Covid-19 Cases in India: The recovery rate is 98.06 per cent.
India will cross the landmark of one billion, or 100 crore, COVID-19 vaccine doses next week, either on Monday or Tuesday, top Health Ministry sources have said, calling this a "great achievement".
Till this evening around 96.7 crore doses have been administered.
India recorded 15,823 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the infection tally to 3,40,01,743, while the national Covid recovery rate increased to 98.06 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry's data at 8 am.
The numbers of deaths reached 4,51,189 with 226 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 30,000 for 19 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 108 consecutive days now.
The active cases have declined to 2,07,653 comprising 0.61 per cent of the total infections while the national Covid recovery rate was recorded at 98.06 per cent, the ministry said.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20 lakh-mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.
Here are highights on Coronavirus Cases In India :
WHO Says Approval Process For Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine "Still On Hold"The World Health Organization said on Wednesday the Emergency Use Listing process for Russia's Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine was on hold pending some missing data and legal procedures, which the U.N. body hopes will be "sorted out quite soon". reported news agency Reuters.
"We are working almost on a daily basis with the ministry of health in Russia to address the remaining issues to be fulfilled by the Russian Direct Investment Fund," said Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products.
Kerala Reports 11,079 Fresh Covid Cases, 123 DeathsKerala on Wednesday reported 11,079 fresh Covid-19 cases and 123 deaths, taking the total caseload to 48,20,698 and fatalities to 26,571.
The state has been showing a decline in the daily fresh cases after crossing the 30,000-mark post-Onam festival in August.
With 9,972 more people recovering from the virus since Tuesday, the total recoveries touched 46,95,904 and the active cases dropped to 97,630, a state government release said
G20 Trade Ministers Vow To Work Towards Fairer Covid Vaccine DistributionG20 trade ministers on Tuesday promised to work towards a fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines by lifting export restrictions and making the trade system more transparent.
Their final statement, adopted after a meeting in Sorrento, southern Italy, was a sign of the return of multilateralism, said Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.
"We have to ensure that there is greater circulation of vaccines and that there are production factories in the developing countries," French trade minister Franck Riester said.
European Nations To Charge For COVID-19 TestsFrance is set to join Germany in charging for Covid tests in a bid to ramp up vaccinations.
While some countries are keeping tests free, others are ramping up the price.
Why Some Nations Have Deadlier Outbreaks With The Same VaccinesIt's one of the great puzzles of the pandemic. Most developed economies are now highly vaccinated with some of the most effective shots on offer, so why are the latest Covid-19 outbreaks more deadly in some places than in others?
While it's clear vaccines led to a drop in fatalities during the most recent delta variant-driven waves compared with earlier bouts with the virus, some countries saw deaths fall to a greater degree than others, an outcome scientists still don't have answers for.
Countries like Germany, Denmark and the UK have seen Covid deaths fall to roughly a tenth of previous peaks, according to Bloomberg calculations using data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. In Israel, Greece and the US, fatalities fell but remained more than half of the previous peaks.
Coronavirus positive woman stopped from boarding Dubai-bound flight
A 68-year-old woman was stopped from boarding a Dubai-bound Air India flight at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Madhya Pradesh''s Indore city on Wednesday, after she tested positive for coronavirus, an official said.
The woman, a resident of Bhopal, was later admitted to a COVID-19 care centre in Indore, he said.
As per the COVID-19 protocol, rapid RT-PCR tests were carried out on 108 passengers on Wednesday before boarding the flight and out of them, the elderly woman tested positive for the disease, said Dr Amit Malakar, the nodal officer for COVID-19 prevention.
The woman had come to Indore from Bhopal to board the flight for Dubai, he said.
Update| India will have a vaccine capacity of 28 crore doses this month. 22 crore Covishield and 6 crore Covaxin; 60 lakh ZyCoV-D doses are also ready: Government Sources
Coronavirus India Updates: Over 97.79 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses provided to states, UTs: Centre
More than 97.79 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
Over 8.43 crore balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered, it said.
The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to states and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain, the ministry said.
More than 97.79 crore vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category, the ministry said.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Centre has been supporting the states and UTs by providing them COVID-19 vaccines free of cost.
US to open land borders to vaccinated travelers in 'early November': senior official
The United States will open its land borders with Mexico and Canada in "early November" to non-essential travelers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, a senior White House official announced Tuesday.
The official said the administration would give the "precise date very soon" -- both for the land crossings as well as international trips by plane, which the official said would be timed to "go together."
The US already announced in September that it would lift bans in November on all vaccinated air passengers who undergo testing and contact tracing.
Coronavirus India Updates: 1 new COVID-19 case in Andamans, tally rises to 7,635
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 7,635 on Wednesday as one more person tested positive for the infection, a health official said.
The Union territory now has eight active cases, while 7,498 people have recovered from the disease so far, including three in the last 24 hours, and 129 patients have succumbed to the infection to date.
The administration has tested over 5.72 lakh samples for COVID-19, and inoculated over 2.91 lakh people, of whom 1.68 lakh have been fully vaccinated, he added.
Just In|15,823 fresh coronavirus cases in India in last 24 hours, 10.5% higher than yesterday
Over 13 lakh COVID-19 tests conducted in India in last 24 hoursAs many as 13,25,399 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, informed the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday.
As per information shared by the research body, the total samples tested for the presence of the COVID-19 virus mounted to 58,63,63,442.
Meanwhile, India on Tuesday reported 14,313 new COVID-19 cases with over 11 lakh tests conducted across the country.
Update| 58,63,63,442 samples tested for COVID-19 up to 12th October 2021. Of these, 13,25,399 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Coronavirus India Updates: Thane logs 201 new COVID-19 cases, 5 deaths
With the addition of 201 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 5,62,301, an official said on Wednesday.
Besides these new cases reported on Tuesday, the virus also claimed the lives of five more persons, which pushed the death toll in the district to 11,440, he said.
The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.03 per cent, he added.
In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,37,250, while the death toll stands at 3,278, another official said.
Covaxin Shot Recommended For Children In India An expert panel on Tuesday recommended Covaxin - Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine - for use on children between the ages of two and 18.
"Bharat Biotech has submitted data from clinical trials in the two - 18 age group for Covaxin to CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation). The data has been thoroughly reviewed by the Subject Expert Committee (SEC)... provided positive recommendations," the Hyderabad-based company said.
"This represents one of the first approvals worldwide for COVID-19 vaccines for the two - 18 age group... We now await further regulatory approvals prior to product launch and market availability of Covaxin for Children," the company said.
"We (always) said we will get a vaccine for children between two and 18... it will be approved soon. SEC has recommended... it will be approved soon... trials were conducted keeping in mind safety of children. We are committed to their safety," junior Health Minister Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar told NDTV.
Gujarat Records 22 COVID-19 Cases, No Death
Gujarat reported 22 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking its case tally to 8,26,184, while the deaths remained unchanged at 10,086, an official said.
The discharge of 19 people during the day increased the recovery count to 8,15,909, leaving the state with 189 patients, five of whom are in critical condition, he said.
Delhi Reports 34 New COVID-19 Cases on Tuesday Delhi reported 34 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. According to the health bulletin, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital has gone up to 14,39,252 of which 14,13,798 have recovered. There are 365 active cases of COVID-19 in the city.