Highlights: BMC to transfer 580 Covid patients due to cyclone Tauktae

Chhattisgarh recorded 7,664 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, pushing the total number of cases to 9,07,589. 129 fatalities were also reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll now stands at 11,590, said the state health bulletin.

Tamil Nadu government floated global tender for Covid-19 vaccines on Saturday, reported PTI. The state government sought delivery within 180 days from the date of purchase order for 3.5 crore doses of Covid-19.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said 580 Covid patients will be transferred from jumbo centres across Mumbai to other hospitals as a precautionary measure as cyclone Tauktae approaches, reported ANI.

Uttar Pradesh recorded 12,547 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, taking the state-wide tally of cases to 16,09,140. 281 deaths and 28,404 recoveries were also recorded in the last 24 hours, reported ANI.

Maharashtra recorded 34,848 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking the state-wide tally to 53,44,063. 960 deaths were also recorded in the last 24 hours, the death toll now stands at 80,512.

Tamil Nadu recorded 33,658 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, pushing the tally to 15,65,035. 303 deaths were also recorded in the last 24 hours, the state-wide death toll now stands at 17,359, reported ANI.

Andhra Pradesh recorded 22,517 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking the total tally to 14,11,320. 98 deaths were also recorded in the last 24 hours, the death toll now stands at 9,271, reported ANI.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) said no one will be denied access to benefits because of not having an Aadhar card, reported news agency ANI.

Portugal has announced that tourists from the UK and EU countries with low Covid-19 infection rate will be granted entry if they can produce a negative Covid-19 test report, said Reuters.

Medical Director of LNJP Hospital, New Delhi, Dr Suresh Kumar told news agency ANI on Saturday that steroids should not be administered to treat Covid-19 for those with oxygen level above 90, in order to reduce the risk of contracting black fungus.

Dr VK Paul, Niti Ayog member, said on Saturday that Covaxin production in the country which is currently around 1.5 crore doses a month will be ramped up to 10 crore doses a month.

Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary, Union health ministry, said positivity rate in India has fallen to 19.8%. from 21.9% recorded last week, adding that Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Daman and Diu, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have wintessed a decline in positivity rates.

Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary, Union health ministry, said Saturday that Tamil Nadu which has been reporting a high number of active cases in the last week is a "cause of concern".

Delhi recorded 6,430 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, witnessing a decline in the daily tally for the fourth consecutive day this month. The daily tally of tests continued to fall, with just 56,811 tests conducted in the last 24 hours. 337 deaths were also reported in the national capital.

Puducherry on Saturday recorded 1,598 new Covid-19 cases and 20 more deaths, taking the caseload and death toll to 82,545 and 1,119 respectively, director of the health and family welfare department S Mohan Kumar told news agency PTI on Saturday. The active cases in the Union Territory stand at 17,228 while 64,198 patients have recovered till now, Kumar added.

The West Bengal government announced on Saturday that the state will enter into a complete lockdown from May 16-30 amid a rise in Covid-19 disease cases. Addressing a press conference, state chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said retail shops will remain open from 7am to 10am. All kinds of gatherings including cultural, administrative, political and religious will be prohibited. Schools will remain closed.

Weddings will be allowed but no more than 50 people are allowed to attend, Bandyopadhyay said. Government and private offices will be closed from tomorrow except emergency services. Read more

Chief minister Kejriwal also announced that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government will be starting an oxygen concentrator bank today adding it is essential to provide the life saving gas to the infected patients on time. "200 such banks set up in every dist. Our team will provide the concentrator at doorstep of patients in home isolation, if needed," the chief minister added.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that only 6,500 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the national capital in the last 24 hours and the positivity rate has further dropped to 11%. "So Covid-19's impact is going down in Delhi. 1000 ICU beds have been set up within 15 days, our doctors and engineers have set an example. I thank them," Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's younger brother Ashim succumbed to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) today, according to news agency ANI. He was undergoing treatment at the Medica Superspecialty Hospital in Kolkata, Dr Alok Roy, chairman of the hospital told ANI.

Mizoram's tally of the Covid-19 disease climbed to 8,499 after 123 new cases were reported on Saturday. The fresh infections include four police officials who returned to Mizoram from West Bengal after election duty.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a high-level meeting today to review the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation in the country along with the vaccination process, news agency ANI reported. On Wednesday, Modi had chaired a meeting to review availability of oxygen supplies and essential medicines. The Prime Minister has also spoken to the chief ministers of several states and Union Territories (UTs) to review the Covid situation in their respective areas.

India on Saturday recorded 326,098 new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases and 3,890 more deaths, taking the caseload and the death toll to 24,372,907 and 266,207 respectively, according to the Union health ministry’s dashboard. As many as 353,299 people recovered in the last 24 hours and the total recoveries have climbed to 20,432,898 and constitute 83.50% of the caseload. The active cases stand at 3,673,802. Read more

Germany's caseload of the Covid-19 disease climbed to 3,584,934 after 7,894 new cases were registered on Saturday, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. As many as 177 people succumbed to the disease on Saturday, taking the country's death toll to 86,025.

On Thursday, when 59-year-old Jitender Singh Shunty, a former legislator who has been helping with Covid-19 cremations at the Seemapuri crematorium, held the lifeless body of nine-month-old Krishu, his hands trembled. Read more