Coronavirus Vaccine Registration, Covid-19 India Latest Update, Coronavirus Cases in India Today News, October 20 Live Updates: India registers 14,623 new Covid-19 cases, 197 deaths; Active cases lowest in 229 days; Kerala top contributor; As India nears 100-crore vaccination mark, Centre says over 10.78 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses still available with states/UTs
India is racing towards the 100-crore mark in Covid-19 vaccination. The country has so far (till Tuesday) administered more than 99 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to Union Health Ministry’s data. In fact, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros lauded the “mammoth efforts” undertaken by the Indian government for vaccination against Covid-19, informed Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.”Had a detailed interaction with DG WHO @DrTedros, accompanied by other senior officials of @WHO, on various issues related to health, including pandemic management and WHO reforms. DG WHO lauded the mammoth efforts undertaken by the Indian government for #COVID19 vaccination,” Mandaviya said in a tweet. With adequate vaccine supply, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday urged states/UTs to focus on increasing the coverage of the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, in a positive sign in the fight against Covid-19, India’s R-value, which reflects how rapidly the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading, remained below 1 since September despite the festive rush. The country’s R-value, calculated between September 25 and October 18, was 0.90. This suggests the rate of Coronavirus infection is declining, say researchers. According to researchers of the Chennai-based Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the R-value of the top 10 states with the most number of active cases was below 1 till October 18.
However, a few cities continue to show an increase in active Covid-19 cases. According to data, Kolkata has an R-value over 1; this might be due to the mass gatherings during the recently-concluded Durga Puja in the city. Bengaluru also has an R-value of over 1 (it has been so ever since mid-September), while the R-values of Chennai, Pune, and Mumbai are just below 1. The Covid Task Force in Maharashtra has cautioned about a third wave of the pandemic after Diwali. Any laxity in adhering to Covid protocols during festivals might trigger a spike in Coronavirus virus infections, warned health experts.
India has been reporting below 20,000 new Covid-19 cases for the past few days. India added 14,623 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking its overall Covid-19 tally to 3,41,08,996, while the active cases declined to 1,78,098, the lowest in 229 days, according to data from the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday. With 197 fresh fatalities, the Covid-19 death toll increased to 4,52,651, the health ministry said. India has been witnessing a daily rise of Covid-19 cases below 30,000 for 26 days in a row and less than 50,000 cases for the past 115 consecutive days. The active cases now account for 0.52% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate improved to 98.15%, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said. All these numbers are indicating that the virus is shrinking. What we need to do now is to follow appropriate Covid behaviours, and take vaccines to avoid the next wave of Coronavirus infection.
