Latest News Live Updates: Three New COVID-19 Variants Reported In India, Says Government
As on March 4, a total 242 samples have tested positive for different variants in India: Ashwini Choubey
New Delhi:
Three new variants of COVID-19, from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, have been reported so far in India, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
As on March 4, 2021, a total 242 samples have tested positive for different variants in India, Mr Choubey said in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha query regarding the total number of people who have been infected with the new strains.
On whether the people who have been infected once could get re infected by the new virus strain, Mr Choubey said as per World Health Organization, in the three countries where the pandemic is being driven by the variant mutants of SARS-CoV-2 virus, namely United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, the South African and Brazilian variants have the potential to reinfect persons who have been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.
The government has provided 5.86 crore doses of “Made in India” COVID-19 vaccines to 71 countries as grant as well as commercial sales by manufacturers and as part of international agreements of manufacturers till March 15, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
External supplies are being undertaken with due regard to domestic production, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a written reply. “Priority is accorded to utilisation of doses within the country and ensuring adequate availability for the national vaccination programme,” he said.
Here are the Latest News Live Updates:
Over 38,000 beneficiaries, including 19,007 senior citizens, received Covid vaccine shots in the national capital on Tuesday, according to official data, reported news agency PTI.
The number of beneficiaries to get the jabs includes 3,223 people in the age group of 45-59 years, a senior official said.
On Friday, 30,575 people were vaccinated in the city, on Saturday, the count was 39,853, and on Monday, it was 39,742, data released by the health department showed.
On Tuesday, 38,437 people received COVID-19 vaccine shots, the official said.
In an order with far-reaching implications, the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf has issued a circular to all the mosques and dargahs (mausoleums) in the state not to use loudspeakers between 10 pm and 6 am, saying the ambient noise level around these structures has “deleterious effects on human health and the psychological well-being of people”.
In the circular dated March 9, the board said, “The loudspeakers shall not be used at night time, which shall mean from 10 pm to 6 am.”
Further underlining the “silence zones”, the circular said any violation will be liable for penalty.
“The areas comprising not less than 100 metres around hospitals, educational institutions and courts are declared as silence zones.
“Whoever uses sound amplifier or burst sound-emitting firecrackers, uses a loudspeaker or public address system in a silence zone is liable for penalty under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act-1986,” the circular read.
To contain the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat government on Tuesday decided to implement a night curfew in “four metros” Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot.
“The four cities will be observing night curfew between 10 pm and 6 am starting March 17. This will continue till March 31,” a statement issued by the state government read.
“The pre-night curfew system will be maintained in these four metros till 16 March from 12 am to 6 am,” it said.
A 33-year-old man, currently admitted at LNJP Hospital here, has become the first confirmed case of COVID-19 caused by the South Africa variant of the novel coronavirus in Delhi, sources said on Tuesday.
He was brought to the hospital about a week ago, and has been kept isolated in a separate unit, a source said.
The LNJP Hospital had earlier also admitted people who had been found positive for UK strain of COVID-19, and after their treatment about two such patients had remained till February end, a senior doctor had earlier said.
