhile, a total of 3,840 new daily COVID cases and 9 fatalities were reported yesterday in the state. Now, the total number of positive cases in the state reached 3,41,885 and the fatalities 1,797. The number of Active Cases in the state stands at 30,494 and Out of which 20,215 are in home/institutional quarantine.  The State Govt has decided to increase the number of beds in all Govt and Private hospitals by 25 percent, asked all hospitals to postpone non-emergency surgeries in the wake of sharp rise in COVID cases and shortage of beds.

Manipur: Daily COVID-19 positive cases in Manipur eased to 18 on Thursday from 21 on Wednesday, while 10 more people recovered, according to the latest update from the health department.As per the latest update by the health department, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine beneficiaries in the state crossed one lakh at 1,01,069 as 2,288 more people were vaccinated across the state on Wednesday. Total 32,109 healthcare workers were reportedvaccinated with COVID vaccine as of Wednesday.

Meghalaya: With surging COVID-19 cases in Meghalaya, the state government has decided to vigorously pursue its vaccination drive even as the class 12 board examination starting April 16 will go ahead as scheduled.In the backdrop of the sudden spike in Corona virus cases Chief Minister Conrad K Sangama held a meeting to review the situation.Over 1.61 lakh doses of the corona vaccine have already been administered in Meghalaya as of date

Sikkim: Sikkim saw 41 new cases.There are currently 229 active cases of coronavirus in Sikkim. Sikkim administered 26,328 vaccine shots in the four-day TeekaUtsav from 11 to 14 April. The highest number of vaccine shots were given in East District at 13,701, followed by 5,940 in West District during TeekaUtsav. A total of 4,625 persons were vaccinated for COVID-19 in South District and 2,062 in North District.

Nagaland: Nagaland reports 42 new COVID cases. Active cases are 121 while total rises to 12,482.

Punjab: The total number of patients tested Positive is 286816. Number of active cases is30033. Total Deaths reported is 7722. Total COVID-19 Vaccinated with 1st dose (Healthcare + Frontline Workers) is 470636.Total COVID-19 Vaccinated with 2nd dose(Healthcare + Frontline Workers) is 141039. Total above 45 Vaccinated with 1st dose is 1512913. Total above 45 Vaccinated with 2nd dose is 44101.

Haryana: Total Number of Samples found positive till date is 335800. Total active COVID-19 patients is 30518. Number of deaths is 3334. Cumulative number of people vaccinated till date is 3034430.

Chandigarh: Total Lab confirmed COVID-19 cases is 32397. Total number of Active Cases is 3371. Total number of COVID-19 deaths till date is 407

Himachal Pradesh: Total number of patients tested Covid positive till date is 73353.Total number of Active Cases is 7362. Total deaths reported till date is 1146

MV/AP