India has achieved the landmark of administering over 12 crore doses of Covid vaccine to the beneficiaries so far. Union Health Ministry said that more than 30 lakh four thousand doses were given to the beneficiaries in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said, two lakh 34 thousand 692 new cases have been reported in the country in the past 24 hours taking the cumulative positive cases to over one crore 45 lakh. One thousand 341 deaths have also been reported taking the toll to over one lakh 75 thousand across the country so far.

The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate has reached to 87.23 per cent with the total recovery of more than one lakh 23 thousand patients in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said over one crore 26 lakh patients have already been recovered from this disease. Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is over 16 lakh 79 thousand which comprises only 11.56 per cent of the total positive cases.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that various laboratories have conducted more than 14 lakh 95 thousand tests of corona virus samples during the last 24 hours. and more than 26 crore 49 lakh tests have been conducted in the country so far.

Indian Railways has given in-principle approval to transport Liquid Medical Oxygen container trucks on Roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) basis. In a first of its kind operation approved by the Railway Ministry, the Indian Railways will soon carry cryogenic tanker trucks loaded with Liquid Medical Oxygen from one part of the country to another.

The decision has been taken by the Railway Ministry in view of request received from Maharashtra government for transportation of liquid oxygen into the state. The Railways have said that through this mechanism a significant amount of transportation cost and crucial time can be saved while delivering Medical Oxygen to Health care facilities, specially in view of surge in COVID cases.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a comprehensive review to ensure adequate supply of medical oxygen in the country. Mr. Modi has asserted that it is important to ensure synergy across Ministries and state governments to maintain the adequate supply of oxygen. He has directed to increase production of medical oxygen to fulfill the growing demands.

The Prime Minister took a detailed review of present situation of medical oxygen supply and its estimated demands in the 12 States which are witnessing rapid rise in the corona virus cases. An overview of district-level situation in these states was presented to him. He was informed that the Centre and States are in regular touch and estimates for projected demand have been shared with the states. He was informed that four thousand 880 metric tonnes of medical oxygen have been allocated to these 12 high burden states for meeting their projected demand as on 20th April of this month.

Additionally, five thousand 619 metric tonnes of medical oxygen have been allocated for the projected demand as on 25th April and six thousand 593 metric tonnes for the estimated demand as on 30th April of this month. The Prime Minister was informed that the surplus stocks of oxygen available with steel plants are being offered from medical use. Mr Modi suggested the officials to ensure seamless and free movement of tankers carrying oxygen throughout the country.

The government is allowing industrial cylinders to be used for medical oxygen after due purging. Prime Minister was also informed about the efforts being made to import medical-grade oxygen. 

In view of rising cases of COVID-19, Election Commission has curtailed the campaign timing for the remaining three phases of West Bengal assembly elections. It has extended the silence period from 48 hours to 72 hours. The Commission has also banned campaigning from 7 PM to 10 AM. The poll body in its order has taken a serious view against the repeated violations of Covid-19 norms by political leaders, campaigners and candidates.

Meanwhile, nearly 7 thousand new covid cases have been reported in West Bengal, the day before the fifth phase of assembly elections.  Total cases of Covid rose to 6 lakh 36 thousand 885 and 26 people have lost their lives due to Covid in the past 24 hours in the state. The state government has decided to increase the number of beds for Covid patients by 20percent in government and 25percent in private hospitals.

In the poll-bound West Bengal, polling for the Fifth Phase of Assembly Elections is progressing smoothly. The polling, which begat at 7.00 A.M., will be conducted till 6.30 P.M. in the 45 Assembly Constituencies spread over six districts going to polls today.

The state is witnessing eight-phase elections. Polling is also being held simultaneously for the By-Elections of two Lok Sabha seats including Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and Belgaum in Karnataka along with 12 Assembly Constituencies spread over nine states. The average voter turnout registered till 11.30 am in different states.

Peaceful polling is on in Darjeeling district. Senior officials confirmed that no untoward incident has been reported so far. A  total of 104 candidates including 12 women are in the fray in the  3 districts of North Bengal in this phase.The districts are – Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri.

Over 18 lakh voters can exercise their voting rights at Jalpaiguri district while Kalimpong has 1.75 lakh voters. Over 12 lakh voters could vote at Darjeeling district. There are a total of 1 thousand 719 polling booths at Darjeeling district. 481 micro observers have  been deployed at Darjeeling district.Nearly 900 booths have been covered by web casting facilities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the people to vote in large numbers in today’s fifth phase of West Bengal elections. He said the first time voters in particular should exercise their franchise. Mr Modi added that there are by-polls taking place in different parts of the country and asked voters in the seats to vote in record numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy.

All the necessary facilities and security arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polling during this phase. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is being used along with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at every Polling Station, with a view to enhance the transparency and credibility of the election process and the availability of adequate number of EVMs and VVPATs has already been ensured for the smooth conduct of elections.

In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the option of Postal Ballot facility has been extended to the electors who are COVID- 19 positive or suspect as certified by competent authority and are in home or institutional quarantine along with those marked as Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and above the age of 80 years. It has also been ensured that every Polling Station is equipped with Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) like drinking water, waiting shed, toilet with water facility, adequate arrangements for lighting, ramp of appropriate gradient for the   Persons with Disabilities.

The special facilities include mandatory sanitization of Polling Station, thermal checking of voters at entry point either by polling staff or paramedical staff or an Asha worker. If temperature is above the set norms of Health Ministry, then the elector will be provided with token and asked to come for voting at the last hour of poll. At the last hour of poll, such electors will be facilitated for voting, strictly following COVID-19 related preventive measures.        

The Commission has deployed 853 companies of Central Armed Police Forces in West Bengal for the Fifth Phase as compared to that in the previous phase. In the previous phase, 789 companies were deployed for 44 Assembly constituencies. The Election Commission sources said that out of these, 283 companies are deployed only in 24 Parganas district. It is intended to prevent recurrence of any untoward incident like Cooch Behar.

In West Bengal, the polling process is already over in respect of 135 out of total 294 Assembly seats in the earlier four phases. The state is witnessing eight-phase elections. During the Fifth Phase of State Assembly Elections, total 319 candidates including 39 women are vying for the 45 Assembly seats spread over six districts.

In West Bengal, total 319 candidates including 39 women are vying for the 45 Assembly seats during the Fifth Phase of State Assembly Elections. Over 1.13 crore voters including 56.11 lakh women and 224 Third Gender persons will decide the fate of these candidates.

In all, 15,789 Polling Stations have been set up for this purpose. Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting for all the 45 seats while ruling AITC is contesting 42 seats. Congress, Left parties and their alliance partner Indian Secular Front are fighting under the banner of Sanyukta Morcha. BSP has fielded 32 candidates, CPI (M) has 25, Congress – 11, AIFB – two, RSP, NPP and CPI one each while there are 83 independents along with 76 others are also in the fray.

The prominent candidates participating in this phase include State Ministers Goutam Deb from Dabgram-Fulbari, Tapas Roy from Baranagar, Bratya Basu from Dumdum and Siddiqullah Chowdhury from Monteswar along with Sujit Bose and former Mayor and BJP candidate Sabyasachi Dutta from Bidhanagar seat.

AITC Chief Whip Nirmal Ghosh from Panihati, Former Ministers Madan Mitra from Kamarhati, Bankim Chandra Ghosh from Chakdaha and Asoke Bhattachrya from Siliguri, Congress leader Sukhbilash Berma from Jalpaiguri, BJP leader Shamik Bhattachrya and singer and AITC candidate Aditi Munshi from Rajarhat-Gopalpur are also in the fray.

Besides, sitting BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar from Shantipur, former MP Dr. Tapas Mondal from Krishnaganj and former CPI (M) MP Alakesh Das from Haringhata along with actor Chiranjeet Chakrobarty from Barasat are also trying their luck.

Polling is also being held simultaneously for the By-Elections of two Lok Sabha seats including Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and Belgaum in Karnataka along with 12 Assembly Constituencies spread over nine states. The ACs going in for the By-Polls include three in Rajasthan, two in Karnataka and one each in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Telangana and Uttarakhand. There are 151 candidates in the fray for 12 Assembly seats indicating largely multi-cornered contests.

Polling is going on peacefully amid tight security for 32 seats of three districts in South Bengal in this phase. Polling has began at 7am this morning for 16 seats of North 24 Parganas and 8seats each of Nadia and Purba Bardhaman. Voters have been standing in long queues since early morning, hours before the polling started, to cast their votes.

In wake of the surge in Covid cases throughout West Bengal, particularly in North 24parganas, wearing masks and maintaining safe distancing along with other covid protocols are being scrupulously followed in all the booths.

Indian Ambassador to Russia, Bala Venkatesh Varma has said that the first batch of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V will be delivered to India in April. Venkatesh said that the volume of vaccine production in India will be gradually increasing and may exceed 50 million doses per month.
 
Russian Deputy Envoy to India Roman Babushkin had on Wednesday said that Sputnik vaccine emergency use approval by India will open up a new dimension in the special partnership. Russia’s Sputnik V got approval from the Subject expert committee (SEC) for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA), making it the third COVID-19 vaccine to get clearance in India. India has become the 60th country to authorise the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus. The vaccine is now approved in countries with a total population of 3 billion, or 40 per cent of the world’s population.

In Odisha, all urban areas will be under night curfew from tomorrow.While the ten border districts will face night curfew from 6 in the evening to 5 in the morning, urban centres of the rest twenty districts will have curfew from 9 pm to 5 am. The increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the state has necessitated the government to extend the night curfew to all the Municipal and NAC areas of the state besides imposing weekend shut downs in the ten border districts. AIR correspondent reports that in a series of steps to upend the viral growth in the state that has reported about 3,000 positive cases in the last 24 hours only, the state government has put a ban on all sorts of congregations across the state. Besides, people entering Odisha will now have to produce RT PCR negative report obtained within 72 hours of entry or a final dose vaccination certificate to avoid 7 days’ home or institutional isolation.
 
Collectors have been asked to increase the number of rapid response teams to monitor home isolation cases in their respective districts and to involve the Panchayati Raj Institutions to contain the virus in rural areas. Meanwhile, the state administered a little over 154000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the eligible beneficiaries amid a significant surge in its active caseload that now stands at 14621.

Amidst the rapidly surging Covid crisis, Chhattisgarh Government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). AIR correspondent reports that Chhattisgarh government has issued an order invoking the ESMA after taking stock of the Covid situation,. According to an order issued by the state home department, now the refusal to work in essential services has been prohibited.  This order will be applicable on doctors, nurses and other health workers in all government and private health institutions as well as on workers involved in sanitation.
 
Refusal for work in sale, manufacturing and transportation of medical equipment, medicines and drugs, operation of ambulance services, water and power supply services will also be prohibited. Meanwhile, 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.

Centre has asked states and Union Territories to undertake publicity and awareness activity and sensitize the public at large to address their concerns to mitigate panic buying of essential supplies. They have also been asked to set up a helpline for consumers to enable them to register for redressal by the public authorities on issues of maintaining essential supplies. In a letter to principal Secretaries of all the States and UTs,  Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution directed  to constitute joint teams of food and civil supplies, legal metrology, food safety, health and police for effective surveillance and enforcement activities to avoid a situation of demand supply mismatch, hoarding and exorbitant pricing of essential supplies.
 
The states have also been asked to keep operations of grocery stores, pharmacists and grocery warehouses outside the restrictions to ensure smooth supply in the wake of the prevailing COVID19 situation.  They have been told to ensure that prices of all essential supplies are not increased and are available at fair prices unless necessitated by cost enhancement due to raw material costs.

Union Health Ministry has said that 100 new Hospitals in the country will have their own Oxygen plant under Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. The decision was taken at a meeting of Empowered Group 2 (EG2) which was held yesterday to review the availability of essential medical equipment and oxygen during COVID.
 
The Ministry said, Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants manufacture oxygen and help hospitals become self-sufficient in their requirement for medical oxygen. It said, 162 PSA plants sanctioned under PM-CARES are being closely reviewed for early completion of 100 percent of the plants to enhance self-generation of oxygen in hospitals especially in remote areas. The Empowered Group 2 has directed the Health Ministry to identify 100 hospitals in far flung locations for consideration of sanction for installation of PSA plants.
 
The Health Ministry in a statement said that Medical oxygen is a critical component in the treatment of COVID affected patients and there has been increasing demand for medical oxygen, especially from the 12 states with high burden of active COVID cases. These States are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The Ministry added that sources of medical oxygen and their production capacity was mapped to match the requirement of states and an indicative framework has been developed to guide the states.
 
It said, accordingly, 4 thousand 880 Metri Tonnes, 5 thousand 619 Metric Tonnes and 6 thousand 593 Metric Tonnes have been indicated to these 12 states for meeting their projected demand as on 20th April, 25th April and 30th April.  AIR correspondent reports that, in view of increasing demand for medical oxygen, the Empowered Group has also decided to float a tender for import of 50 thousand Metric Tonnes of medical oxygen. The Health Ministry has been directed to finalise the tender. It has also been asked  to explore possible sources for import identified by the missions of Ministry of External Affairs. The Empowered Group 2 is monitoring the situation of demand and supply of medical oxygen continuously to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to support the uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen.

The Delhi government has stepped up its efforts to deal with the unprecedented rise in Covid-19 cases in the national capital. The Delhi government has imposed weekend curfew in the Capital city which will begin at 10 PM this Friday and will last till 6 AM Monday morning.

Briefing media in the capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today informed that Malls, Gymnasiums, Spas will remain completely closed in the city whereas Cinema Halls have been directed to function at 30 per cent of their capacity. He also assured the citizens that the situation in the city is under control and urged people not to insist for admission into any particular hospital during this time of pandemic.  

The Delhi government has also directed hospitals to increase the number of beds designated for covid patients. The Chief Minister today reviewed the Covid situation in a meeting with the lieutenant governor of Delhi and Health Minister. AIR correspondent reports, The rapid rise in Covid -19 cases has prompted the Delhi government to further intensify its efforts to curb the spread of the infectious disease.  

Delhi government has decided to impose weekend curfew in the national capital. Curfew passes will be given to people working under essential services and to other people for special needs.

Following today’s meeting, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that more than 5000 hospital beds are still available in the capital. Moreover, hospitals have been instructed to futher increase the bed capacities for covid patients by attaching nearby banquet halls and hotels.

Corona cases are increasing rapidly in the country. The rapid rise in the Covid-19 cases has increased the active caseloads in the several States and Union Territories. As a result, the recovery rate is continuously declining in India. However, the vaccination drive is progressing smoothly in the various parts of the country.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has informed today that over eleven crore forty four lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered to the beneficiaries so far. In the 24 hours, over 33 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been inoculated to the beneficiaries.

The Ministry further informed that a record number of over two lakh new cases have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours. With this, cumulative positive cases crossed one crore forty lakh mark. This is the first time when the country has registered over two lakh new cases in a single day since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has said, there are more than fourteen lakh seventy one thousand active cases in the country which comprises 10.45 per cent of the total positive cases. In the last 24 hours, a total of one thousand thirty-eight deaths have been reported in the country taking the toll to over one lakh seventy-three thousand across the country.

Amid the rising new cases, the recovery rate has further declined to 88.31 per cent. The Ministry informed that more than 93 thousand people have recovered from the coronavirus infection within 24 hours. So far, more than one crore twenty-four lakh patients have already been recovered from this infectious disease in the country.