Coronavirus India Live Updates: Infections rise to over 92.22 lakh out of which 86.42 lakh have recovered

Coronavirus India Live News Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged states Tuesday to build decentralised mechanisms, down to the block level, in the form of task forces for smooth administration of the vaccine, expected to take place early next year.

Coronavirus India Live Updates: India reported 44,376 new cases of coronavirus infections and 481 deaths on Tuesday. With this, the total number of Covid-19 cases in India rose to over 92.22 lakh, out of which more than 86.42 lakh people have recovered. At present, active cases stand at 4.44 lakh.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel passed away Wednesday morning due to multiple organ failure, more than a month after he tested positive for Covid-19.

Also, as the race to find an efficacious vaccine against Covid-19 picks up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged states Tuesday to build decentralised mechanisms, down to the block level, in the form of task forces for smooth administration of the vaccine, expected to take place early next year. Interacting with Chief Ministers via videoconference, the Prime Minister, while underlining that there is no decision yet on which vaccine will be finalised and when, repeatedly emphasised the key role that states will play in vaccine administration. He urged states to provide individual plans for a final blueprint of the country’s largest immunisation drive.

As multiple vaccines against COVID-19 gets ready to hit the market, concerns over a proper countrywide cold chain infrastructure for maintaining the integrity of these live/inactivated viruses or DNA/RNA genetic material have cropped up. But policymakers and public health professionals can probably learn a lesson or two here from the dairy industry. And no, it isn’t about low/sub-zero temperature transport and storage of milk, butter, curd or ice-cream, but about bull semen.

Coronavirus India LIVE updates: 44,376 new cases, 481 deaths detected in last 24 hours; PM Modi interacts with CMs; Dairy has clues for cold chain. Follow all latest updates here

As multiple vaccines against COVID-19 gets ready to hit the market, concerns over a proper countrywide cold chain infrastructure for maintaining the integrity of these live/inactivated viruses or DNA/RNA genetic material have cropped up. But policymakers and public health professionals can probably learn a lesson or two here from the dairy industry. And no, it isn’t about low/sub-zero temperature transport and storage of milk, butter, curd or ice-cream, but about bull semen.

Almost 8 crore artificial inseminations (AI) are performed annually in India. These AIs involve transport of semen, collected as raw ejaculate from elite bulls and packaged after freezing in vials or “straws”, for inserting into the reproductive tracts of cows and female buffaloes. This semen – originating from animals in 56 bull stations and used to inseminate female bovines belonging to farmers across the length and breadth of the country – is preserved throughout its journey at minus 196 degrees Celsius. This is way lower than the minus 20 to minus 70 degree requirements of the Moderna and Pfizer Covid vaccines!

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel passed away Wednesday morning due to multiple organ failure, more than a month after he tested positive for Covid-19. Patel passed away at 3.30 am this morning. He was 71.

Announcing his father’s demise on Twitter, Faisal Patel said, “I regret to announce the sad and untimely demise of my father, Mr. Ahmed Patel at 25/11/2020, 3:30 AM. After testing positive for Covid-19 around a month back, his health worsened further due to multiple organ failures.”

Patel, who tested positive on October 1, was battling with Covid-19 related complications and was placed under critical care Sunday at a hospital in Gurgaon. He was one of the closest aides of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her political adviser for a long time. Known as the party’s trouble-shooter, he had steered the Congress out of difficult situations many a time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cautioned states and union territories against any laxity in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and called for reducing the positivity and fatality rates by focusing on curbing the virus transmission. Interacting with chief ministers, the prime minister also called for more RT-PCR tests, even as he underlined that India’s COVID-19 situation is more stable than other countries in terms of recovery and fatality rates. Modi asked them to work towards bringing the positive rate to less than 5 per cent and the fatality rate to under 1 per cent and called for more RT-PCR tests.

Welcome to our Coronavirus LIVE blog. India reported 44,376 new cases of coronavirus infections and 481 deaths on Tuesday. With this, the total number of Covid-19 cases in India rose to over 92.22 lakh, out of which more than 86.42 lakh people have recovered. At present, active cases stand at 4.44 lakh. Follow this space to get all the latest updates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Coronavirus India LIVE Updates

In an online interaction with Chief Ministers on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against any laxity in fighting the pandemic and called for measures to reduce the positivity and fatality rates. The Indian Express takes a look at what the states told the Prime Minister:

Maharashtra: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct all the political parties to refrain from holding political protests and not to play politics with lives of people during the pandemic. “All our efforts may fail and it may invite the Covid wave,” he said. Thackeray’s request comes against the backdrop of the protests that the BJP organised across the state over the reopening of places of worship and on inflated power bills in Maharashtra. He said the government is working as per the Centre’s instructions and a task force has been set up to manage vaccination in the state.

Kerala: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan pointed to the financial crisis being faced by Kerala and demanded the Centre to allot funds to give financial assistance for the families of those who have died of Covid-19. He said the delay in allotting GST compensation to the state should be avoided and the demands of the states should be factored in the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, he said, according to a statement. The states should be given more freedom in the utilisation of the state disaster response fund, said Vijayan.

West Bengal: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Covid situation is under control, urging the PM to send funds to tackle the pandemic. Lamenting the non-payment of Rs 8,500 crore in GST dues, she said the state has already spent around Rs 4,000 crore for Covid management but the Centre has only released Rs 193 crore. Participating in the video conference from Bankura, Banerjee said the country is looking forward to an early vaccination programme and assured that her state is fully prepared for it with adequate human resources and infrastructure. She said that despite massive rail movement and Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Chhatth festivities, West Bengal has seen improvement in terms of the fatality, positivity and recovery rates.

Haryana: Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said testing in Haryana has reached 1.24 lakh per million, higher than the national average. He said an analysis of data pointed to high case load from districts around NCR. After the meeting, the Chief Minister announced restrictions on gatherings across the state from November 26, especially in six districts adjoining NCR. He also said that Haryana will not impose night curfew but “more strictness is being focused upon during the day hours when people tend to gather and crowds are formed”.

Chhattisgarh: Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said the Covid situation was “under control” in the state. He said the positivity rate was 4 per cent in July, 8 per cent in August, 15 per cent in September, 10.5 per cent in October, reducing to 7 per cent in November. He said the fatality rate stood at 1 per cent in October-November. He said the state has enough testing equipment and beds.

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