14 States, UTs report 'zero' COVID-19 deaths in last 24 hours

Union Health Ministry on Friday informed that 14 States/Union Territories (UTs) have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.

"The 14 States/UTs are Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir(UT), Jharkhand, Odisha, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Daman and Diu of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Ladakh (UT), Mpur, Tripura, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh," informed the Union Ministry Health Ministry.

As a sign of relief, the Union Health Ministry informed that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 5.69 crores on Friday.

"A total of 5,69,57,612 vaccine doses have been given, as per the provisional report till 7 pm today," read the press release by the Union Health Ministry.

These include 80,66,471 health care workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 51,27,234 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 86,79,307 frontline workers (FLWs) (first dose), 34,96,356 FLWs (2nd dose), 2,57,01,645 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 58,86,599 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities.

However, five States, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have reported a surge in daily new cases.

Maharashtra reported 36,902 new positive cases, 17,019 discharges and 112 deaths on Friday, as per the State Health Department.

Punjab reported 3,176 fresh COVID-19 cases, 1,816 discharges, and 59 deaths

Karnataka logged 2566 new COVID-19 cases, 1207 discharges and 19 deaths today.

Further, Gujarat reported 2,190 new COVID-19 cases, 1,422 discharges and 6 deaths, in the last 24 hours.

Tamil Nadu joined the tally by reporting 1,971 new COVID-19 cases, 1131 discharges and 9 deaths today.

Jammu and Kashmir also reported 210 new #COVID19 Cases, taking the total number of cases to 1,29,413.

Delhi also mounted 1,534 new COVID-19 cases, 971 recoveries, and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours.

India continues to witness a surge in new COVID-19 cases as 59,118 fresh infections and 257 deaths were reported in the country in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Friday.

With fresh 32,987 recoveries, a total of 1,12,64,637 people have recovered from the diseases so far. The cumulative number of cases reached 1,18,46,652 including 4,21,066 active cases and 1,60,949 deaths.

Following this, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare rushed two high-level multidisciplinary teams to Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh in view of the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported from the State and UT. These teams shall work with the respective State/UT Government to ascertain the reason/s for the surge, assist in undertaking gap analysis and recommend requisite COVID-19 control and containment measures.

Taking this COVID update into consideration, Jharkhand today joined the league by restricting Holi celebrations. Jharkhand government issues guidelines prohibiting the celebration of Holi, Shab-e-Barat, Navratri, Ramnavami, Easter etc at public places in the state. People may celebrate Holi with family members in their respective houses. All processions shall continue to remain prohibited. Procession on the occasion of Sarhul and Ramnavami shall be prohibited.

Last week, Delhi, Maharashtra governments too restricted Holi celebrations in public spheres.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed the 7th annual summit of NATHEALTH focusing on 'Indian Health system expansion in post-COVID era' through a video conference today.

Reiterating the commitments of the government towards fulfilling the goal of Health for all, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan noted today, "It is a top priority for the Government led by Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji. To institutionalize the approach towards our goal, we launched the National Health Policy in 2017."

"The vision behind the policy-framework has been to attain the highest possible level of health and well-being for all, across all age groups by emphasizing on preventive and promotive aspects of health and providing universal access to good quality healthcare services without any one having to face financial hardship as a consequence. Ayushman Bharat is yet another ambitious program of the Government with the objective of providing Universal Free Access to comprehensive primary health care, promoting health and wellbeing."

( With inputs from ANI )