Heena Sharma Blog

  The Maharashtra government has once again slashed the price of the RT-PCR test at Mumbai airport. In the beginning, the price was Rs 4,500. Then it was cut down to Rs 3,900. And now it is slashed to Rs 1,975, said a press release. Today the notification regarding the same will be issued and airport authorities will be informed. Before this, Mumbai airport had the highest RT-PCR rates and this was burning a hole in the wallets of the passengers. Especially those passengers who were from the same group or family. Meanwhile, Maharashtra reported 684 new Covid-19 cases, 686 recoveries, and 24 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the state health bulletin on Tuesday. 8 more patients were found infected with Omicron in the state on Tuesday. Out of these 7 are from Mumbai and one patient is from Vasai Virar. Read More

  India's coronavirus tally rose to 3,46,97,860 with 7,350 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the number of active cases declined to 91,456, the lowest in 561 days, the Union Health Ministry data showed on Monday. The death toll from the pandemic has climbed to 4,75,636 with 202 new fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 46 days now. The number of active cases has declined to 91,456, comprising 0.26 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.37 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the Health Ministry said. A decline of 825 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours. Read More

  Amid the scare from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said there is need to take a decision at the national level on whether a booster dose of the vaccine is required to curb the pandemic. Speaking after paying tribute to legendary social reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar here, he said information available showed that those who had taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had also got infected with the Omicron variant. Is booster dose required then? We have doses available today. There is a need to take a decision at the national level in this regard I think. There are different opinions about it. So, it should be told why it needs to be given or why it shouldn't. Only experts who have researched it (the infection) can talk about it," Pawar said. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the state administration are keeping a close tab on the current situation, the senior NCP leader said. Read More

  As many as 12 patients suspected to be infected with the COVID-19 ' Omicron ' variant have been admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital in Delhi so far, said the sources on Friday. As per the sources, eight Omicron suspects were admitted to LNJP hospital yesterday. "Four suspects have been admitted today, out of which, two have been tested COVID-19 positive while the test results for the other two are awaited," stated sources. Of these four suspects, two have come from the UK, one from France and one from the Netherlands, sources added. Further, they informed that the samples of all four patients will be sent for genome sequencing today. Earlier on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry informed that two cases of the potentially more dangerous coronavirus strain were detected in Karnataka. Read More

  Zydus Cadila's COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D will initially be used in seven states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, which have been recommended to identify the districts with a high number of of beneficiaries who have not received a single dose of a Covid vaccine for its introduction Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, who reviewed the status and progress of the "Har Ghar Dastak" campaign with the health secretaries and National Health Mission (NHM) directors of the states and Union territories through a video-conference on Thursday, advised the seven states to identify the districts with a high number of first dose left out for the introduction of ZyCoV-D, a statement issued by the health ministry said. The seven states are Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. ZyCov-D, which is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be cleared by India's drug regulator for those aged 12 years and above, w

  The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the B.1.1.529 lineage of Sars-CoV-2, thought to have emerged in southern Africa, is to be designated as a variant of concern (VoC) named omicron . This decision has already precipitated a broad shift in priorities in pandemic management on a global scale. The WHO has recommended, among other things, increased surveillance, particularly virus genome sequencing; focused research to understand the dangers posed by this variant; and ramping up mitigation measures, such as mandatory mask wearing. Greater restrictions on international travel have already come into force in the UK and many other countries. Indeed, Japan has closed its borders to all foreign visitors. The speed with which the omicron variant was designated a VoC was dizzying. A little over two weeks passed since the first known infections in Botswana and South Africa. Contrast this with the delta variant that is currently dominant in Europe and many other parts of t

  The World Health Organization is opening a long-planned special session of member states to discuss ways to strengthen the global fight against pandemics like the coronavirus, just as the worrying new omicron variant has sparked immediate concerns worldwide. In the wake of diplomatic wrangling, a draft resolution at the special World Health Assembly stops short of calling for work toward specifically establishing a pandemic treaty" or legally binding instrument sought by some, which could beef up the international response when not if a new pandemic erupts. European Union member states and others had sought language calling for work toward a treaty, but the United States and a few other countries countered that the substance of any accord should be worked out first before any such document is given a name. A treaty would suggest a legally binding agreement that would require ratification and would likely incur domestic political haggling in some countries. Read More

  India reported 7,579 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the smallest rise in one-and-a-half-years despite huge festival gatherings in recent weeks, thanks to rising vaccinations and antibodies from prior infections. The country of 1.35 billion celebrated Durga Puja in October and Diwali this month, during which millions of people shopped, travelled and met family, mostly without masks. Mask-wearing is nearly non-existent outside the big cities. "Even after Diwali, we are not seeing a surge," said M.D. Gupte, a former director of the state-run National Institute of Epidemiology, attributing it mainly to the presence of antibodies in a huge majority of Indians through natural infection. "I think we are much safer now." Government surveys have estimated that nearly 70% of Indians had been naturally infected by July, following a record rise in infections and deaths in April and May. Read More

  India recorded 8,488 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 538 days, taking the country's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,45,18,901, while the active cases declined to 1,18,443, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll climbed to 4,65,911 with 249 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 45 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 148 consecutive days now. The active cases comprise 0.34 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.31 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. A decrease of 4,271 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. Read More

  India reported 11,106 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday. With this, India's active caseload stands at 1,26,620. The active cases now account for less than 1 per cent of total cases, currently at 0.37 per cent, the lowest since March 2020. With 12,789 people recovering in the last 24 hours, the recovery tally has gone up to 3,38,97,921. The recovery rate is currently at 98.28 per cent, the highest since March 2020. The country also reported 459 deaths in a day. As per the health ministry, the daily positivity rate stands at 0.98 per cent. It has remained below 2 per cent for the last 46 days while the weekly positivity rate is at 0.92 per cent, less than 2 per cent for the last 56 days. India has tested 62.93 crore samples for Covid-19 so far. More than 115.23 crore vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive. Read More

  With 11,919 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 3,44,78,517, while the number of active cases has gone up to 1,28,762, the Union health ministry said on Thursday. The death toll due to the viral disease has shot up to 4,64,623 with 470 more fatalities, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in the number of coronavirus cases has been below 20,000 for 41 straight days now and less than 50,000 fresh cases have been reported for 144 consecutive days. The number of active cases of the infection has gone up to 1,28,762, accounting for 0.37 per cent of the total caseload, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.28 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. An increase of 207 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it added. Read More

  India reported 10,197 fresh Covid cases and 301 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family welfare on Wednesday morning. With the addition of 301 new deaths, the total deaths toll has climbed 4,64,153. The recovery of 12,134 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,38,73,890. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 98.28 per cent, highest since March 2020. The active caseload stands at 1,28,555, lowest in last 527 days. Active cases presently constitute 0.37 per cent of the country's total positive cases, the lowest since March 2020. Also in the same period, a total of 12,42,177 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 62.70 crore cumulative tests. Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate at 0.96 per cent has remained less than 2 per cent for the last 54 days now. Read More

  India's Covid tally rose to 3,44,47,536 with 10,229 more people testing positive for coronavirus , while the active cases have declined to 1,34,096, the lowest in 523 days, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Monday. The death toll reached 4,63,655 after 125 new fatalities were reported, the data updated at 8 am showed. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 38 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 141 consecutive days now. The active cases have declined to 1,34, 096 comprising 0.39 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.26 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the Health Ministry said. A decrease of 1,822 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.12 per cent. It has been less than 2 per cent for the last 42 days.

  India recorded a single-day rise of 12,516 COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the country's tally of infections to 3,44,14,186, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Meanwhile, the count of active cases in the country has declined to 1,37,416, which is the lowest in 267 days. The daily rise in new COVID-19 infections has been below 50,000 for 138 days. The tally of active cases has declined to 1,37,416, which comprises 0.40 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020. The national COVID-19 recovery rate is at 98.26 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. The country also recorded 13,155 recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the total number total recoveries in the country to 3,38,14,080. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.07 per cent. This has been less than 2 per cent for 39 days, the ministry said. The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 4,62,690, with 501 more fatalities in the last 24 hours. The f

  India reported 13,091 fresh COVID-19 cases and 340 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Thursday. Of this, Kerala reported 7,540 new COVID-19 cases and 211 fatalities. The total cases reported in the country so far mounted to 3,44,01,670 with the active caseload standing at 1,38,556, which is the lowest in 266 days. Active cases account for less than one per cent of the total cases. Further, 13,878 recoveries were reported during the past 24 hours thereby mounting the recovery tally to 3,38,00,925. With this, the recovery rate currently stands at 98.25 per cent which is the highest since March 2020. The daily positivity rate stands at 1.10 per cent which is less than two per cent for the last 38 days. The weekly positivity rate stood at 1.18 per cent and has been less than two per cent for the last 48 days. Read More

  India could resume deliveries of COVID-19 shots to global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX in a few weeks for the first time since April, two health industry sources said, ending a suspension of supplies that has hurt 8 poor countries. The World Health Organization (WHO), which co-leads COVAX, has been urging India to restart supplies for the programme, especially after it sent about 4 million doses to its neighbours and partners in October. Based on an informal approval from India, COVAX officials have started planning allocations of the Covishield shot for various countries, said one of the sources, both of whom declining to be identified pending a final agreement. Covishield is a licensed version of the AstraZeneca shot made by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker. SII has nearly quadrupled its output of Covishield to up to 240 million doses a month since April, when India stopped all exports in order to inoculate its own people during

  India logged 10,126 new coronavirus infections , the lowest in 266 days, while the active cases dipped to 1,40,638, the lowest in 263 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. With the fresh cases, the country's total tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 3,43,77,113. The death toll climbed to 4,61,389 with 332 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 32 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 135 consecutive days now. The active cases settled at 1,40,638 comprising 0.41 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.25 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. A decrease of 2,188 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. Read More

  Assam reported 270 fresh COVID-19 cases and seven fatalities in the last 24 hours, informed the state health department on Tuesday. As per the state health bulletin, with the addition of the new cases, the active caseload in the state stands at 2,385. With 159 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries mounted to 6,01,468. As many as 6,11,211 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state so far and the death toll in the state stands at 6,011. The daily positivity rate stood at 0.75 per cent. The recovery rate is 98.41 per cent while the case fatality rate is 0.98 per cent. A total of 2,47,90,707 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the state so far including 36,201 tests conducted in the last 24 hours. Read More

  India added 10,423 new coronavirus cases , the lowest in 259 days, while the active cases declined to 1,53,776, the lowest in 250 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. With the fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 3,42,96,237. The death toll climbed to 4,58,880 with 443 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 25 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 128 consecutive days now. The active cases comprise 0.45 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.21 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. A decline of 5,041 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.03 per cent. It has been less than two per cent for last 29 days. The weekly po

  With 14,348 people testing positive for coronavirus in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,42,46,157, while the active cases were recorded at 1,61,334, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 4,57,191 with 805 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 30,000 for 35 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 124 consecutive days now. The active cases comprise 0.47 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.19 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 345 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. 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