New Delhi:
India’s coronavirus crisis showed scant sign of easing on Tuesday, with a seven-day average of new cases at a record high and international health authorities warning the country’s variant of the virus poses a global concern.
India’s daily coronavirus cases rose by 329,942, while deaths from the disease rose by 3,876, according to the health ministry. India’s total coronavirus infections are now at 22.99 million, while total fatalities rose to 249,992.
For the first time in two months, the total number of people who recovered from COVID-19 in the country exceeded the number of fresh cases, resulting in a net decline of 30,016 active cases.
India leads the world in the daily average number of new deaths reported, accounting for one in every three deaths reported worldwide each day, according to a Reuters tally.
The seven-day average of new cases is at a record high of 390,995.
The World Health Organization said the coronavirus variant first identified in the country last year was being classified as a variant of global concern, with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily.
“We are classifying this as a variant of concern at a global level,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, told a briefing in Geneva on Monday. “There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility.”
Nations around the globe have sent oxygen cylinders and other medical gear to support India's crisis, but many hospitals around the nation are struggling with a shortage of the life-saving equipment.
Over 17.27 crore people have been vaccinated in the country so far. A total of 17,27,10,066 vaccine doses have been administered through 25,15,519 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.
Ten states account for 72.28 per cent of the new recoveries. These include Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat. The National Mortality Rate currently stands at 1.09 per cent. 3,876 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
Ten States account for 73.09 per cent, with Karnataka topping the list with 596 deaths, followed by Maharashtra with 549.
Central government on Tuesday reviewed progress of Covid vaccination with states/UTs and asked them to prioritise second dose.
Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary and R S Sharma, Chairman of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to combat COVID-19 and NEGVAC member reviewed the status of Covid vaccination with Health Secretaries and NHM MDs of states and UTs, through a video conference.
Amid a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine does, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to divert three lakh vials of Covaxin meant for the 18-44 age group for the use of the people aged 45 years and above.
Speaking to reporters, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope also said more than five lakh people above 45 years are awaiting the second dose for the want of the vaccine.
"Efficacy of the vaccine is largely affected if the second dose is not administered in a stipulated time. To avoid such health crisis, the state government has decided to divert three lakh vials (of Covaxin) purchased for the 18-44 age category for the people above 45 years," Tope said.
Eleven people died late on Monday in a government hospital in Tirupati, a city in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, due to a delay in the arrival of a tanker carrying oxygen, a government official said.
"There were issues with oxygen pressure due to low availability. It all happened within a span of five minutes," said M Harinarayan, the district's top bureaucrat said late on Monday, adding the SVR Ruia hospital now had sufficient oxygen.
Sixteen faculty members and a number of retired teachers and employees who had been living on the campus of Aligarh Muslim University, one of India's most prestigious, had died of coronavirus, the university said.
Adding to the strain on medical facilities, the Indian government has told doctors to look out for signs of mucormycosis or "black fungus" in COVID-19 patients as hospitals report a rise in cases of the rare but potentially fatal infection.